Falling Page 4

  When I walk into the cafeteria, I glance around hoping to see Blake sitting alone. I spot him over in the corner, and it is just as I hoped. I go through the line and get a sausage biscuit and juice, then head over in his direction. Oh no, someone is sitting with him now. Connor.

  Well Connor has already spotted me and it would look crazy for me to turn and run away at this point, so I continue in their direction. “Hey guys. Is Leah at school yet?"

  “Nope. You know her, she never gets here before the first bell." I flop down in the seat next to Blake. Okay should I go through with my plan in front of Connor. He wouldn’t care either way, he will probably tease me about it later. Okay so here goes.

  “So Blake, you ready to kick butt at the Mathletes competition this week?” I've just got to ease my way into this conversation.

  Connor laughs, “I guess that is where nerds kick butt figuratively, right Abby." I stick my tongue out at him.

  “Yeah, planning on it. Connor said he would try to come and watch because math is just about as exciting as football,” Blake says with a chuckle.

  I laugh, “Yeah, but we throw math problems at each other instead of a ball." Good grief, I am an idiot. Blake and Connor look at me and smile, then start to laugh. What is wrong with me, and why can’t I talk to boys. When the first bell rings, we stand up and throw away our trash.

  As we head towards the main hall, Blake slaps Connor’s hand and goes to his locker. I start to move that direction, when I stumble and Connor grasps my arm to keep me from falling.

  “You okay, Ab?"

  “Yeah,” I laugh. Connor’s hand is still on my arm and it feels like it is branding me, my heart is doing double time.

  “So, when did you start eating breakfast at school? I’ve never seen you in there before."

  “I just got to school a little earlier and was hungry. Do you eat there every day?”

  “If I didn’t I would probably starve. Just teasing,” he says with a wink, “Yeah, Blake and I are usually in there sitting around before school. Well, I am off to learn, later Ab.” As he leaves he squeezes my arm once more and gives me a big grin. Project "Forget Connor" is so not working.

  **********

  My locker is stuck again. Why does this always happen to me when I am in a hurry. I try pulling it open again and then I notice the problem, my backpack strap is caught in the bottom of the door, jamming it up. I grunt as I pull with all my strength. Mrs. McKinney hates it when students are late. This will be my third tardy which means detention. Come on, open, you stupid door. All of a sudden two hands appear on my locker door, before I can turn around my locker is swinging open.

  “You are supposed to put the whole backpack inside the locker,” laughs Connor.

  “Thanks for the tip, I will remember that next time,” I reply laughing. I close my locker and we head towards pre-calculus, the only class we have together. “So how’s your day going so far?” I ask.

  “Pretty good. So what are you and Leah planning for this weekend?"

  “Oh, not much, just the game on Friday. Mom and Dad already told me I have to mow the yard and watch Allie on Sunday. What an exciting life I have!” I say as I roll my eyes. Goodness, I am such a loser. Connor laughs. I love the sound of his laugh.

  “So, I heard you were dating Samantha Hardy,” I torture myself with this information, yet I want him to tell me about it.

  “I guess. We are just hanging out. I can’t really decide if I like her or not. What do you think of her?” he asks.

  “I had Spanish with her last year, and she didn’t seem to like me very much, of course I spilled a fruit punch on her.” I say with a shake of my head.

  Connor chuckles, “Well, my sister definitely has an opinion. She says that Samantha is snobby and mean. I did notice the other night at dinner that she gave you a weird look. What was that look about?”

  “I don’t know,” I shrug.

  “I have been friends with you since the seventh grade,” he frowns, “you can tell me the truth.”

  “What does it matter what happened last year, Connor?”

  “It matters to me. I know you, Abby, and if you are being quiet, something must have happened with her.”

  “You don’t know me that well.” I tease, trying to change the subject.

  “You have no secrets from me,” he laughs.

  I look at his smiling face and can’t resist, “Oh, I definitely have a few secrets." Then I wink at him. He snorts but then smiles at me as we enter Mrs. McKinney’s class. I can’t believe I winked at him, but it doesn’t matter, he never takes me seriously. I was trying to be flirty, and he just laughed it off as me being goofy.

