Infinite (Strange and Beautiful, Book 1) (8 page)

I
noticed along the way that the hallways were nearly empty, and when I reached
the parking lot, there were only a few cars still there. I glanced at my watch
to check the time. It was only ten after three.

“Talk
about clearing out fast,” I muttered. I found I couldn’t blame anyone, though.
I never had much of a desire to stick around after school was over either. I
scanned the parking lot just in case, but it was obvious that Skylar had
already left. I didn’t see Tierney’s car either. “You are officially screwed,”
I said to myself.

For
the first time I realized that maybe I actually did need a cell phone. Skylar,
Luke and our parents all had one. My parents had offered to get me one, but,
no, stupid me had said, “No thanks. I probably wouldn’t use it very much.”

What
was I thinking? So what if I wouldn’t use it very often? It was times like
these that counted.

I
kicked a nearby bench with a huff and growled. I knew Mom wouldn’t be too happy
if I called her and asked her to come and get me. For one, it would be an
inconvenience to her, and, for another, Mom would probably be mad at Skylar for
leaving me. Then, in turn, Skylar would be mad at me for making Mom mad at her.
Then Dad would be mad because Mom was mad, and it would just be this big thing
where everyone was pissed. Mom and Dad would blame Skylar, and Skylar would
blame me because she’d warned me about leaving me behind. Luke would probably
be the only one who wasn’t pissed, but he’d find the whole thing amusing,
which, in turn, would probably get him trouble. Then he’d be mad at me too.

Just
thinking about all of it made my head ache. Sometimes life just really sucked.

I
kicked the bench again and wanted to spout off a whole slew of curse words, but
before I even had the chance to start, my little tantrum was interrupted.

“What
did that bench ever do to you?”

I
spun around in surprise. I almost toppled over at the sight of Jackson standing
just behind me, but he reached out and grabbed my shoulder to steady me.

“You
okay?” he asked. I’d only met him once, but it was obvious that he was fighting
off the urge to smile.

Way to
make an impression, I thought bitterly. I really was a spaz when it came to
guys.

“I’m
fine,” I replied, regaining my balance and hoisting my bag back on my shoulder.

“So,
who started it?” he questioned, arching a dark eyebrow as he glanced at the
bench.

I
felt my cheeks grow warm as a smile crept up on my face. “I started it,” I
confessed.

“Wow,
I didn’t take you for a troublemaker,” he smirked, “but considering you’re
Skylar and Luke Granger’s little sister, I guess I shouldn’t be that
surprised.”

I
laughed a little, but I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I kept my mouth
shut. Knowing my luck, I was liable to say something incredibly embarrassing.
Then I’d just have to dig a hole in the ground and crawl inside and die.
Because, hello, did I mention Jackson had gorgeous lips? My mind briefly short
circuited and I began to wonder how his lips would feel against mine. Luckily,
I kept my lips sealed together and didn’t voice those thoughts out loud. I had
to mentally shake my head to make those thoughts go away. I didn’t think
Jackson noticed my short lapse with reality, but if he did, he was pretending
not to notice. How considerate of him.

“So,
what are you doing out here?” he asked after a minute of silence that was
quickly headed in the direction of awkward.

“Weighing
my options,” I replied.

“Options?
For what?”

“How
I’m going to get home,” I sighed, considering my less than desirable plight
once again.

“And
what are your options?”

I
couldn’t tell if he was actually interested or he just found me amusing, but I
answered him anyway. “Well, I can call my mom and ask her to come pick me up,
or I can start walking.”

“That
might be a long walk,” Jackson frowned.

“Yeah,
but it might be worth it,” I sighed. “I don’t think my mom will be too happy if
she has to come and get me.”

“I
see,” Jackson nodded, cocking his head to the side and studying me for a
moment. Then he said, “You know, there is one other option.”

“Oh,
yeah? What’s that?” I wondered what other option I hadn’t taken into
consideration. I didn’t think I’d missed anything else. Calling Skylar to come
back and get me would be just as bad, if not worse, than calling Mom. Luke was
probably busy, and even if he wasn’t, he wasn’t likely to pick up and come and
get me. Tierney and Tegan had plans, so, unless Jackson knew something I
didn’t, that just left me with calling Mom or walking.

