The Slope Rules Page 18

  I smile.

  My good mood carries me to English, where Blake’s waiting outside the classroom. “How’s your lip?”

  “See for yourself.” I stick out my lower lip. There’s a tiny cut from his tooth, but the swelling is mostly gone so it’s not noticeable.

  “I think I need a closer look.”

  My stomach flip-flops as he leans toward me. He doesn’t kiss me, but his face is so close I can feel his breath. Everything in me tingles and my eyes flutter closed and—

  “Didn’t you two learn anything yesterday?” Ms. Simpson’s standing in the doorway, arms crossed. A smile dances on her lips.

  Heat flames my cheeks and I duck my head. “Sorry.” I hustle past her into the classroom and don’t look up until I’m in my seat. I look to see if Blake’s as embarrassed as I am but he just gives me his lopsided smile.

  I spend the rest of the class in a puddle on the floor.

  The next day I bounce out of bed, dance through my shower, and practically float to my locker. Today’s our date! I love seeing Blake at school, but being alone with him, away from everyone else... I shudder just thinking about it.

  “You’re in a good mood today.” Mike raises an eyebrow at me.

  “I’m going out with Blake tonight.”

  “Ooh, do tell. Where are you going?”

  I pause. “I have no idea. He mentioned dinner and a movie but that’s all I know.”

  She gives me a soft smile. “Sounds perfect to me.”

  I dump my stuff in my locker and we’re heading down the hall when someone hits my arm and my books go flying.

  Seriously?

  I whirl on Brianna. “I guess you didn’t spend your day at home thinking about how to stop being a bitch.”

  Brianna ignores me and glares at Mike. “So you’re a dyke now?”

  She startles. “What?”

  Brianna nods in my direction but doesn’t look at me.

  I roll my eyes. “I’m not gay.”

  She scoffs. “That’s not what I heard.”

  “I think your ponytail’s pulling your brain out of your head.”

  She finally faces me. “I heard from a very reliable source that you were making out with that freak snowboard chick.” She angles her head so she’s looking down her nose, daring me to challenge her.

  “We weren’t making out.”

  Her eyes light up. “But you don’t deny you kissed her!”

  “I didn’t kiss her.”

  “I have proof that you did.” Everything seems to move in slow motion. Brianna reaches into her back pocket and pulls out her phone. Pulls up a photo. There’s the base of the chairlift. There’s me. And there’s Amber, her lips on mine.

  I straighten my shoulders. Amber’s my friend and I’m not letting Brianna trash her reputation or mine. “Like I said, I didn’t kiss her. She kissed me, but it was a misunderstanding.” I smirk. “Don’t tell me you’ve never made out with a girl. Just for fun? You know, just to see what it’s like?”

  Her face turns bright red and her mouth falls open. “I would never!” Mike chokes back a laugh and Brianna points a finger at her. “Don’t even think about it.”

  Woah. Looks like I hit closer to the truth than I expected. “So I guess if anyone is turning Mike gay,” I air quote that part, “it’s you. Not me.”

  “I am not—I didn’t—” She stops mid-sentence, gives each of us her deadliest glare, then turns on her heel and stalks away.

  Mike and I exhale at the same time.

  “Did you two really kiss?”

  “For like two seconds in eighth grade. She heard about older girls making out at parties for attention and wanted to try it, but she never brought it up again.” We pause at the corner that leads to her class. “Are things okay with you and Amber?”

  “Yeah. She was super embarrassed but I’m not freaking out over it.”

  “That’s cool of you.”

  “You’re just saying that because I helped you escape the Bunny cult.”

  She laughs and gives me a quick hug. “Yes, yes I am.”

  The warning bell rings and we head our separate ways. The butterflies kick into full force as I enter English.

  T minus six hours until the date.

  Skinny jeans. Boots. Shirt and scarf that look good but don’t look like I’m trying too hard.

  Hair?

  Down.

  Perfect.

