Chapter 14 #2
As I made myself comfortable on a bench a few rows back from the court, I noticed Noah watching me.
I could have sworn there was a hint of concern in his eyes, but he pulled them away so quickly it was impossible to tell.
Why was he so interested in me today? The image of Noah deep in conversation with Coach August flashed into my mind.
I was still surprised the nurse hadn’t told me she wanted me to sit out of gym class.
Could Noah have been the one to tell the coach about my ankle? Why would he do that?
The test started, and I relaxed back on my seat to watch.
I’d done the beep test once at my old school, and kids had started dropping like flies within the first few minutes.
They hadn’t exactly been a fit bunch though.
Everyone here looked to be doing much better.
Even Cress and Anna, who had grumbled and groaned about doing the test, seemed to be taking the first few minutes easily in their strides.
The test only became harder as the minutes dragged on. With each beep that sounded, the pace increased and the students had to reach the opposite side of the court quicker. All of a sudden, people started to give up. It was mostly girls at first, but then a few guys stopped too.
When Cress failed to reach her cone before the beep, she came to join me with a pained look in her eyes.
“That. Was. Horrible,” she said between breaths as she collapsed down onto the bench at my side.
“You did really well.”
All I got was a groan in response.
I continued watching and was impressed by how long Anna managed to keep going. She somehow made it look so graceful. Kids were red-faced and puffing on either side of her, but the only hint of her own struggles was the soft glow of sweat on her forehead.
When Anna finally stopped, she abruptly slowed in the middle of the court, like she’d suddenly decided she was bored with the whole experience.
“Anna, you did amazing,” I said as she came to sit on the bleachers.
She merely shrugged and dabbed her face with a fresh towel she’d taken from a basket at the sidelines. “I’ve always been quite good at running,” she said. “Doesn’t stop me from hating it though. It’s terribly boring.”
I smiled and shook my head. I didn’t understand why she thought running was boring.
I’d always found it so freeing. I loved the constant feel of my feet hitting the ground and the way I could sense the blood pumping beneath my skin.
I lived for those moments when I could take in the beauty of the world around me and allow my mind to just drift.
Running between cones to the sound of high-pitched beeps wasn’t quite the same.
“Looks like we could be here a while,” Cress said, nodding at the line of students who were still running across the court.
Most people had dropped out, and there were just a few guys left.
All of them looked as fresh as the moment the whole thing had started.
Sawyer and Wes were still running and practically moving as one, their feet slapping against the ground in unison.
They were so in sync it was almost mesmerizing to watch.
There were a couple of other guys I didn’t recognize running next to them, and Noah was also still going.
“I’m not going to lie,” Anna said. “I’m actually starting to enjoy this beep test. Is it wrong that I find guys running super sexy?” She was watching the boys like she’d just been offered a box of chocolates and couldn’t decide which one to take.
“Definitely not wrong,” Cress replied.
I could see what they meant. There was something alluring about the way the boys’ muscles flexed as they ran and how their sweaty shirts clung to their chests.
“It’s a shame that Wes has a girlfriend and Sawyer is Sawyer,” Anna continued. “Because right now, I would love to be the ham in that twin sandwich.”
I burst out laughing, causing several people to look our way. I immediately went quiet. “I can’t believe you just said that!”
“What?” Anna replied. “Just because we’re friends with the guys doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate their beauty.”
“I just thought you’d be too busy drooling over Luther,” Cress said.
“Ugh, no.” Anna protested but didn’t look nearly as disgusted by the idea as her words suggested, and her eyes immediately sought Luther out. He was headed for the sidelines, having just tapped out of the test. When he looked up and saw Anna watching him, he winked.
“Definitely not,” Anna added. “If anyone out there is worth drooling over, it’s Noah. Pretty sure he’s been crowned the king of hotness at our school.”
I smothered another laugh. “The king of hotness?”
“Yeah, he rules in that department, and we should all bow down to him.”
“Anna, that’s my cousin,” Cress groaned.
“Yeah, your extremely hot cousin,” she said.
Cress’s face scrunched up with disgust. “I’m going to grab a drink of water.”
She stood and walked to the end of the bleachers. I was expecting to see her headed toward a water fountain, but there was a large refrigerator with bottles of water and Gatorades standing by the wall. We definitely didn’t have one of those in the gym at my old school.
“It’s a shame Veronica’s had her claws sunk into him for such a long time,” Anna said. Apparently, she was still talking about Noah. “I bet he’d be a good kisser.”
“So, they are dating?” I felt like I couldn’t keep up.
“No, but she’s made it clear to everyone at school that he belongs to her,” Anna replied. “And you’d need to have a death wish to risk her wrath. Though there are plenty of girls who are willing to put themselves in danger for a ride on the Noah train.”
“You have such a beautiful way with words, Anna.”
She snorted a laugh. “I know.”
“So, that’s it then?” I asked. “Noah is off-limits to everyone because Veronica has decided he’s her property?”
“Pretty much.”
“That’s a bit messed up.”
“To be honest, I don’t think it really stops him getting attention from other girls.
If anything, it probably makes them want him more,” Anna said with a shake of her head.
“Personally, it doesn’t seem worth it to me.
Apart from this weird on-again-off-again thing he’s got going with Veronica, Noah wouldn’t date any of the girls at school.
As far as I’m concerned, that train has left the station. ”
I glanced back at the court to watch Noah running. “Why wouldn’t he date anyone at school? You mean because of Veronica?”
“Nah, I think it’s because his standards are too high.”
That didn’t surprise me in the least.
“Please tell me you’re not still talking about Noah.” Cress had returned with three bottles of water. She passed one to Anna and one to me before she sat back down, opened hers, and took a swig.
