Courtside Crush: Varsity Girlfriends Book One Page 7

  “Of course.” Preston smiled at me one last time as he walked out.

  The limo drove up several minutes later. I peeked out my window and watched as several people from the team poured out and congregated on our front lawn. Jeremiah looked uncomfortable in his suit and tie, while a girl I didn’t know very well stood next to him. I spotted Sammi in the crowd but was surprised Linzie wasn’t connected to her hip—and thrilled when I noticed Anderson’s absence too.

  My mom soon joined them and made everyone pose in front of the limo. The girls lined up, each putting a hand on their hip, while the boys all stood straight with serious expressions on their faces. It was terribly cliché, and I was happy to be a spectator this year.

  Unfortunately, I forgot I was being a bit of a peeping Tom when Sammi’s gaze found my window. Her eyes narrowed as she realized I was watching her.

  I quickly closed the curtain and fell to the ground and out of sight, but the damage was done. Within thirty minutes, everyone would know about creepy Charlie Royce and her voyeuristic tendencies.

  Awesome. That was just what this day had been missing.

  I stayed on my bed until the crowd outside silenced, and the sound of the vehicle they’d just crammed back into drove off. Now that they were gone, I could finally relax. I opened the top drawer looking for my favorite pajamas, ready to veg out like I’d told Preston I would, but a buzz from my phone had me picking it up instead.

  6:41 PM

  Romeo: What are you up to?

  I smiled as Jackson’s text lit up the screen. I took a picture of my flannel pajama set still folded in the drawer and hit send.

  Charlie: Oh, you know. Very exciting plans.

  Romeo: You’re one fancy lady, Charlie.

  Charlie: You know it.

  Romeo: So, I was thinking about what you said.

  I sent a string of question marks.

  Romeo: Tonight is your Homecoming dance, and you don’t get to go. Wanna come out with me instead?

  I really was looking forward to a night in, but I was curious.

  Charlie: Where are you going?

  Romeo: Langford Farm for the haunted maze with some friends from school.

  Charlie: I don’t know.

  Romeo: Come on! It’ll be fun and I promise to keep you safe from all the ghosts.

  The idea of Jackson keeping me safe was more than just a little appealing. Turned out, there was one thing that could make me want to leave the house tonight.

  Charlie: Let me see what I can do.

  Romeo: We’re meeting up there at 7:30.

  Charlie: Ok.

  Romeo: Text me if you come, so I’ll know to look for you.

  The text echoed his words that morning when he’d told me he was looking for me. It was sweet and incredibly refreshing to have a guy talk so openly.

  I took a deep breath as I set my phone down. Yep. I wanted to go. I’d just need to convince my parents to let me.

  Step one: dress the part.

  I needed something cute and warm. Having lived in Marlowe Junction my entire life, the warm part wasn’t a problem. My closet was filled with clothing to help me survive the cold temperatures. Unfortunately, the cute part wasn’t as easy. I wasn’t one of those girls who had a closet full of cutesy stuff—no puffy vest, no knee-high boots. I never joined in on Han Solo season that was so popular.

  I rummaged through my clothing trying to find something that might work and finally settled on a pair of skinny jeans, a long-sleeve shirt, and my signature Chucks. Usually, I wore my letterman jacket, but that wouldn’t work for tonight. Instead, I topped off my ensemble with a gray hoodie.

  The girl who stared back at me in the mirror was nothing special, but at least she was me. Jackson would know exactly what he was getting when he saw me tonight.

  Which brought me to step two: convince my parents to let me go.

  I decided the best approach was to be honest with my parents and hope they’d be okay with my unexpected excursion.

  When I walked out to the living room, both of my parents were already there. They were curled up on the couch together watching a movie. When they saw me, my mom and dad quickly broke apart like two teenagers caught making out in the movie theater. I barely kept the smirk from forming on my face.

  “Hey, Charlie,” my dad said leaning forward, so he was sitting up straighter than when I walked in.

