Crushing On The Wrong Joshua (Crushing on You 3)

Chapter One

“You're going shopping with me on Saturday, right?” Amber asked, “I need your bargain hunting skills. I suck at it and you don't.”

“That's because I refuse to give up until I find a sexy deal or I leave the store empty-handed. It's called a budget. Make one and stick to it, girl,” Tamara laughed.

Tamara made it sound easy and for her it was. Amber knew that her mother was an avid coupon-clipper and could take a one hundred dollar grocery bill down to under five bucks. Amber wondered if it ran in their blood.

“So you'll come with me?” Amber grinned.

“I'll go if you promise not to spend the whole damn day asking me what Joshua Nelson would think of everything you lay your grubby little hands on,” Tamara said.

“I don't do that,” Amber frowned, “Okay, yeah, I do, it's just that he's so freaking hot! His thick black hair! His deep blue eyes! His dimples! Oh! I'd love to touch his dimples, Tamara,” Amber swooned.

“When are you going to give it up, Amber? You've been pining over him since the sixth grade! We're sophomores in high school now! Give it up already, girl! There's plenty of other sizzlin' fish in the sea!” Tamara said, “We need to shop for the dance this weekend and not spend all our time thinking of how to make Mr. Oblivious like you.” Tamara said, “Seriously, girl, I'm startin' to worry about you.”

“I'm not as obsessed as you think!” Amber said and then added, “Though I fell in love with Joshua Nelson when I first met him and that was in fifth grade, not sixth.”

Amber acknowledged that her crush on Joshua Nelson bordered on insane. She remembered vividly the first day she laid eyes on the boy when his family moved into town from out of state. He had been a cute boy and was growing into the most delicious man she had ever been blessed to lay eyes on.

“Whatever, are we shopping for dresses this weekend or not? If we are I need to tell my parents tonight, so they know I can't babysit the pipsqueaks this weekend, okay?” Tamara rolled her eyes.

“Didn't I just ask you to go shopping with me this weekend? Of course, we're going! We can look for dresses and then some cute low-cut tops, that will just drive Joshua crazy,” Amber giggled.

“Why are you so darn crazy about that boy?” Tamara shook her head.

“The better question is: How can you not be?” Amber grinned, poking Tamara in the side.

“Quit poking me!” Tamara said, pulling away with a smile.

“I'm serious,” Amber said, still laughing.

“Seriously, delusional,” Tamara laughed, “You better be glad I don't like him, because I'd go up to him and steal him away faster than you could say “Tamara, please, girl, don't!” I don't like him and you know why I don't like him. He's a stuck-up broody jock that looks like he's taken one too many knocks to the head. Also, he's dumb. I heard that Alexander Rushings has to do his math homework so he can stay on the basketball team.”

“We need him on the team!” Amber retorted.

“Don't swoon now, girl, here comes your lover boy, and boy, does he look like someone stole his chocolate milk!” Tamara said, motioning with her head.

Amber spun on her heels, locking her eyes instantly on her target. There he was, standing nearly six foot tall, with his thick black hair, deep blue eyes, and total lack of dimples. Joshua Nelson was not smiling and Amber frowned, missing his dimples.

“What's wrong with him?” she hissed to Tamara.

“Heck, if I know,” Tamara shook her head, “I don't keep tabs on him.”

Her heart sank into her stomach when Joshua walked by studying his feet. On a normal afternoon he walked by surrounded by a group of his teammates and their girlfriends. From his arm hung the too-skinny Hannah, twirling a lock of her long wavy blonde hair around her middle finger. His teammates were hanging out by the doors, but Hannah was nowhere in sight. At least she wasn't until Tamara pointed her out.

“Look, Hannah's over by the trash can, on Alexander's arm!” Tamara hissed in her ear.