  **********

  On Wednesday after the Mathletes competition, I finally had my chance to talk to Blake. The competition was at Johnson High, which we defeated by five points. The bus ride home was very interesting. Leah and Miles are sitting together, so basically I don’t exist in her world at the moment, it is only Miles. I watch her flirt outrageously with him, while he stutters and blushes. That must be what I look like when I flirt. I am such a loser. It is time for me to change my loser status. Time to flirt with Blake and succeed. I look around the bus to see where he is sitting. He has a seat to himself even though he is talking to the senior guy in the seat behind him. No more wasting time.

  “Hey!” I say as I jump into the seat beside him.

  “What are you doing?” he asks as he grins at me.

  “Just wanted to talk to you. I am so happy you came tonight. There is no way we would have won without you. I mean, that last problem was a doozy. Thank goodness, we had you to solve it.”

  Blake blushes, “Thanks, but I think you are giving me a little too much credit. So, you didn’t come to breakfast this morning? I missed getting to talk to you." Did Blake just flirt with me? Well here goes nothing.

  “I was running late this morning, but I will try to get there tomorrow. I really like talking to you, too. Maybe we could hang out sometime?” I ask blushing.

  “I was actually wondering if you would like to hang out on Saturday, maybe go to a movie or something?” Blake blurts out.

  “Yes, I would love to. I was actually trying to work up the nerve to ask you out,” we both laugh nervously. The rest of the way home, we discuss what movie we want to see and argue over where to eat. I am having so much fun arguing with Blake, it almost makes me forget Connor. I start really looking forward to Saturday.

  When the bus pulls in the school parking lot, Blake and I say good night to one another and hug. A guy hugged me that is not related to me. I look over Blake’s shoulder and see Leah grinning at me giving me a thumbs up. Connor is standing beside Leah staring in my direction. I walk over to Leah and nudge her arm.

  “I have a date on Saturday. Can you believe it?” I whisper.

  “I saw the hug. I am so excited for you. And just think, Friday you will get to watch him play football. I bet he looks great in his uniform.” Sometimes Leah gets so excited she just babbles. I just start to laugh at her because she is giving me the play by play of her and Miles on the bus. As I turn towards my car, I bump right into Connor who is standing in my way.

  “Oh, hey Connor.” I say laughingly. “See you later." I still tingle when I see or touch Connor, but Blake is nice and cute. Connor is a fantasy, Blake is reality.

  “Watch where you are going, Ab. One of these days you are going to hurt yourself.“ He reaches out and grabs my arm to slow me down. “So where you hurrying off to? Not going to talk to me at all?”

  “No, I am not going to talk to you,” I grin. “Homework is yelling at me to get home and I must listen.” He laughs and says something I can’t hear. As I move to unlock my car door, I look back at Connor once more, I can’t help myself. He is standing in the same spot watching me. When he sees me eyeing him, he waves and flips his eyebrows at me. Will I ever really be over my crush on him?

  Chapter 6

  Blake called me last night and we talked for abo
ut an hour. He is so easy to get along with and talk to. I feel like we could become really good friends. I just don’t know if there is a spark with him or not. I want there to be, so that I can finally be over Connor, but I am starting to feel like maybe Blake is just a friend.

  I walk into the cafeteria on Friday morning to meet Blake for breakfast and notice that Connor has stolen my seat. As I walk over to the table, I see Samantha slide into the seat beside Connor. As I near the table, Connor looks up and grins at me. Samantha narrows her eyes and whispers something in Connor’s ear that makes him laugh. I flop into the seat beside Blake. “Hey, I am so happy it is finally Friday. “

  “Me too," Blake and Connor say at the same time, then they burst out laughing.

  Samantha eyes my clothes with a smirk and says, “So you going to the ballgame tonight, Abby?”

  “Of course she’s going. She always goes with my family,” Connor answers for me.

