Breathless (10 page)

“
Do you think that’s going to make it easier,” I questioned, a slight laugh in my voice.

“
You were worried that people would notice the bracelet and wonder about us—if we were a couple,” he added. “Well, now there is no question…unless, of course, you don’t want to be with me. I never thought of that possibility.”

“
Ugh. You’re impossible,” I said, tightening my grip on his hand.

“
Impossibly cute,” he added, more of a question that a statement.

“
That too,” I said smiling. “Of course I want to be with you. I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since the first time I laid eyes on you, but I was hoping to ease people into the idea. Now, I don’t think there is much chance of that.”

As if on cue, Addie came running out of the main doors and made a beeline straight to where Chaseyn and I were walking hand-in-hand. He sent me an apologetic look, and slowly broke free of our union.

“
I think I better give you two a few minutes together before class,” he chuckled and walked off toward what I could only assume was the direction of his locker. I felt foolish for not knowing. Addie’s interrogation hit me like a bolt of lightning. It was loud, fast, and frightening.

“
Okay, so I got this call at like nine last night, and I thought it was a prank,” Addie started, stammering on a mile a minute. “So, I was still going to come by your place this morning, you know, just in case it was a joke, and you really didn’t have a ride to school. But, there was something in his voice that made me believe it was true. Then, I saw you guys pulling up in that awesome ride. Seriously, Lia, it’s only been two days. What happened? You have to tell me everything.”

“
I can’t,” I started to say, when she stopped me short.

“
What do you mean, you can’t? You have to. I’m dying here.”

“
Addie, let me finish. I was going to say that I can’t because you won’t stop talking long enough to let me get a single word in. Case and point.”

“
Humph,” was all she could manage to spill out now, her arms crossed around her chest. She was a bit stubborn sometimes, and she took every comment far too personally. With the exception of that one fight years ago, we had never gone longer than a day or two without talking—usually when she Addie was vacationing overseas with her family. I was every bit as anxious to share the details as she was to hear them.

“
First, tell me about you and Rob,” I said.

“
Come on, Lia. That’s old news. You’ve been down this road with me enough times to know how that story ends,” she said, pointing to a silver chain around her neck sporting Rob’s class ring. It was no surprise that they had reconciled. Everyone had been waiting for it to happen for weeks.

“
Oh, Addie. He gave you his ring. That’s great,” I said, trying to sound genuine. That ring had bounced back and forth between the two of them so many times that I was surprised there was anything left of it. Still, I was happy for them. When they weren’t trying to outdo each other, they were a great couple.

“
Seriously, Lia. Get on with it already. You’re no more surprised that I’m wearing Rob’s ring than he is.”

“
Fine. Well, you know that Friday night was a nightmare,” I began, thinking back to the wrath I faced when I walked through the door just after midnight. My mind drifted a bit further back for a moment, and I remembered Chaseyn holding me loosely in his arms as we swayed to the music at Hannah’s party. Looking back, I realized the song warranted a much more jubilant dance regime, but we never changed our pace. Others bounced frantically around us with heavy feet, while we waltzed slowly. I blushed at the thought.

“
Yeah, Lia, I know that part. You were grounded forever. Fast forward past your Saturday morning break,” Addie said impatiently.

It had barely been two days since we last spoke, but already I had nearly forgotten some of the details. Addie was sufficiently pleased when I started at the exact moment she pulled away from the bakery to find Chaseyn looming next to me. I went into immense detail, knowing she would appreciate even the most-minute aspect. I hadn’t told very much of the story when she suddenly interrupted.

“
Shoes?”

I closed my eyes and shook my head lightly. I didn’t have to ask for clarification. Addie was obvious, shallow.

“
Yes,” I replied, knowing she would be less than impressed by my sarcasm. “He was wearing some.”

“
Ugh,” she muttered. Addie had a theory about men base on the type of shoes they wore. “What kind?”

“
Black?”

“
Forget it. Carry on,” she urged, a hint of annoyance in her tone.

After I had regaled her with everything I had experienced over the past two days, and she had sufficiently ogled the elegant bauble adorning my wrist, Addie began an in-depth analysis of the situation. Fortunately, after only a few minutes of psychobabble, the first bell rang, signaling us to get to class. I walked hesitantly into the room, knowing others would be eager to attack with a million questions, but none of that mattered once I saw
him
. He wasn’t in the same seat as last week. Instead, he was positioned in the desk next to mine, opposite Addie. Normally, Owen Larsen would be anxiously awaiting Mr. Sheppherd’s arrival from that exact seat. Owen was a nervous kid. He was one of those boys who never quite fit in. He was smart, but not smart enough to blend in with the academic types. He was too clumsy to take part in athletics, always tripping over his shoelaces. And, he was far from stylish. Owen would give the shirt off his back to anyone who asked for it, but he didn’t have a lot of friends. I imagined it didn’t take Chaseyn much effort to convince Owen that he would rather sit elsewhere. Owen would have been happy to receive the attention, even if fleeting.

Addie nudged me in the ribs and looked at me enthusiastically. I did a little dance on the inside.

“
Looks like your admirer means business,” she giggled. I felt at least a dozen eyes boring holes through me as I walked to my seat. Chaseyn glanced over his left shoulder as I came down the aisle. I could barely see the side of his face, but his cheek puffed into what I was sure was a grin.

“
Enjoy,” Addie chided before taking her seat.