“You
could hitch a ride with me,” he said.

Now
that was a surprise. I never would have thought to ask, and I didn’t know him
well enough to guess that he’d offer. “Really? It’s not out of your way?”

“Nah,”
he shrugged, “it’s cool.”

“Really?”
I couldn’t help but ask again uncertainly. I didn’t want to be an
inconvenience.

“Yes,
really,” he nodded as he started toward the parking lot. When I didn’t move, he
stopped and turned. “Well, I’m not going to pull up here to pick you up if
that’s what you’re thinking. So, are you coming or not?”

I
nodded wordlessly and hurried after him.

We
walked across the parking lot, bypassing the few remaining cars. At first I was
confused where we were headed until we reached the very last row of parking. In
the far corner, parked at an angle, was a cobalt blue Chevy Camaro with white
racing stripes on the hood and roof, and Jackson headed straight for it.

I
trailed behind, most likely with my mouth hanging open, as Jackson walked
around to the driver’s side and unlocked the door.

He
paused before opening the door and looked over the roof to me. “What’s wrong
with you?”

“
This
is your car?” I asked, wide-eyed and incredulous.

“Yep,”
he said simply as he slid into the driver’s seat and reached across to the
passenger’s side and unlocked the door. I pulled it open and slid inside.

“Me
and my brothers spent two years restoring it,” Jackson explained once I was
inside and pulling on my seatbelt.

I
was still too baffled by the awesomeness of his car to reply as he put the key
in the ignition, and the engine boomed to life. He then pulled on his seatbelt
and switched on the radio. He revved the engine before he backed out of the
parking space.

“So,
how did you miss your ride, anyway?” he asked as he stopped at the stop sign
leading out of the parking lot.

“Oh.”
I had to think for a minute. It was surreal to be sitting in a classic car with
a gorgeous guy. Once I collected my thoughts, I said, “I was talking to
Annabelle Jansen about the school newspaper.”

“Taking
Journalism then, I assume?”

I
nodded, and because I couldn’t help it and simply had to tell someone, I said,
“She asked me if I’d like to write a review for the paper.”

I
didn’t think that Tegan would mind too much if she weren’t the first person I
told. Besides, she would most certainly be the first to hear all the details of
this bizarrely monumental moment where I not only managed to talk to a guy, but
I managed to talk to a really hot,
nice
guy.

“That’s
cool,” he nodded. “You like to write?”

“Sometimes,”
I admitted. “I’ve never written anything for other people to read before. Well,
besides, a teacher, but that doesn’t really count, does it? I mean, I doubt
most teachers even really care anyway. After all, they all usually assign the
same things anyway. Books reports, autobiographies, and stuff like that. I
don’t know why they bother, really. I feel like I write the same, boring things
every time if it’s about myself.”

“Oh,
I don’t know,” Jackson commented, “I bet yours would be rather entertaining.”

I
glanced over at Jackson and saw a smile playing on his full lips. He probably
wanted to laugh at me. He probably thought I was a blundering idiot. After all,
I knew I was rambling, so I grew quiet. I always seemed to get a case of verbal
diarrhea when I was nervous, and cute guys made me very nervous.

When
I didn’t reply to his comment, Jackson asked, “So, what are you writing your
review on?”

“I
don’t know,” I answered. “I’m supposed to make a list of movies or books
tonight and talk to Annabelle tomorrow.”

“Got
any ideas yet?”

“I’m
not sure,” I said. “I haven’t seen many movies lately. At least not any new ones,
but I read a lot. Maybe
Perks of Being a Wallflower,
but I’m not sure if
that’s really appropriate to suggest at school. I know it’s been banned in some
places.”

“That’s
true. It’s a good book, but the themes aren’t really,” he seemed to search for
the right words for a moment, “school administration friendly.”

“That’s
for sure,” I nodded.

“Have
you read anything by John Green?” Jackson asked.

“No,
I haven’t,” I answered, “but the name sounds familiar.”

“He
has a couple of books out.
Looking For Alaska
and
An Abundance of
Katherines
just came out a week or so ago,” Jackson explained.

The
titles sounded vaguely familiar, and then I remembered that Rose the librarian
had mentioned them to me when I finally made it to the library over the
weekend. “Someone else mentioned them to me too, actually,” I said, “but they
were checked out of the library, and there was a long waiting list.”

