Destiny (7 page)

“I
can’t believe I’m saying this because I’ve waited a long time for this moment,
but we have to stop. I loved you, but things have changed. I need some time to
figure out what I want and to decide how I want all of this to go. I . . .” she
managed to say before I cut her off.

“Olivia,
the smartest woman I ever met gave me some good advice. She said to just go
with it - no labels and no expectations. Just let this be what we both want,” I
said and kissed her again.

She
wrapped her arms around me and embraced me. I had the girl of my dreams in my
arms. I had no idea where this was going to end up, but I was excited to find
out.

Within a couple of minutes, we had moved
to the backseat. As things grew more passionate, I gently slid my hands down
her thighs and pulled her on top of me. Then she took my shirt off and gave me
one more kiss. When I slid my hands down to the button of her jeans, Olivia
stopped.

“Wait
a minute,” she said.

“Why?
What’s wrong?”

“Everything.
I don’t know where we’re going with this. I have a boyfriend, so probably
nowhere. I do know that I want this to happen one day. I don’t want it to be in
the backseat of a car, though.”

“What
are you saying?”

“I’m
saying that I want you to do what most guys can’t. I want you to wait. Can you
live with us not taking things any further than this right now?”

“Yeah,
all I really wanted to do when I came over was talk and steal at least one
kiss. This has already gone better than I thought it could.”

“You
really
are
a nice guy, Eric. Thank
you.”

“Yeah,
I am. I really hate that right about now.”

“Don’t
ever hate it. I love this you. Don’t change a thing about yourself. Now, it’s
getting late. I think it’s time we headed back home before anyone gets too
suspicious. My mom would be pretty mad about me cheating on him, and let’s just
say that Richard would put your head somewhere you wouldn’t like if he found
out about this.”

“Excuse
me, but I’m not scared of the two minute man.”

“You
should be.”

“Well,
it’s worth the risk for you. I know this has all been a shock to your system
with me just dropping in out of nowhere. I wouldn’t expect you to break things
off with someone immediately just because I’m here, but eventually, I think
you’re going to see.”

“And
what is it that I’m going to see?”

“That
there’s a reason I’m here. I’m supposed to be with you. It’s that simple.”

“Well,
that and the drugs your parents were selling, right?”

“That’s
not funny, you know,” I said and smiled.

“I
beg to differ. What’s even funnier is that you actually thought you were going
to get lucky tonight,” Olivia joked and started the car.

“Hey,
I almost did. If I had turned my charm on, you wouldn’t have been able to
resist. I can promise you that,” I said while grinning.

“Let
me spell this out for you. I’m not that easy. If it tells you something, you
had to get hit by two cars for me to give you your first kiss. What do you
think you’ll have to do to get into my pants?”

“Hey,
if you can find a bus anywhere around, I’ll walk in front of it right now, so
we can get this show on the road,” I joked and gave her a quick kiss on the
cheek.

She
simply smiled. I had only been back for a few hours, and in that time, I had
been happier than I was in the last year and a half combined. I can’t say for
sure how Olivia felt, but I would like to think that she felt the same spark I
did. It was then that I knew I was always going to need one more laugh, kiss,
and touch from her. My heart was beating specifically for her, and no matter
how complicated things got, I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Chapter 7

Friends
and Enemies

The
following morning, I awoke ready to face the day. The night before had been
better than I could have ever hoped for, and I couldn’t wait to get off to my
new school. It was going to be nice to start over. I could remake myself into
whoever I wanted to be. Best of all, I was sure to see Olivia there.

I
got ready quickly and walked to the door. It was in that moment when I realized
something. I didn’t have a car there. How was I even going to get to school?
Just in time, my uncle provided some clarity on the issue.

“I
almost forgot to tell you. I know you’re going to need a car to get to school,
so I’m going to let you use my old one. It’s nothing to look at, but it runs
good. Here, these are yours,” he said and handed me the keys.

I
thanked him and walked out to the garage. I was excited to see what I would be
driving. I had all these fantasies in my head about how great it would be. My
uncle had told me it was nothing to look at, but I was sure he was just joking.
When I saw the car, I knew one thing. My uncle was joking in
no
way. A bright green Volkswagen was
sitting there. Well, at least I’ll make some type of impression, I thought
while looking at the bright green paint that was sure to attract a lot of
attention. I quickly shook off my doubts about the car. It was free. My uncle
didn’t have to give me anything. I just decided to leave for school and find
out what my new environment was like.

After
I had gotten to school and found my homeroom, I took a look around. I didn’t
know anyone there, and honestly, none of the people looked like they were going
to break their necks to get to know me. As a matter of fact, most people seemed
like they would rather be anywhere other than school. That wasn’t an uncommon
thing. The kids back in Miami didn’t exactly love the idea of sitting in
classrooms all day. I decided to lay low for a while and let everyone wake up.
After all, it was still early. Surely they would be friendlier later in the
day.

