It’s not something I go around broadcasting, unless you count the team bumper stickers on my Jeep. Wait. I guess that is broadcasting it…
“Is that the hockey shirt you reworked to make it tighter?” Jenna’s eyes are sparkling.
“Yup.”
“Damn girl, I bet you looked hot as hell, especially to a guy like him. Man, I wish I had been there.” She flops down backward and lays flat on her back, staring dreamily at the old Justin Bieber poster I have taped to the ceiling.
It’s from fifth grade, okay?
“Maybe he was looking hard to see what my shirt said?”
“Or maybe he was just looking at your ta-tas,” Jenna says. “Do you know how awesome it is that you had that shirt on? I mean, think about it. You’ve never been to a Ravens game, and here you are wearing a shirt from the NHL. I bet he got all hot and bothered—you know how eighteen-year-old guys are.” She flips over to her stomach and reaches for the pretzels, popping two into her mouth at once. “He was probably wondering what the hell the deal was.”
River Glen Ravens is the name of our high school athletics program, and yes I have been to a few of the games, but it has been a couple years. I think I was in eighth or ninth grade the last time I went to see my brother Matthew play.
“So what else were you wearing? What shoes did you have on?” Jenna takes the can of sparkling water I discarded and takes a healthy swig. “Wow, this really does taste like shit.”
“I was wearing wedges, and I don’t see why that really matters. Hey! I can’t believe you don’t remember any of this. I see you every day, and this was only a few days ago.”
She shrugs. “I have my own issues I’m dealing with, okay?”
“Like…?”
“Like, hello, I can’t find shoes to match my Fall Formal dress and it’s driving me mental. Let’s go to the mall in Clintonville this weekend. Maybe they’ll have something.” I watch her take another chug of the water before handing it to me. “Ugh, why are you letting me drink this? It’s so shitty.”
Taking the can, I set it on the bedside table, grinning.
Seriously, sometimes all you can do is laugh.
And that’s just what we do—burst out laughing on my bed. Then I ask, “Why are you so worried about finding shoes? Fall Formal isn’t for like, an entire month yet.”
Jenna looks at me like I’ve sprouted two heads. “How can you not be worried about it? You haven’t even found a dress yet.”
“Well, that’s an easy one. I don’t have a date.”
“That’s your fault. You won’t give anyone a chance.”
“Honestly, Jenna, that’s because all the guys I have to pick from act like jackasses, and you know how that drives me crazy. It’s not exactly a crime to wait until I have a date to look at dresses. I’m okay not going.”
“I don’t even know you anymore,” Jenna says in a staged whisper of mock horror.
“Seriously, how did I find you?” I ask, chuckling.
“I think you’re remembering it all wrong. I totally found you. Now pass me that godawful water.”
I am lying in bed, staring at my ceiling.
No matter how hard I try, it’s impossible to fall asleep. It will not come to me.
Glancing at my clock, I note the time: 12:17 a.m. Groaning, I flop to my side and grab the iPod off my bedside table, put in the ear buds, and click to my “Mellow” playlist.
Letting out a long breath I hadn’t realized I was holding in, I close my eyes and give in to what I’ve been fighting all day long: the image of Weston. The undeniable attraction I feel. The flutters I felt throughout my whole body when I caught him watching me.
And the ache in my heart that knows he’s not the dating kind.
CHAPTER 6
MOLLY
“My dog winks at me sometimes. I always wink back just in case it’s some kind of code.”
– Derek Hanson
You might be thinking I spend every waking moment with Jenna—or any of my other friends—but in reality that’s not the case.
Like today.
It’s Saturday, and I’m standing in a stock room at the resort store where I work. The store serves several purposes. In the summer, it’s a gift shop that sells collectibles with our town’s logo on it. We also sell apparel, and some water sport accessories, like wakeboards and tubes. Then, during ski season, we sell winter apparel, skis, and snowboarding equipment.
I only work here so I can get a free season pass to the ski hill.
That, and my parents told me one afternoon when I became a senior not to come home without a job, and this was literally the only place that was hiring.
The shop is located at the base of our mountain—which isn’t actually a mountain but an old garbage landfill they turned into a ski hill—and in the winter, snowboarders and skiers can zip right up to the door if they need anything from the store, like glove warmers for example, or a funky new hat.