Secret Admirer (4 page)

“Hey, funny face,” said Jeff Sanders as he came up from behind the girls and tugged on one of Emily’s braids. Carlie glanced at Emily, curious as to how she would react to this. Would she be glad for the attention? Or would she put the stupid boy in his place?

“Knock it off!” Emily snapped at him, then turned her attention back to the video game that she was playing with Carlie. But Jeff just grinned like it was no big deal. Then, as the girls finished up the game, Carlie turned and glared at the stupid boy. As it figured, Enrico Valdez was with him.

They had all finished dinner a while ago and were hanging out in the games area until eight o’clock, when Cory planned to gather them back in the fireside room for a meeting. Carlie and Emily had nabbed a video game while Morgan stood nearby, waiting in line for a pool table.

“Saw you riding this afternoon,” Jeff said to Emily. “You’re pretty good.”

“Thanks for noticing,” said Emily in a cool tone.

“You were pretty good too,” Enrico said to Carlie in a quiet tone, like he was unsure of himself.

Carlie studied him for a moment. Was he making fun of her? Still, she didn’t want to make a scene. “I’m okay …” She looked away. “For a beginner anyway.”

“She’s not a beginner anymore,” said Whitney from behind. Carlie hadn’t even known she was there. “You should’ve seen her on her last run.”

“Hey, I saw you having a good ride today, Whitney,” said Jeff. “You look like you know what you’re doing.”

“She does,” said Carlie with more enthusiasm. “She’s been teaching me.”

Jeff grinned as he jerked his thumb toward Enrico. “Maybe you should give him lessons. ‘Cause if you guys wanna see a real beginner you should watch old Enrico ride — it’s something to see.”

“I did see him,” admitted Carlie. “I saw him splattering himself all over the slope about halfway down the red chair.”

Jeff laughed. “Man, was that ever a yard sale.”

Enrico rubbed his elbow and looked slightly embarrassed. “Kinda painful too.”

“Don’t feel bad,” Morgan assured him. “I had a few good wrecks myself today.”

“But she’s definitely improving,” said Emily.

“Hey, you guys wanna shoot some pool with us?” asked Jeff as one of the pool tables suddenly opened up.

“Sure,” said Whitney, stepping up and picking up a cue.

Suddenly Carlie was unsure. Who were they inviting
to play? And hadn’t Morgan been trying to get a table for the girls? What now?

“Girls against guys,” challenged Whitney.

“You’re on,” agreed Jeff as he picked up a cue, holding it out to Emily with a smile.

“You guys go ahead,” said Emily as she grabbed Morgan’s arm and tugged her away. “Let’s go play a video game.”

And before Carlie could protest, she suddenly found herself partnered with Whitney again. And before she could think of an excuse to get away, Jeff and Enrico were putting billiard balls into the triangle. And then the four of them were playing pool, like no big deal. How on earth did that happen? How was it that Carlie Garcia, after all her little speeches against stupid boy-crazy girls, was suddenly stuck with Jeff Sanders and Enrico Valdez?

They were several minutes into the game when Carlie noticed Chelsea and Amy sauntering up to the pool table.

“Hey, guys,” said Chelsea in a friendly tone. “How come we weren’t invited to play?”

“Because you weren’t here?” ventured Carlie. Her nose was starting to twitch now and judging by the smell, Amy and Chelsea had both just applied another dose of that stinky pink perfume. Carlie also noticed that they both had on a fresh layer of lip gloss as well. What were they trying to prove anyway?

“What’s that smell?” asked Jeff as he stood up from making a corner pocket shot.

Chelsea giggled. “You mean that stinky sweaty smell, like someone forgot to take a shower today?” She glanced directly at Carlie now.

“No, I mean that smell like a funeral parlor full of rotten flowers,” said Jeff as he bent down to gauge his next shot.

“That just shows how much you know,” said Chelsea in a slightly offended tone.

“So, who’s winning?” asked Amy.

“Right now we are,” said Whitney.

“Not for long,” said Enrico as Jeff sunk another shot.

“Good one,” admitted Carlie. “But you can stop right there, Mister.”

“You’re playing girls against boys?” said Chelsea. “Where’s the fun in that?”

“The fun is when we whoop them,” said Whitney as Jeff finally missed a shot. “Okay, Carlie, we need you to make this. Put one in for the girls.”

Carlie held her breath as she lined up her shot, and to everyone’s surprise (mostly hers), she not only got one ball in the pocket but a second one as well. “Woo-hoo!” she shouted.