Time
marched on, but I found that I was just as much of an outsider as before. Just
when I was about to give up on anything being good on my first day, I walked
into my last class to find Olivia sitting in it. I smiled and took a seat by
her. Unfortunately, so did Richard. She paid me absolutely no attention. As she
chatted with her boyfriend, I started to question what I was doing. I had an
amazing connection with Olivia, but if she wasn’t even willing to break things
off with this guy, then what did it matter?

“Hey!
Earth to Eric,” I heard Olivia say.

“Sorry.
What’s going on?” I asked.

“Richard
saw you looking over here, and he was wondering who you were. I thought I would
introduce you. This is my neighbor, Eric. We were friends when I was fourteen.
He just moved back into town yesterday,” she said as if she were simply
pacifying him.

He
introduced himself and gave me the fakest smile I had ever seen. I knew why he
was asking about me. I had been shooting Olivia more than a few glances over
the last couple of minutes. He was suspicious about who I was and maybe a
little jealous. He should have been. I didn’t have any idea just how suspicious
he was, though. After class was over, I walked out to my car alone. Olivia
hadn’t spoken to me at all after our one exchange. I was just ready for this
day to be over. As I unlocked my car, I had a surprise visitor. It was Richard.

“Hey,
I wanted to talk to you about something,” he said.

“What’s
that?”

“It’s
about Olivia. She’s really pretty, isn’t she?”

“Yeah.
I think she is, but that should be obvious to anyone.”

“She’s
also smart and fun. She’s pretty much most guys’ dream girl.”

“I
can see that. What are you getting at, though?”

“Anyone
can dream, but only certain people get to live that dream. Do you get what I’m
saying?”

“Not
at all. If you’ve got something to say, just say it.”

“All
right, here it is. I don’t like you staring at my girlfriend, and I sure as
hell don’t like the idea of a creep like you being friends with her. Keep your
eyes and your hands to yourself when you’re around her, or there
will
be consequences.”

“And
what will those be?”

“Do
you really want to find out?”

“Yeah,
I think I do.”

“Okay,
I’m going to cut you a break. You’re new here, and you don’t know who I am. If
you did, you wouldn’t take a threat from me lightly. Google me, and you’ll see
why you should be very careful not to piss me off,” Richard said and walked
away.

I
simply rolled my eyes. I probably should have been a little scared. Richard was
6’4, and he outweighed me by at least seventy pounds. He could have crushed me
like a bug. For some reason, I wasn’t afraid, though. I just knew that if it
ever came down to it, I would find a way to deal with an idiot like him.

Just
as I was about to leave, I heard a voice behind me.

“You
got pretty brave there.”

I
turned to see a short and very skinny guy. He looked like he was probably my
age. I wasn’t really in the mood to talk to anyone, but at least I had a chance
to make a friend.

“I
can handle myself against him,” I said.

“I
doubt that. You
must
be new here.”

“I
am. So tell me what’s so impressive about Richard Burning.”

“Pretty
much everything. You’ll find that out the hard way soon enough if you don’t get
on his good side. My name is Mike, by the way.”

“I’m
Eric. Where are you headed, Mike?”

“I’m
walking home.”

“Do
you want a ride? You could tell me all about this place on the way and maybe
even how a guy like him got a girl like Olivia.”

“Sure.
That sounds good,” he said, and we got into the car.

As
we were driving, he told me all about how great Richard was. I hated hearing
it. The guy that my girl was with seemed perfect. He was an athlete who played
football and basketball. Then there was the fact that he volunteered for a lot
of charity work. He was not only an athlete. He had a good heart, too. He
wasn’t the standard dumb jock that I thought he would be either. He did well in
school, or well for someone who mainly focused on sports. It sounded like
Richard was a good guy who I might have admired, if he weren’t in the way of me
having something with Olivia.

“So
what’s the deal between you and him? Why does he hate you?” Mike asked.

I
didn’t know why, but I felt like I could trust this Mike guy. Even if I
shouldn’t have, I told him exactly what was going on.

“I
like Olivia. We’re something to each other. I don’t know what to call it
because he’s in the picture, but we’re definitely more than just friends. I
think he picked up on that, and it made him angry.”

“So
let me get this straight. You’re new, and you’re already going after Olivia
Winters. Do you have a death wish or something?”

“No,
I don’t. I’ve known her for a while. She was my first love. It’s not like I
came into town with the idea of making the biggest guy here mad by going after
his girlfriend. It’s just kind of happening that way.”