I sat down just as Mr. Sheppherd walked into the room, announcing the beginning of class. I pulled my notebook from my bag, and as I placed it on the desktop, I noticed a small note card lying in the corner. Gently, I tore open the seal and pulled out the contents.

Meet me at the west entrance at lunch. I want to show you something.

C.

Lunch was more than three hours away. I wasn’t sure my heart would hold out; it was beating double time. Mr. Sheppherd instructed us to form small groups to discuss our latest assignment, and I was relieved. At least for the next 45 minutes, my attention would be focused on the conversation taking place around me. My mind would have little time to fixate on anything else while it was engaged in the topic at hand. Chaseyn was recruited by one of the other groups, and I was sure it was for the best. As much as I wanted to spend time with him, I knew I wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything but him. I watched him move his desk gracefully across the room to where the others in his group were noisily dragging their desks.

“
Ouch,” I said, glaring at Addie, who had stomped on my foot under the table. “What was that for?”

“
Earth to Lia. Do you have anything to add on the subject,” Max chided.

Apparently, I was failing miserably at keeping my mind on the group discussion. I had been stealing glances at Chaseyn the entire class, and every now and then, our eyes would meet. I was giddy, and the others had become painfully aware of the situation. Now, I had to face their punishment—a severe teasing. The conversation quickly shifted from the redeeming qualities of the protagonist in
Jane Eyre
to the qualities that attracted me to Chaseyn.

“
Seriously? Do we have to talk about this,” Max begged, but he was sorely outnumbered by curious females. Just then, the buzzer sounded, signaling the end of class. I jumped to my feet and dragged my desk—screeching and howling along the tiled floor—back to its place near Chaseyn. I gave Addie a quick nod, indicating we would catch up later, and walked with Chaseyn out of the room.

“
I’ve got chemistry,” I said as we reached my locker. I traded paperbacks for textbooks. “You?”

“
Calculus,” he replied, taking my books as we moved in the general direction of the science labs.

Our hands accidentally brushed as we turned the corner, and I tried to suppress a giggle. Before I could move away, Chaseyn had entwined his long fingers with my own. I looked at him sheepishly. We were really doing this, going public with whatever it was we were. A flutter of excitement raced from my stomach to my heart. His gesture didn’t go unnoticed. At least three people pointed and whispered to friends as we walked by. Normally, I would feel silly, but with Chaseyn at my side, it was impossible to feel anything but excited.

“
So, I’ll see you at lunch,” I whispered just outside the door to the chemistry lab. Chaseyn nodded, then gently removed his hand from mine and walked briskly down the hall. My heart swooned.

Time moved at a snail’s pace the rest of the morning. I worked hard to keep from looking at my watch, but it didn’t help that each classroom had a huge clock mounted on the wall above the board. I watched as each second ticked by. Finally, the buzzer for second period sounded. If I had to listen to one more minute of talk about inorganic compounds, I was sure I would scream. I raced to my locker to grab my next set of books to find Addie waiting anxiously, toe tapping animatedly.

“
So, that’s it? You’re going to spend all of your time with
him
now, are you,” she asked angrily. “Some guy who’s been around half a minute gives you a second glance, and you forget about your best friend forever. Sure, he’s got that wicked awesome hair and piercing eyes. Oh, and let’s not forget that he has that whole James Dean thing going on, but still…”

“
Aw, come on, Addie. How many times have you ditched me when Rob came calling,” I pleaded. “I’ve never really had a boyfriend.”

“
Relax, Lia, I’m just teasing,” Addie laughed. “I’m just upset that you ditched me for him between classes because you didn’t get to finish telling me everything about your weekend. And, you’re grounded, so we can’t even talk about it on the phone tonight. Wait. Did you just call him your boyfriend?”

I had to think about it for a minute. I retraced my words and realized I had let the “B” word escape my lips. I thought about backpedalling and trying to take back the word, but I figured it was no use. People would be drawing their own conclusions sooner rather than later. Denial would get me nowhere, so I decided to confirm their suspicions.

“
Well, we haven’t actually discussed it officially, but I think he is.”

Addie jumped up from her relaxed position leaning against my locker and threw her arms around me. I practically choked from her stranglehold.

“
That’s terrific. Now, we can double date. When do you think your mom will cave?”

I thought about her question for a minute, and then gave her an honest answer.

“
I think she already has.”

Just then, the bell rang. We were now officially late for class. Addie turned on her heel, gave me a quick wave, and ran off in the direction of the gym.

“
See you at lunch,” she called over her shoulder. Before I could tell her there had been a change in plans—not that we had plans, just a regular routine that had been solidified by years of repeated practice—she was gone.

Aside from those few moments with Addie, the rest of the morning continued at the same slow pace. Finally, the clock struck twelve, and I raced down the hall through the masses to grab my coat. Pushing through the crowd, I reached the west entrance about two minutes later. Chaseyn was waiting. He took my thin hand in his strong grasp and led me through the double doors. Despite the winter chill that was settling in, the sun shone brightly, warming my skin.

“
Are you cold,” he asked in a low tone. I just shook my head in response. “Good. This wouldn’t work out very well if you were.”

Suddenly, we came upon a red-checked blanket and a picnic basket set in the shade beneath a giant oak tree that was positioned away from any windows and the prying eyes of our peers. A slight blush rose in Chaseyn’s cheeks as he motioned for me to sit down on the ground. He wrapped a fleece blanket around my legs before taking a seat across from me. I knew Rob had never done anything like this for Addie. It was reminiscent of an old movie; the romantic kind of scene that you always hoped would happen to you but knew never would.