Page 46 of The Perfect Hit

Nothing. My brain was blank, except for tracking Colt’s movements. I was hopeless. And far too late.

28

Colt

Ididn’t think I’d ever be a palm tree, but there I was, at a dance with the girl I didn’t want to be with and constantly having to brush the fake palm leaves Marcy must have designed out of my face.

I’d seen Hazel and Adam when we walked in, and I tried to wave, but she’d looked away. Now she was over there grinning up at him as if he was the coolest kid in the school. I mean, after all he’d done to help me, he was pretty cool. I just hated to see her look at him the way I wished she would look at me.

The slow song ended, and I tried to steer Marcy closer to my group of friends. That had been another hurdle for tonight’s dance. I was used to at least going with one of my baseball friends to these events, but I’d been stuck in a group with a bunch of the theater people. At least I’d gotten to know them a lot better over the past several weeks, but having to be around Scott Daniels for something other than practice was torture.

“Where are you going?” Marcy asked, giving me a small frown.

“I just wanted to say hi to a few of my friends.” I waved for her to follow, and she finally did, her bird tail flapping as she walked.

I made it to the group and grinned. “Hey! You all look pretty good.” There were variations of couple’s costumes, and I had to laugh that Nate and Brynn were a hamburger and French fries. Nate just rolled his eyes.

“What’s it like being a palm tree?” he asked, slapping me in the chest.

I gave him a fake smile. “Awesome,” I said, trying to convey my true feelings with my eyes since Marcy was standing right next to us.

Hazel had her back to me, sipping a drink and talking to Adam. What was the problem? She usually ran over and hugged me every time she saw me.

The next dance started, and Marcy pulled me into a dancing stance, her arms wrapped loosely around my neck since that’s where the palm leaves connected.

“Thanks for coming with me,” she said, her smile hesitant.

I nodded. “Thanks for the invite.”

There were several seconds of awkward silence, when I saw someone making a beeline for the door out of the corner of my eye. Turning, I saw Hazel practically running.

I took a step back and gave Marcy what I hoped looked like an apologetic smile. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

Marcy frowned, her eyes searching my face for something. “Okay. Uh, yeah.”

I ran out the door, searching the hallways for Hazel. I finally found her crouched down in the space between a wall and the entrance to one of the classrooms. Her shoulders were shaking, meaning she was in full meltdown mode.

Squatting down, I reached over and touched her shoulder. “Hazel, what’s wrong? Are you okay? Did Adam do something to upset you?”

It took a few seconds, but she finally glanced up at me, her tear-streaked face nearly breaking my heart. I went to lean in and pull her into my arms, wanting to take away all the pain she was feeling, but instead of letting me, she put her hands out.

“Don’t,” she said, her body shaking with a sob. “Just don’t.”

I stood and frowned, not understanding what could’ve happened. We’d never had a big argument, and this was something I hadn’t expected, least of all at a dance after she’d asked Adam out.

She stood, tilting her head back and looking like she was getting ready to perform on stage. “I thought it would be amazing having you in the play. You’d be able to experience all I do every time I step into those lights. And yet, it seems like we’re further apart than ever.”

She took a few steps to the side, trying to pass me, but I grabbed her arm, trying to be gentle so I wouldn’t hurt her.

“What are you talking about? I’m here.”

She shook her head. “I can’t do this right now. I just can’t.” She ran down the hall, and I was too shocked to even move. This must’ve been what Nate was warning me about earlier. But we’d always been so open with each other. Why couldn’t she just talk to me?

It was thenthat I noticed several of my baseball teammates standing in the hallway, definitely in hearing range.

“What happened?” I asked, hoping they would have an answer for me.

Brynn stepped forward, giving me a sympathetic smile. “You went on a date with someone else.”

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