My Life as the Ugly Stepsister (15 page)

When they were out of sight, she whispered, “You do know what ‘watching TV’ means?”

Eww. “No, and if you tell me, I’ll slit my wrists.”

She laughed. “Fine. So did he kiss you? I took forever putting that leash on.”

My cheeks flamed with embarrassment.

“He did! Oh, this is so great.”

I’d never have any secrets with her around. She could read me better than my mother.

I jumped up on Saturday morning after a truly restful night’s sleep. The comfy couch, the temperature control, and Mojo snuggling beside me. Oh, who was I kidding? I’d trade it all in a heartbeat for the hard swing and Jonathan.

Mojo gave me a big lick on the cheek.

“Okay, Mojo. I get it. I’ll take you next door.”

Caroline was still dead to the world. So I hooked Mojo’s leash on and slipped on her slides. They were a size too small. I had hoped to cram my foot in, but it wasn’t working. Once the leash made an appearance, I had a limited window to get Mojo outside to a bush without an accident. With a groan, I ran upstairs to get another pair. Mojo followed me, but we were safe. Dad’s door was shut. I didn’t even want to think about what they were doing last night. Darn that Caroline for putting that image in my head. Watching TV could really mean watching television. Couldn’t it?

I grabbed a pair of sandals and we bounded out the front door. Belatedly I thought about my appearance. Hopefully, Jonathan was still asleep. I wanted to see him, but not like this. I probably had eye boogers and a strip of dried drool on my cheek.

I made it back to my house without seeing a soul, which goes to show that my luck isn’t always terrible, parental problems and dog doo aside.

I went in the front and headed for the coat closet, the new home of the vacuum cleaner. I picked it up and lugged it down to the family room.

Caroline was still asleep, but I didn’t want Diane to come downstairs before I vacuumed. I had sort of promised.

“Caroline,” I called in a soft voice. “Are you awake?”

Of course she wasn’t, so she didn’t answer.

“Caroline, I need to vacuum. Is that okay?”

This time, she responded with a grumble.

Encouraged, I said, “It will just take a minute.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked in a grumpy voice. “I’m trying to sleep.”

“I just need to vacuum the dog hair up. For your mom.”

“Are you crazy? It’s barely daylight.”

“It’s ten,” I answered after glancing at the clock. “And I told her I’d do it.”

“It’s not like it’s even necessary.”

“What? Of course it is. I gave my word. What do you mean?”

“Nothing,” she said too quickly for someone barely awake. She pulled the pillow over her head. “Just do it, already.”

I pushed the button and the vacuum roared to life. But Caroline’s comment stayed in the back of my mind.

There was only one reason that vacuuming wouldn’t be necessary, and that was if Diane’s allergies were bogus.

A couple hours later, I worked up the nerve to ask her. “Why’d you say it didn’t matter if I vacuumed?”

“Oh,” she said, avoiding my eyes. “You know. Because Mom doesn’t come downstairs much anyway.”

I didn’t believe her. But what could I do? Accuse her of lying? Call her mother a bitch? Yeah, I kind of liked that idea, but it wasn’t worth ruining our friendship.

Madison and MC came over around noon. We were kind of crammed into my room, which was smaller than my room at home. They were dying to meet Jonathan now that they knew what was going on. So, of course, we headed over to play with the dogs. Jonathan wasn’t home. In fact, his house was deserted.

“They probably had a soccer game for Ben,” I told them, as I located Mojo’s leash and then a second one for Buddy. “Let’s go for a walk. One of you can take Buddy.”

“Oh,” MC said with an exaggerated sigh. “How sweet! You’re taking care of each other’s children.”

“Shut up, MC.” God she could be so annoying.

“Since we don’t get to meet him, you have to tell us every single detail,” Madison ordered.

“I already did,” I said as we headed out the gate and down the street.

“No. You only told us the part about sleeping over there and talking and kissing.”

“That’s all there is.”

“We want every single detail,” MC commanded. “Spill.”

As we pounded down the street in the sunshine, I did. “Okay. So we kind of fell asleep holding hands.”

The squealing probably woke people in China.

“Oh my God!” MC said. “This is big.”

