Color Blind (14 page)

The next morning, I drag myself out of
bed in order to get ready for school. Dara and I are riding together this
morning, because we haven’t spent time together in awhile, between dance,
Brandon, and Cooper. We have plans to get
mani-pedis
after school. I hurry to get dressed, so I can be somewhat on time to pick her
up.

When Dara closes the passenger door
behind her, she says, “Good morning, sunshine!”

“Good morning,” I mutter.

“Spill,” she orders.

“What?” I ask, bewildered.

“Don’t play dumb with me, sister,” she
answers. “Why does your face look all…like that?” She gestures generally in the
direction of my face, making a big dramatic circle with her arm.

I sigh. “Ugh. You know that new girl in
my Lit class? The one from The Spot?”

“Yeah,” Dara answers, adding lipstick
while using the vanity mirror. “Isn’t her name Lilly?”

“Yes, her,” I reply.

“Uh-oh,” Dara says. “I know that tone. What’s
wrong with her?”

“I think she’s going after Cooper!” I
blurt.

“Oh, no she’s not,” Dara answers. “We
can’t have that, can we? What makes you think that, anyway?”

I recount yesterday’s encounter with
Lilly after practice, and the generally negative feeling I receive from the
girl as soon as I saw her. She frowns, and puts her lipstick back in her bag.

“Well, there’s no hard evidence. Yet.
We’ll keep an eye on her. But you’re not the jealous type, Cam. Don’t let her
get to you. You and Cooper are on fire, as much as I hate to admit it.” She
looks at me wistfully, remembering her hopes for a relationship between Luka
and I.

“I’ve never been the jealous type because
I’ve never had anyone to feel protective over,” I point out. “Now I realize I
am definitely the very, very jealous type. Like, “Think Before He Cheats”
Carrie Underwood type of jealous. I’ve finally found a guy I trust with my
heart, and I’m scared to death of losing him.”

I pull into the school parking lot,
ashamed to admit this personal thing to my best friend. “I have prayed for him
every night, Dara, and I didn’t even realize it.”

She shakes her head ruefully. “Girl,
you’ve got it bad. Be careful. We’re only seniors in high school. I love
Brandon too, but I know that anything can happen between now and forever. You
shouldn’t trust any eighteen-year-old boy with all your heart. Just a piece of
it.”

“We haven’t even said it yet,” I mutter.

“I’m sorry, what?” she gasps. Her hand
rests on the door handle, but she drops it when she hears my admission.

“Cam! Why not? If you’re so madly in love
with the guy…”

“I don’t know!” I say. “It just
hasn’t…come up.”

My door opens just then, and I’m swept
into Cooper’s strong embrace. “I missed you,” he murmurs in my ear, causing a delectable
tremor to run through my body.

I smile. “You just saw me last night,” I
point out.

“That was too long ago,” he answers,
playfully tugging my ponytail.

We meet Brandon at the Jeep, and our
foursome trudges into the school building, where we are met with a lime green
flyer being pressed into each of our hands from a junior girl I don’t know.

My jaw nearly hits the floor.

Cooper reads over my shoulder, and
whistles.

“Hey dude,” Brandon says. “You got
competition!” He is laughing, but I see nothing funny about this.

A large picture of Lilly marks the middle
of the page, and the title reads “The Spotlights.” Her band.

Lilly has a band.

And apparently, she’s the face of it, the
lead singer. They’re putting on a performance at the pep rally on Friday, to
celebrate the basketball team’s home opener.

I begin to think I’m in danger of
hyperventilating, for the first time in my life, in front of a commons full of
people.

Dara reads my facial expression, and
quickly pulls me to the bathroom.

As soon as the door shuts behind us I
bend over, hands on my knees. I can’t catch my breath.

Dara’s hand rubs circles on my back
comfortingly. “It’s going to be okay, Cam.”

“Is it?” I nearly shout. “I
just
found this guy, Dara. We’re happy.
And now this girl just shows up out of nowhere. Nowhere!”

“I know, honey, but just because she has
a band—“

“No! It’s not just that she has a band.
She wears leather. She rides a freaking motorcycle, Dara!” I sink down on the
floor and put my head in my hands. I breathe deeply into my palms, shuddering
with the effort not to sob.

“She’s perfect for him.” My voice is
small and broken.

“Okay, I’ve had enough of
this
,
” Dara sits down beside me.
She throws her blonde hair over her shoulder and puts on her “listen to me
right now or else” face.

“You listen to me right now, or else,”
she says.

I smile through the haze of tears
threatening to pour from my eyes.