“Way to go,” said Whitney, giving her a high five.

“Not bad,” said Enrico with real admiration.

“Yeah,” agreed Jeff. “The girl not only snowboards like a guy, but she shoots pool like a guy too.”

Chelsea just shook her head. “Poor thing
smells
like a guy too.”

Carlie took in a quick breath, but decided not to let her irritation show.

But suddenly Whitney was glaring at Chelsea. “That wasn’t a very nice thing to say.”

Chelsea just shrugged. “I was just kidding.”

“Yeah,” said Amy. “You shouldn’t take things so seriously.”

Then to Carlie’s stunned surprise, Enrico leaned over and picked up one of her curls between his thumb and forefinger and actually took a big loud sniff of it. She glared at him, unsure as to whether she should slap him or just walk off. But instead she braced herself and got ready for even more teasing.

But Enrico just smiled. “I think she smells pretty good — for a girl anyway.” Then they all laughed, and the four returned to their pool game.

“What’s with some girls?” asked Enrico as Chelsea and Amy walked away.

“It’s like they wanna start a fight over nothing,” said Jeff as Enrico missed his next shot.

“Oh, I don’t think they want to fight,” said Whitney as she chalked her cue and studied the table for her turn.

“They just want attention …” said Carlie. “From you guys.”

“Well, they should act more like one of the guys,” said Jeff.

Carlie considered this as they continued to play. To be honest, it really wasn’t that bad hanging with the boys when you could just be one of the guys. In some ways it was better than being with Chelsea and Amy when they were acting boy crazy. She wondered why some girls wanted to complicate things. What was the point in fixing yourself all up, putting on perfume, and then acting the way they did? Then she considered Whitney … she had been acting kind of boy crazy earlier, but now she seemed fairly normal. Although, here they were hanging with boys. That wasn’t exactly normal. Suddenly Carlie felt confused.

“Your shot, Carlie,” said Jeff.

“And you could win the game if you sink it,” said Whitney.

Carlie focused on the table now. Her dad was the one who had taught her to play pool. They’d played a lot of games on Tio Geraldo’s table. She tried to remember all the tips her dad had given her. In some ways it wasn’t much different than what she’d been telling herself about snowboarding. Focus and then relax. And so she did.

“Great shot!” exclaimed Enrico as the eight ball went straight into the side pocket just like she had called it.

“Woo-hoo!” said Whitney, hugging Carlie. “Girls rule!”

“Think you girls can do that again?” asked Jeff.

“Don’t know why not,” said Carlie.

“Best two out of three?” asked Enrico.

Carlie glanced over to see if Morgan and Emily were around. Maybe it should be their turn to play. But both girls had disappeared. And, no way did Carlie want to surrender this game to Amy and Chelsea, although they were watching from over by the video games.

“You’re on!” said Carlie.

“Hey, have you guys tried the half-pipe yet?” asked Jeff as they racked up the balls for the next game.

“What’s that like?” asked Carlie. “I mean, I’ve skateboarded on a half-pipe before, but it was made out of plywood.”

“It’s like a giant half-pipe that’s made out of snow and ice,” explained Enrico.

“Pretty much the same concept as a skateboard half-pipe,” said Jeff.

“Only a whole lot bigger,” added Whitney.

“And you can do jumps and things,” said Jeff.

“If you know how,” added Enrico with a sheepish grin. “Not that I have any problems with that myself.”

“I’m gonna try it out tomorrow,” said Jeff.

“That sounds fun,” said Whitney as Chelsea and
Amy came back to stand by the pool table again. “I sort of attempted a couple of pretty lame jumps today, but I couldn’t get much —”

“You were great,” said Carlie. “One time you must’ve been close to a foot in the air.”

“You were doing jumps?” said Chelsea with a skeptical expression.

“Not very good ones,” said Whitney. “And Carlie did a couple of jumps too.”

“I tried,” admitted Carlie.

“Hey, you guys should come to the half-pipe tomorrow,” Jeff said more to Whitney than the others.

“You should come too,” said Enrico with his eyes on Carlie. “Maybe you guys can help me.”

“I know how to jump too,” said Chelsea.

“Why don’t we all go?” said Amy.

“Sure,” said Jeff. “Why not?”

“Although I just plan to watch,” said Amy. “I’m not ready to do any jumping yet.”

“I wouldn’t mind trying the half-pipe,” mused Carlie. She remembered some of the stunts she used to do on the skateboard. Maybe it wouldn’t be that much different. At least if she fell the snow would be better than plywood and cement.

