Present Perfect (18 page)

Being away from him didn’t lessen my need or want for him. If anything, they intensified. I missed all of him and everything about him- his smile, his voice, his hugs, and the ways he made me laugh. The time we spent at our spot talking about anything and everything. The irony of the situation is that I spent so much time and energy trying to keep things the same between us, so I wouldn’t lose him, and it backfired. Instead of keeping him by my side, I pushed him away completely. I desperately needed my best friend now, to talk to and help me through this, but I couldn’t have him.

I finally came to the realization that I had to try and move past this. I didn’t want to let my senior year evaporate before my eyes and not enjoy it. I needed to spread my wings. Have new experiences with new people.

Brad Johnson had moved here during our freshman year. He was a mighty fine specimen of young manhood. His hair was dirty-blonde and cut short. He obviously paid a lot of attention to it. It was cut close on the sides. The top was a little longer and worked into a tousled chunky style. His eyes were sapphire blue. They were very pretty, but not beautiful like Noah’s. Brad was at least six feet in height, same as Noah. He was on the baseball team, so he had a great body and he knew how to dress it. His clothes always showed how toned his chest and abs were. I didn’t know if his abs sported a six pack like Noah’s did, but I could tell his chest wasn’t as broad as Noah’s. His arms were muscular, but not overly so, and his hands were large. I figured that might be one reason he was a good baseball player. Big hands would seem like an asset to me.

Brad and I were not friends, or for that matter acquaintances. Except for an occasional ‘
hi’,
we had never spoken to each other. Even though I didn’t know him, personally, I had heard things about him. His reputation left a lot to be desired. The gossip was basically, that he was a spoiled rich brat who lied and cheated his way through life as well as girls. I had made a pact with myself to abstain from listening to gossip. After all, I was a mature high school senior. Gossip was for the immature. Besides, I had endured years of rumors about Noah and I that were false. Plus, there had been rumors off and on about Noah and Brittani that I knew for a fact were not true. I was going to keep an open mind about Brad, not letting others influence me. Everyone deserves a chance.

We were about a month into the school year. Brad and I had a couple of classes together. During the second week of school, I caught him looking at me during class. He also started showing up around my locker a couple of times a day. He would say “
hi”
and smile, but that was it. After two weeks of this stalker behavior, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

It was the end of the day. I was at my locker. Out the corner of my eye, I saw him. He was standing about three yards away. I turned to him and smiled. “Didn’t your mother teach you it’s impolite to stare?” I said, with a bit of snark in my voice.

“I wasn’t staring. I was admiring.” As he sauntered over to me, a devilish smile slowly crept across his face. He came to a stop about a foot away.

“Wow, that’s quite a line.”

“It’s not a line.” He crossed his heart, trying to look sincere, “Scouts honor.”

“Scouts….um…fast, what troop were you in?” I asked, challenging him.

“Troop 543. My dad was our troop leader.”

I smiled and shook my head. “Why have you been stalking me?”

He leaned one shoulder against the lockers and smirked. He took his time saying each word, smiling bigger with each reason he listed. “Cause you’re pretty. And smart. And funny. And pretty.”

“You said pretty twice.”

“Well, it bears repeating.”

I couldn’t help my eye roll. “Well, you got the funny part right.” His smile turned up to full megawatt status. I felt a quiet gasp leave me. First impression, he was a bit of a douchebag, but a sexy as hell douchebag.

He moved in a little closer and with conviction said, “Jeremy Pratt’s parents are letting him have a party at their beach house this Saturday,” the look in his sapphire eyes intensified. “What time should I pick you up?”

“We’ve gone to school together for over three years. Why are you asking me out now all of a sudden?” I was a little suspicious.

“Honestly? I never asked before because I thought you and Stewart had something going on.”

“Noah and I are best friends,” I said.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Why?”

“Because I wasted three years not asking you out…so… are you going to keep me waiting even longer or do we have a date?” And there it was again, as if on cue, that megawatt smile.

“What changed? I’m still friends with Noah.”

“Really? You two haven’t looked too friendly with each other. Are you sure he’s still friends with you?” I didn’t respond. I hated to admit he might have a point. “So Beautiful, what time should I get you Saturday?”

“You are quite the charmer,” I paused for a moment considering my answer. “Eight o’clock. It should be fun.”

“Oh, I guarantee it
will
be fun. I always aim to please.” He pushed off from the lockers and stood. “Let’s grab your stuff, so I can walk you to your car.”

“Anyone ever tell you how bossy you are?”

He leaned in very close to me. If he had been less attractive, I might have considered it too close.

“I’m not bossy. I know what I want and I don’t like to waste time.” He winked.

