“Perfect, we have reservations at Truffles in fifteen minutes.” Dad clapped his hands and wrapped his arm around mom.
“Caleb, will you be joining us?” Mom asked.
“I think I’ll just head home. I still have lots of homework.” Caleb frowned and stuffed his hand into his jean pockets.
Caleb was lying. He never studied. When he wasn’t hanging out with me, Becca, or Quinn, he was playing on his computer. Caleb didn’t even take classes that receive homework. He was in all the regular classes, and those teachers never gave out homework. If they ever did, it was just a chapter in the textbook. You couldn’t even consider calling it homework. It literally only took half an hour. It was no reason to bail on a dinner with us.
“Caleb,” I said and reached out for his hand. He took a step back, his eyes lowered to avoid my gaze.
“I’ll see you later, El.” Caleb kissed me on the cheek and left the field in a hurry.
Aspen wrapped his arm around me, and everything in me fluttered. His body gave me so much warmth and excitement. It was also the first time a guy had put his arm around me, besides Caleb. For the first time ever, I felt important.
“Now I can get you all to myself,” Aspen whispered in my ear. It tickled and made me smile.
“Perfect!” Mom exclaimed. “Let’s go before they give our table away.”
***
“It was the funniest thing ever! We were all shouting at her to turn the other way, but instead she just kept running.” Dad was laughing the hardest I had ever seen him laugh. He and my mom were so happy, and it was mostly because Aspen was eating dinner with us.
“Thanks, Dad,” I mumbled and looked down at the napkin in my hand.
He was sharing the story about how in second grade, I had scored on my team’s own net. I received the ball while playing defense and then spun around and sprinted toward my own goal. Everyone was shouting for me to stop, but I thought they were cheering me on, so I kept running. I scored and then my coach pulled me off the field. He began explaining to me that I had just scored on the wrong net. It didn’t bother me that much. I was only seven.
“I think it’s cute,” Aspen said and placed his hand on my shorts, his thumb grazing my skin as he spoke.
Tingles spread through my entire body. He was touching my leg and I could not have been more nervous than this moment. I should have been embarrassed because he did it right in front of my parents, but that didn’t even matter. They couldn’t tell that he was holding my leg and that I was practically soaring through the sky. My face was bright red, though, so here’s to hoping they wouldn’t notice. Aspen was staring at me too, so that could’ve given me away. I didn’t care. I was too happy to care.
“You two are adorable,” Mom said and pointed at us with her fork.
“Mom!” I quickly shouted. “We aren’t dating.” My face turned even redder than before.
“Well, when will you be?” Dad chuckled. “You guys look great together. We wouldn’t mind a kid like Aspen in the household.” He gave a wink to Aspen, who was laughing a little himself.
“Oh my God,” I whispered and buried my face into my hands. “This is a disaster.”
Aspen had his eyes on me the entire time. I felt sick. I thought I was actually going to throw up.
“I have to go to the bathroom.” I got up as fast as I could before they could protest and sprinted toward the bathroom. Once I got in it, I locked the door and called Quinn and Becca right away.
“Hey girl!” Quinn shouted when she picked up.
“Hi guys,” Becca said once she answered.
“Guys, this dinner is awful! I don’t know how I got into this mess. I wish Caleb came. I think I should just kill myself now,” I rambled on. It was the most embarrassing dinner I had sat through, besides Thanksgiving dinner last year.
“Ella! Relax. What happened?” Quinn soothed.
“I’m out having dinner with my parents. And Aspen,” I cried. Both girls screamed on the other end. “Oh my God, guys. This is actually such a disaster.”
“Talk to us, Ella. What happened?” Becca pushed for an explanation.
“My parents think we’re together.”
“No,” breathed Quinn.
“Yes! And when I told them that we’re not, my Dad said that we should start.”
“Girl, you’re dead! Who knows if he’s ever going to talk to you again,” joked Quinn, which made me roll my eyes.
