Anywhere But Here (13 page)

“What would you call it?” he challenged.

“Two people eating crappy fast food.”

He laughed and sucked on his straw.  “Nah, it’s more like two people who are equally attracted to each other, enjoying some delicious junk food while getting to know each other.”

It was my turn to roll my eyes.  “You certainly are full of yourself.”

He chortled, his eyes never leaving my face.  “What, you’re not attracted to me?”

“Maybe I’m not into hockey players.”

His smirk morphed into
a full blown grin, tugging at my heart.  He was more spot on than he knew but I couldn’t admit it to him.  “So, you’re into what – skaters?”

“Yes,” I said sarcastically.  “I have a thing for Shane.”

He laughed heartily, tears actually springing into his eyes.  My brows plunged as I watched him struggle to gain control of his laughter.  He wiped his eyes with a napkin and wadded it up, dropping it to the table.  “Sorry, but you must not know.”

“Know what?”

He reached across the table to pat my hand.  “Shane has a thing for you.”

“He does not,” I denied hotly, my cheeks flushing.

“Whatever you say,” he said with a nonchalant shrug. He picked up his burger and continued to eat as I stared at him, slack-jawed.

“Really?”

He nodded.

“Damn,” I muttered, pushing my food away.  “Damn.  I don’t like him that way.”

“Hey,” Fin said, dropping his nearly finished burger.  “Don’t worry about it – it will pass.  Reg has had the hots for him forever and they’re on the verge of hooking up.”

“You’re messing with me, aren’t you?” I begged more than asked.

“Not on your life,” he said, beside himself with glee.  “So, I see one simple solution to this problem.”

I dropped my head to the table, groaning.  “I don’t think I want to hear it.”

“It’s not that bad,” he said in a soothing, pseudo-sympathetic tone.

“What?” I mumbled, my lips too close to the less than sterile table surface.

“Go out with me.”

My head shot up as my mouth fell wide open.  “I…”

“Now, don’t be insulting,” he said, as the amusement slipped from his eyes.  I froze until he chuckled, using his knuckle to close my mouth.  “Okay, so maybe you’re not ready for that yet.  But you will be.”

“You really do think quite highly of yourself,” I said, only half serious.

He shrugged and crammed the remainder of his burger into his mouth as I picked at my fries.  “So, tell me about your family.”

“Tell me about yours,” I said, quickly.

Confusion flashed across his face but he shook it away.  “Not much to it.  My parents are a little older – my dad is retired now.  They both were married before and had me late.  As a result, I have two older half-sisters that are married and an older half-brother who’s about to graduate college.”

“Wow,” I said.

“Yep,” he continued, crumpling up his burger wrapper.  “That’s why I work so hard at hockey – to get a scholarship.  Don’t want to put that financial strain on the folks.  Mom still works – she owns the little florist shop near the Community Center – but they’re hardly rich.”

“What do you want to go to college for?” I asked, more interested than I cared to admit.

“Sports medicine,” he said.

“Figures,” I grinned.

“You’re not into sports much, huh?” he said.

“I used to be,” I said with a wry smile.  “I actually used to be a cheerleader.”

His eyes dilated.  “You?”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t rub it in,” I said with a giggle.  “I used to be into all that stuff.”

“So, I guess it’s a little late to join the squad here, but why don’t you get into any clubs or anything like that here?”

A thoughtful frown pulled at my mouth.  I didn’t want to discuss my former school or current family life.  I’d actually been enjoying myself for the first time in months and I didn’t want to lose the moment.

Until the guilt swept through me like a tornado through a flat, open field.

“Just not really into it now, I guess.  You know, new school and all that.”

He nodded although I could tell he wasn’t buying it.  But he didn’t push me and for that I was grateful.  Truth be told, I was starting to like him more and more as the minutes rolled by and I didn’t know how I felt about that, either.

“So, are we still hanging out tomorrow night?” he asked, easing the tension away from our table.

His earnest face and beseeching eyes were my undoing and even if I had wanted to, I couldn’t say no.  “Sure.”

A slow smile spread across his face as he gathered our garbage and piled it on the tray.  He emptied the tray in the tra
sh and waited for me to put on my coat.  He held the door open for me, the cold air smacked me in the face, making me shudder as he unlocked the car.  He started the engine and let it run for a few minutes, giving the heater a chance to warm up.

“Still say it’s not a date tomorrow night?” he asked.

A thrill raced up my spine and I was so very tempted to answer his question with a kiss, but something inside of me - stubborn pride perhaps - held back.  “As of right now,” I teased.

His face was turned toward his window but I could see his cheeks lift in a smile.  “I can change your mind, you know.”

“Doubtful,” I snorted.

He laughed as he put the car in gear and maneuvered over the slippery roads back to the public parking lot.  He pointed out different shops and businesses, explaining to me what they were until he nosed his car next to mine.

“Thanks for dinner,” I said, suddenly shy. His hand shot out, grabbing my arm before I could open the door.  I turned to him, a little surprised.  “What?”

An impish glint glittered in his eyes as he leaned toward me.  My heart thumped in anticipation as my head spun – flipping back and forth between wanting him to kiss me and wanting me to slap him.

“I will change your mind about tomorrow night,” he whispered, his warm breath caressing my face.  “Watch.”

“I don’t think so,” I said, not even convincing myself.

He chuckled and placed his lips on my cheek, ever so close to my mouth.  He kissed me softly, making my insides quiver.  “But I do think so.  Good night, Rena.  See you tomorrow.”

He fell back to his seat, arrogant grin on his face.

I fisted my hand to prevent it from touching the exact spot where his lips had been.  I couldn’t summon enough thought to respond so I fled his car and jumped into mine.  He waited until I started the engine and darted out of the lot, my hands trembling with a combination of excitement and nervousness.