  “Yeah, and since Sunday is filled with chores, Mom said I could spend the night with Leah.”

  “So that means another movie marathon when I get home, right?” he said, smiling at me. I notice that Samantha is shooting daggers at me and Blake looks left out. I look over at Connor and he is still grinning at me. What was that about?

  “So what movie you want to go see tomorrow? Have you decided?” I ask turning to Blake.

  “No. I was thinking a horror movie." I see him wink in Connor’s direction before smiling at me.

  “Hum, Maybe.” I say as the bell rings. We make our way out of the cafeteria and head towards class. I wave to Blake and start walking towards English.

  Connor appears beside me and whispers, “So, you two have a date on Saturday? When did that happen?"

  “After Mathletes on Wednesday.”

  “I wonder why he didn’t tell me. That is weird. So what movie are you guys going to go see? Maybe Samantha and I could go double?”

  “No thanks. This is our first date. I think we should go alone, plus Samantha makes me nervous with her constant glaring.”

  “I knew there was something with you and Samantha. Why would she glare at you?”

  “I don’t know, and at the moment I don’t care. She is a jerk and I don’t know what you see in her.”

  “Where is this coming from Abby?” Connor asks defensively.

  “You asked for the truth earlier in the week and I am giving it to you. I don’t want to be around you if she is close by. Last year she tortured me in Spanish and I have no interest in feeling that way again. Anyway, I gotta go to English. See you after the game tonight." As I walked away from Connor, I thought my date with Blake might be giving me the confidence I need to be able to deal with boys, especially Connor.

  **********

  The whole ride to the football game, Leah and I discussed what I would wear on my date. We decided on a short skirt with a T-shirt. I thought Blake would like it. The ballgame was at our home stadium which meant we always sat in the same seats. As soon as we got there, Leah found Miles and latched onto him. I sat quietly beside her watching the game and listening to her and Miles flirt with each other. I found Blake on the field, number 21. He looked good in his tight football pants. My eyes wandered over the player next to him, number 45. I continued to divide my attention between Blake and Connor the whole night. As I watched Connor, I felt guilty for liking two boys at the same time. Could I date Blake while I still had feelings for Connor? Are my feelings for Connor real?

  "What are you thinking about?” asks Leah.

  “Nothing really. So how is the fabulous Miles doing?”

  “He’s wonderful. I think we are going out tomorrow night. Maybe we will end up in the same movie as you and Blake, and I can spy on you.” She laughs.

  “Or I can spy on you" I answered.

  “I can’t believe it. The "nerd herd" girls have dates,“ she says and we both crack up.

  **********

  “So, Connor and Samantha are saying good night on the porch. Want to spy on them with me, Abby?”

  “No. Are they kissing?" No more Connor spying, it just makes me feel nauseated.

  “I think so. I really don’t like Samantha. I can’t believe they are dating. She’s always hanging on him. That usually drives him crazy, but he must really like her because he lets her do it.

  “Are we starting a movie or what?” I protest, enough about Samantha.

  “Yeah, you pick something and get it started. I will go get some popcorn and sodas." As Leah leaves the room, I start going through all her DVDs looking for one to watch. Romance or action? I feel like an action movie I think. The Avengers sounds good. I hear a knock on the door as I am putting the movie in.

  “Come in.”

  “Hey there, Klutzy.”

  “Hey loser. Sorry about the game tonight. I hate it when we lose. “

  “Yeah, me too. So are you guys watching a movie tonight or what?”

  “I just put in The Avengers, if you want to watch. Leah went to get snacks.“ I stretch out on the floor trying to find a comfortable spot.

  “Yeah, okay. Scoot over Klutzy. Share the floor." I move over giving him some room.

  “Okay snacks are here. So you’ve joined the pajama party, Con. I don’t know how long my eyes will stay open tonight. I might be asleep after the first ten minutes." I think Miles gives Leah an adrenaline charge and then afterwards she is Miss Sleepyhead.

