The Core Four Series

by Stacy Borel

  I nodded and wiped a stray tear I hadn’t noticed had formed. “Think you can work with this?”

  She laid her head on my shoulder and laughed. “Yes, I can definitely work with this.”

  Her and I started giggling when a couple guys walked by and whooped and called out “Get a room!” I looked at her and busted out in full belly laughs. I was handing it all over to her. For the first time in my life, I was trusting someone other than my parents.

  ***

  This whole thing seemed like a conundrum. I shouldn’t want to impress a boy who has paid no mind to me for the better part of the last fifteen years of my life because there were other people around who dictated what he did. He may say he makes his own choices, but let’s face it, like the rest of us, society can influence who we are and what we do. It says don’t hang out with the unpopular girl who is slightly weird, so you don’t. And like right now, it says dress up for a potential that maybe the handsome guy will notice you and see what he’s been missing. Seems beyond silly, but it is what it is.

  I allowed Aurora to dress me and do my hair and makeup like she’d promised. When I looked in the mirror on Friday afternoon, nearly two hours before I was supposed to be at Wrigley’s, even I couldn’t deny she had done a bang-up job. I leaned toward the mirror to see a girl I recognized, but also one that was blinking back at me with curiosity. I started from the top to the bottom, my bewildered eyes scanning the image in the full-length mirror.

  I took a step closer to inspect myself. Bright eyes framed by long black lashes blinked when I did. Cheerful pink cheekbones were highlighted with a touch of blush. Full lips shimmered with a sparkle of nude gloss. And my body was covered in an off the shoulder black eyelet top, and white cut off shorts that flirted with the idea of being slightly too short. Aurora had lent me her tan strappy sandals that laced up at the ankle and drew attention to my tan legs.

  I had to admit, I felt pretty. Pretty enough to want to take a selfie just so I could remember this moment. One where there was still hope in my eyes and a possibility that Wrigley wasn’t as stupid as I knew he might end up being tonight.

  “Damn, I really out do myself sometimes.” Aurora said, beaming at me and admiring her work.

  I turned around and grinned at her. “I’m not really a hugger, but I could literally hug you right now.”

  “So you like it?”

  “Like it? I love it!” I exclaimed. I stopped for a moment then turned back to the mirror. “For the first time in my life, I don’t just feel like normal Hadley. I feel… pretty.”

  She stepped up behind me and put her hands on my shoulders. “Hadley, you’re always pretty. Tonight, you are gorgeous. And that guy of yours would be blinder than Stevie Wonder if he doesn’t notice.”

  I grinned. She was right. I wanted to deny it because that’s what was natural to me. But she was right. If I passed by myself walking on the street, I know I would have given me a compliment. I straightened my shoulders and Aurora dropped her hands. I was walking into tonight with so much more confidence than I’d thought possible. Tonight, I was ready to be noticed. If this didn’t work, then I knew I’d done what I could to open Wrigley’s eyes. If he blew me off, then I would officially quit this silly lifelong crush and move on knowing I had, at least, tried.

  “I’m ready.” I walked over to my bed, grabbed my phone and started towards the door.

  “Go get em’ tiger.” She beamed. “Text me if you need anything.”

  “I will! Oh, and thanks for letting me borrow your car.”

  “Welcome!” She hollered before the door shut behind me.

  The night air was stiff and hot. I took a deep breath in, but the humidity prevented me from inhaling all the way. I needed to get in the car and turn on the air conditioning before this stickiness killed my new curls. Thanks Louisiana for the heat. Once in the car, I pulled up Wrigley’s address and drove the whopping four minutes. It would have taken me fifteen if I’d chosen to walk. I would have, but, again, the curls.

  I pulled up in front of Wrigley’s house and froze. This was it. I was stepping foot into his space. Space that wasn’t his parents, and I wasn’t invited because it was a mutual family gathering. I wasn’t asked over because friends were going to be there. I was simply asked because he seemed to want me there. That thought sent a flurry of butterflies through my stomach. It was scary, and that’s okay. My life had taken a crazy turn over the last few months. One I never saw coming, and it was exciting.