“You
don’t know it yet, but you’re
so
screwed,
my friend. Let me give you some advice. Stay away from that girl. If you don’t,
he’s going to rearrange your face. Guys like us don’t get girls like her,
especially when Richard Burning is standing in the way.”

“What
do you mean guys like us? What’s wrong with us?”

“I
don’t know you, so I don’t want to insult you. Let’s just leave it at he has
something we don’t. Actually, he has a lot of things we don’t.”

“Name
one thing besides the fact that he plays football.”

“Well,
that’s kind of important here. He’s also going to the college of his choice.
He’ll probably be a millionaire one day, too. I didn’t even mention the fact
that he’s a lot taller than both of us.”

“What
does height have to do with anything?”

“I
don’t know, but most women seem to think it’s important.”

“Well,
if it’s really that way, then let me ask you something. As a guy
like me
, what would you be willing to go
through to be with a girl like Olivia? Would you risk him rearranging your face
for a chance with her?”

“Okay,
point taken. Of course I would. Just realize that guys like us don’t end up
with girls like her. That would be true even if Richard wasn’t in the picture.”

“Why?
It’s
just Olivia. Yeah, she’s special, but she’s also
the most approachable person I’ve ever met.”

“You
really don’t know her as well as you think you do. Richard is the guy every kid
here wants to be, and Olivia is the one every girl wishes they could be. She’s
a completely balanced person. She’s smart and absolutely gorgeous. Then there’s
the fact that she’s funny and great to be around. Most of the time, you don’t
get that all in one package. Can you say with confidence that you actually
deserve someone like her because the only person I know who can is Richard.”

“I
see what you’re saying. I don’t know if I deserve her, but I’ve got to try,
right? I mean, I would regret it if I didn’t,” I said as I pulled up to his
house.

“I
guess so. Anyway, I know you’re new in town, so I doubt you have any plans.
It’s Friday. A few of my friends usually come over around seven, and we hang
out. If you want to join us, we could always use one more.”

“That
sounds good. I’ll see you a little later, Mike.”

As
I drove, I thought about how much I could really use a get-together about now.
I used to go to a lot of parties back in Miami, but with everything that had
happened, I hadn’t been able to enjoy anything over the last two months. Then
there was what was going on
with me and Olivia . . .
or to be more accurate, what might not be going on at all. I needed some time
away from it all to just cut loose and not worry about anything.

When
I got home, my aunt met me at the door and asked how my first day went.
 

“It
was eventful, if nothing else. I sat through a lot of lectures, made a friend,
and even an enemy,” I said.

“An
enemy? Don’t tell me you’re getting into trouble already.”

“No,
it’s nothing like that. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

“Well,
who is it? If you’re having a problem with someone, your uncle and I can talk
to some people about it and make sure everything is all right.”

“I
can handle it. Richard Burning just has a problem with me being friends with
Olivia. He thinks that I have an ulterior motive for being her friend.”

“He’s
not right, is he?”

“That’s
complicated. Let’s just leave it at she’s with him . . . for now.”

“All
right, don’t get into any trouble, though. I remember plenty about high school,
and love triangles never end well. Get her to choose you soon, or back away
from the situation. You don’t need to get hurt over a girl who won’t even choose
you.”

There
it was again. Why did everyone think that this was going to end with Richard
hurting me? Wasn’t there at least a chance that he should be the one worried?
Sure, I wasn’t very big, but it wasn’t like I was weak. I could hold my own if
things turned ugly. She was right about one thing, however. If Olivia didn’t
choose me, then there was no sense in continuing to pursue her. Then again, it
had only been a day. I had to give her time to think about everything. I was
sure that she would come to her senses soon enough.

I
nodded to Aunt Kristen and headed off to my room. I did some homework until it
was time to go to Mike’s. When I got there and his mother let me inside, I was
very disappointed to find three guys upstairs playing video games. There was
nothing wrong with enjoying a lazy night with friends, but it was Friday.
Didn’t these guys have a life?

“Hey,
I’m glad you made it. This is Rusty,” he said while pointing to a red haired
boy on the end of the bed. “
and
this is Stan,” he said
and motioned toward a short and rather plump guy.

I
introduced myself and sat down. At first, I was a little underwhelmed. I had
been what some might call a loser for the first fourteen years of my life, but
then I had turned it around. Back home, people knew me, and I had a certain
level of respect. Had I just landed right back at the nerd table?

I
quickly scolded myself for that thought. Who was I to judge them? They were
probably like I used to be - a little too reserved and without much confidence.
I just had to bring out the best in this group. It might take some time, but
these guys would learn to have a new kind of fun before it was all over. I was
sure of it.

“So
what are we going to do tonight?” I asked Mike.

“This
is it, unless you’ve got a better idea.”

“I
might. I assume people throw parties around here and that you guys have plenty
of movie theaters in town.”