  Were you this nervous for your first date with Jake?

  Worse.

  How is that possible?

  I couldn’t talk to you about it.

  I stop in the middle of my room. I’m a shitty friend.

  We already went over this. You were just a little self-absorbed.

  Shitty friend.

  Tomato tomahto.

  I laugh.

  Are you gonna tell him about Amber?

  I think he has enough self-esteem issues without worrying that I’m switching teams.

  Touché.

  What are you guys doing tonight?

  We’re at a party.

  I check the time. Shitty friend forgot about time difference.

  The guys say hi.

  Send me a pic! While I’ve talked to Sophia every day, I’ve barely heard from Hunter, Sam, or anyone else. It’s like once I moved they forgot I ever existed and—

  A picture comes through and I tap it to make it full-screen. Everyone’s there, plus a couple girls I don’t know squeezing themselves in on the ends. They’re all smiling at something beyond the camera—it’s like she caught them in the middle of something that was going on, rather than them stopping and posing for me. I should be happy they’re happy—that’s how a real friend would react—but instead a knot of jealousy works its way up my stomach to the back of my throat until tears burn my eyes.

  Looks like fun! I text, thankful that she can’t see my face.

  Wish you were here!

  xoxo.

  I press my hands under my eyes, willing the redness that I know is there to go away. I’m supposed to be happy. I’m about to go on my first real date. I shouldn’t be feeling sorry for myself because all my friends have forgotten about me.

  I’m heading downstairs when my phone dings again. This time it’s Mike.

  Have fun tonight!

  Thanks babe!

  I settle at the kitchen counter until I hear an engine in the driveway. Nerves have me so worked up I almost can’t move. I take a deep breath, smooth my jeans over my legs, and head for the front door. “Bye, Dad!” I yell down the hall.

  He steps out of his office and points at me. “Be safe.”

  I’m reaching for the handle when the doorbell rings and my heart stutters.

  This is finally happening.

  I open the door and a blast of cool air chills me. Blake’s standing on the front porch, hands shoved in his pockets, his lopsided smile waiting for me. His eyes lower for a beat before meeting mine. “Hey.”

  I step outside and pull the door closed behind me. “Hey.”

  His orange Jeep sits in the driveway, its chest all pumped out, ready for whatever we throw at it. The paint is faded and there’s rust in a couple spots, but it’s still the most amazing vehicle I’ve ever seen.

  Blake slips his arm through mine and guides me to the passenger side. “Do you like Italian?”

  My stomach growls. Per Sophia’s advice I haven’t eaten since lunch. “Carbs are my best friend.”

  He smiles. “Good.” He opens the passenger door, helps me inside, then strides to the driver’s side while I fasten my seatbelt. I’m thrown back to the second day I knew him, over Thanksgiving, and too many emotions get clogged in my chest. Even though I knew nothing would come of it, I fell hard and he broke my heart. Yet here I am, sitting in his car, on
our way to dinner like it’s the most normal thing in the world. Excitement over what might happen tangles with what already has and I blink back tears.

  His hand slides over mine and he squeezes my fingers before he puts the Jeep in gear and we roll out of the driveway. A cloud blankets the moon, making the night sky darker than normal. He peers at the sky through the windshield. “Looks like it’s going to snow.”

  Emotions be damned, I lean forward to take in the view. The cloud shifts and a canopy of stars stretch as far as I can see. “It’s so beautiful.” The clarity of the Colorado sky still catches me off-guard. Despite the occasional streetlight, darkness envelopes us, cocooning us in our own tiny universe where nothing is impossible.

  His hand reaches for mine, then he pulls my hand to his lips and presses a kiss to the tips of my fingers. I stifle a sigh, not wanting him to know how he’s affecting me. I mean, I’ve been a puddle of mush since I met him but I wouldn’t mind hanging onto a tiny shred of dignity.