And Madison started singing off key, “Ally has a boyfriend…”

I just kept walking. I knew I was blushing, and it was silly to be so embarrassed. These were my best friends. But I didn’t think I could answer all their questions.

“What did it feel like?”

“Was he a good kisser?”

“Did you wake up and just know it was love?”

They had way more questions than I had answers. The truth was that I was starting to forget exactly what it all felt like. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

MC finally grabbed my arm and slowed the whole parade to a halt. “What did he say last night? Did you get to talk to him?”

I shrugged. “He said my dad wasn’t too terrible.”

“That’s it?” Madison asked.

I looked down at my sneakers. “And he kissed me on the cheek.”

More squealing followed. I tugged at the leash and took off in a full run back to the house.

Madison and MC giggled behind me exciting Buddy to enthusiastic barking.

“C’mon Mojo,” I said not as winded as I would have been a month ago. “Let’s ditch those dorks.”

Mojo was happy to oblige.

Later, we were snagging some magazines from Caroline’s room when a familiar thudding noise caught my attention.

“What is that?” Madison asked after grabbing the latest Teen People from the top of the pile.

“I think somebody’s jumping up and down on your roof,” MC said, staring at the ceiling.

With a shake of my head, I said, “No. It’s worse. Way worse.”

Madison’s eyes widened in alarm.

MC narrowed her eyes to tell me she wasn’t buying my dramatic act.

“It’s,” I paused, “Jonathan playing B-ball.”

MC squealed. Madison jumped up and down and then headed for the door.

“Wait,” I cried.

MC turned back to me. “No way. We are so meeting this guy.”

“Please don’t embarrass me,” I begged as I ran after them.

Hopefully, Jonathan wouldn’t mind my friends gaping at him like he was on display at the museum. The long awaited boy who likes Ally. Scientists thought it would never happen…

Jonathan was a good sport. Right? He’d have to be to like me. And I was starting to believe he actually did like me.

I ran down the steps, out the door, and around the corner and almost slammed into MC and Madison. They’d frozen in their tracks. Instead of just Jonathan out there shooting baskets, there were three guys. MC and Madison were regrouping. They wanted to look cool to these new guys more than they wanted to embarrass me.

Dave had noticed our clumsy arrival. From the way he immediately perked up and starting acting even more cocky than usual, I figured he didn’t peg us all as losers. “Hey man, we’ve got company.”

Jonathan turned and gave me a big smile that made my heart pitter patter. “Ally!”

Unfortunately, he hadn’t realized Colin was taking a shot and the ball bounced off the rim and smashed into his head. His head snapped sideways. He grabbed his head, and then grimaced and socked Colin.

“Sorry, Man,” Colin said. He finally noticed MC and Madison.

Jonathan was still wincing with pain, so I decided to do the introductions. “Colin and Dave, these are my friends MC and Madison.”

From the way Madison was eyeing Dave, I guessed she had forgotten me telling her about the whole wrinkly Diane breasts incident.

“Do you play?” Colin asked.

“Yes,” MC practically shouted before either of us could answer otherwise.

“I’m really not that good,” Madison admitted.

If they started simpering and giggling, I was going to kill them. At least Colin and Dave kept them from staring at Jonathan like a bug under a microscope.

“I think I should check on Mojo,” I said, mostly because I didn’t want to stick around to see what happened next.

Jonathan still had his hand on his head, but he said he’d come with me so fast that I knew he was okay.

As I was opening the gate, I heard Dave saying, “We could play two on two, or we could play horse.”

“Let’s start with horse,” MC said.

Jonathan closed the gate, and I realized we were alone again for the first time in two days. Mojo and Buddy ran up for some attention, but they were apparently worn out from all the company and they walked back over to the patio, slurped up some water, and laid down.

I started to reach out and touch his head but stopped myself. “Is your head okay?”

He nodded. “Yeah. That jerk.” He glanced back at the driveway. “Where are your chaperones?”

“I think your hot friends distracted them.”

With a grimace, he asked, “You think my friends are hot?”

“No, but MC and Madison do.”

His smile returned. “But you don’t?”

It took all the guts I had to blurt out, “I think you’re hot.” The blushing took some of the coolness out of my comment.

Jonathan reached out and grabbed my hand. “I think you’re hot too.” He said, his voice all low and husky.

