Be Mine (17 page)

It was Will.

“What are you doing here?” she asked in surprise.

“I was riding up on the escalator and saw you. I need to buy a suit.”

“For the dance?” Jennifer asked, suddenly realizing she hadn't given any thought to what she'd be wearing.

“Something like that,” Will answered.

“DeVille's has a great men's department. If you don't mind sticking around, I can help you.” After all, he was dressing for her. Why not get a sneak peek and steer him away from any fashion disasters? The last thing she wanted was him showing up wearing a suit with sneakers! Or a suit with a T-shirt! “I get off in half an hour. Can you wait?”

Relief washed over Will's face. “That would be great. I don't know anything about fancy clothes.”

Thirty minutes later, Jennifer was going through the racks in the men's department, collecting shirts, ties, and suits.

“Let's start with these,” she said, handing the pile to Will. “And remember, whatever we buy, you have to wear dress shoes! No sneakers!”

“How'd it go with the dress?” he asked as he stepped into a dressing room and pulled the blue curtain closed.

“I returned it yesterday. No questions were asked. But that's the last time I do something stupid like that.”

“Until you tangle with Claudia again,” Will teased as he came out wearing the first combo of shirt, suit, and tie that Jennifer had suggested.

“I don't like the shirt and tie together. The colors clash.” She pushed him back into the dressing room. “Go change.”

After much mixing and matching, Will went with a charcoal gray suit, a white shirt, and a black tie decorated with tiny red hearts.

“Are you sure these hearts don't look dippy?” Will asked as he walked out of the dressing room in his own clothes.

“They look classy!”

At the cash register, Jennifer insisted on letting Will use her employee discount.

“You don't have to do that.”

“I know I don't, but I want to. It's the least I can do. After all, you're helping me out.”

“Thanks.”

After Will paid for his purchase, they left DeVille's and walked outside. The streets were piled high with snowbanks although the sidewalks had been cleared.

“Guess I won't be getting that motorcycle ride today,” Jennifer said.

“'Fraid not.”

They started down the block, walking side by side. Even though the snow was gone, the sidewalk was slippery in spots.

“I feel like I'm about to fall on my butt,” Jennifer joked.

Seconds later, Jennifer slipped on a patch of ice. She tried to regain her balance, but couldn't. As she fell, Will tried to catch her, but slipped as well and they both crashed to the ground.

Jennifer fell first, with Will landing on top of her.

They were face-to-face, with their lips only inches apart.

Staring into Will's blue eyes, Jennifer was unaware of the hard ground or the cold snow seeping into the back of her jacket.

All she was aware of was Will's lips.

They were temptingly close.

She wanted to lift her head up and wrap her hands around his head, weave her fingers through his long, silky hair, drawing him close as she pressed her lips against his.

They looked so soft.

And kissable!

Where were these thoughts coming from? Had she suffered a concussion? She wasn't supposed to be falling for Will. This was all pretend!

But she wanted to kiss him!

And Will
had
said that they should kiss.

As research.

Did she dare?

She wasn't the kind of girl who usually made the first move. She always let the guy do that.

Although she did know how to send out signals.

Jennifer stared into Will's eyes, trying to telegraph her thoughts.

Come on, Will! Take charge. Kiss me. Kiss me!

But he didn't.

Instead, he jumped off her and pulled her back on her feet.

“Are you okay?” he asked, wiping snow off her jacket before collecting his shopping bags.

“I'm fine,” she assured him.

Although I would have been better if you'd kissed me!

“We better take things slow,” Will said as they started walking again.

Slow was
not
what Jennifer wanted.

Eden was in the middle of doing a figure eight when she heard her name called.

“Eden!”

She looked across the pond where she was iceskating and saw a little girl waving at her. At first she didn't recognize her, she was so bundled up. But then, when her name was called again, she recognized the voice. It was Dexter's little sister, Yvonne.

“Hi, sweetie,” she said, skating over to her. “Are you here by yourself?”

Yvonne shook her head. “Everyone else is coming.”

Seconds later, Dexter, Angie, and Thelma walked out of the woods, ice skates tossed over their shoulders.

“Look who's here!” Yvonne called out, her voice filled with excitement.

“I didn't know you ice-skated,” Dexter said as he sat on a bench by the side of the pond and put on his skates, lacing them up.

“I haven't in awhile. I was cleaning out my closet and found my old skates. I thought I'd give it a whirl.”

“And?”

“I've still got it,” Eden proudly said.

“Let's see.”

Eden skated back onto the ice and did another figure eight. Then she did a double axel.

“You're just like the skaters on TV!” Yvonne exclaimed.

Eden shook her head. “I'm nowhere near as good as they are.”

“Yes, you are,” Yvonne stubbornly said as she stepped onto the ice, her ankles wobbly. “And you're prettier, too!”

“How are you on the ice?” Eden asked Dexter.

Angie laughed. “If they gave grades for iceskating, Dexter would get an F!”

“You mean Dexter
isn't
perfect at everything?” Eden teased.

“When it comes to ice-skating, Mr. Perfect is Mr. Imperfect,” Thelma added.

“I skate better than Dexter!” Yvonne called out as she zigzagged between the other skaters on the pond.

“No fair,” Dexter grumbled, carefully stepping onto the ice. “These three pick on me all the time. They don't need you helping them.”

“How about I give you some lessons?” Eden asked. “Let me be the tutor for a change.”

“I'm all yours,” Dexter said as his sisters abandoned them.

“Skate for me,” Eden said. “Let me see your moves.”

