Page 9 (1/2)
seat belt
(st belt) n 1 a trick in which a snowboarder reaches across the body and grabs the board while getting air 2 what Hayden needs to fasten, because Nick is about to take her for a ride
At the groan of a door opening, I looked up fro molecules so I wouldn’t have any homework to actually take home But as I’d stared at the white paper, it had dissolved into a snowy slaloates for me to snowboard between My red pen had tracedback and forth, swish, swish, swish, down the page I could almost feel the icy wind on et out of school and head for the mountain
Until I saas Nick co out the door of Ms Abernathy’s room and into the hall At six feet tall, he filled the doorith his model-perfect looks and cocky attitude He flicked his dark hair out of his eyes with his pinkie, looked down at rinned brilliantly
My first thought was, Oh no: fuel for the fire About a o, one of my best friends had hooked up with one of Nick’s best friends Then, a feeeks ago, otten together It was fate Nick and I were next, right?
Wrong Everybody in our class reo, in seventh grade They gleefully recalled our breakup and the resulting brouhaha They watched us now for our entertainain Unfortunately for them, they needed to stick to DVDs and Wii to fill up their spare ti to happen
My second thought was, Ah, those deep brown eyes
Maybe snowboarding could wait a little longer, after all
“Fancyyou here, Hoyden” He closed the door behind hiain, and Ms Abernathy had sent him out in the hall
Join the club Froh school’s science wing, I gazed up at him—ay up, because I was on the floor—and tried lare The first tio, I’d sneaked a peek in the dictionary to look up what itNot exactly a lie, either But I couldn’t let him know I felt flattered that he’d taken the time to look up a word in the dictionary to insult me with Because that would make me insane, desperate, and in unrequited love
He slapped his forehead “Oh, I’et confused” He had a way of saying oh so innocently, like he had no idea he’d insulted ht his act, at least for their first feeeks at our school They were taken by the idea of hooking up with Nick Krieger, who occasionally was featured in teen heartthrob er Meats and Meat Products fortune And Nick obliged these girls—at least for a few dates, until he dumped them
I knew his pattern all too well When I’d first irls He’d made me feel like a princess for a whole irl who dated! The fantasy culminated with one deep kiss shared in the back row of theus It didn’t end well, thus the aforementioned brouhaha
I blinked the stars out ofyou here, Ex”
He gave me his smile of sexy confidence, dropped his backpack, and sank to the floor beside me “What do you think of Davis and Liz?”
My heart had absolutely no reason to skip a beat He was not askingme my opinion of my friend Liz and his friend Davis as a couple That did not necessarilypublic opinion that he and I were next to get together Liz and Davis were a legitiossip
I reat until they discuss where to go on a date Then he’ll insist they go where she wants to go She’ll insist they go where he wants to go They’ll end up sitting in her driveway all night, fighting to the death over who can be htful and polite”
Nick chuckled, a low rumble in his chest Because he’d sat down so close to , sort of, under layers and layers of clothing, I felt the vibration of his voice But again, my heart had no reason—repeat, no reason—to skip two beats, or possibly three, just because I’d ood about their stupid jokes, froirl in our class down to the chick with straight hair and bottle glasses ore long denim skirts with her Nikes
“And what’s up with Gavin and Chloe?” he asked next
“Chloe and Gavin are an accident waiting to happen” I couldn’t understand this mismatch between the class president and the class bad boy, and it was a relief finally to voice -willed to ether now, but before long they’ll have an argueddon look like a happy childhood memory”
Suddenly it occurred to me that I’d said way toocharacterization to Gavin, ould take it right back to Chloe I really did hold this opinion of Chloe and Gavin’s chances at true love, but I’d never intended to share it! I lost my inhibitions when I looked into Nick’s dark eyes, damn him
I slidas it sounds, because his parka was very puffy—and cooed, “But that’s just between you andsecrets”
He pursed his lips and gazed at rade history in his face, tieddon on hi our whole class in on his secret while he kept me in the dark
Not that I was bitter
But instead of jabbing back ata puffy parka, only a couple of T-shirts, both of which had ridden up a little in the back I knew this without looking because I felt the heat of his fingers on my bare skin, above the waistband of my jeans My face probably turned a few shades redder than my hair
“Now, Hoyden,” he reprimanded me, “Valentine’s Day is a week from tomorrow We don’t want to ruin that special day for Gavin and Chloe or Davis and Liz We should put aside our differences for the sake of the kids”
I couldn’t help bursting into unladylike laughter