  Snowflakes dance across the windshield as we drive to the restaurant, making the night feel even more surreal. He parks in a lot across the street from an Italian restaurant lit with strings of tiny lights and we step into a snow globe. He tries to cover my head with his arm but I push him off.

  “Come on.” I break into a run across the street and we’re laughing by the time we’re under the awning. I stop to shake snow out of my hair and Blake slips his arm around my waist, pulling me against him. I look up as his eyes drift shut and his mouth closes in on mine.

  His kiss is soft, and far too brief. His mouth moves to my ear and I hear him chuckle. “Everyone’s watching us.”

  I twist around. The people seated at the tables along the window most definitely got a show. I press a kiss to his cheek. “Pause ‘til later?”

  I feel his smile against my cheek. “I’m holding you to that.”

  We go inside and follow the host to our table, then order an obscene amount of pasta from a waitress not much older than us. Once she leaves us alone I allow myself to look directly at Blake. Part of me fears that looking directly into his eyes will make me spontaneously combust, but we are on a date and it’d be weird for me to not make eye contact.

  “How’s Andrew?”

  His face lights up. “He was supposed to be back at school today but begged his mom to let him have the full week off school.”

  “So he’s okay?” Relief sweeps through me. I haven’t been able to get the image of the unconscious boy out of my head. As a skier, thinking too much about what can happen if you land wrong can be more than just dangerous. It can be deadly.

  “As okay as he was before.” He laughs. “The first run this season he’d barely strapped on his board when he biffed a jump and broke his arm.”

  “Maybe someone should teach him how to land.”

  He holds up his hands. “I’m trying. Believe me.”

  By the time our food arrives, Blake’s told me so many stories about the Half-Pipes that I feel like I know them better than Blake. And when he’s not talking about his groupies, he’s deflecting questions about himself. I keep trying to bring the conversation back to him, or get him to talk about his brother, but all he gives are one sentence answers before flashing that charming smile. I’m worried that he’ll know all my secrets by the end of dinner and I’ll barely know a thing about him.

  When the check arrives, I pull a twenty from my wallet and set it on the table.

  His brow furrows. “What are you doing?”

  I tilt my head.

  “I can afford to buy you dinner.”

  “I know—I just—”

  “I have a job. I’ve got money.”

  “What?”

  He pushes my money toward me and I slip it into my hand. I’ve got the sinking feeling that I’ve done something wrong but I don’t understand what.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “It’s not your fault.” He runs his hand through his hair. “It’s me. I—”

  “My dad never lets me leave without money and this is my first date so I guess I didn’t think about whether you would pay for me.” Sophia didn’t tell me what to do when the check came and I sure as hell wasn’t going to ask Dad. My cheeks are on fire and I’m sure he’s about to leave me here when he laughs softly.

  “Can we skip the movie?”

  Panic grips me and I avoid his gaze as the magic from the past hour slips away. I screwed this up worse than I thought. Not only is he laughing at me, he doesn’t want to spend any more time with me. “I—I guess.” I blink rapidly, fighting back tears. Save them for home.

  “Hey,” he says softly. His hand grazes mine and I look up. He nods at the picture window overlooking the sidewalk. “I thought it’d be nice to walk around in that instead.”

  The snow is heavier than before. Any normal person would hibernate inside near a roaring fire, but I’ve never claimed to be normal. Snow is in my blood. “On one condition.”

  “Name it.”

  “You finally tell me the truth.”

  His smile fades.

  “You owe it to me.”

  He drops his gaze to our hands and the panic bounces back. Maybe I’ve pushed him too far, but I’m done with tiptoeing around whatever it is that made him act like nothing happened between us.

  “Blake?”

  “Let’s go.”

  Go home? Go for a walk? Where are we going?!

  I follow him to the door. He pauses beneath the awning where we kissed earlier. “You’re right.”

  At this point I’m so worked up I don’t even remember what I said. “I am?”

  “I owe you an explanation.”

  “Oh. Yeah.”

  He steps onto the sidewalk and it’s like we’ve entered another world. He holds out a hand. “Walk with me?”

