Access Denied (and other eighth grade error messages) (15 page)

JILLY, BUS BOY, AND BLAKE showed up at exactly three thirty-five Saturday afternoon. I know this because I was standing just
inside the living room so I had a clear view of both the front walk through the window and the clock on the mantle above the
fireplace. As Blake walked his bike up the driveway, I stepped back into the hallway and scurried back about halfway. When
the doorbell rang, I stood there counting. I didn’t want to look too eager.

“Do you want me to get it?” Chris said as he pounded down the stairs.

“No. Yes. No!” I shoved him away and strode down the hall, ignoring the kissy noises and laughter behind me. Talk about immature.

Blake stood on my front porch, looking ultra cute with his spiked blond hair and oversized T-shirt and baggy shorts. Jilly
and Jon stayed on the sidewalk, their bikes leaning against them as they talked. Blake and I smiled at each other as he stepped
inside. I had a brief flutter as he turned his face to me. Was he going to kiss me right here in the foyer, with my brother
possibly spying?

Nope.

He had caught his reflection in the mirror hanging above the entry table and patted his hair with his hand.

“Can I get a glass of water?” Blake asked. “I forgot my water bottle at home.”

My mom came in as Blake was sucking down the last drops.

“Good to see you again, Mrs. Swift,” he said to her.

“You, too, Blake,” my mom said.

“My dad said you designed the website for one of his clients. I checked it out and it’s really cool.”

“I appreciate that, Blake,” she said, then patted his arm. “You don’t need to butter me up. I know you’re a nice boy.”

Blake blushed, then grinned. “So, you’ve been listening to lies about me, then?”

My mom laughed. “You four have fun. Do you need any money?”

“I’ve got some,” I said, backing away toward the door.

“Remember, straight there and straight back,” my mom said to me. “No stopping.”

“Don’t worry about it, Mom.” I hustled Blake out of there as fast as I could.

At Dairy Queen, Blake ordered a mint chocolate chip Blizzard and I had the Blizzard of the Month—something with bananas in
it. I didn’t really pay attention because Blake was gripping my elbow, standing so close behind me I could practically feel
his breath in my hair.

The four of us ate at one of the tables, talking about whatever came to our minds; I was just happy to listen to Blake’s voice
and look into his amazing blue eyes. He was really into video games so he talked a lot about his Nintendo Wii and Xbox and
I talked about our Playstation.

“You’ll have to come over and play games sometime,” he said.

Me? At Blake Thornton’s house? I swallowed my freak-out and smiled. “That would be cool.”

Jilly and Bus Boy talked about school and homework and whether or not Bus Boy would do well on the Wash High soccer team.
When we were finished, we walked our bikes across the street toward the park. Blake gave me a smile before turning to Jilly
and Bus Boy.

“We’re under strict orders to go straight back,” he said to them.

My cheeks warmed. Why was he announcing it?

“Straight means taking the inside path through the trees,” Bus Boy said, pointing across the park. “We’re staying on this
path.”

Blake looked at me and shrugged. “I guess it’ll just be the two of us through the trees.”

I smiled. So that’s why he announced it.

After promising to meet up with Jilly and Bus Boy on the other side of the park, Blake motioned me to follow him. “Come on.
I want to show you something.”

Huh. I had thought this was a scheme to get us alone, but Blake looked all tour guide as we wound our way along the path,
circling groves and benches along the way.

“What is it?” I asked. “A bird’s nest?” What else could you show someone in a park?

“You’ll see,” was all he said.

He veered off the path near a grove of trees and leaned his bike against one of them. I did the same. He took my hand and
we walked between two trees. “Look,” he said, pointing up. I followed his finger, squinting into the branches as we kept walking.

The next thing I knew, he was kissing me. After I got over my surprise, I kissed him right back and we kept kissing, shuffling
beneath the branches in an awkward dance. When we stopped kissing, we kept shuffling and I grinned.

“What do you call that?” I asked.

“The make-out shuffle,” he said and we both laughed. “We’re not stopping and we’re going straight back—sort of.”

I threw my arms around him and kissed him again. “You’re the best.”

We raced each other to the edge of the park, where we hooked up with Jilly and Bus Boy. Jilly raised her eyebrows, and I raised
mine back. We both smiled before pushing off and riding toward home.

