Authors: Diana Gardin
I smile, knowing he’s given me a gift
most boys wouldn’t. He’s given me time and patience.
“Thank you,” I reply. “I do want to take
things slowly.” I pull him close again, and whisper into his ear.
“But not too slowly.”
Chapter 14
Perfect
For Him
“Mom, I know you’re going to bed in a
minute, but I have someone I’d like you to meet this morning.” I rush into the
kitchen nervously wringing my hands and scanning the place for unnecessary
mess.
Now that Cooper and I have been together
blissfully for over a month, I’ve decided it’s time to let my mom in on the
secret. I want to share my happiness with her, and the sooner she gets used to
Cooper, the better. Or should I say the sooner she gets used to his motorcycle?
“Oh yeah? Are you finally ready to reveal
your secret boyfriend?” She rolls her eyes and leans against the counter.
Cooper announces his arrival with a rhythmical
knock at the front door.
“Mom, be nice, please,” I plead.
She feigns shock. “When am I ever not
nice?”
“Mom!”
“Open the door, Camryn. I’m going to be
late for dreamland and you’re going to be late for school.”
I do as I’m told, and there stands Cooper
in all his beautiful leather glory. He leans down to kiss my cheek and stills
my heartbeat with his devastating smile.
“Good morning,” he says.
“Mom, this is Cooper Goode. Cooper, this
is my mom.” I bite my fingernail, watching them.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Ms.
Grimes,” Cooper puts out his hand for her to shake, and I smile with delight.
How could I have doubted him? He’s on his best meet-the-mother behavior.
“Nice to meet you Cooper,” mom answers.
“Do you want some breakfast? We have toast and…toast.”
He chuckles as I stifle a sigh. “No
thanks. I’ve eaten.”
“So you and Camryn have been dating for
awhile. Are you being good to my girl?”
“Mom,” I groan.
“Ms. Grimes, I consider myself lucky to
have met Camryn. I just moved here from Maryland in September, and she’s been
the best part of living in Virginia.”
“That’s nice to hear,” mom answers. “She’s
planning on going off to be a star when she graduates, you know.”
Cooper turns his beaming smile on me. I
wish he knew how deadly that smile is. He wouldn’t use it on me so much if he
did.
“I know,” he says. “I’m a musician. We
have the same dream.”
“Great,” Mom grumbles. “Well, y’all
better be off to school now before you’re late.”
She pauses, staring at Cooper
suspiciously. “Why are you carrying a helmet?”
“Oh, I never ride without one,” he
answers and I cringed.
My mom narrows her eyes. “Ride what?”
“We better hurry Cooper, we’re going to
be late!” I push Cooper toward the door and let it slam shut behind me.
As we hurry down the steps, I hear my mom
yelling after us.
“CAMRYN GRIMES, you better be careful on
that thing! Cooper! Do you hear me?”
Cooper laughs, grabbing my hand as we
run.
“You little minx. You didn’t tell her
about my bike,” he scolds. “Now I’ve made a horrible first impression.”
“Oh, you have not,” I contradict. “You
did great. She’s going to love you. Just not your bike!”
“Can’t blame her for that,” he answer.
“What mom would?”
“How does your mother feel about it?”
He snorts. “Like she cares.”
“Cooper!”
He shrugs, but I see the flash of pain
that appears in his eyes before he can harden them. He wants to be tough as
nails where his mother is concerned, putting on a strong front. But it hurts,
what she’s done to him. And his hurt is now mine.
He hands me my helmet. “How do you feel
about it? That’s the most important question.”
“I love it,” I answer immediately,
putting on the helmet.
“That’s all that matters,” he says. The
motorcycle roars to life, and we are off to school.
As we walk through the commons holding
hands as usual, we don’t get as many glances as we used to. We are old news now;
everyone knows we’re a couple and they’re mostly over it. On occasion, we get a
disgusted glance that’s easy to interpret. It says, “Why are you two together?
It’s grossing me out!”
Other than a few dark looks from Luka and
those irritated glances, we hardly receive any attention at all. Even the
P.B.G.C.’s have given it a rest, and I’m enjoying it while it lasts. While we hurry
to meet Dara and Brandon, I notice a familiar girl sitting by herself on a
bench.
“Who’s that?” I stop cold, starting at
her. I’m trying to figure out where I’ve seen her.
“I don’t know,” Cooper shrugs. “Maybe
she’s new.”
“I know her from somewhere…” I trail off
as Dara bounces forward to meet us.
“Hey Cam,” she greets me with her usual cheer.
When I don’t answer her, her gaze follows mine. “Hey, it’s that girl we saw
last month at The Spot. Remember, she bumped into you without saying sorry?”
“That’s right!” I exclaim. “What’s she
doing here?”
“She must go here now,” Dara looks at the
girl thoughtfully. “That red leather jacket is killer, isn’t it?”
“Killer,” I agree. “Should we introduce
ourselves?”
“Why? We never have before.”
“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully. “I
just have a feeling we should get to know her.”
“Too late,” Cooper says. “She’s on her
way to class.”
“Hmm,” I muse. “Maybe we’ll see her
around.”
“See you at lunch!” Dara calls, and Brandon
waves a quick goodbye.
“Shall we?” Cooper asks, holding out a
crooked arm for me to loop mine through.
“I’ll see you in Lit,” I answer absently.
“I’m going to stop in the bathroom.”
When the bathroom door closes behind me,
I groan inwardly when I see the girls already in the room.
Desiree and Keisha, two of the lower
echelon of the P.B.G.C.’s, are standing in front of the mirror tending to their
freshly weaved hair extensions. They glance at me in the mirror, and then eye
each other. I can almost see how slowly the gears in their brains turn without
Alicia and Courtney here.