Eden cringed as she watched Dexter shuffle across the ice. She kept expecting him to fall flat on his face.

“Don't look down,” she instructed him. “Keep your head up, your back straight, and yours arms out.”

Eden watched as Dexter did what she told him. Instantly, she saw an improvement.

“Very good,” she said as she skated alongside him. “Let your feet do the work. Watch me.”

Eden glided smoothly across the ice, picking up speed, keeping one leg out behind her. Even though she didn't have any music, she decided to do one of her old routines, complete with jumps and spins. She didn't know why, but she wanted to show Dexter that she was good at
something
. That she wasn't just a mindless cheerleader who cried over her ex-boyfriends.

When she was finished, she skated over to Dexter. The look of amazement on his face was priceless.

“Wow!” he exclaimed. “Yvonne was right. You
are
better than those skaters on TV.”

“I told you!” Yvonne piped up, clapping madly. “She's an ice princess.”

For the rest of the afternoon, Eden divided her time between Dexter and his sisters, giving them all pointers. Dexter fell on his butt a couple of times, causing his sisters to laugh, but he was a good sport about it. He always pulled himself back up, blushing with embarrassment, and then started skating again. He also wasn't afraid to ask Eden what he was doing wrong. Only when it started to get dark did they realize they had lost track of time.

“We've been out here all afternoon,” Dexter said as he unlaced his skates.

“I've got so much homework left to do,” Eden groaned. “And I still have to figure out what I'm going to do with all those clothes I'm getting rid of.”

“You're getting rid of clothes?” Angie asked.

“A lot of it is stuff I've hardly worn,” Eden said. A thought popped into her head. “Want to come over and see if there's anything you'd like to have?”

Angie could barely contain her excitement. “You mean it?”

“Sure.”

“I can't wait!” She happily clapped her hands. “You're one of the best-dressed girls at North Ridge High.”

Eden laughed. “Says who?”

“Dexter!” Yvonne loudly announced.

Eden hadn't expected to hear that! “You pay attention to what I'm wearing?” she asked in amusement.

Dexter blushed.

“Dexter always notices pretty girls,” Thelma said. “Mama says he's girl-crazy.”

Yvonne nodded. “Last week, he said —”

Dexter cut Yvonne off. “If we don't start hurrying, we're going to be late for dinner. Less talking and more walking,” he sternly ordered.

“Will you come over for dinner, Eden?” Yvonne asked, taking Eden's hand in hers. “Please?”

“We owe you,” Thelma said. “For helping us on the ice.”

“Not to mention the clothes you're going to give me,” Angie added.

Eden knew she should say no. She had to get home. But how could she resist the pleading looks on Dexter's sisters' faces, especially Yvonne's? And then Dexter surprised her by saying, “We'd love to have you.” He crossed his heart. “I promise not to quiz you on vocabulary words.”

“Okay,” she told them, surrendering to their invitation, “I'll come over. But I can't stay very long.”

The other reason why she said yes was because she couldn't forget what Yvonne had said.

Dexter thought she was one of the best-dressed girls at North Ridge High.

Interesting.

Very
interesting . . .

“Wouldn't it be nice if people decorated for Valentine's Day like they decorated for Christmas?” Natalie asked as she and Leo walked down her block. “There could be blinking pink and red lights and cupids on front lawns. Maybe even animated boxes of chocolate where the lids lift up and some of the chocolates inside could be squished!”

“It'll never happen.”

“Why not?”

“Valentine's Day isn't a holiday that includes everybody, if you know what I mean. It's aimed toward couples. Single people get left out. Why would they want to decorate for a holiday that excludes them?”

“Oh! I never thought of it that way.”

“Since you're coupled,” Leo said, “what are you doing on Valentine's Day? Going to the dance?”

“I guess.”

“What do you mean you guess? Hasn't Tom asked you?”

Natalie didn't want to admit that Tom
hadn't
asked her yet. She was sure Leo would find that strange. But it wasn't like she was upset. Tom was going to ask her eventually. After all, they were dating. Who else was he going to ask?

Although what did it say about her that this was the first time she was thinking about Tom not asking her to dance?

“Of course he has,” Natalie told Leo. “What about you?”

“Same thing as tonight. Babysitting Bonnie.”

Their movie marathon had been interrupted when Lisa had called and asked Leo if he could come over and watch Bonnie. When Leo told Natalie the news, she offered to go with him. They'd brought along the DVDs they hadn't had a chance to watch and were hoping Bonnie would fall asleep early.

“Let me pop inside,” Natalie said as they neared her house. “I was at the mall yesterday and bought something for Bonnie.”

“A bribe couldn't hurt,” Leo said. “Lisa said she's been cranky all day. She thinks she might be coming down with something.”

“Poor baby.”

“I'll see you in a little bit,” Leo said as he continued to his brother's house.

Up in her bedroom, Natalie found the tiny stuffed monkey she had bought for Bonnie. As she was walking through the kitchen to use the back door, she saw the light on the answering machine was blinking. She hit the PLAY button and was surprised to hear Tom's voice fill the kitchen.

“Hey, Nat. Just wondering what you were up to. I thought if you were home, I'd swing by, but you're not. Give me a call when you get this message. Maybe we can still do something.”

Natalie hit the ERASE button.

Even though she'd gotten Tom's message, that didn't mean she had to call him back now. After all, she was babysitting. She was busy.

She'd call him later tonight before she went to bed.

“And the nominees for Most Romantic Couple are . . .”

It was lunchtime and Jennifer was listening to Principal Hicks's nasal voice over the school announcement system. He always sounded stuffed up, like he had a cold.