Chapter 3 #2
She and Craig had been dating for almost two years now.
A lifetime in teen years. The three of us were about to be seniors at Elk River High, Michigan.
Through the years, Paige had become a sister to me, and my favorite pastime was to rile my brother about her.
They were disgustingly in love and spent all their time together.
Too often, I ended up being the third wheel in their relationship.
A position I despised despite the fact I liked their company too much to walk away.
Craig and I were both star football players for the Elk River High Bears.
He was the wide receiver, and I was the quarterback.
On the field, we were a force to be reckoned with.
I had no idea if it was our shared DNA or just good chemistry, but we were unstoppable when we played together.
In addition to our close relationship on and off the field, my brother and I hung out with the same crowd.
Most of my friends were his friends too.
The sweet aroma of freshly baked cupcakes hit my nostrils. I pointed to the oven with my thumb. “Babe, did you make those?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation far away from my life and my screwups.
Paige was an excellent baker. I had no idea why she didn’t wanna pursue it as a career after high school, but she’d said it was a hobby for her, nothing more.
“Yeah. Thought you guys might like some to jumpstart your day. You’ve been training like crazy for the last couple of weeks. You deserve a treat.”
“Red velvet?” I asked.
“What else?” Paige retorted, aware they were my favorites.
I lifted my hand to high-five her. “That’s my girl.”
My brother groaned. “Mase…”
I ignored his grimace. “What’s on the agenda today?”
He shook his head, deciding not to join in on my humor. “Sheldon’s dad has secured a bunch of tickets for the races this afternoon.” He fished his wallet out of his back pocket and slid four tickets toward me.
“Who’s going?”
My brother shrugged. “We’re all going.”
“Who’s all?”
“Huh, everybody. Someone you’re trying to avoid? Another girl you pissed off lately?”
I dragged a hand over my face. “Nah. All good. Just curious.”
Only one question pinballed through the walls of my skull: Would she be there?
Melinda Shepard had been gone all summer and had returned yesterday.
Last night, in the few seconds I saw her, she disappeared with Elk River High’s resident bad boy.
Dressed in a teal number that made her eyes pop, with her brown hair loose over her shoulders and her smile disarming, I couldn’t look away the entire time she glided from the restaurant to his pickup truck.
I watched her like a freak, hiding in the shadow of the building next door, my heart bouncing inside my chest. I had no idea what went down during the time she was away, but she appeared taller, more confident of herself, and definitely hotter than I recalled.
Perhaps it was my mind playing tricks on me since I’d been on a Melinda-withdrawal phase for months, but the sight of her had cast me under a new kind of spell, and now that she was back, I was aware I was screwed more than ever before.
That girl had gotten under my skin years ago and had no idea about it.
Yes, I’d been madly in love with her for as long as I could remember—or since the day she had moved into the house next door with her parents and half-brother, five years ago, and had rejected me for the very first time.
We were strangers for what felt like forever after that fateful day.
I might have killed our budding friendship and pushed her away for good on the first day of seventh grade when I’d put her on the spot and embarrassed her in front of everyone.
With age came insight, and I’d realized over time that it wasn’t the smartest thing to do.
But I was a kid back then and thought I was being smooth about it.
From that moment, Melinda had acted as if I didn’t exist. Until Paige and Craig started dating and our groups of friends merged, and she couldn’t avoid me anymore.
Except for the last three months when she’d been away, and like a stupid lovesick puppy, I’d missed her.
Anytime she was around, I had a hard time keeping my cool. I became a nervous wreck and cracked more jokes than usual or flirted with all the wrong girls.
Yep, my defense mechanisms were warped when it came down to her.
Something broke inside me every time we breathed the same air.
Yeah, I grew into a defective version of myself.
In so many ways. I was always saying stuff I didn’t think through, talking too loud, and pushing myself out of my comfort zone.
For what? A chance to draw her attention.
So far, all my attempts had been in vain.
She hated me. I was pretty sure the attraction was one-sided.
This year, if I wanted a chance with her, I would need a brand new game plan.
Something incredible that she wouldn’t be able to resist because, so far, Melinda Shepard had never indulged me or made me believe we could ever be friends—or more.
High school started in two days, and I was already angsty at the idea of seeing her every day after months spent living in two different states.
My summer had felt like a never-ending saga without a single glimpse of her.
The only news I’d received was through Paige, and only when I extracted them from her, trying to be as subtle as I could get.
Yep, that was me. King on the field, lame on the love scene.
Melinda had blown my attempt once, and I was in no rush to be rejected again.
Thus came my rule to steer clear of the dating scene.
Unless it was with her. Why I was still obsessed with my neighbor after all this time was a mystery to me.
But hey, Mom had told me once that you can’t choose who you love, so maybe that was the case here. Whatever.
“Are you coming?”