  I have seen this movie several times, but I always get caught up in the action scenes. I am so into the movie, it takes me a minute to realize that I hear Leah snoring. I glance over at Connor and he is also asleep. I need to move to my sleeping bag but Connor is in the way. I move around until I am right beside him. I gently shake his arm and whisper his name. His eyes open a little, “Connor, time for bed. I need to go to sleep and you are in the spot where I lay my sleeping bag. Could you move please?” He gives me a sleepy grin and stretches his arms over his head. I move to stand beside the door to give him room to get up. As he gets up he stumbles, and I grab his arm to steady him. When he raises his head, I notice that our heads are almost touching. He looks at me and then glances at my lips. He lifts his hand and runs his fingertips along my cheek. I shiver under his touch. We stand there frozen just looking at each other. He starts to lean forward when Leah shifts and starts snoring loudly. We both laugh and step back from each other.

  We continue to look at each other until Connor breaks the silence, “Good night, Abby." As he passes me, he glances at me once more, before leaving.

  I can barely stand, much less think, because I do believe Connor almost kissed me.

  Chapter 7

  “So what do you think Leah?” I ask, as I spin around in one of the many outfits we are deciding between. Leah came over to my house to help me get ready for my date with Blake. She has a date with Miles too, but she insisted he pick her up at my house so she could help me get ready.

  “That one is the winner. Blake will take one look at you and drool." I continue to dance around in front of the mirror. The jeans are tighter than my normal ones, and the shirt is a black clingy material that shows off my figure.

  “Okay, I guess drooling would be good as long as he doesn’t get it on me.” I giggle. I am so nervous. I have been on a few dates but mostly just on group outings. I am really excited about going out with Blake, but I can’t seem to forget that moment last night with Connor. Was the moment real, or did I imagine it? Was Connor really about to kiss me?

  “I think you should wear your hair down around your shoulders. It will look sexy. You are going to have so much fun tonight with Blake.” Leah interrupts my thoughts. I have to stop thinking about Connor and focus on Blake.

  “Me? Sexy? I don’t think those two words belong in the same sentence. But I think I will leave my hair down,” I say as I brush my hair once more. Leah is standing by the window watching for Miles, who should be here any minute.

  “There’s Miles! Wish me luck!” she calls out as she runs down the steps and out the d
oor. I look out the window just in time to see Miles open Leah’s car door for her. Leah gives him a huge grin, and I feel so happy for my best friend because she has found someone that suits her perfectly. I shake my head, thinking about all the months they have been circling each other during Mathletes. Connor’s face flashes in my mind, and I realize that I want someone who suits me and wants me too. If Connor hasn’t noticed me yet, that is his loss. I am ready to find someone who will make me grin like I just saw Leah do. I am tired of waiting on my dream guy.

  “Abby, Blake is here,” my dad calls from the living room. I saw Blake get out of his car and come to the door. I know my dad wants to do the typical first date introductions so I am giving him time. As I walk downstairs, I see Blake standing in the living room and watch to see his reaction to my appearance. I want his face to light up and look at me like I am the only girl in the world.

  “Hey Blake,” I say I as I walk down the steps. His eyes drift over my jeans and shirt, finally meeting my eyes.

  He smiles, “Be careful coming down those steps. I would hate to start our date with a trip to the emergency room,” he chuckles remembering my many clumsy moments at school. I roll my eyes but can’t smother my laugh. As I step off the last step, he takes my hand, “You look great.”

  “Thanks. So do you,” I reply. Blake looks more than great. He is wearing jeans and a green polo shirt. I can see the outline of his muscles under his shirt. He looks hot.

  Blake has planned our date, and it is so romantic. But there seems to be something missing. He is wonderful and cute, but I feel like I am hanging out with a friend. We have held hands several times so far and not once did I shiver.

  “So you want popcorn or something to drink?” he squeezes my hand.

  “No thanks. I am still full from dinner. So Texas Chainsaw 3D?" I smile and shake my head at him.

  “What? It was the only horror movie playing here. Studies have shown that girls like to cuddle during scary movies." He grins and flips his eyebrows at me. He then looks at someone over my shoulder and waves.