“Well,
I have my own copies of both. You can borrow them if you want,” Jackson
offered.

I
had officially decided I was in love—or at the very least very seriously
infatuated—with this beautiful, generous, book-reading boy. I managed to rein
in my inner glee, and smiled, probably a little manically, “Really? That would
be great.”

“No
problem,” Jackson shrugged, as if he hadn’t just stolen my heart. “What about
The
Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
? Have you read it?”

“Yes!
I completely forgot about that one,” I said. I couldn’t curb my surprise as I
asked, “You’ve read it?”

“Yep,
several times. Every time I read it, I notice more and more Biblical
parallels.”

“I
don’t know much about the
Bible
,” I admitted, “but I’ve looked up some
stuff about the books and symbolism online.”

“Sometimes
I like to visit sites like SparkNotes to read the analysis,” Jackson commented.
“I know it’s kind of dorky, but I like to see if I’m understanding things right
or see if I missed something while reading.”

“It’s
not dorky!” I exclaimed; then I reconsidered. “Well, maybe it is, but I do the
same thing.”

“Really?”
Jackson looked both disbelieving and hopeful at my admission.

“Yeah,
I thought I was the only one,” I blushed.

“Apparently
not the only one, but we might be the only two,” he laughed lightly. It was
melodic; it reminded me of music. I tried to think of a way, that didn’t
involve making an ass out of myself, to make him laugh again.

While
I thought, he leaned over and pulled open the glove box. He kept his eyes
mostly on the road, but he glanced briefly at the glove box and grabbed a pack
of Marlboro Reds before he shoved the door back into place. He straightened up
in his seat and glanced at me as he pulled a lighter out of the pack of
cigarettes. “Mind if I smoke?”

“It’s
your car,” I shrugged. I couldn’t deny being somewhat disappointed to find he
was a smoker, but I supposed that a boy so seemingly perfect had to have some
sort of flaw.

“I
can wait if it bothers you,” he offered.

“It’s
okay,” I smiled. He eyed me for a moment, as if to check for some form of
deception before he placed a cigarette between his lips and lit it. “I do find
it odd that one minute you’re talking about Christianity and the next you’re
smoking,” I commented as he exhaled a cloud of smoke and cracked his window.

“I
know. It’s a nasty habit, but I picked it up while I was staying with my
brother over the summer,” he sighed. “I thought I’d be able to kick it when I
got back home, but I was wrong.”

“You
could try the patch or gum,” I suggested.

“I
guess I could,” he shrugged, “but I’m not too worried about it.”

“Maybe
you should,” I commented, which earned me an arched eyebrow. “I mean, maybe
it’s just me and I’ve got it wrong, but I don’t think most girls are into
kissing guys with mouths that taste like an ashtray.” I shrugged, as if to
lessen the unintentional insult.

“Huh.
Are you planning to kiss me?” Jackson smirked as he tapped the ashes at the end
of his cigarette off into the ashtray.

“No,
I was just saying . . .” I trailed off as my face bloomed into what I was sure
was a tomato red blush. Jackson simply smiled innocently, and I knew I’d been
baited.

After
a moment he took mercy upon my poor, mortified soul and admitted, “You’re
probably right. Most girls probably wouldn’t appreciate kissing an ashtray.”

“Well,
good luck to you whenever you decide to quit,” I said.

“Thank
you,” he nodded as he pulled the car to a stop. I looked out the window and was
shocked to discover that we were in front of my house already. It felt like we
just got into the car. I felt a little sad knowing that I had to say goodbye,
but I thanked Jackson for the ride and he replied, “No problem. Just take it
easy on those benches from now on.”

“I’ll
try,” I assured him, and I couldn’t help but smile as I walked up to the house.
When I got to the door, I stopped and turned to wave goodbye to Jackson. He
waved back before he pulled, car rumbling, away from the curb. I couldn’t help
it. I felt giddy.

I
stepped into the house and heard the television in the living room blaring
profanities and foul music and knew that Luke was playing some sort of a video
game. I toed off my shoes and dropped my bag at the door before walking into
the kitchen. Mom was doing dishes, and she looked up as I entered the room.