Brad made me slightly uncomfortable. Now I understood what Noah said, about feeling like he was cheating on me when he went on dates with other girls. I felt like I was doing something wrong. As if, I was betraying him just by talking to Brad. I wanted to grab my stuff and run, but I stood my ground. This was me spreading my wings and trying new things. I gathered my books and placed them in my backpack. As soon as I turned around, Brad grabbed it before walking me to my car.

I unlocked the passenger door and motioned for him to toss my bag in. He followed me as I walked around to the driver’s side. Opening the door, I leaned in slightly, and slung my purse over the seat.

Turning back around, I found myself nose-to-nose with Brad. He was standing between me and the open car door, his left hand rested on the upper doorframe, propping himself up. We were so close, I could feel his warm breath wash over my lips. His voice was low. “I’m
really
glad you want me…,” he paused for a split second as his eyes moved down to my lips and then back to my eyes, causing me to swallow hard, “…to take you to the party.”

I cleared my throat and nervously answered, “Me too.”

“You know what?” he asked.

“What?” I whispered.

He focused on my mouth as he sucked on his lower lip, dragging his perfect white teeth over it. “Saturday is going to be the start of an awesome senior year.”

I froze in place. I couldn’t take my gaze off those sapphire eyes. Butterflies were taking over my stomach. Brad knocked me off balance with his confidence. There was an air of mystery and danger about him and I was curious.

“Yeah…well…thanks for the…um…the invite and the walk,” I finally said, stumbling over my words. He smiled and glanced from my eyes to my lips and back again. I took in another gulp of air and said, “I better be going.”

“You’re extremely cute, you know.”

Holy hell, he was hot. I had to get away from this guy. I was becoming increasingly unnerved every second I spent with him. Laughing nervously, I said, “Yeah…well…I am just the cute one in the family. My sister’s the pretty one. Um…do you know my sister?” My voice hit a pitch that only dogs could hear. He just shook his head and smiled. “Her name is Emily. Emily Kelly. Of course, she has the same name as me, we’re sisters. Not that we’re both named Emily. We have the same last name. That’s why we’re sisters cause of our last name. I mean, that’s not why really. There are a lot of people with the last name Kelly that I’m not related to. It’s a fairly common name. We have the same parents. That’s why we’re related…,” I began to trail off.

The voice in my head kept screaming, SHUT UP, AMANDA MARIE KELLY!!

“Yeah, incredibly cute,” he said with a smirk.

He pushed off the car and stepped to the side, allowing me some breathing space. After closing the door and fumbling with my keys, I summoned the courage to glance up. Brad was still standing beside my car with his hands in his pockets, watching me with a kissable smile across his face.

Kissable smile?! What the hell is wrong with me?

Finally, I got the damn key in the ignition, started the car, and peeled out of the parking lot. When I got far enough away and my nerves had calmed, the ability to think clearly returned. I didn’t know how that boy got me so unhinged, so quickly. Even though the Brad encounter was overwhelming, I was proud of myself for agreeing to go to the party with him. I needed to do this. I had to do this. It’s time to put on my big girl panties and see what the world had to offer.

No matter how hard you try to move on, sometimes forces beyond your control won’t let you.

That night, I was in my room trying to study. I was having a hard time concentrating on chemistry homework. My thoughts drifted from Noah to Brad. Spending the night thinking about Noah was nothing new. I had been doing that for what felt like forever. Thinking about Brad, on the other hand, was something completely different.

I couldn’t figure out what it was about him that captured my thoughts so quickly and aggressively. I had seen the guy around school for three years and not once gave him a second thought. I never thought of myself as one of those girls who got giddy and flustered over a good looking and charming boy’s attention. Our verbal sparring match at my locker was fun. Then he got very close to me and I became a babbling idiot.

I only allowed myself to daydream about Brad briefly before focusing my thoughts back to Noah. I knew it was silly and made no sense, Noah was barely in my life, and it had been like that for the past four months, but I felt guilty for just thinking about Brad.

A tapping on my bedroom window caught my attention. I had been so focused on Noah and Brad, at first, I thought I was hearing things. I went back to studying. I heard it again, this time it was more forceful. It wasn’t my imagination. I walked over, took a deep breath, and opened the window. The most exquisite pair of light blue eyes gazed up at me, accompanied by a dazzling smile that reached them. The butterflies started to appear in my stomach and my palms were getting moist. It had been a long time since I had been this close to him and it was intoxicating.

“Hey, Tweet,” Noah said in a raspy voice.

God, I missed hearing my nickname flow over his lips, those incredibly soft full lips. I shook my head, trying to get my thoughts back to the present.

“Hey,” I whispered.

“Can we talk?”

“Sure. What do you want to talk about?”

“Not here, at our spot.”

I almost flew out the window, I was so excited. He wanted to spend time with me, alone, at our spot. I couldn’t have cared less why he wanted to talk. It had to be good news. He was smiling. Maybe he had enough time and we could be together again. Right now, the only thing that mattered to me was Noah and I going to our spot to be alone.