  While I wanted answers about where this friendship was going, if it was going anywhere, I realized I was thrilled with the idea of the unknown. When I still lived at home, I’d settled with the routine and knowing exactly where my life was going to go. I had known what I’d wanted to be when I grew up, I had known I wanted to be at this school, and that I wanted to settle down a few towns over from Athens where I could live the rest of my life much like my parents had. I had no plans of meeting a special someone and shaking up my world. I had never thought I’d be in this position. Wrigley Brooks had always been a pipedream. A fantasy. In fact, he may still be one after tonight. But I was going take tonight and feel good about Hadley Marten.

  Hadley who wasn’t a wallflower.

  Hadley who felt beautiful.

  Hadley who wanted to be happy.

  I deserved a life I created and went after. Not one I hid behind because of my past. Maybe Aurora was right. College wasn’t for popular kids and clicks. It was time to be a grown up. It was time to be me.

  It just might be time to tell Wrigley exactly how I felt.

  Okay your confidence is getting ahead of yourself. Reel it in. I shook my head.

  I steeled myself and looked in my rearview mirror to check that every hair and sheen of gloss was still in place. It was perfect. Time to go.

  Stepping out of the car, I looked around at the house and the surrounding neighborhood. The houses weren’t huge, and they were slightly run down. Not something you’d find in the ghetto, but definitely something you’d see in the outskirts of downtown areas that were being rehabbed. Wrigley and his roommates kept the yard tidy. The grass was trimmed short, and the edges were clipped. There were two bushes on each side of the front porch that could use some work, but it wasn’t crazy overgrown. The house was brick with old school awnings hanging over the windows, and I could see that the backyard was fenced in. For three guys living here, the place wasn’t half bad. But who knew what would greet me inside.

  I brushed my hair over my shoulder before raising my hand to knock on the door. I only knocked once before it swung open and that brilliant white smile greeted me in familiar fashion. He was like a breath of fresh, cool air.

  “Hey, you should’ve text me when you go—” He stopped mid-sentence and really took me in. He scanned me from head to toe, his lips slightly parted. When he looked me dead in the eyes, I wasn’t prepared for his compliment. “You look incredible.”

  I blushed and my cheeks felt warm. Looking down at the ground, I shuffled my feet. “Thank you. Oh, and sorry I didn’t text. I forgot.”

  He stepped aside so I could come in. He’d given me just enough room to brush past him, and my arm grazed his stomach. I heard him inhale and it made me wonder if he’d just smelled me. There were those damn butterflies again.

  He cleared his throat. “Don’t worry about it. You’re here and that’s all that matters.”

  That’s all that mattered. I thought that phrase over as I walked through a small front entry and entered into what I assumed to be the living room. There was a massive sixty-inch television hanging on the wall that was currently playing ESPN News. One black leather sofa was against a long wall, which appeared to be connected to the kitchen, while a matching sofa was on the wall beside it. A small coffee table with muscle magazines scattered across it sat in front, and other than the TV, the room was rather empty with plain white walls. Not as bad as I’d expected it to be. It was, at least, clean from what I could tell. I had no idea if there were any
funky smells because the scent of pizza permeated into my nostrils.

  “God that smells good,” I nearly growled. I was starving and had forgotten to eat since breakfast. Nerves had gotten the best of me. With food wafting through the air, I couldn’t hold back the hunger.

  He chuckled. “Kitchen is over there. Pizza guy dropped off two larges right before you got here.” I followed him as he led me through a small room with a four person dining table and chairs. The kitchen was how I envisioned—galley style with dark, dated cupboards. The counter was Formica, but not crazy awful. “I had no clue what you like on your pizza, so I just guessed.”

  He grabbed two paper plates from a cupboard and handed me one.

  “You could’ve text and asked.” I smiled at my words so he could tell I was needling him about all his texts.

