First and Last (3 page)

It’s Josh. He’s getting in my head. All this talk about how attractive she is now is messing with me. But if that’s the case, then why do I want to go back over there and see her in those shorts again?

“We still good to study tonight?” Mia asks me at my locker. I wasn’t sure if things would be weird between us after that night in her room last week, but we fell into our normal routine. I’m still confused as hell, but I seem to be the only one.

“Yeah, is that cool with your dad?” I pull the book I need for my next period out and close the door.

“Yep. He said it was fine, but I’m still grounded. So no TV and no goofing off.” She rolls her eyes, making me grin.

“Cool. I’ll be over after practice then.”

“Hey, guys,” Josh says as he walks up, flashing Mia a smile. My eyes narrow at him slightly even though he’s not looking at me.

“Hey, Josh. How are you?” Mia asks.

“Good, real good.” I have to stifle my laughter. He’s so lame.

“Well, I’ll see you later, Blake,” she says to me.

“Yeah, I’ll come over when I get home from practice.”

As she walks away, Josh and I both stare after her. “Man, look at her ass.” He sounds like he’s in awe, and it pisses me off. I know it shouldn’t, but it does and I can’t explain it. Even I don’t fully understand these new feelings.

“I think I’m going to ask Mia to the eighth grade dance,” Josh says as we’re walking to class. My head snaps in his direction, taken by surprise.

“What? Why? Uh, I mean, I didn’t know you liked her that way.”

“Yeah, I guess,” he says with a shrug. “She’s hot and I don’t think she’s going with anyone, so I’m going to ask her.”

My stomach burns with something I’ve never felt before.

Jealousy.

And I hate it. I hate how this feels and I have no control over it. Mostly, I hate what it’s about to make me do.

“Well, she told me someone already asked her.” The lie is out of my mouth before I can stop it. I just can’t watch him go with her.

“Really? Who?” He stops outside his class and looks at me.

“I’m not sure. I didn’t ask.” I look away as the lies keep spilling out.

“Well, that sucks.” He turns to go into his class.

“Yeah, sorry, man.”

Guilt should hit me for lying to my friend, but it doesn’t. I’m not sure what that says about me or the way I’m starting to feel about Mia, but I lock it away and go to class. There’s time to worry about that later.

M
ia’s outside getting the mail when I come over to help her study. “Hey,” she greets with a nice smile. Her teeth are perfectly white and her face glows. She’s so damn pretty.

“Hey,” I reply. “You ready to get this over with?” I point to my math book in my hand.

Her shoulders slump, showing her lack of enthusiasm. “I guess.”

I follow her inside the house, waving at Mr. Avery as we pass by. He starts warning us that I’m here to study only, but his words fade into the background as my eyes travel up ahead of me and land on her ass. I’m mesmerized, damn near hypnotized as she sways her hips from side to side with each step she climbs.

I look up right before she turns her head toward me. “I started on our assignment already, but skipped the ones I got stuck on.”

I nod a little too eagerly, but I’m thankful she didn’t see me checking her out. That would have been awkward. “Good,” is all I can manage with my brain pulling me in two different directions.

One side says,
Danger! Nothing good will come of this.
The other side says,
Go for it!

We lie on the floor on our stomachs working out the different problems. She starts to get the hang of it and I think there might be hope for her yet. When we’re done, we put our stuff away and lie back looking up at the ceiling.

At the risk of sounding like a major sissy, I’ve missed her. I don’t get to see her that much now that she’s in trouble. She’s my best friend, the person I tell everything to.

“So, I was thinking,” I say after a while.

“Uh oh, don’t hurt yourself,” she responds.

“Ha ha, you’re so funny. But seriously, who are you going with to the dance?” Ever since Josh brought it up, it’s all I could think about.

“Me, myself, and I. What about you?”

I shake my head. “No one.”

“I thought you’d ask Sarah.”

“Why?”

“She seems to like you.”

