Love Songs (Secret Songbook #1) (10 page)

Making her way through the vast pile that was surely over the limit of garments allowed in the change rooms, Kaley didn’t know what her mother was thinking. One of the dresses was so short she wouldn’t be able to sit down without showing everything that shouldn’t see the light of day.

Another dress was neon purple with cut out panels around the waist. A few had more lace adornments than an old woman’s house. And another had a neckline that went down to her bellybutton. There was seriously something wrong with her mother’s fashion taste.

The worst part was Georgie insisted on seeing every single item. When Kaley took too long, she would pull open the curtain to see what the problem was. She had to change quickly or risk her underwear-clad body being exposed to all the other shoppers.

“Oh, Kaley, you look so beautiful!” Georgie exclaimed as she looked over Kaley’s shoulder in the mirror. She was wearing a black dress with puffy sleeves and a lace panel on the back. Kaley couldn’t understand what her mother was seeing. To her it looked like she’d stumbled into a bad Madonna video. Or any Madonna video, really.

“It’s not me, Mom.”

“But look at those curves, you’re bumpy in all the right places. Girls would kill to have a figure like yours and all you do is cover it up.”

“I don’t like the dress.”

Georgie had a look of disappointment on her face. “Well, keep going then. You might find one you like.”

Kaley doubted that but she closed the curtain and tried the next one. It was the last one in the pile. If she didn’t like that one, then they would have to try yet another store. And that meant another pile of clothes she would have to try on. It was overwhelming just thinking about it.

She slipped into the last dress and pulled the zipper just as Georgie opened the curtain.

“Oh my, Kaley, you can’t tell me that one isn’t absolutely gorgeous.”

Instead of replying, Kaley stared at her reflection in the mirror. The dress was dusky pink with black dots. The neckline was framed with a thin line of black lace and it tied at the waist with a sash of the same material. It flattered her curves without them being overt. It almost reached her knees and it had a boat neckline. It was her.

“I like this one.”

“I can tell, you aren’t pulling a face.” Georgie laughed and finished tying the sash. “I think this is the one, my girl.”

“I think I agree.”

Kaley didn’t want to take the dress off, she loved it so much. She changed anyway and returned the castoffs.

They left the store but apparently Georgie wasn’t done with her yet – they had to accessorize. She was dragged to another three stores while Georgie picked out a necklace, earrings, and shoes to match the dress. Kaley was too worn out to argue, she agreed with anything she was shown. Sure, her jewelry was overly sparkly and her shoes too high, but she was beyond caring.

Perhaps Eli would like them.

She was finally allowed to go home. Her ordeal with Mother Barbie was over, the mission a complete success.

When they arrived home, Kaley headed for her room after thanking Georgie for all her help. She was amazed at how much her mother enjoyed doing things with her. She guessed she didn’t get to do it that much anymore. With school and spending time with Harper, it didn’t leave them many opportunities to bond.

Perhaps there were a few good things to come out of their evening: a fantastic dress and an intact mother/daughter relationship.

In the safety of her own room, Kaley put on the dress again and studied herself in the mirror. Without the pressure of having Georgie breathing down her neck, she could look at every inch of it.

The pink fabric with black spots really made a cute dress. And even better, it was nothing like the popular girls would wear. It was her and nobody else. She hoped Eli would like it. Even more importantly, she hoped he would call soon so she knew for sure she would be able to wear the dress on the date. Hopefully he wouldn’t want to go bowling.

Feeling exceedingly happy, Kaley pulled out her guitar and songbook. She had a tune in her heart that was being transferred to her head. She needed to get it out. She started singing, her fingers on the guitar moving automatically.

Whenever you smile,

My heart skips a beat,

You make me dance,

I can’t stop my feet.

Sometimes I wonder,

If you are truly real,

You seem too good to be true,

But that’s how I feel.

Unable to keep still, Kaley stood and started dancing around her room while still playing along. Her thoughts were full of Eli and her dress and her date and all the wonderful things that could happen.

You spin me around,

And I get so dizzy,

I can’t keep my head,

My thoughts are just too busy.

I knew you were special,

The moment I saw you,

Your eyes they twinkled,

Like I knew you were true.

