Of. Fucking. Course. Of all the names in the damn bowl, mine just happens to be the last one pulled. I can’t catch a fucking break this year. Gritting my teeth, I force myself to walk up to the stage and take my spot at the end of the line.
“Drumroll please!” Quinn is way too good at all this, the whole place suddenly drumming on their knees. “The last lucky lady of the evening is…Candi Malone!”
Candi? That name sounds familiar for some reason.
The purple-haired girl that Trevor is paired with starts jumping up and down, clapping and cheering. “Yes, Candi! Come on up!” She waves her hands at the girl in the crowd who hasn’t stood up and moved it to the stage yet. I try to follow where she’s waving, but it’s hard to see with the stage lights blasting in my face.
Eventually, several girls in the front row crowd around and pull the girl towards the steps. She’s got long brown hair and a surge of recognition snaps through my head. She’s the girl that threw the book at my face. Her face right now though is white as a sheet, and she looks like she’s about to throw up.
Taking pity on her, I meet her at the bottom of the stairs and help her onstage. I can feel her shaking when I place my hand on the small of her back, guiding her to our spot at the end.
Candi swallows hard next to me, her chest heaving, and a light sheen of sweat glistens on her forehead. Placing my hands in my pockets, I lean into her, the sweet smell of her hair filling my nostrils. “Are you okay?”
Panicked brown eyes slide to mine as she quickly shakes her head. All the while, Quinn is in the background thanking everyone for coming and participating in the event.
We’re standing close to the black curtains of the stage, far enough away that no one will be paying any attention to us. Sliding my hand out of my pocket, I touch her elbow and gently pull her off the main stage, out of the blinding lights, and into the black quiet of backstage.
Guiding her to a chair I see in the corner by a wall of cables, she sits down, her head immediately falling between her knees. I awkwardly hover over her, not wanting to upset her with my touch.
A dull hum of voices comes from the audience, and I know that the show is over with people starting to make their way out of the auditorium.
“Oh my gosh. Candi!” The purple-haired girl runs over and drops to her knees in front of Candi, her voice full of concern. “I had no idea that you’d react like this.”
She lifts her head, no longer looking sick and pale. “I’m okay.” She doesn’t sound very convincing, but her eyes are fierce. “I’ll be fine. I just wasn’t expecting that, is all.”
Trevor walks over to me and slaps his hand on my shoulder, temporarily startling me. “What the hell did we get ourselves into?” he whispers.
“Hell, if I know.”
The other people who were drawn are starting to come backstage with us, and Candi inhales deeply before standing.
“Okay, everyone,” Quinn pips. “Now that you’ve been matched, you and your partner need to exchange information if you don’t already know each other. We’ve got a list of date ideas that you can choose from if you’d like. The only requirement is that you take a picture for us to upload onto the school website while on your date.” Heads nod all around as people break out into chatter.
“So, I guess this is when I ask for your number?” I smile down at Candi at my cheesy line. It’s not my best, but I also don’t have a choice. If word got back to Coach that I’d bailed on the date, my ass would be on the bench for the rest of the season.
Her eyes widen before she nods and pulls out her phone. “Here you go.” She holds it out for me to put my number in and I do the same. She gives me a soft smile before typing in her name and number in my contacts.
“I’ll be seeing you soon Candi.” She gives me a shy smile and for the first time I notice a dimple on one cheek. It’s pretty damn cute.
“I’ll be sure to not pelt you in the face next time.” That lone dimple gets deeper when she gives me a genuine smile, one that lights up her entire face. How had I ever forgotten this face? “Well, bye Jaxon.”
She turns and walks away, her friend laughing at her side. Suddenly, I find myself happy that I was forced into doing this damn thing.
Chapter Eight
Candi
My head is still reeling from shock at what just happened in the PAC. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Polly took it upon herself to put my name intoCupid’s Shuffle. Part of me wants to be mad at her, but the other part wants to thank her. Without her, I don’t think I’d have spoken to Jaxon again.
In a daze, we walk arm-in-arm across campus and back to our dorm room. Polly is genuinely excited about being picked, but she hardly knows Trevor aside from the parties she goes to are at his house. Me, I stayed silent.
The fact that in a week I will be going on my very first date with a super attractive baseball player with crystal blue eyes has sixteen-year-old me high-fiving myself. Twenty-one-year-old Candi, however, is silently panicking with that information.
How in the world is this going to work? I don’t do dates, I don't like meeting new people, in fact, it takes awhile for me to open up to anyone. I guess it’s time to stop sheltering myself and start getting out there.
So in preparation for my date with Jaxon this week, I decide to break out of my routine and work in the library on my paper. Packing up my laptop and headphones, I trudge across campus to the library. I’ve only been here a couple of times and stepping into the deafening silence of Fowler Library is unnerving.
I’m the type of girl who always has music playing in the background, which I blame my music-loving mother for. I got my love of books from my quiet, reserved father, and now that I think of it, I got a lot more than that from him.Thanks for all the anxiety, Dad.