  A girly squeal ricochets inside my head as I slip my hand into his. Snow covers the sidewalks and clumps in the trees that line the street, blurring their tiny lights, and the roads haven’t been plowed since we’ve been inside. Soft light glows from the restaurant and bar windows along the street, but we’re the only ones outside. “It’s so beautiful.”

  “I love being outside before anyone else has touched the snow. It’s like my own universe where anything can happen and...” he trails off.

  I squeeze his hand. “I know what you mean.” We cross the street to the pedestrian plaza, where the statues bury their faces beneath pillows of snow. I tug him under a tree and a flurry of snow shields us from the rest of the world. I look up at Blake. This moment is so perfect that I don’t want to ruin it by bringing up the past, but I need answers.

  I start easy. “Tell me about your job.”

  “That’s not what you want to know.”

  “Sure I do.”

  He sighs. “My parents own a restaurant a couple blocks from here. I wait tables on weeknights and sometimes on the weekends if someone calls in. It’s not exciting, but it pays for gas.”

  I caress my thumb over the back of his hand. “And this.”

  He smiles. “And this.” He takes a deep breath and stares into my eyes, but several moments pass and he doesn’t say anything. He leans his forehead against mine. His voice is soft. “I’m a dumbass.”

  “I was thinking idiot, but we can use your word.”

  He laughs. “I don’t know where to start.”

  I pull back so I can see his eyes. “How about what you were thinking that first day when I called your name and you walked away?” In an instant, sadness pushes its way into my chest. I can still picture his face: confusion, then... nothing, because that’s when Brianna staked her claim on me.

  His smile fades and he closes his eyes, as if he’s remembering. “I couldn’t stop staring at you all through class. I knew you’d be here and that we might have a class together, but I wasn’t prepared f
or you to BE here.”

  I swallow the impulse to shove him away from me and into the snow. I take a deep breath and let him continue.

  “Luke wouldn’t stop kicking me, like I was supposed to get up in the middle of class and be like, ‘Hey, remember me?’” I smile. “I didn’t know if you ever wanted to talk to me again. When you said my name, I couldn’t believe it, but before I could say anything Brianna grabbed you and tried to kill me with her Medusa glare.”

  “Yeah, what’s that about?” I know what Mike told me, but I’m curious what he thinks.

  “Typical middle school bullshit. She’s always been bossy and what-not, but we were in ski club together so I was sort of friends with them.” He hesitates and looks over my shoulder, avoiding my eyes. “Then the summer after seventh grade, she decided I wasn’t good enough to be her friend anymore.”

  “Just like that?”

  He shrugs, and I know in my gut he’s leaving something out.

  I touch his cheek. “What happened?”

  He takes a deep breath and meets my gaze. “Have you heard about my brother?”

  “Just that—that he died.” I try to hide my surprise. What does this have to do with Brianna?

  He nods. “Brianna and I used to hang out a lot. At one point I thought she liked me, but nothing happened. You know how middle school is.” I nod, even though up until Blake, high school has been like that for me too. “Since it was summer, I was in charge of watching Cody. We decided to bike to Eldorado Canyon to go hiking and Brianna wanted me to leave him home, but he was only nine and my parents made me take him everywhere with me.

  “It was a perfect day—one of those you wish would never end. Bri packed a lunch so we hung out near a creek so Cody could play.” My stomach twists at the picture he paints—he and Brianna all cozy under a tree, kind of like we are now—but I dread where this is going. “On the trail back to our bikes, Brianna kept slowing down. I thought maybe she’d twisted her ankle but when I stopped to see if she was okay—” he breaks eye contact. “She kissed me. And that’s when we heard Cody scream.”

  My mouth falls open.

  Blake blinks rapidly, as if he’s fighting off the memory. “He’d been walking on this stone wall along the edge of the trail. One minute he was jumping from rock to rock, and the next he fell down the ravine.”