She broke into a guitar solo, still dancing around like a little child. She didn’t care how she looked, she was too excited about everything. Never before had anything like this ever happened to her. She was going to enjoy every moment.

My heart beats so fast,

You gotta take my hand,

I don’t know how I’ll last,

Please help me to stand.

She slowed down and geared up for the chorus, the last part of the song she had to write.

When we’re together,

Everything is better.

The ground shakes,

And it’s too much to take.

Through any weather,

I know it’s forever.

She stroked the guitar for the last time and took a bow to her invisible audience. She collapsed on the bed and hurried to get it down into her songbook. She had to keep repeating it from the beginning to try and remember it all.

When Kaley finally decided she got all the words correct and the notes in somewhat of an order, she lay on the bed and tried to catch her breath. She didn’t know what had come over her, but notes and lyrics never come to her so quickly. It wasn’t even a terrible song, she had done a half-decent job of it.

Something caught Kaley’s eye as she lay there, something outside the window. The window! She had completely forgotten her curtains were open.

She sat up and saw what had caught her attention – Harvey. He looked at her through the window, shock apparent on his face. Her stomach dropped like it was made of lead, how long had he been standing there?

Her face started to redden with the embarrassment. She prayed he had only just walked in. Why had she been so stupid? She was so caught up in her stupid song she forgot to close the stupid blinds.
Stupid Kaley, Stupid
, she scolded herself.

She went to the window and waved, mouthing a ‘goodnight’. Harvey did the same and watched as she closed the curtains. She took off the dress and went for a shower, mortally embarrassed about the whole thing.

She resolved never to mention it, despite wanting to know exactly what Harvey saw. If she ignored it, perhaps he would forget about whatever he saw.

Chapter 9

Kaley could feel eyes staring at her. She was sure they belonged to Harvey. He was sitting two rows behind her in Science class and she still wasn’t over being embarrassed about the whole dress and song incident.

She begged Georgie for a ride to school that morning so she didn’t have to speak with him. She guessed they would still have to walk home together after school, but maybe some miracle might occur in the meantime. Like the school exploding or something.

Lost in her daydream, when a note landed on her desk, it startled her. She carefully looked around to Harper but she was flicking through her textbook. She opened the note and read:

K,

Saturday night, 6 ok? Pick u up then?

E.

Kaley’s heart leaped. Sure, it wasn’t the most romantic note she had ever received – actually it probably was – but it was from Eli. She hadn’t imagined the whole thing and he hadn’t been so drunk that he had forgotten. It was actually happening. Her and Eli Stone were actually going on a date.

A real date.

She turned around and looked at Eli, sitting in the back row. She nodded in response. He nodded to acknowledge her nod. And that was it. Their first official, real date was set.

Saturday seemed way too far away even though it was only the day after tomorrow. But that was too soon also. She tried not to panic. It was just a date after all, people went on them all the time. It was no big deal, right? As much as she tried to tell herself those facts, she still couldn’t believe them.

Kaley tried hard to focus on the teacher. Science was her thing, she needed to concentrate in case she was picked on for an answer. Not that she ever was, but she needed to be prepared anyway. On the day she wasn’t paying attention, it would be the day when it actually happened.

No doubt about it.

The teacher was saying something about an assignment he was setting. Everyone was going to be assigned a partner and they would be expected to run an experiment. The outcomes needed to be documented and presented to the class. It counted for twenty percent of the final grade so it was going to be kind of a big deal.

Her thoughts immediately went to who she would be partnered with. She hoped it would be Harper, at least they could have some fun with it. Science wasn’t exactly Harper’s thing, but at least she could help her friend get a good grade.

In the past she had been paired with Abigail once before. It was terrifying at first, then Kaley realized she would be doing the whole assignment herself as Abigail delegated rather than did anything.

She had earned herself an A and given Abigail one for free. Even after being supposed science partners, Abigail wouldn’t be able to identify her in a lineup.

Mr. Hannigan was reeling off names fast now, he had obviously already made the list earlier. Kaley heard her name and waited, holding her breath for someone good. Someone other than Abigail, please.

“Kaley will be paired with Harvey.”

She heard the words and her hopes were dashed. After Harvey had been acting so strange, he would make a terrible science partner. It would be all awkward and weird. The opposite of productive.

