CRUSH (8 page)

I couldn’t resist teasing her some more,
though. “Yeah, it will be great for later when it’s darker. I don’t think I
should ravish you right here in the middle of the park in full daylight.”

She actually gulped, and I laughed loudly. “I’m
just messing with you, Goody. You’re safe. Here hand me the food, and I’ll
carry it.”

She blushed and gave me a faltering grin. “It’s
okay. I’ve got it.”

“You sure? I’m tough, I can take it all.”

She lifted her chin slightly. “I’m tough too.”

She was full of surprises. “Very well, tough
gal. I was thinking we could set up over there under that big, leafy tree so we
can have a little shade. Does that look good to you?”

“Yep, let’s do it.”

I cocked my eyebrow. “Did you just proposition
me? I think you should know I’m not that kind of guy, Miss Wimberley.”

“Uh . . . ” She laughed
nervously.

“Relax, Cami. It’s all right.” I was having
entirely too much fun with her already.
Be
careful,
my inner voice warned me again, and I wanted to shove it back
down. This was just a friendly date between new friends—following through
on something I’d done to help her get out of an awkward situation. I didn’t
ever have to ask her out again after this. Everything would be okay and back
where it should be. I was safe as long as I kept things light and chill.

I spread the blanket on the ground and gestured
for her to take a seat. She did and reached into the bag, dishing our food: two
juicy-looking bacon cheeseburgers, crispy fries with ketchup and ranch for
dipping, and two shakes—one chocolate for me, one strawberry for
her—along with two pieces of thick, homemade apple pie.

“This looks fabulous,” I said as I settled down
next to her, stretching out and propping up on one of my elbows.

“Thanks again for inviting me. I know you
didn’t have to, but I appreciate you trying to help me last night.”

I took a sip of my shake and stared at her.
“You are aware this isn’t a mercy date, aren’t you? I’ve been talking myself
out of asking you to do something since I moved here.”

Her eyes widened. “You have? Why?”

I shrugged. “I have some things going on in my
life right now that make dating a little on the difficult side. I don’t really
want to get into it, but things are complicated. I figured it was easier to
stay away rather than risk messing things up.”

I breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t ask
me any more questions. There was no way for me to explain. It was a secret I
needed to keep to myself for now.

“Why me?” she finally asked.

Sighing, I touched the end of her hair,
fingering it slightly. It felt so silky. “You were the first person I saw at
this school. I’d parked in the lot and was walking past the auditorium and saw
this gorgeous girl come out of the music room. The sun hit your stunning red
hair, and it shone so brightly it almost looked like you had a halo. You were
staring down at some music you were holding, and started humming something. I
froze. I just stood there and watched you walk by. You were so engrossed you
didn’t notice me.” I twisted the loop of her hair around my finger. “You
straightened it today. I’ve never seen you wear it this way before.”

She lifted her shake and took a swallow,
licking her lips afterward. “I like to change it up every now and then. It’s so
thick it takes a long time to straighten.”

I released it and picked up my drink again.
“Well, I like it both ways, but when you wear it curly, it bounces like it has
a life of its own.”

She laughed. “Just wait until it gets humid in
the summer. It frizzes out until I look like I have a crazy red Afro. You won’t
think it’s so pretty then.”

I shook my head. “Nah, I bet I’ll think it’s
gorgeous no matter what.”

“I’m glad you’re so sure. There are times I’m
tempted to chop it all off.” She absently ran her fingers through the length of
it.

“Now that would just be a crime. Don’t ever cut
it. It perfectly complements the rest of the package.”

“I’m beginning to think you’re a schmoozer,
Hunter. I bet you really do have girls falling at your feet, if you talk this
way to all of them.” She gave me a soft smile.

“Just telling it like it is. And you need to
quit listening to the rumor mill. They don’t have the slightest clue about me
and who I am.”

“So you’re saying
you’re not
some crazy party boy
?”

“Depends on who you’re asking, I guess,” I
answered vaguely.

“I’m asking you.” She unwrapped her burger and
took a bite.

“Okay, tell you what. I’ll give you permission to
ask me whatever you want. I’ll answer as honestly as I can, but I get to do the
same with you.” I opened my burger and took a bite too.

She looked surprised and appeared to think it
over while she finished chewing and swallowed. “Okay. That seems fair. Let me
think.”

I dipped some of my fries in ketchup while I
waited.

“Do you use drugs?”

I laughed. “Gonna go straight for the heavy
questions first, are you?”

“Might as well.” She was waiting for my answer
as if she were looking for any kind of lie in what I said.

“Yes, I use.”

She seemed shocked by my completely honest
reply.

“A lot?”

A chuckled again. “It depends. Sometimes more,
sometimes less—mostly a little weed that I score at some parties.”

“Have you used harder stuff?”

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“It was available once in a while when I was
partying with peeps. Just one of those things.” I wondered what she was
thinking about me now.

“I don’t mean to judge, but I’ve never been
able to understand why anyone would want to try something they know could hurt
them.”

“Sometimes people just want to escape, Cami.
They like the way it feels when they get high.”

“And you like feeling that way?”

“I guess so, or I wouldn’t be doing it, would
I?”

