Justin laughed and the rich sound gave me goose bumps. “Anyone ever tell you you’re crazy?” I frowned at that and he tugged a strand of my hair. “Good crazy. You say whatever you think, whatever you feel. You don’t hold back.” He craned an eyebrow. “I like that. But it doesn’t make you normal.”
“Normalcy is overrated,” I replied, although normal was exactly what I’d longed to be. Unfortunately, after almost a month of being the freshman class nerd-slash-weirdo, I was discovering ordinary might not be in the cards. Hard to be heartbroken, though, when Justin Carter smiled like that “It’s all part of my new life philosophy: Do what scares you.”
He leaned against an ornate side table. “Was coming here scary?”
“Are you kidding?” I huffed a laugh. “You could’ve told me to get lost, laughed in my face, or been busy with your friends.” Not to mention another girl. “Of course it was scary!”
“What about me?” he asked and his firm lips twitched. “Do I scare you?”
“Justin, you terrify me.”
His smile was slow and dangerous and full of every wicked thing I’d ever fantasized about. Sweet baby Jesus. Biting my lip, I spun on my heel before I attacked him, and escaped down the hall, following the familiar opening notes of Sports Center.
Today, I was on a mission of cute-boy discovery. I’d learned lots of little things about the mysterious guy trailing me over the last few weeks. Scraps of intel pieced together from text conversations, stealthy spy missions, and hours of focused pondering. Unfortunately, that was all I really had since we never spoke much in school. We didn’t share any classes, and I had zero interest in duking it out with Queen Bee Barbie at the lunch table. Lauren still held court as his Diamond Doll and she made sure everyone at Fairfield knew it, too.
Strangely enough, I was content with our secret friendship. Oh, sure, I daydreamed about him grabbing me up in the cafeteria, unable to deny his feelings anymore, and kissing me senseless in front of God and everyone. But it’s what would come after the kiss that kept me from truly wanting that to play out. The constant stares, the endless questions, the confrontation with Lauren… that, I wanted no part of. I was still getting my feet wet with not being homeschooled, and shooting to instant fame was not on my to-do list.
Besides, other than simple flirting, Justin gave no signs he even wanted to kiss me. Some days, he barely acknowledged we were friends, letting two, three days go by without a single text, and I’d wonder if he’d had his fill with me. But then, out of the blue, he’d reach out again. Mostly at night, a few texts even during school hours, and they always sucked me back in. They also hinted at a hidden loneliness, a need for connection, something I understood perhaps better than anyone. I wanted to be the one who gave that to him.
Also, let’s be real—I had a mad crush on the guy. There was no use in denying it. I was falling for him. Hard.
The hallway opened into a sunken living room with a huge television, plush sofa, and lots of baubles that looked über expensive and breakable. Other than a soft blanket sitting in a heap on the sofa, the rest of the room actually felt extremely… cold. Desolate. I frowned and glanced at the enormous kitchen visible just beyond.
“Your house is beautiful,” I said, because, really, it was. Uncomfortable, yes, but it was like HGTV had exploded and dropped all things posh and overpriced in the Carter house. Justin shrugged, looking a bit uncomfortable.
“Thirsty?” He lifted his chin toward the kitchen and I nodded, not really thirsty, but not really knowing what else to do with myself. I followed him through the arched entry and butted my hip against the granite countertop. “Okay, we got water, OJ, Sprite—”
“Sprite would be perfect,” I said, noting the tense line of his shoulders.
He made a noise of agreement and snagged two cans from inside the door. The fridge, like the rest of the room, was gleaming silver and flawless, but when he closed it, I noticed a crude drawing tacked in the center. Justin handed me the soda and caught me staring.
“Nice work,” I said, smiling at the picture. “Artist as well as a writer?”
The frown he shot me said he wasn’t impressed with my memory. “That’s my little brother Chase. He’s obsessed with baseball right now.”
“Easy to see why,” I murmured.
The picture was clearly one of Justin. He was drawn in his uniform with a roughly sketched (and hugely disproportionate) catcher’s mitt on his hand. A bright green diamond was in the background, the yellow sun shone bright, and he wore a larger than life cheesy smile. The obvious idol worship was completely charming. From the sudden tender look in Justin’s eyes, the affection went both ways. “Do you have any other brothers or sisters?”
The soft look hardened and his grin fell away. “Nope.”