She turned around and looked at Harvey, he just shrugged in response. She supposed it would have to do, at least he would do his fair share of the work. If he didn’t, she knew where he lived.

The bell rang and signaled the end of class as Mr. Hannigan finished his list and dealt out the assignment sheets. They would have to pick an experiment from the list and then work out how to do it. The project didn’t sound too complicated, perhaps a few days’ worth of work.

She left the class with Harper, noting how quickly Harvey left without even saying anything to her. They walked to Kaley’s locker so she could change books. She had been carrying less of the books she needed lately so she could visit her locker more often. The fact it was right beside Eli’s didn’t have any impact on that decision, of course.

As they walked, Cooper Sutton hurried by in the opposite direction. He passed close enough to brush Harper’s arm. She almost burst until he was out of earshot.

“Cooper just touched my arm!”

“He looks pretty good today,” Kaley commented. “I can see what the attraction is. So when are you going to make your move on him?”

“Ha,” Harper snorted. “That’s never going to happen. You saw him just now, I’m not even on his radar. I poke him with my violin bow every chance I get and he doesn’t even wince.”

“He might know who you are. Maybe you’re the girl who is always poking him with her bow.”

“I can only dream,” Harper sighed. She would have been happy being called anything if it was by Cooper Sutton. Whatever words passed by his beautiful lips would sound like music to her ears.

Cooper turned a corner and was swallowed by the crowd. Harper lost interest but Kaley didn’t. Heading directly for her was Eli. He waved at her when their eyes met but he didn’t stop.

He kept walking by.

Either he was playing it cool, or he had other things on his mind. Kaley was only slightly disappointed, she didn’t expect him to be all over her or anything. Not yet, perhaps after their first date. Kaley got her books out of her locker and headed off toward the next class.

Chapter 10

The moment she had been dreaming of was quickly approaching. And the closer it came, the more nervous Kaley was growing. She had managed to get through all of Saturday without totally having a meltdown and calling off the whole thing. She had made it to five o’clock and then everything started going downhill.

Georgie and Harper fussed around her, tugging on her clothes and fixing her hair. She had on the pink dress with black dots that Georgie had brought for her earlier in the week and it was decided her hair would stay down – just in case they went somewhere casual.

Eli hadn’t exactly given her many clues in his note, but she figured he wouldn’t take her anywhere too fancy. Even though he came from one of the wealthier families of Sandyridge, the fancy restaurants would be saved for sometime special. Not a first date when you didn’t even know the girl.

The poking and prodding was starting to grate on her. She had spent an hour listening to them debate about her hair and shoes. She had put her foot down about her hair but they won on the shoes. As a consequence, she was destined to wear high heels with her dress instead of the ballet flats she wanted to.

Sure, she might fall flat on her face for the sake of vanity, but apparently that was a small price to pay. As Georgie put it: ‘nobody wants to date a short girl.’ Kaley had just rolled her eyes, but she decided to let it go.

It was easier wearing the shoes.

When they were finally satisfied Kaley was ready, they stood back to examine her in full. She was their creation, a sixteen year old ready for her first date. It was a momentous occasion.

“Well? Do I look okay?” Kaley finally asked, not being able to handle them staring at her any longer. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she thought she looked okay. Everything looked neat, anyway.

“You look lovely, my girl,” Georgie gushed. “Let me get my camera.”

“Mom, no pictures.”

“Too late,” Harper laughed. “You look gorgeous, Kaley. I think Eli will be completely stupid if he doesn’t fall madly in love with you tonight.”

“Thanks, Harper.” Kaley just had enough time to get the words out before Georgie returned and took photos like the paparazzi. She let no angle go untaken. “Mom, that’s enough. Seriously. He’s going to be here any minute.”

“I wish your father was here to see you, it’s a pity he had to work. He would cry at seeing his little girl so grown up.”

“Well, it’s a good thing he’s not here then.” Kaley meant it. It was bad enough having her
stylists
there.

They heard the doorbell ring and stopped completely still in their tracks. Eli was outside, if there was anything wrong with Kaley now, it was too late. Georgie made a dash for the door, chasing Kaley for the opportunity to get a look at the guy.