I sighed.  He was right again – he’d already changed my mind.

“So, about our non-date tonight,” Fin said over my shoulder as I shoved books into my locker the next morning.  I smirked, crammed the rest of my belongings inside, and slammed the door before turning to him with a speculative look on my face.

“What about it?”

“I’ll pick you up around six.  Is that okay?” he asked, his confidence just a mere mask.

“Sure,” I shrugged as I started walking down the hall, forcing him to jog to catch up to me.  “That’s fine.”

“You know you’re already planning what to wear,” he said as his stride matched mine.  “You’re wondering what to do with your hair.”

I snorted.  “I’m wondering if my favorite sweats have been washed or if I should just wear my pajama pants.”

He chuckled, his hand holding his stomach. He draped a casual arm around my shoulders and bent his head closer to mine.  “Let’s face it - you’re so excited that you don’t know how you’ll make it through the day.”

“You’re quite full of yourself, aren’t you?” I asked, my heart twittering with each exchange. 
He was more right that I cared to admit.

His grin stretched a mile across his face as his eyes sparkled, causing the twittering to increase.  “I just know certai
n things, Rena – you should have realized that by now.”

“Whatever,” I scoffed as I paused in front of my classroom.  “Then you should know for certain that this little…thing…tonight is
not
a date.”

He bent his head, his still grinning mouth near my ear.  “So you keep saying.  But I think you’re trying to convince yourself.”  He winked as he moved away, waving over his shoulder.  “See you at lunch.”

I couldn’t contain my smile as I shuffled into class and prepared for the morning’s lecture. 

Fin had been right again – the day was dragging and I wasn’t sure how I was going to get through it.  My mind drifted constantly, wondering what he had planned and how things would go.  Would he treat me like one of his friends or would he try to romance me?  I would have to be prepared for either.

When lunch rolled around, my nerves were nearly shot and my gut was clenched so tightly that I didn’t think I’d be able to eat.  And when Fin appeared at my locker to walk me to the cafeteria, the feeling worsened.

“So,” I said, trying to be casual.  “What
am
I supposed to wear tonight?”

One side of his mouth lifted as he swept my body in a sideways glance.  “What you’re wearing is fine.”

I frowned as I looked at my worn jeans and purple sweatshirt.  So, it wouldn’t be fancy – that was a relief.  I wasn’t much for dressing up in elaborate clothing anymore or fiddling with my hair.

“And you’re not going to tell me what you have planned?” I prodded.  His smile widened as he shook his head.  He opened the cafeteria door and waved me before him.  “That really sucks.  What if it’s something I don’t like?”

“You’ll love it,” he said, smug. 

We joined the food line but I just grabbed a salad and a bottle of water.  I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to keep my meager lunch down but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

“What if I’m allergic?” I tried as we settled at our table.  My skater friends hadn’t entered the cafeteria yet so we had the table to ourselves.

Fin snickered as he dug into his food.  He chewed furiously while managing to keep his irritating, knowing smirk on his face.  He swallowed and I watched, mesmerized, as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

“You’re not allergic but nice try.”  He washed his pizza down with a swig of soda, eyeing me with amusement.  “Don’t worry, Rena, you’ll enjoy yourself.”

I speared a lettuce leaf and raised a brow.  “You said I wouldn’t enjoy myself.”

He rolled his eyes.  “Let’s face it - you’re going to enjoy yourself no matter what we do because you’ll be with me.”

“You know, you could knock the arrogance down a peg or two,” I suggested with a serious face but ruined it when I laughed.

“Hey, what’s up?” Damon asked as he plunked his tray on the table and dropped into a chair, Shane and Reg hot on his heels.

“Nothing,” I said, shooting a furtive glance at Shane, remembering what Fin had said the night before.  Shane was paying me no mind, though, as he unwrapped the ham sandwich he’d purchased from the lunch buffet.

“We’re thinking about checking out that new flick playing in Oakton tonight.  Do you guys want to go?” Damon asked.

My eyes widened as they landed on Fin, warning him to keep his mouth shut.  Fat good it did me as he shook his head with that annoying grin.

“Nah. Rena and I are going to hang out.  I have a surprise for her.”

I held in a groan as Shane lifted his head, his eyes darting between me and Fin.  I wanted to assure him it wasn’t a date but remembered how close he’d been to hooking up with Reg.  Maybe if I didn’t say a word, he’d think I was dating Fin and perhaps pay Reg a little more attention.

“That’s cool,” Damon said, desperately trying to stifle a knowing smile.  I wanted to slug him.  “What are you going to do?”

“He won’t tell me,” I said briskly, hoping to staunch the conversation as if it were blood flowing from a wound.  Besides, I didn’t like the way Reg’s already dark eyes became more so as she looked from me to Shane and back again.  My heart sank.  I didn’t need to alienate the only friends I had.

I paused, nearly laughing aloud.  Just a few weeks ago, I was ready to alienate everyone.  Such irony.

“Dude,” Grant said as he joined our little group, playfully punching Fin’s shoulder.  “The bus leaves at ten tomorrow morning.  Coach wants us to get some practice time in before the game.”

“I know,” Fin said as he finished his slice. He glanced my way.  “Our game is in Bedford – up north a couple hours away.”

I nodded as I
nibbled on my salad.  I had no clue where Bedford was or if the team was any good.  Maybe if things went okay tonight, I’d drive up there…

After lunch,
Fin walked me to our Creative Writing class.  I’d become so used to his presence that even when we weren’t talking, it was comfortable.  And I liked it.

The rest of the day passed fairly quickly – even Study Hall.  Gina didn’t speak but glared at me from time to time, making me wonder if she knew that I’d be with Fin later that evening.  It certainly would be no surprise – things got around the school so quickly that it was scary.