Page 76 of My Life with the Walter Boys
“Thinkingof you.”
The truth was, ever since our kiss, the thought of Alex made my stomach flutter. The frustrating part was that I couldn’t work outwhy. There was no denying that Alex was good looking—he had one of those adorable smiles that could make anyone grin—but I never felt that whole body-on-fire thing around him, like I did when I was near a certain someone else. At the same time, Alex was caring and dependable. I felt like he was someone I had known for my entire life, like I was home.
“I was horrible,” he said, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe it himself. When I didn’t respond, he looked up at me. “Do you think you’ll be able to forgive me?”
“I do forgive you, Alex. I understand that you weren’t purposely trying to be mean to me. You saw Cole and me together, and you thought that whole thing with Mary was happening all over again.”
At this he said, “But?”
“But it happened yesterday. The wound is still a little raw.”
“Right,” Alex said, biting his lip. We were both quiet for a moment, but then he perked up. “Can I try to make it up to you?”
“It depends,” I responded with the smallest of smiles. “What’s the proposal?”
“Well, once we got back from the hospital, I went to the library,” he said, grabbing a movie case off the tray that I hadn’t noticed until now. “After the party last night I couldn’t sleep, so I finished readingAMidsummerNight’s Dream. I rented one of the film adaptations thinking maybe we could watch it together.”
It was so thoughtful that I finally let myself grin. “I guess that wouldn’t be too painful,” I said, pretending to be indifferent.
“Awesome, where’s your laptop?”
It didn’t take long for Alex to set up the movie and settle onto my bed. When the opening act began he was still tense, and his whole body went stiff when I accidentally bumped his shoulder, but once the action of the play started, he relaxed. By the end of the movie, my head was resting on his chest.
“So what’d ya think?” I asked, when the credits came on.
“Hmm?” Alex’s fingers were running through my hair, and every time he took a breath I felt his chest rise and fall.
“Did you like it?”
“Honestly,” he said, his hand coming to a rest, “I didn’t pay much attention.”
“What?” I sat up so I could look at him. “Why not?”
“Because something else was distracting me,” he said. Before I could ask him what, he went on. “Can we talk about something?”
A worried expression covered his face, but his hand reached up again to touch my hair and he tucked my bangs behind my ear. I felt the calluses on his fingers as they glided over my skin and I shivered. It was like part of me knew what he was going to say, and as I nodded, my heart started to pound in my chest. The room was so quiet that I was positive he could hear it.
“Jackie,” he began, and his voice was serious, as if he were giving an important speech. I watched his lips move as he said my name. In the light of my room, they looked smooth and sculpted, and they left me thinking about that day on the beanbags. “I know this is going to be a stupid question, but I have to try anyway. At that party, when I saw you standing with Cole, the reason I was so pissed wasn’t just because of the whole Mary thing. I was mad at myself for being too late. I thought Cole beat me to it.”
“I don’t understand the question.”
“Hold on, I’m getting to that.” At this, he took a breath. “What I’m trying to say is that I should have asked you this the other day—you know, after we played Mario Kart.” He paused again, his face going red. Then in a rush he said, “Jackie, will you be my girlfriend?”
There it was, the question I’d feared since our kiss because I didn’t know how to respond. But now that I heard it, I suddenly knew what my decision was. There was something so comforting about being with Alex. He was someone I could let my guard down around. Last night at the party I thought I had lost that, and now I wasn’t going to give it up again.
I answered him with my lips.
***
I was almost positive that Parker was stalking me the next morning. Normally she made an effort to avoid me, sometimes even leaving a room if I came in, but at breakfast she sat down right next to me. While I was in the bathroom straightening my hair, she came in and spent ten minutes brushing her teeth. Later that day, I opened my bedroom door and found her lingering in the hallway.
I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. “What are you up to, Parker?”
She smirked, and two dimples appeared on her cheeks. “Waiting.”
“For what?” I asked.
“The wrath of Cole,” was her only response, and I had no clue what she meant until I heard the fighting. “Oh man,” Parker complained when she heard the angry shouts. “I was hoping he was going to go all Hulk on you, not Alex.”