“Mom, let me. I don’t want him knowing about my crazy family.” She pushed Georgie out of the way and stood in front of the door, taking a few deep breaths.

It was time, she couldn’t turn back now.

A plank of wood shaped like a door was the only thing separating them. Besides the time when they had collided in the school corridor, they had never stood so close to each other.

“Answer it!” Harper prompted in a hurried whisper.

Kaley was brought back to her body and remembered what she was doing. She took one last breath and turned the knob. Opening the door, she saw Eli as if she was seeing him for the very first time.

He had gone to a lot of effort for their date. He was wearing black jeans and a black T-shirt with a blue shirt over the top. But that wasn’t the best thing about him, it was by far his scent. Whatever cologne he was wearing, she would gladly bottle it up and put it on eBay. She would make a fortune.

“Kaley, you look great.” Those four words made her heart leap like no other random words strung together to form a sentence.

She wanted to tell him that the way he looked took her breath away, but she didn’t. Instead, she modestly blushed because that was the only thing she couldn’t control.

“You look great, too,” she managed to say.

They stood staring awkwardly at each other for a few seconds that seemed like hours. “We’d better get going,” Eli finally said.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Kaley closed the door behind herself, making sure to block any glimpses Georgie and Harper could get. It was embarrassing enough having them stand in the hallway watching them, she didn’t want them to walk her to the car too.

Kaley followed Eli to his car. She let herself in and buckled up, thinking how great it would be to have a boyfriend that could drive. Eli had turned seventeen only a month earlier and had passed his license test the day after his birthday. With his parents’ present being a new car, he was all set to be a taxi for all his friends until they caught up. It was just another reason why he was so perfect for her.

As Eli started the car, Kaley glanced out the window to make sure she wouldn’t see her mother there waving her off. The front door was closed, if she and Harper were watching, then they had the decency to do it through the window.

Next door was a different story.

Standing in the living room window of his house, was Harvey. He stared at the car with a look of intent. She looked away before they could lock eyes. If he didn’t know she had seen him, she wouldn’t have to deal with it. It could be like nothing had happened. She looked at Eli instead.

“So where are we going?” Kaley asked, desperate to make conversation when every thought in her head had suddenly disappeared. She didn’t want him to think she was boring, even if she really was.

“I thought we might get a pizza? Do you like pizza?” The good news was he seemed to be just as nervous. She relaxed a little, hoping it was a good sign. If they were both nervous perhaps they could work it out together.

“Pizza is good.” She was glad she was appropriately dressed, she was right not to let Harper get her hands on her hair and make it too formal. Her outfit would definitely fit in with a pizza place.

They drove in silence without another word being said before they entered the pizza restaurant. It was the one in the middle of downtown Sandyridge, right in the heart of all the restaurants.

At least he wasn’t trying to hide her, she thought to herself. Half the high school would be in the area before the night was out.

Eli found them a table and they each ordered a pizza. It was the only conversation they had until the food arrived. Kaley wanted to say so much, but every time she thought of something, she instantly dismissed it as stupid. She wanted to impress him so much that nothing seemed right.

“So who did you get paired with in Science?” Eli asked as he took a bite of his pizza. Kaley was relieved, she could talk about Science class, that would work.

“Harvey Walker. Who’d you get?”

“Catherine Turner.” He crinkled his nose, the cute way he did when he didn’t like something. “She’s already emailed me five times with suggestions about what experiments we should do. She’s a bit keen.”

Hopefully not too keen for anything other than science, Kaley thought to herself. “Catherine tends to be a bit overenthusiastic. I was paired with her for English once. She basically took over the whole project. Harvey and I haven’t really talked about it yet.”

“I used to think Harvey was your boyfriend,” Eli laughed. “He seems to spend a lot of time with you.”

“We’re just friends.” Why did everyone think that? Why couldn’t a guy and girl just hang out and it not be weird? “Harvey and I have been next door neighbors since we were six. We’ve always been friends.”

“That’s good then.”

“Yeah, really good.” Kaley wanted to hit herself over the head. Surely she could find something else to talk about other than Harvey Walker. There had to be a million different topics they could discuss. She wished she had thought about some things beforehand, damn her lack of planning.

She would know for next time,
if
there was a next time. She went to the only subject she knew Eli liked. “So how long have you been playing football? You were really good last week at the game.”