  “Dad,” I responded sitting on the love seat that was perpendicular to the couch.

  “What’s up?”

  “So, I was thinking, since I didn’t go to Homecoming, maybe I could go out somewhere else for a little while tonight?”

  My dad blinked several times. “Aren’t your friends all at Homecoming?”

  I wiped my hands on my thighs. “Well, not all of them.”

  My dad briefly turned to look at my mom before facing me once more. “I don’t think I’m following you.”

  “I’ve been making…” I struggled for the right word for Jackson. “…friends with some of the people at Helping Hands. A couple of them are going to Langford Farm tonight for the corn maze, and they invited me to go with them.”

  “Are you sure the kids from Helping Hands are the best people to be hanging out with?” my mom asked with a frown.

  “Well, not everyone there is a troublemaker. Just think about me.”

  They both fixed me with a stare, and I realized that might not have been the best argument to lead with. I needed to redirect.

  “And one kid volunteers there because his aunt is the director. That’s the kind of thing that builds character.” I nodded enthusiastically.

  “I don’t know, Charlie,” Dad said. “I’d feel a lot better if Preston was there. Or even Daria.”

  “But they’re at the dance. The one I couldn’t go to after Anderson broke my heart.” I gave them my best puppy eyes. If they didn’t cave soon, my bag was going to run out of tricks.

  “Charlie,” my mom said with a sigh.

  “I’ll have my cell phone, and my own car. And it’s not like there won’t be other people there. There will be old-man Langford, and I’m sure families too. Please?” I put my palms together in front of my face.

  My parents looked at each other, and appeared to have a silent conversation between themselves as they raised eyebrows and tilted their heads. My mom let out a long, audible breath, and dad turned to me.

  “You can go.”

  I lit up. “Seriously?”

  “Yes, but”—he lifted his finger—“I expect you to be home by ten.”

  That would give me a solid two hours at the corn maze with Jackson. And the best part was I didn’t have to worry about bumping into any Rosemark students. I got up from the loveseat. “Okay.”

  “And if either of us texts you, you need to respond right away.”

  “Okay.” I bounced on the balls of my feet.

  “Have fun, Charlie,” my dad said, but I was already grabbing my keys and walking out the door for my date with the enemy—and feeling way too excited about it.

  Chapter Nine

  Half an hour later, I was pulling up to Langford Farm. I quickly checked my appearance in the rearview mirror, turning my face this way and that. Even without makeup, I looked pretty good. My hair was smooth and shiny—my eyes bright with excitement. When I was satisfied nothing was hanging out of my nose, and nothing was stuck in my teeth, I got out and made my way toward the maze entrance.

  There was a giant sign that had “Langford Farm Haunted Corn Maze” painted on it, but it wasn’t necessary. The corn maze was legendary in Marlowe Junction. I still remembered the first time Preston and I were allowed to go. We’d been begging for years for our parents to take us, and every year they said no.

  The first Halloween we were both thirteen, my dad sat us down and told us we were too old to go trick-or-treating anymore. Preston had groaned until Dad clarified that it meant we were now old enough to go to the haunted maze.

  We screamed the whole time, and I was
pretty sure I had nightmares for a month, but we’d both felt so grown up. Preston and I had gone together ever since, until this year. He’d wanted to go with Beth instead, and I was planning on going with Anderson at some point, though we’d never settled on a day.

  Now I was meeting Jackson and his friends. It was weird how much could change in just a few short weeks. I looked around for the guy in question. When I didn’t see him right away, I walked over to where old Mrs. Langford sold tickets for the haunted maze. I paid for one, and she handed me a map of the maze.

  Every year, the people at Langford Farm chose a different design to etch out in their cornfield. From popular movies and TV shows to seasonal shapes, it was always exciting to see what they came up with.

  This year, the maze was in the shape of a jack-o-lantern, which sounded boring at first. But as I looked closer at the small, postcard-sized map, I could see there were just as many twists and turns as previous years—and I was sure just as many people waiting in the shadows to jump out and scare unsuspecting victims.