I glanced toward my Dad’s house to see if Diane had her binoculars or worse, a shotgun trained on us. No sign of anyone.

When I turned back to Jonathan, I discovered that he’d moved a whole lot closer. He took my other hand in his, and leaned forward to kiss me.

My breath caught, and I stretched to reach him.

His lips met mine, and the dizzying sensation of a heated kiss swept through me. He prodded my lips with his velvety tongue, and I opened for him. The next thing I knew, our tongues were tangled in the most amazing dance. He let go of my hands and wrapped them around my back pressing me into him. No one had told me that kissing was like magic. I could feel it sizzling between us. This nameless power. An energy like nothing I’d ever experienced.

The sound of a baby-ish voice broke through the fog. “Mom, that big, scary man was right. Look! They’re kissing!”

Jonathan pulled back and I closed my eyes. I so did not need this.

Jonathan’s mother smiled at me when I dared to look. “Ben, that man wasn’t scary. He was just upset. He’s Ally’s father.”

“And,” Jonathan added quickly, “we weren’t kissing, Ben. I was helping Ally, with um, an eyelash in her eye.”

His mother beamed. “You see, Ben. They weren’t kissing.” She winked at us. “Maybe you two better join the others, just in case Ben isn’t the only one curious about your…eyelashes.”

I could have died right there.

“Thanks, Mom,” Jonathan said, and we slipped back through the gate. “Don’t worry.” He squeezed my hand. “My mom likes you.”

I glanced at my friends and wished for the first time in memory that they were not there. “I guess we can try to talk tomorrow,” I said.

Jonathan released my hand. “We have to go see my grandmother tomorrow. We’ll be gone all day.”

If you could go to hell for thinking mean thoughts about someone’s grandmother, I was in big trouble.

MC and Madison were giggling as they battled against Jonathan’s friends. They must have been playing boys against girls. The girls were obviously getting cremated.

Dave reached around and stole the ball right out of MC’s hands.

“I thought they were playing horse,” I said to Jonathan.

He shook his head. “I guess they wanted something with more contact.”

He was right. Madison had her hands all over Colin as she supposedly went for the ball.

“How come we got busted, and they’re out here practically fondling each other in plain sight?”

Dave crashed into MC and sent her sprawling on the front lawn. She was laughing hysterically and he offered his hand to help her up. She refused, and he ended up flailing on the ground next to her. The guys and girls were equally transparent.

Before they could actually jump each other’s bones (because honestly, I thought it was coming), Ben made his way out the front door.

“He’s like the PDA police,” Jonathan mumbled.

“Hey, Man.” Colin pointed in Ben’s direction. “It’s mini-J.”

While MC and Madison took in Ben’s adorable cuteness, Jonathan explained. “They think he’s a mini me.”

I glanced from Ben to the hottie at my side. “He does look like you, but I think your friends watch way too much television.”

“You have no idea.”

Colin overheard us and took offense. “You’ve seen the whole Scary Movie series twenty times.”

Jonathan blushed.

“Yeah, Dude.” Dave got up and came over. “You know that because you’ve watched it with him.”

“Those movies are hilarious,” MC said.

I gave her a sharp look. She hated those movies. She said they were idiotic.

I turned to see what Madison was thinking, but she was still gushing over Ben.

“Dude,” Colin said. “She isn’t going to dump you over some dumb movies.”

Jonathan squeezed me hand, and I knew he was embarrassed. But I was thrilled. First, I was so not going to dump him. Second, if he was afraid I’d dump him, it meant we were together.

Ben had tired of being left out of the conversation. “Does she got another eyelash?” he asked.

“Uh,” I said. I didn’t want to bring all that attention down on us.

Jonathan released my hand and swooped down to pick up his brother. “How bout you play a game of horse with us?”

Ben wrinkled his nose at MC and Madison. “Are all those girls gonna play too?”

Jonathan said, “Are you all in?”

“Sure,” MC said.

MC and Madison did much better at horse than they had at two-on-two. For one thing, they seemed to actually be trying. Colin and Dave did their best to offer tips, some of which involved touching my friends to show them where to stand. Whatever.

Jonathan rolled his eyes at me. “Oh, Ally,” he said with exaggerated gravity. “Let me show you how to do it right.”