Sasha squealed and rambled on about gossip from the cheerleaders before getting off the phone to eat dinner with her folks. Thank fuck her daddy was a stickler for family meal times.
With no more need to talk or pretend, I grabbed Romeo for a run around the backyard while I searched the twinkling stars for a fraction of the peace I felt while fighting with Jack. No, not peace, exactly, but focus. The constant churning of my mind with this or that silenced around him. I didn’t know what it meant or why I liked it. I didn’t know how to recreate it or use it outside of being around him. Whenever his eyes were on me, it was different than with other people.
Jack saw me tonight.
He. Saw. Me.
Those shared glances that hadn’t been furious were confusing, but I didn’t hate them. I didn’t want to avoid them as I did with other things that bothered me.
This was a confusion I really wanted to explore and figure out. This was … I grinned. This wasinteresting. Yeah. In all the shit, I’d found something I actually wanted to be doing. Fighting, stalking, staring, didn’t seem to matter. Easy to read or puzzling as fuck, didn’t matter then either. If Jack was involved, I was intrigued. A little fascinated by it all.
I slept better that night and blamed it on Jack too. I’d given in. He was determined to get under my skin, so I’d let him.
At lunch on Friday, the team sat together as we usually did on game days but spouted off shit in hushed voices about vengeance on the soccer team.
“Guys, look, it’s over. Just stop, okay? I don’t want to get my ass expelled, and if you keep doing this, that’s gonna happen.”
A few of them nodded, but more grumbled about it.
“I appreciate everyone taking up with this—” I floundered for a moment, searching for the right word. “—well, whatever it is, butit’s gotta stop. I’m already in forced counseling sessions with the soccer captain. Enough is enough.”
“For real, man?” Raul’s booming voice rose over the din of mumbles.
“Yeah. It’s a disaster, but it’s between me and him, all right? Cut the shit. No one needs to get in trouble over something this stupid, and I certainly don’t need them to keep looking at me as if I’m the biggest troublemaker in school.”
A few of them laughed at that. I’d never even been near trouble, and everyone knew it. I’d always been well-liked, the happy-go-lucky guy. For a year now, I’d been growing more and more exhausted keeping up the front, but I’d never let them see that. I wouldn’t let my team down.
“Okay, boss,” Raul said.
I wasn’t sure it was settled, but no one else said anything about it for the rest of the period.
After lunch, I caught a glimpse of Jack and Ty. Ty, of course, was running his mouth. Jack listened and nodded along. The low-burning excitement that’d been a little chill in my veins reignited. When the fuck had I ever been so hyped to see Jack Rutledge? I supposed it didn’t matter ’cause here it was anyway.
The need for his gaze on me, like a comforting hand at my neck, grounding me, even for a second, was real. I wanted that confusing moment like yesterday, or in class. The spot of time where all else stopped mattering and this silent conversation pinged between us. I didn’t know what that was, but I wanted it. Like, almost fucking craved it. More than I wanted to talk to my girlfriend, or my parents, even my friends, I just wanted his eyes to silently talk to mine.
Right before Jack turned the corner with his brother, he darted his attention toward me as if he’d known all along I’d been watching him, waiting for him. His dark lashes fluttered down, one corner of his mouth twitched, and then he was gone.
What were these tingles that wouldn’t stop vibrating? I wouldnotcall them butterflies, but I got the symbolism all the same.
We hated each other, right? We’d never said a single word to each other that wasn’t out of loathing or snark. Why didn’t that matter anymore? Why was one glance suddenly more important than months of fighting?
OurawaygameonFriday went well, and we came away with the W. Everyone was in a good mood as we returned to school that night, but I sat subdued, contemplative, and just couldn’t find it in me to be excited with them. No one mentioned pranks or feuds or the soccer team and instead talked about the party at the Beach on Saturday.
After Cody graduated last year, the Hickory Bend party scene had moved from our side of the lake to Hickory Cove on the other side with the popular man-made beach, unimaginatively named the Beach. The city put a lot of money into making it fun with several volleyball nets, bonfire pits, picnic tables, and BBQ areas. Plus, it was right next to a huge marina and backed up to trees, so if anyone got tired of the sand and water, they had options.
For me, I was thankful I could take Sasha. She’d get a date out of it, and I didn’t have to spend the hours alone with her. A part of my conscience nagged that I should feel bad about it, and maybe I did.
I stared at my phone while getting ready before heading toSasha’s, thoughts drifting away from her. If I texted Jack, would I get the same high his little smirk gave me yesterday? Would I feel something that football or a date with Sasha wasn’t giving me?
Scotland’s national animal is the Unicorn.
Yup. He hadn’t even responded, but the mere thought of Jack checking his phone and reading my words was an electric jolt to my lifeless heart. I rubbed my left pec as I waited.
Princess
The fuck?
You said you wanted a backlog of facts so we’d have plenty to tell Trent.