  “Boo!” a voice yelled in my ear as a hand settled on my shoulder.

  I jumped and screamed, dropping the map of the jack-o-lantern maze on the ground. Jackson laughed as I turned to face him. I gave him a quick shove before bending over and grabbing the paper that had fallen from my hands.

  “Not funny,” I said giving him an angry look that we both knew was all for show.

  A corner of his mouth lifted. “It was pretty funny.”

  I grumbled under my breath as I shoved my hands into my pockets, crinkling the map in the process. “Whatever.”

  “Oh, don’t be embarrassed. I was just playing around. Besides, I got you something.”

  I noticed he held one hand behind his back awkwardly and lifted my brows. “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yep.” Jackson pulled his hand around, and in it was a small, plastic container. Inside that was a corsage. It consisted of a couple of delicate white roses, with green and orange ribbons fashioned into bows.

  Rosemark’s school colors.

  I looked at him, as a hesitant smiled formed. “What is this?”

  He opened the container and pulled out the corsage. It was the kind that went on your wrist, so I stuck my hand out. Jackson stretched the bracelet part of it and put it on me.

  “It’s your Homecoming tonight. I thought it might be nice to celebrate somehow.” He leaned in, his voice low as he asked, “Do you like it?”

  Jackson’s nearness mixed with the scent of his cologne had a dizzying effect on me. Speechless, I nodded.

  Jackson stepped back. “Good. Let’s go introduce you to my friends.”

  His voice was cheery—not at all teasing—and I doubted he knew the effect he had on me. As he guided me to where a small group of kids our age stood, all of my attention zeroed in on where his hand gently touched my back.

  None of his friends overtly looked in our direction as we walked up, but I could see the way they watched our every move from the corner of their eyes. Their posture was stiff and forced as they pretended not to notice Jackson bringing me over to them.

  My stomach churned as we got closer to the group. I felt so out of my element here, and I wondered if I would have been better off staying home or even going to the dance. Not that those thoughts did me any good now that it was too late to change my mind.

  “Hey, everyone,” Jackson’s voice rang out. “This is Charlie.”

  Several eyes went from Jackson to me, to the tacky corsage I wore on my left hand.

  “Charlie, this is…everyone.” He waved his hand at the people standing there.

  I lifted my hand in a sad excuse for a wave. “Hey.”

  I waited for him to list off names, or for “everyone” to tell me who they were, but we just stood watching each other. Jackson might have been friends with all of us, but different social circles didn’t always mesh well, and we were busy sizing one another up.

  Jackson’s friends consisted of two guys and a girl. One of the guys had spiky, blond hair and had his arm slung over the shoulder of a girl with fiery, red hair that rivaled Preston’s. The other dude had dark hair similar in color to Jackson’s. He had his arms crossed over his chest, and I wondered if it was just how he stood, or if he felt put out by my being there.

  What did they see when they looked at me? A tomboy with a tacky corsage who ditched her own Homecoming to go to a corn maze with Jackson?

  “So, you’re the girl who’s had Brooks all twisted up these last few weeks,” the girl said. Her voice was curious, and not at all unkind.

  I looked down at the roses on my wrist. “Uh, I guess?”

  She laughed. “Do you know we had to talk Brooks out of wearing a suit tonight?”

  “Huh?”

  “Yep.” She nodded. “He thought it would be super cool to dress up like we were going to Homecoming, even though ours was last week. Something about making tonight special.”

  The blond guy who had his arm over her shoulder choked on a laugh, and I managed to sneak a glance in Jackson’s direction.

  He cleared his throat and shook his head. “Thanks, Annabelle.”

  Annabelle shrugged. “Just telling her like it is. The way you were practically bursting with excitement on the way here makes me think she must be pretty amazing.”

  Jackson ran a hand through his hair. “And, once again, I gotta thank you for helping me play it cool.”

  “Like anyone thinks you’re cool,” spiky-haired guy said.