“I bet he bolted as soon as you left for the bathroom.” Becca laughed.
“Stop laughing guys! I’m being serious. He probably thinks I talk about him all the time to my parents. This is my future boyfriend we’re talking about.” I sighed, leaning my head against the wall.
“Wow, someone’s confident.” Quinn laughed, only hearing the future boyfriend part. “Does Sam know about this little thing of yours?”
“Who cares?” Becca said. “Go for it, girl! Pray that he’s still out there and go get him tiger.”
“All right. I think I’m going to go.” I practiced some deep breaths. “Maybe I should throw up first, then I’ll feel better.”
“Just go!” Both of my friends shouted.
“Okay! I’m going.” I sighed and hung up. But before I went, I pulled up my messages and clicked Caleb.
I wish you came to dinner. It’s going horribly.
Caleb texted back almost immediately.
Need some saving?
That was Caleb. Always trying to save the day. I sighed, though. I couldn’t just leave Aspen with my parents. It would be too awful.
Can’t do that to Aspen. See you tomorrow?
My parents and Aspen were probably wondering if I had fallen into the toilet. Caleb was taking longer than normal to respond, but after a few minutes he finally texted back.
Sure.
***
Aspen drove me home in his own car. He said he wanted some alone time with me, and that made me jump into his car even faster. My parents winked at me when I left them and told me to take my time going home. I thought I was going to throw up again. What kind of parents just handed their daughter over to a boy? Normal parents would be sheltering their seventeen-year-old daughter and trying to keep her away from the real world. But leave it to my parents to push me closer and closer to one of the most popular guys at school.
“Your parents seem really chill,” Aspen said as he pulled out of the restaurant.
“I am so embarrassed of them,” I cried and hit the back of my head against the leather seat.
“Don’t be!” Aspen laughed and clasped his hand onto mine. “I had a lot of fun tonight. It allowed me to learn more about you.”
“A little too much,” I mumbled and looked outside the window.
“I can never know too much about you.” He stopped at a red light and looked at me. “I’m making it my goal to learn each and every detail about you, no matter how quirky or crazy.” His eyes were sparkling at me; they made my heart melt. Who would’ve guessed he was the sweet type too?
“Really?” I laughed and Aspen nodded. “Well, my full name’s Isabella.” Nobody really knew that that was my full name, only my family and best friends. I didn’t really try to keep it a secret. It was just that everyone began calling me Ella and that stuck more than my full name. I was totally okay with that, though.
“It’s beautiful,” Aspen said and squeezed my hand. “You don’t mind if I keep calling you Branson though, right?”
“I would prefer that,” I said and smiled at his tan face.
We pulled into my driveway and my heart sank when it did. I wish that I had lived miles and miles away from Truffles, but instead I lived just a short ten-minute drive from it.
Sam was standing at the front door when we pulled up, and that made my heart sink even further. Mom and Dad probably informed her that I was out with Aspen and now she was awaiting our arrival.
“You don’t have to walk me to the door,” I said when Aspen shut off the engine. I wish he could’ve,
but Sam standing like a sentinel there would only ruin the moment. Tonight would only end horribly.
“Why not?” Aspen cocked his head. He looked sincere.
“Sam would end up ruining the moment. In fact, she’s most likely going to bite my head off as I soon as I step out of your car.” I sighed and looked at her. She was tapping her foot on the wooden porch, waiting. Her eyes were burning into me through the window.
“Does she really treat you so badly?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“You shouldn’t let her.” That was all Aspen said, and it made me feel a hundred times better. Those words made me feel like I could do anything, like take down Samantha with just one punch to the face. Oh, how I so badly wanted to do that. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Branson,” Aspen said. He leaned closer and my heart began beating faster and faster. Was I about to have my first kiss? I wasn’t ready. My breath probably tasted of garlic. The pasta that I had at the restaurant was loaded with it. Curse you, Truffles, curse you.