“You’re being ridiculous, and you know
it. Cooper only has eyes for you, Camryn Grimes. I’ve seen it myself. Girls
have been throwing themselves at him left and right since he got here. He’s
only pursued you since he arrived. Fine, maybe he wasn’t my first choice for
you, but I’ve got to give him credit here. He deserves your trust. If you don’t
give it to him, you’re going to mess this up. No brunette, microphone-holding
motorcycle chick is going to steal him from you. End of conversation.”

She’s right, of course. I have no reason
not to trust Cooper. He’s been great to me and
for
me since we met, and I’m not going to screw it up by becoming
the jealous girlfriend.

“Sorry,” I smile at Dara as I stand.
“Freak out moment over. I’m new at this, you know.”

“Girl, please. If I flipped out every
time Courtney threw shade in my direction over Brandon, I’d be in a mental
institution by now.”

I laugh. “I don’t think you need to worry
about her. She got to be Luka’s Cheer Sweetheart, so she’s occupied.”

Dara sniffs. “I
so
wasn’t worried. I’ll pull that girl’s extensions out if I have
to.”

When we exit the bathroom, Cooper’s eyes
scan my face, and then he pulls me into a hug.

“For a minute there, I thought you were
upset about the flyer. I’m okay with a little healthy competition, you know.
I’d like to see what The Spotlights are all about.”

That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.

Chapter
15

The
Spotlights

Friday, after the school day ends, I leave
the building to go home and grab a bite before the game. Cooper has hurried off
to band practice with Fire and Glory, so I have my own car for a change. Striding
through the parking lot, I see that I’m about to cross paths with Luka, who is
heading toward his Mercedes.

“Hey,” he smiles as he ambles toward me. “For
a girl I see every day, I feel like I never get to talk to you. You know,
between your dance rehearsals and your
boyfriend
.”
He tosses his keys in the air and catches them again.

“Hey yourself,” I reply. “I’m a busy
girl. You gotta catch me when you can, Mr. Benz.”

“Noted,” he laughs. “Seriously though,
Cam, let me holler at you for a second.”

I look at him expectantly, ticking down a
mental list of possible subjects he may have to broach with me. It really has
been forever since I’ve talked to Luka, so the list is endless. I frown.
 

“Holler away,” I reply.

He steps a little closer. “After you
ended things with me, I was pretty upset. But I never meant to make you feel
uncomfortable, or anything like that. Above all else, Cam, I really want to be
your friend. I feel like you’re
gonna
need an extra
one of those someday, and I really want to be there. In any way you’ll let me.”

I smile in relief. I’m so glad to hear
him say that.

“I want to be your friend, too, Luka. I
just wasn’t sure…” I trail off.

“I know. I didn’t make it easy. Please
forgive me. And know that I’m here if you need me, and even if you don’t.”

I hug him tightly. It’s fast and
sporadic, but I just need to do it. Luka is a genuinely good guy, and I hurt
him. He’s standing here asking to be my friend anyway, and I’m lucky he still
wants to be in my life after all we went through.

“Thank you,” I say into his chest. “I
needed to hear that.”

His arms encircle me instantly, and I
have that feeling of comfort and ease that I always experience with around.
When I pull back, his beautiful brown eyes glitter with happiness and something
I can’t identify.

“So, big game tonight. Home opener! I’m
excited. Are you guys ready?” I ask him.

“Please. We’re
gonna
murder
Lametown
.”

He uses the nickname we gave our rivals,
Lincolntown
High.

“Okay then,” I laugh. “I see you, big
man. I’ll save a high kick just for your first basket.”

“Oh, hell yeah,” he replies, doing a
little jig on the pavement. “Can’t wait.”

He opens my car door for me, and I climb
in. “See you in a bit!”

I watch him walk away, grinning and
tossing his keys in the air.

Cooper

I’ve run back to school to get a book I
need for a report due on Monday. As I’m leaving, I’m almost humming with
happiness. Being with a girl like Camryn just does that to me. I’ve never felt
so comfortable with anyone. I’m comfortable with her, yet she still makes my
stomach clench with anticipation every time I think about her. And when I see
her…wow. She does things to me I never even thought were possible.

I exit the front doors of the school and
look out into the parking lot. I stop short when I notice Cam…and Luka.

They’re just talking. A little too close
for my comfort, but still. I trust her.

Then he puts his arms around her. I watch
her arms snake up around his waist, and I nearly lose it.

I don’t know what stops me from running
over there and pounding him in the face for touching my girl like that. Maybe
it’s the fact that Cam might never forgive me for acting like a jealous
asshat
.

So I just stand there, like an idiot, and
watch. I’m sure my mouth is hanging open, and my heart is hammering what feels
like a jagged hole through my chest. If he tries to kiss her I will end him.

Finally, after ten
forevers
,
she pulls out of the embrace. Then she gets into her car and drives away. I
watch Luka get into his flashy SUV and drive off, and I let out a breath I didn’t
even know I was holding.