  Annabelle looked up at him. Her tone took on a playful quality. “Brooks thinks he’s like, totally awesome and junk.”

  They laughed, even causing Mr. Quiet who stood off to the side to grin.

  My own laugh surfaced, which caused Jackson’s head to snap in my direction. I smiled sheepishly at him. “Sorry, but your friends are hilarious.”

  “Are you kidding me? Don’t apologize. I’m glad you like them. I just wished it wasn’t at my expense.”

  The guy with the spiky, blond hair spoke up. “Ah, Poor Brooks and his wounded pride. Whatever will you do?”

  I didn’t know what I’d expected from Pinebrook kids. A bunch of people who kicked puppies and took candy from little kids? But the way they ripped on Jackson made me think of how my teammates and I acted toward one another.

  I let out another giggle.

  “And now she’s laughing at me.” Jackson threw his hands up in the air. “I hope you’re all pleased with yourselves.”

  “Just positively giddy,” Annabelle replied.

  Jackson let out a long breath. “Why don’t we just get our tickets and go inside.”

  His friends all chuckled as they walked over to where Mrs. Langford stood to buy their tickets. Jackson put his hand on my arm to hold me back.

  “I wish you would have waited to let me buy your ticket.”

  “I wasn’t sure if this was a…” I hesitated to say the last word.

  “A date?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Or if we were just hanging out.”

  “No way, this is definitely a date. And hopefully a good one.”

  I gave him a playful smile. “The jury’s still out on it.”

  “Looks like my friends have turned you against me.”

  “Like I said, I think they’re great.”

  “They aren’t that great. It doesn’t look like they’re waiting for us.” He pointed to where they disappeared through the entrance of the corn maze. “Should we go try to catch up?”

  “Sure.”

  As we started walking, he reached down and grabbed my hand. My steps faltered, and my gaze went to where our fingers intertwined. When I managed to look back up at him, he asked, “Is that okay?”

  I nodded, too afraid to speak, but charged with excitement.

  “Cool.”

  Yeah, cool, except the place where our hands met had me feeling anything but. I felt flushed all of a sudden and I worried my hand was clammy in his. I was like a little girl with her first boyfriend, even th
ough I was seventeen and had dated plenty in my high school days.

  As we neared the entrance of the maze, the sound of crows cawing over the giant speakers became louder. The accompanying music sounded like it might have been an organ. It had to be some kind of “spooky sounds” CD they’d found in the dollar bin. It wasn’t scary, just annoyingly loud.

  I couldn’t wait until we made it inside the cornfield. The tall stalks helped filter some of the intensity of the sound. Jackson pulled a small flashlight from his jacket pocket and handed it to me, before reaching in again and grabbing another one. Thank goodness he’d brought two. In all my excitement to get out the door that night, I’d completely forgotten to bring my own.

  We turned them on, and the small beams of light lit up the dark path. We walked in a straight line for several feet before we hit our first fork.

  “Left, or right?” Jackson asked as he squeezed my hand.

  “Uh…” I shrugged.

  “You seemed to be staring pretty intently at the map when we showed up. I figured you were committing it to memory.”

  I pulled the wrinkled paper from my pocket. Even with the beam of light coming from the flashlight, it was hard to tell which direction we should go. “Left?”

  “Okay.” He pulled me down the path I’d suggested, without even double checking.

  “Do you want to look at the map?”

  “Nah, I trust you.”

  I stopped. “You shouldn’t. I might be sending us straight up the nose of the jack-o-lantern. Then we’d really have a hard time finding our way out.”

  He shrugged. “Then that means I get to spend more time with you.”

  “And as great as that sounds, I have to be home by ten.”

  Hot or not, he wasn’t worth getting into more trouble for.

  “That’s like two hours from now. If we’re still stuck in the maze then, I think we will have bigger problems than your curfew.” He shot me a wink that made my knees weak.

  Okay, maybe he was worth getting in trouble for.

  We started walking again, as I tried to calm my heart. “You’re probably right.”