I rolled my eyes. Scared of a coffee maker? Sure.
The doorbell rang again, and I decided to walk over and open it. I didn’t find Becca on the other side of the door, though. Instead, it was Aspen.
“What are you doing here?” I beamed. It was a lovely surprise, but to be honest it was a little strange.
He held four coffees. “Quinn tweeted that she was having coffee problems,” he said, raising up the large cups. That was typical of Quinn: tweeting in the middle of her crisis.
I heard Quinn squeal behind me. Immediately, she was in front of me seizing a cup for herself. She spun around to me after she took a sip. “I love your boyfriend,” Quinn said and ran back into the kitchen.
My face became red instantly. Aspen and I had not declared that we were official yet. We hadn’t even kissed yet.
“You’re the best.” I smiled and leaned into him for a hug. The coffee rested on my back and I felt the hotness of the drinks.
“Do I get best boyfriend of the year?”
I stepped away from Aspen. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for a reply. Frankly, so did I.
“Boyfriend?”
Aspen came close to my ear. “I was hoping you’d be my girlfriend,” he whispered.
“I thought you were only teasing me,” I said with a wink. Still, my cheeks were flushed. “We haven’t even kissed yet,” I mumbled, immediately embarrassed that I had to say it. It wasn’t something that usually had to be said, but somehow it found its way out of my lips.
“I was also hoping to change that too.” Aspen’s lips curved into a smirk.
“Um, this is kind of awkward,” Becca’s voice suddenly chimed in.
Aspen backed away from me, and my heart sank. I was honestly willing to give Becca another chance, but that might have just ruined everything all over again. Aspen’s face was beginning to turn a slight shade of red as he scratched his neck.
Rebecca grinned widely from behind him. “Oh, this is cute,” she said. “It’s nice to know that seniors get embarrassed sometimes, too.” Becca winked at me and scooted past. “Will you two be joining us for breakfast, or do you guys have a kiss to get to?” Becca teased. It made me realize how much I honestly missed her being my friend.
“I hate you.” I smiled and shook my hand at her crazy red hair. She shrugged and stretched out her hand to me. Taking her hand, I looked back at Aspen and nodded for him to follow.
There was no way my boyfriend wasn’t eating breakfast with us.
***
“But then Tristan told me that he wasn’t going to college. Instead, he was going to be traveling through Europe to search for a lacrosse team to play on,” Becca said, laughing out the news.
We were all done eating our bagels, and the coffees were practically empty. Now, the girls and I were just catching up on each other’s lives. Apparently, Becca and Tristan did not last as a couple. Was it wrong to say that I wasn’t sad to hear that? I mean, after all, Tristan was a quarter of the reason Becca wasn’t friends with Quinn and me for a month.
Quinn and I exchanged looks as Becca continued to laugh about Tristan’s sudden plans. Aspen grabbed my hand under the table.
The thing was, Tristan was smart, or so I heard from asking around. Even if he didn’t play lacrosse, he could get into Columbia or any of the other Ivy League schools. Lacrosse just added on to his résumé. From what I had heard about him, he was a dedicated student and loved the idea of college. To hear that he was now considering dumping all of that didn’t seem right. Even Aspen had the same thoughts about it.
“So obviously, I told him that I couldn’t be with a guy who wasn’t going to be doing anything with his life.” Becca waved her hand as if this was just a typical conversation. “Immediately, he said that he totally understands and was willing to remain just friends.” Becca finished. “He was honestly so nice about it.”
Under the table, Quinn kicked my leg. I stifled a cry and turned toward her.
What, I mouthed.
Quinn shook her head and looked at Becca as if she was a wounded infant. “Becca, I don’t think that that’s what Tristan’s real intentions are for the future.” I nodded next to Quinn, now realizing what she was indicating.
Tristan was only finding a way out of the clingy relationship with Becca. He was her first real boyfriend since her ex-boyfriend—Quinn’s older brother, Brian—and a new boyfriend could make Becca become a little too obsessive. Quinn and I already had the unfortunate event of witnessing her craziness during her short time with Tristan.
