I stick my head in my own locker, reaching for the stack of books I have piled up on the shelf.
Becca huffs out a frustrated sigh. “You’re a good sister, but I could never hate my best friend. You’re only saying we’d fight because you think you’re a burden.”
“Becca, it is what it is.” We continue talking though the metal, unloading the books we don’t need to take home with us, and swapping them for the ones we need for our homework.
“Fine, but are you at least going to talk to Rhett before you go home?”
“I wasn’t planning on it.” It’s not like we’re suddenly a thing simply because he took a picture of me—and the entire school heard about it.
“I think you should go find him,” she encourages.
“He’s probably already at practice, and I wouldn’t even know what to say if I did find him. You know I suck at this stuff.” I hold the books I need to take home with me in my arms as I grab my bag off the floor. I slam my locker door shut with my foot and gasp.
Rhett’s leaning against the lockers next to mine with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. There’s no telling how long he’s been standing there, or how much of our conversation he overheard. Judging from his expression, he’s heard enough.
“You don’t want to talk to me?” he questions with a knowing wink.
I cover my face with my free hand, wishing the floor would suck me up and put me out of my misery. But Rhett wraps his hand around my wrist, pulling my hand away from my face. “Don’t cover this up.”
“Why not? I’m a little humiliated if you haven’t noticed.”
“Because I like to look at you, Kinsley.”
I duck my head, trying my best to hide the smile on my face. “I saw you looking at lunch,” I admit.
The smile on his face grows. “I know it’s not nice to stare, but I can’t help it.”
“Oh, shit,” Becca mumbles from behind me. She’s still standing in front of her locker watching our entire exchange. I’m going to get an earful after it ends, that’s for sure.
“Are you heading home?”
“I have practice,” he says.
Of course he does. I knew that, but I’m not thinking clearly. It only gets worse when he slides my backpack off my shoulder, unzipping the zipper, and one by one, tucking the books I’m holding inside the bag. Once the last one is inside, he zips it up and places it back on my shoulder. I don’t think I blinked the entire time. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”
“You’re welcome. What about you? Where are you headed?”
“I have to work.”
“Are you still working at the diner?”
I nod my head. “Yeah, I’m still there. I didn’t realize you knew that.”
“I know more than you think, Kinsley. Especially about you.”
I bite my lip, but I can’t hide my smile this time—and I’m not sure I even want to. “I should probably get going before I’m late.”
I’d much rather stay in this hallway the rest of the night, getting to know Rhett better. He says he knows a lot about me, but there’s so much I want to find out about him.
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow morning in class—with my killer picture presentation.” Slowly, he walks backwards, away from me, leaving me with another one of his signature winks that does all kinds of crazy things to my insides.
“See ya tomorrow, Rhett.”
As casually as he left, I try to do the same with Becca, but she yanks on my backpack, stopping me before I’m even three steps away from my locker. “Hold up, killer.”
“Becca, I have to get to work.”
“Not until you finally admit he has a thing for you. I saw it with my own two eyes, Kinsley. He likes you, and I think it’s safe to say, you like him, too.”
I can’t help but laugh at her. She’s so serious, like she’s telling me something I don’t already know, but after talking to him there’s no denying it. What’s even crazier is, I’m crushing on him, too. When I woke up this morning, never in a million years did I imagine I’d end the first day of school with the possibility of Rhett lingering in my future.
“Come on, Kins, admit it before I’m late for practice. I don’t want to run extra laps because I was standing in the hallway waiting for you to admit you want to jump his bones.”
“I’m not agreeing to any jumping, but I like him. Happy now?”
“Ecstatic. Now go home and cover your binder in hearts with his initials in the middle.”
“You’re crazy. This isn’t middle school, you know. Plus, if I go and do that, it would scare him away. Who knows, the way guys go through girls around here, by tomorrow morning, he could be into someone else. My luck he’ll be with Mandi again by the end of the week.”
“Kinsley West, don’t make me smack you.”
“I’m just being realistic, Becca. How about we drop it for now.” In all honesty, I’m more used to people leaving my life than coming into it. It’s more natural to me to have to let go than to allow someone in.
It’s hard to open up—to give someone the benefit of the doubt, but for Rhett, I might be willing to try.
“We’ll see,” I tell her with a shrug of my shoulders.
“Don’t blow it off as just another day, Kinsley. This is a big deal, and I’m happy for you. That,” she points in the direction we just came from, “is not the same Rhett that made me eat dirt.”
I laugh at the reminder of what he made her do all those years ago. Back when girls still had cooties, and we were more worried about who was “it” in a game of tag, than who was interested in dating each other.
Life was so easy then. I had both my parents, a house I called home, and I didn’t care how popular I was. In fact, I’d rather play a game of Red Rover than try to figure out why Rhett suddenly finds me interesting. I was perfectly happy being a wallflower—even good at it. Now, he’s gone and stirred up feelings. Feelings I’ve never experienced before, and that will most likely lead to trouble.
“Did you hear a word I said, Kinsley?”
“Yes, I’m listening. I’m glad Rhett’s not a little punk anymore.”
“That makes two of us. So, if he asks you out tomorrow ,tell him yes.”
“Did he tell you he’s going to ask me out? Don’t lie, as your best friend your loyalty is with me.”
“Calm down. He didn’t tell me anything, but I can tell from how he’s acting. I’m really good at reading people. If he’s anything like he was when we were kids, he won’t quit until he gets you either. He can be a stubborn fool—just like you.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?” she questions. “I just told you he’s going to ask you out, and that’s all you have to say?”
“No, I want him to, but I’m scared.” I admit as I wrap my arms around my middle. Even saying the words makes me feel more exposed than I’ve ever been before. Only I trust Becca with my confession because she would never use it against me.
“Just be you, Kin. Let him see what’s he’s been missing all these years.”
I can do that—I think. “Thank you for not laughing at me.”
“Never. You’re practically my sister. Plus, he has an older brother in pre-med.”
“It all makes sense now. You want to use me to get to his brother.”
“I’m not using anyone. Not that it would be so terrible to have to date Rhett to help me out. I mean, his brother is hot and he has a brain.”
“Rhett has a brain. Even my brother has a brain, Becca.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do, but I’m still holding out hope you’ll be my sister someday. I gotta run though, so I’ll see you in the morning. Oh, can you pick me up? My car’s going in the shop for a few days. It’s making that obnoxious clanking sound again. Brian, from the diner, said he’d take a look at it for me. Hopefully he’ll save me some of the outrageous labor costs.”
“That sounds so technical, but yes I’ll pick you up.”
“Thanks, Becca. You’re a lifesaver.”
I hurry to my car while Becca goes in the opposite direction to the locker room. Turning the key in the ignition, I pray it even starts. It does, but as expected, the noise returns as soon as I hear the engine. It only gets worse when I put the car in drive. Each time I have to hit the brake, I worry the car’s going to stall. Which is why I panic a little bit when the crossing guard stops traffic just as I’m pulling up to the intersection.