  He bumped me with his elbow and I looked up at him and grinned. “Aren’t you just the comedian.” Opening the two boxes, he said, “This one is a meat lovers, and the other is Hawaiian. Sorry, but I love pineapple on pizza.”

  “I know you do.”

  “Point for Hadley. Seems there’s another thing you know about me that I didn’t about you.”

  I picked up a piece from both boxes and put it on my plate. “Wrigley, I’m not keeping score. Why does it matter that I knew something about you that you didn’t about me?”

  “Because I’m figuring out just how much of a dick I was in high school when I completely ignored you.”

  I didn’t feel like getting into this right now. I was here to enjoy myself, not dredge up the past. “Well, for the record, I love Hawaiian. Meat lovers is yummy too, but I usually pick off the sausage. Don’t know why but it doesn’t ever sit well with me.” I tried making light.

  He followed suit. “Well, then, mystery solved. Do you want soda, water, beer, or I think there’s milk in the fridge?”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Milk with pizza is disgusting. I’m not old enough to drink, so I’ll just take a soda.”

  He set his plate down to dig around in the fridge. I took a moment to gaze at his back side without getting caught staring. It had a perfectly round shape that I knew filled his baseball pants well. “There’s Mountain Dew, or Pepsi.”

  “Pepsi.”

  “Pepsi it is.” He stood back up and handed me the ice cold can. Our fingers brushed and I felt a chill roll through me. I gripped the can so it didn’t slide out of my hand. “If you want a beer later, it’s fine. Nobody is carding you here.”

  The sarcasm in his voice made me feel slightly embarrassed by my stickler attitude. I knew most kids my age had already been to a party or two and had been completely trashed at one time or another. But it was never my thing.

  I didn’t want to come across as uncool, so I simply said, “Okay, thanks.” I wouldn’t be touching it.

  We both took our food and drinks into the living room and I waited until he sat down to pick where I’d sit. He plopped down in the middle of the larger couch, directly in front of the television, which only left space on either side of him. I politely took the smaller couch and sat with my food resting on the arm. He watched me perplexed, and I wanted to ask him what he was thinking about, but I thought better of it. Maybe he didn’t want me putting my plate there. I picked it up and placed it on my lap. His frown stayed.

  “You good over there?”

  “Hmm?” I asked confused. “Oh, yeah I’m fine, thanks.”

  Wrigley looked at me puzzled.

  “So where are the guys at? I thought there’d be other people here.” I tried to keep the conversation rolling.

  He took a mouthful of pizza and tore off an end. I watched his mouth as he chewed. His tongue snuck out and licked the corner of his lip before he answered me. “Bishop got a text from Aurora to come over, so he’s at your place.” Oh that sneaky little roommate. “Chris is at some frat party for the millionth time this semester. And Austin is out of town at his older sister’s wedding.”

  I took a long hard sip of my soda. I hiccupped once before I spoke. I don’t know why fizzy drinks did that to me, but my first gulp always made me hiccup. Wrigley tried to hide his chuckle.

  “So it’s just us?” I didn’t mean for it to sound like I was hopeful or that the possibility of alone time was a big deal, but I think it came out more of a desperate question than a casual careless statement.

  “Yep, just us. You cool with that?”

  “Mhmm.” I was chewing my food and didn’t care to say anything else that would make me sound stupid.

  “Well, I can go ahead and pop in a movie if you want to eat and watch.”

  “Okay.”

  He pressed a few buttons and an action movie I hadn’t even realize had come out started playing. Before long, I was completely engrossed and watching with wide eyes. One scene in particular had me gripping the small pillows lying next to me and Wrigley gave me a sideways smirk when I peeked in his direction.

  “Don’t laugh. This is seriously intense,” I scolded.

  He held his hands up in the air. “Hey, I didn’t say anything.”

  I turned in his direction. “You’re laughing.”

  He sucked in his lower lip and bit down. “Nobody is laughing.”

  I glared, trying to fight my own desire to smile. “Rude.”

  “Who’s rude? Not me.”

  “You’re teasing.”

