Gemma shook her head, smiling softly and certainly intrigued.
THE NEXT DAY, GEMMA WALKEDto her third-period class alone. Darbie hadn’t been feeling well, so she was currently in the nurse’s office. Whatever it was, Gemma hoped it wasn’t contagious. She couldn’t afford to miss soccer practice right now, not while she was still trying to prove her worth. Lost in her own world, she felt someone nudge her shoulder.
“Oh, hey!” Gemma’s lips turned upward as her eyes met Caitlin’s.
“Hey yourself. Wanna walk to class together?”
“Sure.” Gemma would never turn down a chance to exist in Caitlin’s bubble, even for a few minutes.
“So, where’d you move from?” Caitlin asked, holding a notebook tightly to her chest, a tote bag full of textbooks slung over her right shoulder.
“Detroit, Michigan.”
Caitlin turned toward her, and Gemma caught the sparkle in her eyes. “I’ve never been.”
For a moment, their gazes locked, something unspokensurged between them. Gemma had never felt anything so intense as this charged, undeniable desire to know the girl beside her.
“You aren’t missing much. It’s freezing cold and snows for like half of the year. But what about you? Were you born and raised here in New Hope?”
“Yup. My parents are workaholics, so I’ve never even left the area.” Caitlin paused. “What did you do for fun, back in Detroit?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Gemma suddenly spotted a small yellow ball flying toward them from across the quad, a heartbeat away from Caitlin’s head. She reflexively blocked the ball with her forearm before it could hit Caitlin.
Caitlin flinched, too late, before her muscles relaxed, realizing that Gemma just saved her from being clobbered by the heavy lacrosse ball. Recovering from the shock, an appreciative smile lit Caitlin’s face, her lips curving so high they nearly reached the corners of her eyes.
Gemma’s arm would definitely have a bruise tomorrow, but she would do anything to make Caitlin smile at her like that again.
“Hey babe.” The boy running toward them broke the momentary spell between the two girls. “Nice stop,” he said, grinning at Gemma. “Sorry, Alex over there has horrible aim.” He leaned down to kiss Caitlin, and Gemma felt an instant pang in her core as she watched their lips meet. “Who’s your friend?”
“This is Gemma. Gemma, this is my boyfriend, Troy. Gemma just moved to town.”
“Cool. Nice to meet you, Gemma.” The tall boy wrapped an arm around Caitlin’s shoulder. “I’ll walk you to class, babe.”
A silent, sorrowful look passed between them, just before Troy pulled her away.
Gemma deflated, turning down the opposite path toward her next period as the bell clanged throughout the quad.
After school, Gemma ran to her respective goal line, noticing that cheerleading practice was being held next to their field that day.
During their drills, she struggled to focus, her attention shifting from her teammates over to where the captain of the cheerleaders stood in front of the rest of the squad. Gemma was mesmerized, following Caitlin’s confident grace as she led the other girls through stretching routines.
“Shit,” she mumbled under her breath, a soccer ball colliding hard with her stomach. It was obvious to everyone now that Gemma’s focus had been elsewhere.
Coach blew her whistle. “Care to join us, Quinn?”
Gemma felt her face warm with embarrassment, realizing that some of the giggles directed at her were coming from the direction of the cheerleaders. So much for hoping that Caitlin hadn’t noticed.
“Sorry, Coach.” Gemma fixed her place in the goal to continue their drills.
Once the commotion had died down, Gemma chanced a glance in Caitlin’s direction, only to find her eyes already on Gemma. Caitlin gave a shy wave in her direction, causing butterflies to fill Gemma’s core. It was becoming harder to ignore the feelings building inside her.
Having a crush on a girl was not new to Gemma. She had discovered that bit of information about herself when she had been in middle school, after she had kissed a friend as a dare at a sleepover. She had never had an actual girlfriend, but she knew that she didn’t look at boys the same way that she saw girls.
Fifteen now, Gemma found herself feeling something more profound than a sleepover crush, and it scared her. Especially since the girl in question already had a boyfriend. Caitlin probably didn’t even think about girls like that.
When Gemma got home from practice later that evening,she went straight upstairs to her bedroom and sat down at her desk, letting out a sigh. Now, a month into the school year, homework seemed to take her longer and longer each night. She unzipped the black backpack and pulled out her books, noticing the small, folded-up piece of scrap paper that Caitlin had thrown onto her desk.
Reading it again made her heart race. She admired the words, written in Caitlin’s neat cursive handwriting, before typingmi porterainto Google Translate.