“What are you guys talking about?” Becca looked at all of us. Even Aspen was nodding.
“I think Tristan wanted you to break up with him.” I reached out for her pale hand. It appeared to be shaking.
Becca immediately began to shake her head in denial. “No, no, no,” she said. “Tristan liked me. We were dating for, like a month. If he wanted to break up with me, he would’ve just told me.” Tears began to fill her eyes, and she looked at Quinn desperately. “Right? Tristan would do that, right?”
“Is that what you want to believe?” Aspen peeped in. Becca turned to him. She nodded frantically. “Then yes, he would’ve told you.”
Becca gave us a warm smile, but then stood up. “I’m going to the bathroom,” she announced and scurried off. I noticed she was covering her face with her hands.
“Can that be my cue to go?” I asked with a smile toward Quinn. I wanted, more than anything, to leave and run away with Aspen. Throughout the entire breakfast, he’d done nothing except rub up and down my thigh. It only egged me on to finish my bagel faster.
“You’re seriously going to leave me with a frantic Becca?” Quinn protested.
Aspen stood up and wrapped his arms around my waist. “To be fair, you’re the one who planned this.” He rested his chin upon my head.
Quinn narrowed her brown eyes at Aspen. “You know, I’m starting to reconsider my feelings toward you,” she stated and jumped out of her seat.
“He’s got a point,” I said, backing up Aspen.
Quinn tossed the plates into the sink and spun around to face me. “You’re lucky I’m an amazing best friend, because I’m allowing you to escape.”
I squealed and practically fell out of my stool. Aspen caught me and helped me stand up straight. Pretending that freak-out didn’t happen, I pointed at Quinn. “I love you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Leave, before I change my mind.” Quinn shooed us away and Aspen grabbed my hand instantly before dragging me out of the house.
Holding hands, we almost took a fall out of the red house. Aspen beamed when we made it to his car. “I have been waiting all damn morning for this,” Aspen said.
Before I could even realize what he meant, Aspen’s lips were pressed against mine. His lips were surprisingly soft, and it helped that he tasted like wonderful coffee. The kiss felt like heaven, and I itched for more. It was like Aspen and I had become one, and now we were discovering one another with our lips. My head spun with excitement and my skin crawled for Aspen to kiss me harder. It was as if I couldn’t get enough of him as I reached for his hand and pulled him closer and closer to my body.
Aspen backed away. His eyes were huge.
I covered my mouth. “Was I terrible?” I squeaked.
Slowly, Aspen shook his head. “You were nowhere near terrible,” he whispered just as he leaned toward me for another kiss. He kissed me softly with many breaks in between. I couldn’t get enough of him, and apparently neither could he. This feeling was like no other, and I wondered why I had never kissed a boy before that moment. Probably because nobody wanted a weirdo twin like me, I thought. But that wasn’t even going through my mind as I was kissing Aspen. For once, I felt like the lucky twin. It was all I ever wanted.
“You crazy kids get off my lawn and go find a room!” Someone shouted next to us. I pulled away and spun around back to Quinn’s house. Quinn was standing on her doorstep waving her fist at us.
Aspen chuckled behind me. His ha
nds whipped around my waist and he dipped me low to the ground, finishing the dip with a kiss followed by his tongue.
Quinn gasped. “Seriously.” She laughed when Aspen stopped. “Leave before I vomit on both of you.” She nodded and pointed at Aspen’s car.
Aspen wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Come on,” he whispered into my ear. “Let’s get out of here.”
My heart skipped a beat, multiple beats actually.
“I’d love that.”
Chapter 16
I Don’t Understand
I wish I could have said that Aspen and I went back to Duckling Park and continued our little kisses, but that didn’t happen. After we left Quinn’s house, Aspen explained that he really needed to go to the homecoming game, begging me to go with him. I said yes, naturally. I wasn’t happy about it, but he was basically Mr. Tree Fall. He had to make public appearances at Homecoming.
“What’s so important about Homecoming?” I asked Aspen while he was driving.