  “Maybe a little. But teasing can be fun.”

  I gulped. “I suppose.”

  His eyes narrowed. He was watching my mouth as I chewed the inside of my cheek. “In the right situation.”

  “And what situations are those?”

  “Ones that require me to sit closer so you aren’t so jumpy,” he said slowly.

  Jumpy? Only thing that is jumpy around here is my heart. Holy mess, was he serious? I stared at him like he’d grown a second head. Sitting closer to him would mean I’d be closer. Closer wasn’t good. I’d be able to smell him. I’d be able to hear his breathing. He’d be at arm’s length. I don’t think my heart could handle the rapid beats that was already assaulting my body.

  “I’d be jumpy sitting over there, or here.”

  One side of his mouth tipped up. “Maybe, but I’m over here, so there’s a slight difference. I could protect you.”

  My brows came together but I couldn’t pry my eyes from his hazel ones. “You’d save me.”

  “Mhmm.”

  “From the TV,” I queried.

  “That’s right.”

  “Interesting.” What an odd conversation. I had no clue where this was even going.

  He patted the couch next to him. Oh my god! He wants me to get up and go over there. This was one of those moments in life where you pick door number one and there could be a glorious new living room set on the other side, or you could open door number two and there would be a box full of TNT and killer alligators ready to kill you. Okay, maybe it wasn’t that serious, but this was definitely a situation where I didn’t know if I should pick door one or door two. Either led to something that could change the direction of Wrigley’s and my relationship.

  Tentatively, and on shaky legs, I stood up and took a step toward him. He waited expectantly as I took another step, our knees nearly touching. I blew out a breath I was holding in.

  “Funny, you almost seem more nervous coming over here then you did sitting by yourself.”

  Did he always speak what was on his mind? Geez! Yes, I was nervous. He was making me that way and by the looks of it, he knew it to.

  “Are you purposely trying to make me squirm?” I asked.

  He cocked a brow. “Is it working?”

  “No.”

  “Liar.”

  “I don’t lie.”

  “That’s another lie.” He reached forward and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the couch. I had no choice but to sit.

  The movie was still playing, but I had no clue what was happening. I was lost at this point. The attention from Wrigley was all I could focus on. Plus, I didn’t wan
t to shatter this moment, however big or small it was. His hand let go of mine, but my leg was pressed against his. The warmth of him was about all I could bear and I was certain he could hear my heart pounding in my chest.

  When his fingertips brushed against my cheek, it took all I had not to jump. “Your cheeks are pink. Am I embarrassing you?”

  I risked a glance at him. He was staring at me and grinning devilishly. “Do you always speak your mind?”

  He chuckled. “When I can.”

  “When don’t you?” I tried not to lean into his touch.

  “When I know my mom would kick my ass for opening my mouth.”

  “Your mom is good like that.”

  A deep laugh came from his throat. I blinked and looked down at my hands that were clasped in my lap. I sat straight up, my spine stiff as a board. He was reading me. Gathering and processing information about me. Like a predator calculating his next move. I might as well have been swimming in that bayou again with him circling as he searched for a weak spot to attack. Lord, was all the air in the room being sucked out? I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

  “I think need to use the bathroom,” I blurted.

  He closed his mouth for a moment, then said, “It’s down that way; first door on the left.”

  I flew from the couch as fast as I could. So fast you would’ve thought an ax murderer was chasing me. I was floored by what was happening. Finding the bathroom as quickly as I could, I accidentally shut the door too hard. “Sorry.” I called out. There was silence and embarrassment flooded my face.

  Flipping on the light, I leaned over the sink and starred at myself in the mirror. What in the ever-loving crap was going on? Wrigley was flirting with me. Flirting like he meant to. Flirting like he was attracted to me. And it was completely foreign. I had no clue what to do and any response from my mouth was like a five-year-old’s excitement that their parents just told them they were going to Disney World. The part that was confusing me was, why? Why tonight was he doing this when I’ve been around for the last fifteen years. I wasn’t new.