I smile sweetly at them. “I see that you
have no ammunition without your leaders. Maybe we can be civil? Good morning,
ladies.”
Keisha sniffs and sends me a glare in the
mirror. “Please. We ain’t worried about you.”
I exhale a false sigh of relief. “That’s
good. I would hate to think of the two of you hurting your pretty little heads
worrying about me.”
Desiree turns around to glare at me.
“Pretty brave for a wanna-be white girl, aren’t you?”
I send her a pitying look and shake my
head. “Try a new one Desiree, that insult is all used up.”
“Girl, you actually had something going
for you when you were talking to Luka. We even thought about giving you a
chance to be cool with us. But now…white guitar boy? Really? That’s beneath
even you. Oh, wait…no it’s not.” She smirks at Keisha, who laughs out loud. A
snort escapes, and she stops mid-chuckle.
I pause, because I’m impressed that
Desiree knows the word “beneath.” When I catch back up, I narrow my eyes. “None
of you even know Cooper. If you did, you’d be smart enough to be jealous that I
have him and you don’t. Idiots.”
I stalk out of the bathroom.
The name-calling is lower than I want to
sink, but I can’t help it when I’m talking to Desiree and Keisha.
When I arrive in Lit, about thirty
seconds before the bell rings, I’m greeted by an unexpected surprise.
The brunette from The Spot is sitting in
the seat behind Cooper. Her long legs are stretched out in the aisle and she’s leaning
back in her seat. Perfectly relaxed. I, for some reason, am not.
I complete an actual double-take, and then
I take my seat in front of Cooper.
“New girl’s in our class, huh?” I whisper,
stating the obvious.
“Guess so,” he replies. “I didn’t notice.”
I smile at him; he was saying the words
he thinks I need to hear, but how could he not notice the beautiful brunette? I
see several male eyes checking her out right now.
I wish she wasn’t two seats behind me, so
I could get a better look at her. I don’t even know why I’m so interested. Her
presence just gives me a bad feeling.
Mr. Taft clears his throat to signal the
start of class.
“Ahem. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a
new face with us again today. Let me introduce Miss, uh,” He glances down at the
note on his podium. “Miss Lilly Brewer. Let’s make sure she feels welcome at
Oceanview, shall we?”
The class nods and murmurs in agreement.
“Okay then, let’s get started…” Mr. Taft
launches right into his lecture.
I feel safe enough to glance back at
Lilly, and see that her eyes are trained on the front of the classroom where
Mr. Taft is speaking. She
is
really
pretty; her long dark hair is glossy and layered. She has piercing blue eyes
that match the color of the ocean down the road exactly, and her thin frame is
folded gracefully into her seat. There is absolutely nothing threatening about
her at all.
So why do I feel this foreboding in my
gut when I look at her?
I look back up at Mr. Taft and resolve to
find out as much as I could about Lilly Brewer.
***
I have dance practice after school. It’s
our first of the new basketball season, and we have new members who need to
learn sideline routines. After practice, I’m sweaty and euphoric. Dance
practice always makes me feel that way, but I know my night was far from over. I
have to teach my four-year-old students a ballet class at the studio, and then
take my own Advanced Contemporary class. I’ll be dancing late into the night.
But as I leave the school building, my
euphoria rises again when I see the lone motorcycle in the parking lot. I have
a sexy ride to dance tonight, and an even sexier driver.
He’s leaning against the bike, looking as
beautiful as ever, but I freeze when I realize he isn’t alone.
Here’s my chance to introduce myself to
Lilly Brewer, because she is standing right next to my boyfriend’s bike.
“…So if you could give me a ride…” she is
saying.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he answers
Is
he?
“I’m waiting for someone.”
Your
girlfriend. You’re waiting for your girlfriend,
Something about this is making my stomach
squirm. I need Dara here to tell me whether or not I’m being ridiculous. I have
a feeling she would suggest I tell Lilly Brewer exactly where she could find a
ride, and to stay the hell away from my boyfriend.
Just then, Cooper’s head turns toward me,
and I continue walking toward them like I hadn’t been standing there trying to
listen to their conversation.
“Here she is!” he exclaims. “Cam, you
remember Lilly from Lit, right?”
“Yeah, of course,” I reply, smiling at
Lilly.
What am I thinking?
I have to
give this girl a chance. Her asking Cooper for a ride home could be completely
innocent. She may not even have known that he had a girlfriend.
Lilly’s lip curls as she looks at me for
the first time. Her eyes quickly rove my dance clothes and sweaty face, and her
clear blue eyes sparkle with curiosity.
“I remember you from Lit. I was just
asking your friend Cooper here for a ride on his bike. I don’t live far, and
mine is still being shipped from Cali.”
“Boyfriend,” I correct too quickly.
“Cooper is my boyfriend. I’m sorry we can’t help you. These things are just
built for two, you know.”
Did she say
hers
was being shipped?
“Do you ride?” Cooper asks, disbelief
pouring out of his voice.
Lilly smirks, leaning into his bike and
stroking it lovingly.
“Yeah,” she answers. “I have an
Aprilia
. It’s smaller than yours, but it’s fast. I miss it
so much.” Her bottom lip sticks out in a pout and I almost gag.
Cooper’s mouth drops open slightly in
shock before he catches himself and closes it. He plays it cool, even though I can
tell how impressed he is.
“That’s cool,” he replies. “Love to see
it when you get it back. You ready, babe?” he asked me. “I don’t want you to be
late for dance.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to keep you guys,” Lilly says.
“I’m going to call my parents to get me, they’ll be here in a minute. You go
on; I wouldn’t want you to be late for dance, either, Cam.” She smiles
brightly. “It was nice meeting you both.”
“Nice to meet you too,” I answer, putting
on my helmet and climbing on the bike behind Cooper. I make sure to squeeze him
tightly as we roared away.