Anna shrugged. “I’m just explaining to Isobel that Noah thinks he’s too good to date any of us mere mortals.”
Cress sighed and shook her head. “He’s not like that. He’s just guarded. He doesn’t open up easily.”
“So, he doesn’t date anyone here because he’s worried about getting his heart broken?” I wondered out loud.
“No, I think he’s more concerned about getting used,” Cress explained. “The girls here all have ulterior motives. They only want to date him to boost their status. There’s nothing he hates more than dishonesty, so he never gives girls a chance to take advantage of him that way.”
It was one thing to avoid dating because you’d been cheated on, but to not trust anyone at all was downright depressing.
His reaction to our collision in the woods was starting to make a little more sense.
It didn’t excuse the fact he’d automatically assumed I’d fallen on him on purpose, but if what Cress said was true, perhaps his reaction wasn’t completely ridiculous.
A shout sounded from the court, pulling me from my thoughts.
“I won!” Sawyer was standing in the middle of the court, dancing on the spot while Wes shook his head at his brother. It looked like Sawyer had stopped running the moment Wes had finished, and given the way he was dancing, he still appeared to have more than enough energy to continue.
“Sawyer, Wes, off the court now!” Coach August shouted to them. “The test isn’t over.”
The boys both dashed to the edge of the court, leaving three boys still running the test. Noah was there, along with two guys I hadn’t met. They were all sprinting hard now, and I felt slightly breathless just watching them.
“I can’t wait to have the room to myself for the weekend,” Sawyer bragged as Wes came over to sit with us. I hadn’t opened my water bottle yet, and I happily offered it to Wes. He looked like he needed it more than me.
“Thanks.” He smiled and accepted the water before focusing on his brother. “You can’t win if you cheated. You tripped me!”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yeah, you did.”
Sawyer looked far too smug as he turned to us. “I guess we’ll just have to ask our umpires. Did any of you see evidence of foul play?”
Cress, Anna, and I shook our heads.
“Sorry, Wes, we were too busy talking. We didn’t see anything.” Cress looked genuinely disappointed that she couldn’t save Wes from his brother’s taunts.
“See!” Sawyer continued. “Now I just have to pick the perfect weekend.” He was still grinning brightly as he spun on his heels and walked off. He proudly made his way over to a group of girls sitting farther down the bleachers, no doubt planning to boast about his victory over his brother.
Wes shook his head as he watched his twin leave. “In all honesty, I can only blame myself for that. I should have known he’d cheat.”
“Maybe we can do something fun that weekend,” Anna said. “Go on a trip somewhere without Sawyer to teach him a lesson.”
Wes slowly started to smile. “Anna, you are totally devious, but I love the way you think.”
“Thank you.”
My eyes drifted to the court as Noah finally came to a stop. He was puffing heavily, and he lifted his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face, flashing his abs to everyone on the bleachers. I heard several girls giggling, and I had no doubt as to why.
Noah was the last student left running, and a smattering of applause floated down from the bleachers.
The noise practically turned to cheers when Coach August announced that, since the test was over, class was ending early for the day, and everyone hurried back toward the locker rooms. Anna and Cress couldn’t seem to wait to grab a quick shower and get out of their sweaty clothes, and I slowly trailed after them.
“Nice running out there, newbie.”
I turned to find Luther grinning behind me. Noah was at his side, and I tried my best to ignore him. Instead, I shot Luther a scowl. “It’s not my fault I couldn’t do the test.”
“Uh-huh.”
“My ankle is injured. You know that.”
“Do I?”
“Yes.”
Luther gave a lopsided shrug. “So, did you like what you saw from the bleachers?”
“What do you mean?” I was doing my best not to look at Noah, but from the corner of my eye, I could swear he was glaring at his friend.
“I mean, the most athletic boys at Weybridge put on quite a show for you ladies. I was curious if you enjoyed it?”
“Uh …” How did I even respond to that?
“Or maybe you’re more into book-smart guys. Or perhaps the arty type?”
I raised an eyebrow at him but kept quiet. He didn’t need any encouraging to continue. “Or the funny guy or the bad boy. Come on, what kind of guys do you like to date?”
Finally, he’d gotten to his point. “Luther, all you need to know about my type is that you’re not it.” I kept my face deadly serious as I spoke, but I couldn’t help a grin from forming as I turned away from Luther to follow the rest of the kids out of the gym.
Luther wasn’t even slightly discouraged by my response and skipped quickly to my side, a broad smile still plastered on his face. “Message received.” He laughed as he walked alongside me. “But that doesn’t answer the question.”
“Why are you so interested?”
“I told you I’m on an undercover mission to uncover your secrets. That’s the one I want to know today.”
“I really don’t like this game,” I grumbled. I was suspicious of all Luther’s talk about secrets, and I wasn’t sure why he kept insisting on trying to uncover mine. It was probably like Cress and Anna said, and he was trying to figure me out.
“So …” he continued. “What type of guy do you go for?”
I stopped and faced Luther once more, but my eyes flickered in Noah’s direction. He was following behind, keeping his distance. Thankfully, Noah didn’t seem to be waiting on my answer. Instead, he was glaring at his best friend. It seemed he was just as annoyed with Luther as I was.
“I don’t have a type,” I replied. Luther opened his mouth to object, but I quickly interrupted before he got a chance. “And I don’t have any secrets. Catch you later, Luther.”
This time, I managed to escape, and as I strode away, I heard a thump and then Noah hissed, “What is wrong with you?”
Luther laughed, but I was now too far away to catch his response. I just hoped he was finished trying to figure me out because, even though his questions seemed harmless, there were things about me I didn’t want anyone in this school to know.