ZARA and I sat on her bed, her laptop propped up on a stack of pillows in front of us. In the bottom left corner of the screen, Callie said, “You saw DP?”
“Forget that!” Jordan cried on her third of the screen. “You kissed Beckett!”
“Barely!” I said. “I’m not even sure it counts.”
Zara nudged me. “You know what they say. Third time’s a charm.”
Even from her small square on the screen, Ginger’s wide smile was unmistakable. “Merritt is so going down!”
“And you’re going to be dating the homecoming king!” Callie added. My smile couldn’t be bigger than it was right now. My cheeks hurt.
Like, really hurt, but the second I tried to stop, I remembered feeling Beckett’s breath on my lips, the graze of his mouth on mine. That moment was the textbook definition of perfect. I couldn’t imagine what really kissing him would be like.
“What’s our next move?” Jordan asked. “How does she seal the deal?”
That thought was sobering. A near kiss with Beckett didn’t guarantee me an actual kiss, much less a homecoming date. He’d driven me back to the school to get my car and hadn’t made a move to kiss me again. My lips practically ached from the desire to feel his on mine, but I’d never been kissed before. I had no idea what it would be like. How amazing it would be. I didn’t want to ruin or rush it.
A masculine voice came through the phone. “She has to go to Spike’s party this weekend.”
Zara and I leaned closer at the same time, bumping our heads together.
“Ouch!” I said.
“Who’s that?” Zara asked, rubbing her head. “Carson?”
“Sorry.” A sheepish-looking Carson came onto the screen with Callie. “The guys are going to Spike’s for karaoke night after the game. If Beckett takes you there, as his date, then it’s official, right? Everyone will know.”
My throat constricted at the idea of going to the area’s only club that allowed sixteen-and-over. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Why?” Zara and Carson asked at the same time.
“First of all, it’s in Brentwood,” I said. “They hate us. Second of all, do I look like the kind of girl who belongs in a place like that? Even if Beckett wanted to bring me, I’d get made fun of the entire time.”
Now on the screen, Carson shook his head. “What’s with you girls and feeling like you have to be perfect to go out in public?” he asked. “It’s not like it’s a sale barn and they weigh you before you can go in! Just because the rest of the school acts like there’s a weight limit on hotness doesn’t mean they’re right. Or that you need to buy into it.”
His words struck my heart. Was I really letting my waistline, expanded from a medical condition not of my doing, determine how I lived my life? The reality of it made me feel more ashamed than I’d ever been of my weight.
“Exactly what I keep trying to tell them,” Zara said. She squeezed my shoulder, and I had to swallow to clear the tightness in my throat.
“Okay,” I said.
“You’ll do it?” Carson asked.
My smile came back, giddy excitement and nerves rushing through me. “I’ll do it,” I said, then added, “if he asks.”
“Oh,” Carson said, “he’ll ask.”
We all asked various versions of HOW DO YOU KNOW? But all he had in return was a sly smile and an excuse about Callie’s cell reception that had their faces disappearing from the chat.
Jordan rolled her eyes. “Boys.”
Ginger’s head turned away from the screen, and when she looked back, she had a pained expression. “That’s bedtime for me. Talk to you on Monday!”
Jordan shrugged. “Guess I better call my boyfriend before bed.” She sighed, then added, “If he answers.”
We waved goodbye, and then Zara shut her computer.
“Fourth and goal.” She grinned.
With a smile, I said, “So you have been paying attention to more than the football pants.”
She laughed. “One of us had to.”