I was desperate to kiss Blake good-bye when we got back to my house but I didn’t know who might be watching so I settled for
a thanks and a wave.

“See you soon, Erin Swift,” Blake said as he rode away.

“That was nice of all of them to ride back with you,” my mom said when I stepped inside.

“Were you watching from the window?”

My mom laughed. “Yes, I was.” She patted my arm. “Do you like him a lot?”

I shrugged. I did, but I didn’t want to tell her for some reason.

Mom sighed. “Well, he seems very nice.” She turned toward the kitchen. “It’s funny, I always thought—well, it doesn’t matter.”
She looked over her shoulder at me. “Dinner’s almost ready. I hope you’re hungry after ice cream.”

I hardly registered food. I was focused on the other part. “What, Mom? You always thought what?”

She smiled. “It’s nothing really, Erin. I just assumed that you and Mark—” She paused, then shook her head. “But I can see
there aren’t any sparks between you and I’d rather you were just friends with all these boys anyway. You know I was friends
with your dad—”

“—for six years before you married him,” I finished. “Yes, I know. You’ve told me a million times.” I sighed. “Don’t worry.
Blake is really great and easy to talk to. I think we’ll be good friends.” Good friends with kissing benefits, but I wasn’t
going to tell her that.

“How was the big date?” Chris came into the kitchen, grabbing an apple.

“It wasn’t a date,” my mom and I said at the same time.

But with all the kissing that had gone on, I knew it kind of was.

SHOOTING HOOPS AT THE Y with Mark after making out with Blake the day before was, well, different. I felt more confident,
like Mark and I were equals, which was weird. And I could flirt a little with him without it meaning anything since he knew
about Blake.

“You’re sure on your game today,” Mark said when we took a water break after I beat him two out of three.

“I’d have been more on it if you hadn’t fouled me on those two layups,” I said, nudging him with my elbow so he spilled his
water.

“Hey,” he said, elbowing me back. “And those were not fouls. They were totally legal.” He flicked some water at me.

I flicked some back.

He held up his water bottle. “You want to start something?”

I held up mine. “Only if I can finish it.”

We stood there, facing off with our water bottles, before we both laughed and drank.

“That was fun,” I said as we stepped outside the Y to wait for our rides. It occurred to me that my mom never seemed bothered
about me being alone with Mark. I guess it was because she’d never seen sparks. She knew it was safe.

“So, Reede’s coming over to your house next weekend?” Mark asked as we sat down on the low brick walls, our basketballs resting
on our laps.

“Yeah.” She and I had been talking about getting together to plan the website. I had wanted to go to her house and meet her
dad and see what kind of equipment and software they had but she said they were still disorganized from the move so we planned
to meet at my lame house. She was all excited to hear I had an older brother but I warned her he was weird and taken.

“That just makes it more interesting,” she had said.

Saturday morning Reede showed up at my house wearing tight jeans and a lace top. When she pulled off her jacket, her shirt
hitched up and I saw her belly button ring glint in the light. She wore her usual amount of makeup and her hair was curled.
She caught me checking her out and grinned.

“You never know who you might run into.”

“He’s asleep,” I said, getting it.

“He’ll wake up.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “And I’ll be ready.”

“You haven’t even seen him. You don’t know him.”

She smiled. “I’ve seen you. I know you. If he’s anything close to a boy version of you, we’re in business.”

I shook my head, but couldn’t help smiling at the compliment.

“How’s
your
high school hunk?”

My cheeks warmed. “Fine,” I said, walking to the kitchen table. “Let’s brainstorm at the table, then we can get on the computer.”

“Cool,” Reede said. “I understand if you don’t want to share the intimate details. Looks like you took it to hot without my
help. Congratulations.” As she scanned the room, I noticed she didn’t have anything with her. No folders or notebooks or anything
else. Maybe she had a flash drive in her pocket. “Your house is awesome,” she said, then glanced out the kitchen window to
the backyard. “Think I could sneak out back for a cig? I didn’t get my morning drag and I don’t think I’ll be able to concentrate
until I do.”

Smoking? Here? My parents had gone to the hardware store but Chris might come down any minute. I glanced at the clock. Ten.
He usually didn’t get up until noon, but still…

“Hey, if you’d rather I didn’t.” She had an edge to her voice.

“It’s, well—”
Speak up, Erin.
“My parents always seem to sniff things out, if you know what I mean. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”