incidents that resulted when I opened my mouth. “Okay,” I said.
“I think the best thing you can do is watch out for her. If you get that ache in your stomach, ask her how she’s feeling. Tell her that you’re there for her. And really, that’s all you
We piled into Roger’s car after school. Naomi immediately ejected his CD and put in the mixed one I’d made her. Snow Patrol’s “Somewhere a Clock Is Ticking” filled the stuffy car with a soft guitar melody.
“Aw, come on. Do we have to listen to this foofee stuff?” Roger asked, glancing longingly at the death metal CD Naomi had stuck in his binder.
“Deal with it.” Naomi plopped her feet on the dash.
“Do you know where Lake Padden is?” I asked them.
“No, I’ve only lived here my entire life.” Roger rolled his eyes.
“Can you take me there?”
Naomi turned around, frowning. “Why?”
“Justin told me he likes to go there a lot.”
Roger merged onto I-5 south. “Scott is looking to pound that guy.”
“You better keep your mouth shut, then,” Naomi said.
“Hey, he hit you. I’d kick his ass myself if I wasn’t sure I’d lose. That guy benches at least three fifty.”
“Uh, yeah. Slight exaggeration there, Roger.” Naomi chuckled. “Besides, little Miss Kung Fu back there kicked him in the balls. Twice.”
I stared out the window. That was a moment I wanted to forget.
“Whatever. I told you he was an ass,” he said.
“Yeah, but I’m still not going out with you.”
“I never asked.”
“Uh-huh.” She glanced at me and wrinkled her nose.
My stomach tensed when I saw the sign for Lake Padden. The odds of Justin being here were slim, but I had to know he wasn’t some dream in my head. That the nice guy I knew actually existed.
“What do ya know, Drea’s a psychic,” Naomi said. “Isn’t that his car?” She pointed out her window.
I followed the scattered cars until I spotted a black one in the far corner. Roger drove past it, and my heart sped up when I saw the silver M3 on the back.
“Doesn’t look like he’s in there. Maybe he went for a jog,” Naomi said.
“You guys can drop me off. I can have my mom pick me up.”
“Uh, you sure?” Roger asked. “What if the guy is a psycho killer?”
“You sound like my grandma,” I said.
“I can go with you,” Naomi offered.
“I need to do this alone.”
She opened the door and let me out of the back seat. “Good luck. And call me if you need us to come back.”
I took a deep breath as the squeak of Roger’s fan belt faded into the distance. The screams and giggles of children rang out from the small park, and the jingle of leashes could be heard from dogs walking the trail. The sun had graced Bellingham with its presence today, lighting snippets of water and making me squint. My eyes paused on the baseball dugout. A figure with dark hair was hunched over, reading something.
I headed across the damp grass, my shoes growing heavier with each step. Just as I reached the dugout, my foot slipped, and icy mud bled through my sock.
Justin’s head jerked up. The skin under one eye was the color of a plum. He closed his book and set it on the bench. “You really should try wearing jeans. They’re more dirt friendly.”
Brown sludge covered the hem of my white underskirt. “They’re too scratchy and confining,” I said, clutching the metal fence and stepping inside the dugout.
He glanced at my feet and smirked. “I hope you don’t expect me to give you a ride home.”
“I don’t expect anything other than an explanation. You can’t just be there for someone and then disappear.” I sat down but kept my distance from him.
“I missed one day of school. Why are you talking like I left town?”
“Because that’s what guys do—they disappear. And most of the time, I don’t care. But when they’re really nice…” This wasn’t where I wanted to go.
“Don’t hold me up too high, Drea. There’s a lot I haven’t told you.” He rested his head against the wall, keeping his eyes downcast.
I stared at my muddy shoes. “Why?”
His face turned in my direction. “Because I like you.”
I forced myself to look at him. “I like you too.”
