The Stand-In Boyfriend (Grove Valley High #1)(55)
Chase doesn’t respond. I turn to look at him and find him looking at me almost sadly. “Huh?” I ask. “How did you know?”
He just shakes his head and looks toward the front of the room at Ms. Fountain, who is grading her papers and steadfastly ignoring us. Eventually he looks back to me and shrugs simply. He opens his mouth and uses a voice so soft I have to strain to hear it. “I might have used it before myself.”
AFTER A NIGHT OF TOSSING and turning, I know I have to sort out whatever is going on with Jessie. I get out of bed a full hour before I usually would, go for an early morning run to try to get rid of my lingering nerves, and then am showered, dressed, and in my car at the time I’d usually just be waking up.
I reverse out of my drive and head downtown toward my mom’s bakery. I jump out and run inside, waving at Shelley, my mom’s manager who takes the early shift. My mom doesn’t join her until after she’s dropped Scotty off at daycare. They expanded a couple of years ago after word got out about my mom’s cakes, and there’s already a steady stream of regulars lining up for their coffees and early morning treats. I pull the odd early shift, so they recognize me and smile my way as I grab a takeout box and fill it with my mom’s famous brownies, cookies, and cheesecake. They’re all Jessie’s favorites.
Shelley eyes me suspiciously. “You mom would kill me if she knew I was letting you take that for breakfast.”
I grin back at her, pulling some money out of my pocket and handing it over. “It’s not all for me, and it’s an emergency.”
I rush out and make the ten-minute drive to Jessie’s house, hoping he hasn’t strayed from his routine and actually left to go to school early for once.
His dad is just leaving as I pull up and he smiles and waves as he gets in his car and drives off. I make my way up the drive and let myself in like I’ve done a million times before, shoving my nerves down. It’s ridiculous; this is Jessie. We know each other better than almost anyone, and I’m not prepared to let this horrible tension go on between us. I’m fixing this now.
His mom waves at me from the front room where she’s battling with his sisters about what they should wear today, and I make my way into the kitchen. He’s already in there, by the fridge, drinking his juice directly from the bottle.
“Hey.”
He whirls to see me, surprise written all over his face.
“Well done, for yesterday,” I tell him before he can ask me why I’m here. He scored a goal in the second half that evened the score, and I screamed so loud Ms. Fountain knocked her drink over. The team then went on to win and even from my distant view, I could see how happy he was. It hurt that I couldn’t be down there to celebrate with him.
Pride crosses his face before he tries to mask it with indifference, but he can’t because we both know how much yesterday meant to him.
I hold out my box of treats. “This is a peace offering,” I tell him. “I hate the way things are with us and I wish we could go back to how it used to be.” He opens his mouth to say something but I keep going. “I won’t talk about Chase, and you don’t need to mention Courtney.” Even when I’m trying to make things okay between us, I still find my mouth curling in distaste at her name. “I just want my friend back.”
His gaze levels me for a minute and I hold my breath, terrified he’s going to be as mad as he was the other day. Eventually his eyes drop to the box in my hand. “Is that stuff from your mom’s place?”
I grin, knowing we’re okay. “Where else?”
He narrows his eyes, but this time it’s playful. “There better be brownies in there.”
I shrug, like I don’t know. “I mean, maybe. I thought you might like the cheesecake too.”
He’s in front of me in a second, grabbing the box and opening it in delight. He starts eating right away, grinning with a mouthful of food before offering me a bite.
“I missed you,” I tell him quietly.
His eyes find mine. “I missed you, too.”
I’M TWISTING AND PRESSING MY hands together so tightly I think I’ll have bruises, and I haven’t moved from the shower stall I’m sitting in—fully clothed—since our team bus pulled up here. It’s the day of the finals and I’m terrified. In fact, terrified is an understatement. This is everything I’ve been working toward since I was a freshman and it all comes down to this. Last year we lost in the final, the year before we didn’t make the finals, the year before that I didn’t make varsity, and next year I won’t be here. This is it. This is the only chance I have to be a high school soccer champion, and the thought of it is paralyzing.
The stall door opens and Sophie appears, decked out in her full cheerleading outfit, makeup and all. She steps over my outstretched legs and sinks down next to me. Hallie or Tia must have gotten her; I could see them watching me on the bus. I’ve gotten nervous before, scared, but not like this. I’ve never been like this, and they must have assumed Sophie could pull me out of it. As soon as we got to the locker rooms, we all got changed, but I couldn’t say a word to anyone. Then when Coach ordered us out to do our warm-up, I thought I was going to pass out and disappeared into the stall. Coach left me to it, realizing he wasn’t being helpful by demanding I warm up, and this is where I’ve been ever since.