She’s
with you
, I remind
myself.
Camryn is yours because she wants
to be. She could have chosen to be with Luka if she wanted him. Whatever reason
she had for hugging Luka was a good one. Trust her.

I take a few deep breaths, and head for
my bike.

As I ride home, I think about the fact
that I’m about to watch a rival band perform at tonight’s game. I’m not really
worried about them as competition. They have a different brand of music than we
do, and their fan base is bound to be different. I’m still interested to go to
the game with the guys from Fire and Glory though, and check them out.

I’m also going to check out my gorgeous
girlfriend, who is captain of the dance team this year.

I don’t think I have ever even shown up
at an athletic event at any of my old schools, and tonight I’m actually excited
about attending a basketball game.

Camryn

The
raucous noise of the gym assaults my eardrums. I love basketball season, if
only for the pure energy the crowd gives me at every home game. Tonight there is
an extra amount of excitement in the air, as everyone waits for the debut of
The Spotlights.

Sarah
stands next to me in the middle of the dance team’s line. As co-captains, we take
turns calling out the dances to perform.
 
She leans over and shouts in my ear.

“This
is crazy, right?”

“Totally
crazy,” I agree. I glance into the stands where Dara is sitting with Cooper and
some of the members of Fire and Gory. Cooper gives me his rakish smile. I blow
him a kiss, and he places his hand over his heart.

Tonight,
I decide, I will tell him.

I
love this boy. I love him for the way he’s rebounded after everything he’s been
through. I love him for the way he is the most upfront and honest person I
know. And I love him because he waited patiently for me, even after my
stubbornness prevented us from being together right away. I love him more every
day I spend with him, learning about him. More than I have ever loved any male
figure in my life. And I want to keep him.

When
I look back at the game, Brandon tosses the ball up from half-court, and the
crowd roars. The buzzer blows, and the ball sinks soundlessly into the net. The
crowd noise rises, and it’s halftime. The dancers and cheerleaders take seats
on the front three rows of the stands to watch the halftime performance. My heart
thuds so hard in my chest; I feel the reverberation in my ribs.

A
crew quickly sets up a folding stage, and The Spotlights assemble their
equipment. They are clearly using an abbreviated amount of gear tonight, since
it was a smaller scale performance. I check behind me in the stands at the
roaring crowd. They should have brought full equipment.

The
gym darkens, and a hush cloaks the crowd like a blanket.

Then
a voice rises through the rafters, and The Spotlights’ performance begins.

My
heart sinks to the floor, because Lilly Brewer’s voice is incredible.

There
is no other way to describe it. The band behind her fades away as she sings the
band’s anthem, “All Lights on Us.” It’s like she has been created to sing. And
she knows how to work a crowd.

When
the performance is over, the entire gym is on their feet, and both basketball
teams are standing outside the locker rooms pumping their fists in the air. I
direct my gaze up at Cooper, and he’s standing with the rest of the crowd,
applauding with an appreciative smile on his perfect face. His eyes are on
Lilly, not on me. I don’t think my heart can fall any farther, but somehow it
does.

When
I look at Dara, her eyes are full of sympathy for me, and she shrugs her
shoulders helplessly.

The
rest of the game passes in a blur. Luka and Brandon tag-teamed to score a
combined total of thirty-six points, and our team wins by a landslide.

None
of that matters to me. I want to get to Cooper, to get him out of here and forget
about the stupid Spotlights for the rest of the night.

I’m
supposed to be meeting Cooper outside in the parking lot, so we can spend the
remainder of our Friday night together. On the way out, I run into Brandon and
Luka.

“Where’s
Dara?” I ask Brandon absently.

“Waiting
in the Jeep,” he answers. “I knew us getting dressed would take awhile, so I
gave her the keys and told her to wait in the car, where it’s warm.”

I
head in that direction, walking more quickly than Brandon and Luka expect, but
they caught up to me.

Luka
grabs my arm, gently tugging me around to face him. “What’s wrong, Cam?”

“Nothing,
really,” I answer. My breath puffs up white in the wintry air. “I’m just in a hurry
to get out of here.”

The
wary look in his eyes tells me he doesn’t believe me, but lets me go. He and
Brandon flank my sides as we exit the gym hallway and step out into the parking
lot.

As
the overhead parking lights wash over us, I scan the lot until I find Brandon’s
Jeep. Dara is out of it, running toward me.

“Cam!”
she calls.

I
wave at her, not hearing the alarm in her voice.

I
wish I did.

When
I turn toward my car, the first thing I notice is the sleek, jet-black
motorcycle parked directly next to it. A purple helmet perches on the seat.

The
second thing I notice is Lilly Brewer, standing between my car and what is
apparently her bike.

The
final thing I notice is her bright red painted lips as they iron themselves
onto my boyfriend’s.