“Since I can remember, really. My father played college football professionally for a while. He taught my brother and me to play as soon as we could walk.”

He could have been saying anything and all Kaley could see was the way his blue eyes sparkled when he talked about something he liked. She hoped she could make them sparkle like that one day. She tried to focus so hard on the conversation.

“How old is your brother?”

“He’ll be twenty in a few weeks. He’s at college now but he comes back for the weekends sometimes. He tries to make it to the home games when he can.”

“He sounds like a good brother.” Kaley didn’t really know what constituted a good sibling, never having had one of her own. But it sounded like something nice to do.

“Dexter’s pretty good. Although, he used to give me hell when we were kids. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“None, I’m an only child. I think my parents couldn’t handle more than one. They’re a bit highly strung.”

“Tell me about it.”

“You’ve got bizarro parents too?” Kaley laughed, not being able to picture it. He was always so put together, surely he had to be a product of two doting and normal parents. Unlike her. She was lucky to be functioning with the odd behavior of her father that worked too much and Mother Barbie.

“My mother’s favorite pastime is drinking and my father spends all weekend on the couch reliving his glory days. It’s not exactly a happy family.” Any hint of laughter was gone from his voice and his eyes stopped their twinkling. “But I’ll keep that for my therapist one day, I’m sure they’ll be happy to hear about it. So what do you like to do with your spare time?”

Kaley noticed the abrupt change in his demeanor and then the change of topic but didn’t mention it, instead just rolled with it. If it wasn’t something he wanted to talk about, then neither did she. Besides, it was none of her business.

“In my spare time, I… hmmm… I don’t really get that much spare time,” Kaley joked. She wasn’t prepared to tell him about her songwriting,
that
was how she spent all her spare time. “I guess I just hang out with my friend, Harper.”

“Harper Monroe, the redhead you’re always with?”

“That’s the one.”

“She seems… perky.”

“Perky is a good way to describe her. She’s unique but I love her. What about you? What do you do in your spare time?”

Eli seemed to need to think about it for a while, as if formulating an answer. “I train a lot. I need to keep fit for the game. Otherwise, I guess I just hang out too. My friends and I like to go out to Point Beach and go surfing. Have you been there?”

Kaley tried to recall where Point Beach was. It definitely wasn’t any of the main beaches in the area. Chances were, she hadn’t been there. “I don’t think so.”

“You’ll have to check it out one day, it’s beautiful there. Sometimes we hang around until the sun goes down and watch it disappear behind the horizon.” The sparkle was back in his eyes now, the light glinting off them perfectly. “Then we have a few beers and light a bonfire. It’s a good way to spend a day.”

For a moment, Kaley pictured the scene. The problem was, she imagined Abigail cuddled up next to Eli on the sand. She wondered how often he took her there with him for the romantic sunset. Probably too many times to count. She tried to cover her sudden disappointment.

“It sounds nice.”

“It is.”

They shared a smile and Kaley tried to put her hesitations to one side. She didn’t want stupid Abigail to spoil her date with Eli. It wasn’t like she could change his past. Everyone knew they were together for ages, he couldn’t go back in time and make it any different.

She would find it difficult dating anyone at school that didn’t have a history with someone. She was probably the only loser who was on their first ever date.

Her and Harper.

“Do you want to go for a walk?” Eli asked after they finished their meal. The time had passed so quickly, Kaley could hardly believe she had made it. Perhaps the whole dating thing wasn’t going to be as daunting as she first thought. Perhaps with the right person it just flowed naturally. After it first got going, anyway. She tried to wipe the awkward beginning from her mind.

“A walk would be great.”

They left the restaurant and headed for the boardwalk. It was a wooden structure that went for a mile along the foreshore, just two blocks from the restaurants district. Ice cream and souvenir shops were dotted along the walkway, catering perfectly for tourists visiting over summer.

They were starting to wind down now the season was coming to a close. It was always sad to see the stores in darkness when the memories of summer were still so vivid in their minds. The good news was they would re-open in seven months when spring started to warm things up again.

“The stars are really pretty tonight,” Kaley said absentmindedly. She loved looking up at the night sky. It was something her father had introduced her to when she was little and her fascination never went away.