She stared off toward the playground where kids
were on the swings, cheering happily with each other. “I went to a dance with
Clay a few months before you moved here. It was probably halfway over when one
of the most popular guys in school came staggering up. He grabbed me, begged me
to help him, and then he fell to the floor and started convulsing. He died a
few moments later. He’d had a heart attack from a drug overdose. I keep
replaying the scene over and over again in my head, wondering if there was
something I could’ve done. I didn’t know what was happening. I wasn’t sure what
to do. I thought he was drunk.” She looked at me seriously. “I didn’t know
Jordan well, but I couldn’t figure out why he was involved with all that. He
was this amazing football player. He had several scholarship offers too. His
whole life was ahead of him. I can’t help but think what a waste of a promising
future.” She paused before she continued. “It scared me—scarred me. I
know you and I
aren’t
that well acquainted, but I can
say you seem like a nice guy, and I’d feel horrible if something like that
happened to you. I’m not gonna lie . . . I wish you’d stop.”

What was I supposed to say to that? She’d bared
her heart to me, and for one moment I couldn’t imagine a plea that was as sweet
as this one. How could anyone say no to something like this?

I shook my head. “The only reassurance I can
give you is that I’ll be careful. Lots of things you’ve heard about me are
greatly exaggerated and aren’t as bad as they seem. People see what they want.”

She nodded. “I recognize how that can be true.
It happens in every social group, unfortunately.”

I nodded; content to watch her for a moment.
“So here’s my question for you.” This was probably going to come back and bite
me later.

“What?”

“Will you go out with me again, even though you
know I do drugs, or is this it for me?”

She looked down at her burger and played with
the wrapper. “My parents wouldn’t like it if they knew, and Clay would be
furious.”

“That’s not what I asked. I want to know what
you think about it.”

She looked solemn. “I think I don’t like the
idea of you doing drugs at all, but I also think there’s more to you than that.
It wouldn’t be fair for me
not
to be
your friend because I didn’t like something about you. So, yeah, I’d go out
with you again.”

Relief overwhelmed me and also made me nervous
in the same heartbeat. She was attracted to me, but that could be so incredibly
bad. I wished for one moment I
was
free to sweep her
off her feet.

“My turn for a question now.” She smiled. “Are
you the womanizer people
say
you are?”

I grinned widely. “Maybe, once upon a
time—a long time ago—but not recently. I really haven’t had the
time for girls in my life lately. That’s the honest truth.”

She scrunched up her nose. “Then why are you
here with me?”

“I can’t answer that. You already used your
question, so it’s my turn now,” I teased her and she laughed, breaking off a
piece of her burger and throwing it at me.

“You’re not seriously trying to start a food
fight, are you?” I couldn’t believe how she kept catching me by surprise.

“I never start something I can’t finish. Now
answer my question.”

“No. I need to ask mine first.”

“You just did. You asked me about starting a
food fight.” She laughed hard and threw another piece.

“That doesn’t count!” I lunged, trying to grab
her burger.

“Yes, it does!” She yanked it out of my reach,
holding it high over her head.

I flopped back onto the blanket. “Fine, you
win. Ask me something.”

“I want you to answer my original question. If
you don’t have time for girls, why are you here with me?”

I groaned, running a hand over my forehead.
“Because I’m stupid and a glutton for punishment apparently, and I mean that in
the nicest way possible.”

She looked at me skeptically, as if she didn’t
understand.

“There’s just something about you that I like.
I’m suffering from ‘moth to flame’ syndrome, I guess. Russ teases me about it.
He calls you my eye candy.” I paused, stumbling for what I should say. “There’s
something I like about you,” I repeated lamely as I pushed forward. “You’re
beautiful, and you’re real. I love that I can talk to you and get straight
answers like this. You don’t play games.” I sighed in frustration. “Sorry, I’m
rambling.”

She shook her head and smiled. “You’re very
nice.”

“Okay. I have one more serious question, and
then we can move on to lighter stuff.”

“All right.” She looked like she was preparing
herself.

“It has to do with what you told me about your
experience. Why did Jordan come to you for help at the dance? Was there
something going on between you two? Were you dating or something? Sorry, I’m
just trying to get a better picture.”

If she noticed I’d just listed three questions
she didn’t say anything. “I think I was just the unlucky person he happened to
be by. I don’t think he was asking me for help in particular though, just
saying he needed help. And I do believe it was self-inflicted. He’d been known
to party before, much in the same context you’ve shared with me. That’s why I’m
worried about what you told me. He partied like you.”

“I get it,” I answered with a nod.

“But you won’t change.”

“I can’t promise that, no. I wish I could, but
I don’t want to disappoint you.”

Silence hung in the air between us, and I
wished I could tell her the whole truth.

That wasn’t possible, though. I couldn’t trust
anyone.

Cami-

Hunter annihilated me at Frisbee. It didn’t
matter how badly I threw it—trying to make him miss it—he always
seemed able to catch it somehow. It was quite impressive, actually.

“Are you like some kind of super secret
athlete?” I asked, bending over, my hands on my knees as I gasped for
breath
.

“Hardly.” He laughed.

“Seriously, you’ve had to play sports at some
time.”

“I used to play varsity football and
basketball,” he confessed.

“I believe you. You’re amazing.” I went to the
blanket and collapsed. “You said you used to. Does that mean you don’t do any
sports now?”

“I weight lift still, but not so much of the
other stuff. It just isn’t my thing anymore.” He dropped down next to me.

“Well, I’ve already figured out you weight
lift.”

He chuckled. “You did? How? Are you spying on
my class schedule?”

“No, I’m paying attention to how your t-shirts
fit.” I laughed, hoping I wasn’t crossing any weird lines.