Sarah is in one of my classes. She’s cute and nice, but I don’t know. I’m just not that into her. “Nah, I was thinking me and you could go together.” I don’t know why I’m so nervous right now. My stomach flutters and my hands are sweaty.

“Like, as friends?” Her eyebrows are pulled in when I look at her. She seems confused by my suggestion, but I am too. It’s something about Josh wanting to go with her that made me decide we needed to.

“Yeah, plus, we made a pact. It’s our first dance, so we have to do it together.”

When we were eleven years old, we made a pact to do all of our firsts together. Our first drink, our first time skipping school, our first party.

Our first kiss.

It was the pact that actually led us to knocking that last one off the list. It was a simple peck and didn’t mean anything. Neither of us really knew what we were doing, but it was a first, nonetheless.

“That’s right.” She pauses for a while and if I could have any superpower in the world, it would be to read minds. I’m dying to know what she’s thinking right now. Not knowing is making me even more nervous. “Okay, then it’s a plan. We’ll go together.”

I try to hide it, but fail miserably as a huge smile stretches across my face.

Mia,

Try not to step on my toes this weekend.

Blake

I fold the note up right before the bell rings for second period so I can put it in her locker. It’s Friday, so the dance is tomorrow. This has been the longest week of my life. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I never care about these dances and stuff, but this time I’m kind of excited. And nervous. And I know it’s because I’m going with Mia. It’s not like we don’t hang out all the time, but this feels more like a date, and that changes everything.

Fourth period is about to start, so I go to my locker to switch out my books when a note falls out.

Blake,

Who said I would actually dance with you? I only agreed to go.

Mia

I stuff the note in my pocket and smile the whole way to class. She always makes me laugh with her attitude and feistiness, which is probably why we get along so well. I don’t have to worry about hurting her feelings or saying the wrong thing like with most girls. I can joke and give her a hard time and she returns the favor. It’s this give and take thing and it works for us.

The first slow song of the night comes on. My stomach drops as I look to Mia. This is the prettiest I’ve ever seen her. All the girls got dressed up, but she really stands out. A simple, long black dress shows off her hot body. What I like most is that she doesn’t try too hard. She doesn’t look slutty or wear a pound of makeup. Her hair is done up in some curls. It’s darker than it used to be, but still shiny and blonde. And her face looks normal but her lips have a little lipstick on them.

“Want to dance?” I ask her nervously.

She smiles slightly, looks down, and nods. Grabbing her hand, I stand up tall and try to pretend I know what I’m doing like Mom taught me. When we’re on the dance floor, I put my arms around her waist and wait for her arms to wrap around my neck. We rock back and forth as we both look around the room, refusing to make eye contact. Other couples are dancing too, and my focus stops on Josh. He’s here with a girl I’ve never really talked to. When he found out I was taking Mia, he was pretty pissed at me. But I lied again and told him her date flaked on her so I was taking her. That probably makes me a bad friend, but he’ll get over it.

Halfway through the song, we finally meet each other’s eyes. I don’t know if this feels awkward because we’re doing something that’s usually done by couples and we’re just friends or what. She smiles first and I return it. “You look really nice, Blake.”

My face heats up and I look down at myself. I’m wearing dress slacks, a blue button-up shirt, and a tie. “Thanks,” I say shyly. “You look really good too. Prettiest girl here.” My focus returns to her and now her face turns red. At least I’m not the only awkward one here.

“Thanks for asking me to go with you. I was bummed out thinking I’d have to stay home.”

“Why would you stay home?” My eyebrows pull in.

“Because no one wanted to go with me. I’m not like those popular girls that all the guys are falling over themselves to take out.”

“Are you kidding me? The only reason those girls get asked out is because guys are afraid of you.”

“I don’t get it,” she says as she shakes her head.

“You’re way out of our league. You’re smart and pretty and fun. Those girls make it easy. You’re the girl every guy wants, but knows he isn’t good enough for.”

She stares at me for several moments before leaning in and kissing me on the cheek. I’m pretty sure my insides explode. “I’m glad I have you, Blake Collins.”

I am too.