Instead of aiming for my lips, he just grazed my cheek, but that was enough to make my whole world spin. I wasn’t so sure if I could make it to the front door with the way everything was spinning.
“See ya,” I said in a daze and pushed open the car door. It didn’t even matter that Sam was giving me the death stare as I floated past her. I was in my own world from that tiny peck on the cheek. It meant nothing to most girls, but to me it was everything.
“What were you doing out with him?” Sam demanded and followed me up the wooden stairs. I said nothing to her and just strolled down the hall until I reached my room.
“Night, Samantha.” I smiled and closed the door so I could sleep soundly with dreams of Aspen.
Chapter 6
That Was Low
Have you ever felt that feeling when somebody is watching you? One minute you’re enjoying the company of your friends and the next minute you suddenly feel a tingle in your spine. It was always a creepy feeling. I was not going to lie. It felt as if I was being stalked and at any moment, about to get killed. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but it felt like somebody was going to go all ninja on me and assassinate me.
I was in the library enjoying my alternating free period with Caleb and Quinn. Becca didn’t have study hall with us as she had a class in AP literature.
I was skimming my fingers along the young adult section when I felt her eyes. Dark, cold eyes were following me, and immediately I knew it was her watching us.
“Does anyone else feel like Elsa just walked in here?” Caleb said and then laughed at his joke.
I smirked at his joke. I knew my sister could hear us too, since she was watching us so closely. I figured we could have a little fun before I had to confront her.
“Not the queen of ice, but the queen of bitches is here.” Quinn sneered and Caleb chuckled along.
“What do you want, Sam?” I groaned and turned around to finally face her. Coincidentally, she was standing in the horror section. It completed her look as the evil queen. Sam was wearing a black skater skirt and a purple tank top. A grey sweater was wrapped around her tiny waist, but I know she wasn’t planning on using it despite the freezing cold temperature in the library.
“Just checking up on you.” She smirked and walked closer to me. “I had to make sure you were doing your studies and not off making out with Aspen.”
Caleb began a coughing fit next to me. Sam scrunched her face and stepped further away from him as if he had a disease.
“What does it matter to you?” I asked her and crossed my arms. “You and James having some relationship problems?” I pouted at her. It was the same old story. She and James fought and she’d go for a random make out session with a random guy.
“James and I are doing wonderfully. If you didn’t notice, he was over for dinner last night.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder; it was something she did every five seconds during a conversation.
“I try to stay clear of him so that I don’t lose brain cells.”
Sam’s mouth was agape. Her face was slowly becoming red. Quickly, she searched for a witty remark. “At least I’m not dating a gay guy,” she retorted, pointing at Caleb.
At that moment, it seemed like the entire library went silent. That was always a touchy subject. When we were younger, Quinn, Rebecca, and I thought Caleb was gay. He never had girlfriends. He would always make flirty jokes and check out other girls, but we were still unsure. Around now we were pretty sure he was straight, but I couldn’t figure out why he’d always get so tense when I tease him about Becca.
“Woah!” Caleb quickly jumped in and stood between my sister and me. “I think you should go. Now.”
“That was low,” Quinn whispered.
“Oh, boo woo!” Sam exclaimed and threw up her hands. “It was a joke! You guys need to learn not to be such sore thumbs,” she spat and then trotted away kicking up her heels as she walked.
“I’m sorry, Caleb,” I whispered and stretched out my arms for him. He allowed me to hug him and he relaxed his arms on my back. “I love you.”
“I know,” Caleb sighed and squeezed me tighter. I felt bad that Sam was the first one to bring up his interest. None of us wanted to ever mention it, but it should’ve been us rather than my horrible sister.
“Let’s go get some ice cream,” Quinn suggested. It was last period so technically, we could leave early. Usually we waited for Becca, but it was an emergency.
Caleb laughed. “That sounds good.”