“Well, it’s pretty much just a celebration of the first home game for the football team,” he explained as he turned into the school parking lot.
“Yes, I know what it is.” I shook my head. “But that shouldn’t be it.” Aspen looked at me, slightly confused. “Why can’t soccer have a homecoming?” I protested.
“Branson, you know I hate the pressure of soccer. Homecoming would just add on to my stress and make me hate the sport even more,” he said. I shrugged. I guessed he had a point, but what about all the other sports? Football wasn’t special at all. They never made it to states in Tree Fall history.
“Then, why not golf?”
Aspen raised an eyebrow when he finished parking. He shifted his body toward me. “Golf?” He practically laughed out the words.
“Yeah, I heard that Harry kid is pretty great at the sport.” I smiled while Aspen shook his head.
“What goes through your head when you talk?” Aspen laughed.
“Brilliance,” I said and leaned toward him. His lips greeted mine, and my toes began to tingle. These kisses will never get old.
***
I spotted Sam as soon as I entered the bleachers. She stood front and center, leading her pack of plastic cheerleaders. Most of the people in the crowd were looking at the cheerleaders, not the football team. It made me want to punch myself because of all the love they were receiving. They were not good girls or angels or anything like that. All they were were self-absorbed, sex-driven girls. It was honestly sad the way the senior cheerleaders corrupted the freshmen. The freshmen looked up to the upperclassmen, but all they showed was cruelty towards others.
“Sam found her pom-poms.” Aspen laughed next to me.
I looked at him. “Yeah,” I said, confused. “How’d you know that she lost them?”
He looked at me as if I had just sprouted seven heads. “You texted me.”
“Oh my God, you’re right.” I shook my head and rubbed it with my sweaty hands. Curse Aspen for making me so nervous. “Sorry.” I waved a hand toward him. “I’m just paranoid. Sam has been bugging me about you ever since her party.” I rolled my eyes just thinking about her constant nagging. She just wouldn’t stop! It was just question after question after question. Honestly, it made me want to die. My alone time with Aspen made it all worth it.
“It’s okay.” Aspen took my hand and kissed it. “You’re under a lot of pressure.” I nodded. That wasn’t entirely true. It was more that I was so convinced that Sam had a plan of almost anything just to separate Aspen and me.
Sam caught my eye and waved her pom-pom. The pom-pom wave wasn’t for me, though. It was for Aspen. Aspen gave a fake smile and lifted a hand. She beamed at his response and jumped back into the cheer she was supposed to have been doing.
“Still don’t understand you two.” I shook my head.
“Don’t worry about it,” he murmured and planted a kiss on my forehead. That made me forget about all of it. I nodded.
“Now, why was it important that you came here?” I asked when Aspen finally picked a seat right in front of the cheerleaders. Like, did he really have to sit right there knowing about my hatred toward my sister? Ugh, sometimes I didn’t understand him.
“Not me, us,” Aspen corrected. Confused, I began to watch him. After he said that, he didn’t say anymore. He informed me that I had to wait and see what he was talking about. That did not make me feel too well, considering I hated surprises.
A couple minutes before halftime, I spotted Caleb and Becca walking up the bleachers. Becca looked better than when I had left her at Quinn’s. She was laughing at something Caleb said, and that made me smile. It made me happy seeing them together. They would make a cute couple. Two best friends falling in love sounded like a dream come true.
“Look, it’s Caleb and Becca,” I told Aspen. He nodded, but continued to watch the football game. We were losing horribly. “Should I ask them to come sit with us?” I asked with a smile. It could be like a double date with all my favorite people.
Aspen only shrugged. “If that’s what you want.”
I gave him a pat on the back and began to walk over to Caleb and Becca. They saw me coming before I even reached them, and they both waved at me. Becca was in the same clothes she wore this morning, and Caleb was rocking a Bandits t-shirt, which was our school mascot.
“Hey El,” Caleb said. He wrapped his arm around me and brought me in for a hug.
“Rocking the t-shirt, I see,” I joked.
