She lowers her head, “And do me a favor, keep Carson in the friend zone, okay?”
I’m tempted to tell her exactly what I think of her weird, bullshit request, but from the corner of my eye I see Bruno watching so I just smile and nod.
She nudges me. “Cool. You know, maybe we should hang out sometime.”
“That sounds great.” I almost choke on the words.
Turning back to Bruno I see that tryouts are winding down.
“Wave at him and smile,” Logan demands. He’s sitting behind Leena, staring down her shirt.
Obeying, I wave as subtly as I can, making Bruno break into a grin like nothing I’ve ever seen. You’d have thought I just gave him a million dollars and the key to my chastity belt.
“You’re a natural,” Leena says, sounding remarkably pleased, probably glad I’m flirting with Bruno and not Carson. She stands up, wiping off the butt of her short white shorts with a seductive wiggle and heads over to the field where the team has gathered in a large bunch while Coach Mason makes announcements.
Mr. Mason is also the Advanced Calculus teacher and by far the hottest teacher in the world. He kind of reminds me of Captain America. All muscles and boyish grins. He even does the perfect comb to the side hair thing. Basically, he is the reason our school has such a high number of females in advanced math classes. At the end of every year he has a big pool party at his house for the graduating seniors. I’m secure enough to admit that I really hope to score an invitation this year, if, for no other reason than to ogle him in a pair of board shorts.
He says something and the team cheers and claps.
“They just named him captain.” Logan says from behind me.
I clap as Bruno stands and takes over the rest of the meeting. I can’t hear his words, but at the end everyone cheers and heads for the locker room. Everyone except the guys with girlfriends in the stands—and Bruno.
I climb down and meet him half way. Beside me, Leena takes a run and a flying leap into the hands of her tall, sweaty boyfriend Daryl.
“So,” Bruno says, blushing, “They made me captain.”
I smile warmly. “I told you they would.”
“I…probably need a shower. Do you want to hang out or meet up somewhere?”
Beside me I can hear Leena and Daryl making out loud and wet. I almost gag.
“Why don’t we meet up?”
He nods. “James Creek Park?”
I know the place, it’s not far from the school, across from Starbucks.
“Cool.”
“Offer to bring food.” Logan says.
“Um, how about I drive through somewhere and grab some sandwiches?”
His eyes light up like a tree on Christmas freaking morning.
“That’d be great.”
I wave goodbye and head for my car. I glance around, making sure no one is in earshot.
“Why am I bringing food?” I ask Logan who is trailing behind me.
“It’s a guy thing. You offer to feed us, and we will agree to just about anything.”
I laugh.
“No really, it’s a psychological thing. You offer a guy food and he feels like you are taking care of his needs, like it shows you care. Psychology 101.”
I stop outside my car door.
“So the way to a man’s heart really is through his stomach?”
Logan chuckles. “Basically. Though there are other parts that will get you there too.”
I roll my eyes, get in, and start the car. “Great.”
Eight
Somehow Bruno manages to get to the park before me. Probably due to the fact that the drive through worker at the SandWitch was a total moron who couldn’t get my order straight until I finally wrote it out for him. It also didn’t help that Logan was in my ear the whole time telling me over and over that Bruno doesn’t like onions or tomatoes.
Finally I’d just yelled, “I know. No freaking onions or tomatoes.”
The cashier was appalled and a curt, “Yes, I heard you ma’am,” crackled through the ancient speaker. I proceeded to slam my head into the steering wheel until my food was ready.
Now, as I pull to a stop beside Bruno’s truck, I look at Logan sternly.
“You can’t keep talking in my ear like that. It’s too distracting.”
He raises an eyebrow.
I point, “I mean it Logan, either stay here or stay quiet.”
He makes a lip zipping gesture and I climb out of the car, bag of food in one hand, drink carrier in the other.
Bruno is sitting at a picnic bench, staring at his phone.
“Hey,” I call and he looks up, relief flooding his face. He jumps to his feet and rushes over, taking the drinks for me.
“Hey,” he says as we walk back to his bench with Logan lagging behind.
Opening the bag I pull out his sandwich and dill pickle potato chips.
“Oh yum. I’m starving.”
He unwraps the sandwich and spreads the bread, looking for the innards.
“No tomatoes, no onions, right?” I offer and he grins.
“How did you know?” he asks, reassembling his sandwich and taking a bite.
Oh shit.
I try to play it off with a shrug. Just when I’m afraid he’s not going to drop it he smiles at me and I feel the tension leaving my body.
“Fine. Be mysterious,” he jokes and takes another bite.
I dig in to my own sandwich, not realizing how hungry I am until I’ve devoured half the sub in five seconds flat.
“So how was your meeting?” he asks, taking a drink.
I swallow and set my sandwich down.
“Good. Productive.” I grin and take a sip, “I didn’t even fight with Leena today.”
He chuckles, “So, are you applying for sainthood?”
I nod, “I’m considering a run. We just scheduled the stuff for Homecoming so I can turn it over to the Dance Committee.”
He stares at me blankly so I continue.
“We decided on a Venetian masquerade. Very 007, you know. Suave.”
“Sounds cool.”
“I hope so. The Dance Committee are the ones who really make it happen, all the decorations and stuff. I go in to help sometimes, just with the setup. It’s fun to see it all come together.”
“So are you going?”
I pause mid sandwich pickup. “To the dance?”
He laughs lightly. “No, to the moon. Yes, to the dance.”
I shrug, “I dunno. Probably not. I usually don’t.”
He balls up his wrapper and dusts the crumbs off the table. “Why not?”
I don’t look up when I answer. It’s so pathetic I can’t even meet his eyes.
“I guess…no one’s ever asked me.”
“Seriously?”
Great. Now I feel like a total loser. And it’s not entirely true, Carlos asked me to be his date last year, but it was a pity ask, and I felt like going with him was no better than taking your cousin to prom, so I declined. I feel the flush rising into my face and I have to physically swallow back the smart ass quip fighting its way out my throat.
I hear Bruno laughing dryly so I dip my head lower.
“Freaking Logan.”
“What did you say?” he asks, making my face snap up.
I tilt my head. “I said, ‘This is all Logan’s fault.’”
“How so?” He looks genuinely confused and I want nothing more than to crawl under a rock somewhere and die. I knew this was a stupid plan and now I’m going to throw Logan under the bus—remorse free.
“It’s just that, Logan mentioned that you asked for my phone number once. I never thought much of it since you didn’t call, but I saw you today and I thought…Never mind. It’s stupid.”
He reaches out, covering my hands with his. It’s an alien sensation, the physical contact with someone not Mom or Carlos.