***
Quinn decided to head back to school after we grabbed ice cream. She had tennis practice. Normally, I would be having soccer practice too, but today, they gave us time off because we won our past two games. As much as I love playing, it still felt so nice to have a day off from soccer.
I invited Caleb over to my house and told him we could have an America’s Next Top Model marathon and pop lots and lots of popcorn. He agreed as soon as the words left my mouth. Sam would be at cheerleading practice until much later that evening because Homecoming was coming up, so she wouldn’t be around.
Caleb trudged into my room and plopped down onto the bed. Everything rattled in my room from the impact.
“Okay, you stay there,” I said, even though I knew he was going nowhere. “I’ll set everything up.”
When I turned around after getting the TV all ready, I noticed Caleb was now sitting up. His eyes were glued to the floor. A glaze covered his eyes. My heart sank.
“No, don’t cry Caleb,” I said. Curling up into a ball, I lay next to him. My head rested on his lap. “I love you no matter what.” I wanted Caleb to feel comfortable around us. He could tell me anything, because I always felt like I could tell him anything. I felt like the biggest outcast, but with him I feel like I belonged. I just wish I didn’t have to see him go through such pain. “It’s okay if you are—”
“That’s the thing, Ella. I’m not gay!” he cried. I watched the first tear fall from his eyes and proceeded down along his cheek. My heart felt for him. It was only that one that escaped his eyes. Quickly, he wiped it away, and no more fell. Only the one, and it landed right on my own cheek.
“Okay.”
“I like girls,” he gritted through his teeth. “I’m in love with one right now.”
“Rebecca?” I asked.
Caleb let out a long sigh. His eyelids fluttered shut. “Yeah, El. It’s Rebecca.”
***
“I missed you at soccer practice yesterday,” Aspen called to me from down the hall.
I was at my locker and I heard his voice from behind me. Turning, I saw that he was wearing his jersey, which meant that he had a game today.
“We didn’t have practice.” Leaning against my locker, I smiled at him. His tan skin always looked so golden and perfect.
Aspen frowned. “I don’t like going to practice without you now.”
“Oh yeah?” I snorted.
“I’m serious,” he said and he laced his hand with mine.
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“Do you have a game today?” I asked, avoiding his eyes. Aspen made me so nervous, and our proximity scared me. Holding his hand turned my stomach into a stormy ocean. It didn’t help that he still held my hand as we walked down the hallway. People stared at him with their mouths agape while they looked at me with spite. It made me feel even worse about myself.
“Yeah, it’s away though,” he said with a frown. “I wish you could come.”
We stopped in front of my class, which was English. “That would have been nice.”
“I haven’t hung out with you since last week’s dinner with your parents!”
“I’m surprised you’re still hanging out with me, after that being a disaster and everything,” I mumbled.
“I actually had a lot of fun. Being with you is a lot of fun.” He held my cheek, and I felt myself becoming hot. My face was probably a tomato by now and every crease in my body was sweating. It wasn’t really an attractive look.
I couldn’t speak after what he said. Aspen was being so sweet, and he was holding my hand in front of the entire school. If I spoke, words would just babble out and Lord knows what I’d say; I might never speak to Aspen ever again.
Thankfully, Aspen spoke. “Let’s go on an actual date,” he declared. His teeth glowed as he smiled at me. I smiled back at him. It would be my first date. “This Saturday, Greg is throwing a party for our win today. Let’s go together.”
A party? That wasn’t really my idea of a date, but I guess, if it meant I got to spend time with Aspen, it would be worth going. Heck, he could hypnotize me to do anything. I decided to just ignore the fact that it was a date and focus on a conversation. “Oh, you guys plan on winning today. Can I say cocky much?” I laughed.
Aspen poked me in the arm. “Isn’t that what you like about me?”
That was when my face went completely red or white. I wasn’t so sure if I should have been mortified or embarrassed. He just blurted out the fact that I liked him.
Try and Catch Me: A Young Adult Fiction Page 4