Caleb smiled. “Hey, I figured I should show off my school spirit every once in a while,” he replied, laughing.
Becca gave him a push. “That’s probably the worst shirt I’ve ever seen you wear,” she said. “And I’ve seen you wear your Barney shirt.”
“That shirt is funny!”
“No, not really.” I shook my head at him and he frowned.
“You guys just don’t understand humor.”
“You’re right.” Becca nodded. “We don’t.”
We all laughed at Caleb’s reasoning. He did wear the oddest shirts sometimes. Once, I even caught him wearing a My Little Pony shirt. He claimed it was the new trend.
“You guys want to come sit with Aspen and me?” I asked.
Caleb stretched his head and looked at Aspen sitting on the bench and admiring the football players.
He shook his head. “Nah, I think we’ll just sit over here.” He wrapped his arm around Becca, and she grinned.
“Okay. Make good choices.” I smiled at the two of them and gave Caleb a wink.
“Ella.” Caleb gritted through his teeth.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Becca asked as she stuck her nose up.
“Nothing.” I shrugged, but nudged Caleb. He looked toward the floor with red creeping along his cheeks.
Suddenly, the crowd began to roar. Looking at the field, I noticed the cheerleaders running toward the center of the yard.
“Branson!” Aspen called back from our seats. I looked over at him waving frantically for me to come and join him.
“See you guys later!” I yelled to Becca and Caleb as I ran back to our seats. Snuggling into Aspen, I whispered, “Is the surprise about to happen?” I giggled.
“You bet it is,” he responded and pointed at the field.
On cue, the cheerleaders began dancing. Bad Blood began blaring through the speakers, and the girls nodded to the catchy pop song. As the song got to the chorus, it quickly changed to Want me to Want You. Most of the crowd just watched with bobbing heads. Nobody was really into the dancing. Most of the crowd had actually gone to use the bathroom or to get snacks. It was pretty much only Aspen who was really focused on watching the routine.
“No offense Aspen, but this isn’t really all that exciting for me,” I admitted.
“Just watch for a little longer,” he said. His leg began to bounce up and down.
I watched for a couple more seconds, and then I realized what he wanted me to wait and see. The song had changed to Can’t Feel My
Face then to We’re All in This Together. Laughter poured from my mouth as I watched the cheerleaders copy the dance moves from the movie.
Aspen watched me as I danced in my seat to my favorite musical. The words to the song left my mouth in full force. That was my jam. I knew every word and dance move to it. It took everything in me not to jump up and start dancing along with the cheerleaders.
Aspen leaned toward me. “Told you you’d like it.” He grinned.
“I do. I love it.” I returned his smile and placed my lips on his.
“That will never get old,” Aspen said when our kiss finished.
“Good, because I don’t plan on that,” I responded. My eyes glanced back at the field and the High School Musical moment was over. I laughed, reimagining the dance. “How did you know they were doing this?”
“Sam,” Aspen admitted. I tensed, and Aspen felt it. He sighed. “Don’t be mad, Ella. She’s my friend.” A sad look swept over his eyes.
“I just,” I began to say, shaking my head. “It doesn’t make any sense.” I could feel myself growing shaky. Sam was always trying to get everything I had. At any moment, she would be able to snag Aspen away from me, especially since they were friends.
“I know it doesn’t.” Aspen sighed. “We’ve been friends for a while, your sister and I, but I want you to know that you’re the one I want to be with, not her.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
Holding the tears back, I continued to nod. “Yeah, okay.”
Aspen smiled at this response. “Great.” He kissed my cheek, and my body became numb. I wasn’t so sure if it was because of his kiss or just the feeling I had in my gut.
Chapter 17
Happy Halloween
I smelled the coffee before I even woke up. Instead of making me overly excited, the coffee only gave me chills. Ever since Quinn’s coffee machine almost killed me, coffee had made me slightly nervous. It shouldn’t have made me feel that way, but somehow it did. Maybe I just wanted Aspen to keep delivering me coffee every morning. That would’ve been quite nice.
Try and Catch Me: A Young Adult Fiction Page 10