“I want to try it too,” said Chelsea. “I caught some air myself today.”

“And I’ll come to watch,” said Amy eagerly.

“Why don’t we meet there, like say, around eleven?” suggested Jeff.

“Sounds good,” said Enrico. “That’ll give everyone some time to get warmed up.” He chuckled. “And get our nerve up too.”

“It’s a date,” said Chelsea, acting as if the guys had invited her personally. Was she aware that she’d pretty much invited herself?

Carlie controlled herself from rolling her eyes.

“You guys are coming too?” Jeff directed this to her and Whitney.

“Sure,” said Carlie. “I’d like to check it out.”

“Tell Emily and Morgan too,” said Jeff in an offhanded way. But something about his expression made Carlie think that he especially wanted Emily to come. Still, if that was the case, why was he being so friendly to Whitney? Finally, Carlie decided not to think about such dumb things. It was ruining her game. And, as they continued to play, the boys won the second game.

“Our turn now,” said Chelsea as she started to put the balls back on the table.

“Not yet,” said Jeff. “We’re playing best two out of three, and at the moment it’s a tie.”

Chelsea frowned. “That’s not fair.”

“I know,” said Carlie. “And since we were playing
girls against guys, we could let Chelsea and Amy replace the girl team.” She winked at Whitney. “That is, if you don’t mind.”

Whitney looked slightly disappointed, but simply shrugged. “Fine with me.”

So Carlie and Whitney handed their pool cues over to Chelsea and Amy, who looked surprised but pleased. The boys looked slightly disappointed. And for some unexplainable reason, this made Carlie very happy.

“Good luck, girls,” she said.

“Yeah,” said Whitney. “We’re counting on you to win this thing for the girls.”

“Thanks,” said Chelsea. “We won’t let you down.”

“Wanna get a soda?” asked Carlie as she picked up her parka.

“Sounds good to me,” said Whitney.

“See ya, Whitney,” called Jeff as they walked away.

“See ya, Carlie,” called Enrico.

“I think Jeff likes you,” Carlie said as they went to the soda machine and filled their cups with ice. She almost added that she thought he liked Emily too, but wasn’t sure if that would sound right.

“And I think Enrico likes you.” Whitney chuckled. “And that should make Chelsea good and mad since she really likes Enrico.”

Carlie shrugged. “Oh, I think the boys just consider us to be like one of the guys. Ya know?”

Whitney laughed. “Hey, that works for me.”

“Totally.”

“So, are you as boy crazy as Amy and Chelsea?” asked Carlie.

“Nah, I just know how to play along.”

Carlie sighed. “That’s a relief.”

“You should learn to play along too, Carlie. It’s much easier than fighting with everyone.”

“I don’t know … all that primping and stuff … I can live without it.”

“Apparently the boys agree with you.”

“How’d the pool game with the boys go?” said Emily as she and Morgan joined Carlie and Whitney at the café.

“Okay,” said Carlie. “But why did you guys take off like that?”

“It looked like you had enough people to play,” said Emily.

Morgan peered closely at Carlie now. “So, what was up with you making such a big deal about hating boys and all that.”

“I never said I hated boys,” said Carlie. “I just don’t get all that primping and perfume stuff.”

“Seems like the boys don’t get it either,” pointed out Whitney. Then she told Emily and Morgan about how they hadn’t cared for the smell of the perfume. And then they all laughed.

“I think it’s better when you’re just
one of the guys
,” Carlie said.

Whitney nodded. “Yeah. Like it’s no big deal.”

“Oh, yeah,” said Carlie. Then she told them about the plan to meet at the half-pipe tomorrow.

“Cool,” said Emily. “I’ve been wanting to try it.”

“So has Chelsea,” said Whitney.

“Speaking of Chelsea,” said Emily. “You should’ve heard her going on about Carlie and Enrico. She was so jealous. She acted like you guys were about to run off and get married or something.”

Carlie burst into loud laughter. “Yeah, right!”

“Speaking of jealous,” said Whitney in a careful tone. “I think Jeff is really nice, Emily. But I heard that maybe you and he like —”

“No way,” said Emily quickly. “Jeff is a nice guy. But he and I are — well, nothing.” She laughed nervously. “And that’s just how I want to keep it.”

Morgan reached up and gave her a high five. “Emily and I just had a long talk,” she said. “We both decided we are way too young to get serious about boys.”