Shucked (20 page)

“There’s a problem, though. It’s too
long. I can’t walk with it falling next to the floor like that.”

Becky tossed her braids over her shoulders.
“I know you’ve gone country, but girlfriend, you’re going to be wearing high
heels, not bare feet, to the dance.”

I looked back in the mirror and
popped my heels just off the floor. The carpet tickled the bottom of my feet.
“I don’t know, it’s still awfully close to the ground.”

Becky disappeared into her closet and
came back out with a pair of four-inch stiletto heels.

I shook my head. “No way. No freaking
way.”

Becky slipped them on and strutted
around the room with grace and style.

“How is it that you can’t do a simple
dance, but you can walk in heels like it’s nothing?”

“Dunno. It’s a superpower, I guess. And,
no, you won’t be wearing these. My feet are about four sizes bigger than yours.
It comes with the statuesque body. Giant feet.”

“Where am I supposed to get new
shoes? The dance is tomorrow!”

“My mom has some you can borrow.
Don’t worry. You guys are probably the same size.”

“How high are they?” I tried to
imagine Becky’s mom tottering around in high heels, but couldn’t. She seemed
too sensible. But if she really was a party girl with my mom back in high
school, then maybe I’d find something great in her closet.

“Maybe three inches? And don’t worry
about borrowing. I know she won’t care. She acted all worried when we went into
the city, but she’s so excited I’m best friends with you. And when she hears
your mom is in town, I bet she’ll be too happy about that to care about
anything else. Anyway, she’s got these gorgeous strappy black heels. They’ll
make you at least five foot three. The height of a normal human.”

“Oh, so now that I’ve given you a
nickname, you can make fun of my vertically-impaired stature? Thanks.” I stuck
my tongue out at her. This was too much fun. I’d honestly believed all
teenagers were vapid, self-absorbed asses. I was the ass for never giving
anyone a chance all those summers I was here.

Becky pulled her phone out of her
back pocket. “Holy crap! We need to get going. You’ve got a game to cheer at
and I need to get into my marching band uniform!”

“I’m so excited!” The lie fell easily
off my lips. In a handful of hours, I was leaving. Headed back to the life I
missed, but wasn’t sure I wanted back.

Chapter
Thirty

Becky drove us through town so I
could see all of the preparations for the big carnival. The park in the heart
of downtown had been transformed into a magical wonderland of carnie delight. It
reminded me of that scene at the end of Grease on the last day of school. Not
that I had anything else to compare it to. This would be my first carnival. My
first dance. My first boyfriend. And my first time cheering at a football game.

And within forty-eight hours I’d be
gone and all of it would be just a memory.

I pushed the fear of losing
everything aside and concentrated on Becky, which wasn’t easy to do because her
mouth was running at a million miles a minute.

“Did you hear what I said?” Becky
honked the horn, not at another car, but to snap me out of the swamp I was
wallowing in.

“Yeah, carnie rides.” I pointed out
the window at the park.

“NO! God, Tabitha, stop daydreaming
about Alex and listen to me. Trent and I decided to go to the dance together.
Time for me to have a little relationship joy.” She pulled into the school
parking lot. It was already packed with cars. The stadium was across the
street, but both of us had to get ready in the school locker room.

I slapped a smile on my face. “I
thought you didn’t want to date anyone here because they’re all lame. Didn’t
you tell me that the first day of school?”

Becky and I grabbed our gym bags out
of the trunk. “I made an exception. It’s sophomore year. Nearly three full
years to go until I’m out of this place. I’ll probably go nuts if I don’t date
someone. Trent’s not half-bad. He’s head of the computer club. Probably going
to be the most successful guy in our class. Big brains.”

“Seriously? All you care about is the
size of his brains?”

Becky blushed. “Well, maybe I think
he’s kind of irresistible too. So sue me. I’m allowed to have raging hormones
too, aren’t I?”

“Yeah.” I laughed, putting aside my
problems for the moment. “You are. But don’t change too much. I like you just
the way you are.”

“Hey, gorgeous.” An arm slipped around my
shoulder, surrounded by the scent that only belonged to Alex – dirt and
Axe. Undeniably irresistible. “Are you ready for a little dancing tomorrow?” He
brought my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.

“Dancing?” I held my hands up. “No
way. I’ve never danced before. Not unless you count a tribal dance I did in
Africa when I was nine.”

“You have to dance!” Becky jumped up
and down in front of me, flailing her arms. She didn’t seem to care she looked
ridiculous. “It’ll be so much fun!”

I shook my head. “Not happening.”

Alex leaned over, his lips tickling
my earlobe. “You’re going to try. Since we can’t have sex until we’re married,
we might as well dance.”

I slapped him on the shoulder. “Shut
up. That’s not funny. I don’t want to relive that moment ever again.”

“What moment?” Becky broke her
dancing trance. “What happened?” She looked at both Alex and me, but all we did
was laugh. “Oh come on. So now you two are in a relationship and you’re keeping
secrets. Argh!”

“Becky,” I placed a hand on her
shoulder, “make Trent your boyfriend. Then you can have inside jokes too.”

“I know that.” She stood with her
arms crossed. “I just don’t have to like losing my best friend weeks after I
finally found her.”

My heart thumped, reminding me that
it wasn’t my relationship with Alex that was about to come between us forever. Their
glowing faces, so happy and excited about the dance, told me to suck it up. I
wouldn’t ruin the weekend for either of them. In fact, I’d do everything to
make it memorable.

“Okay, okay, I’ll dance. But I don’t
know how and I’ll probably break an ankle.”

“I’ll catch you if you fall,” Alex
assured me.

“I didn’t say whose ankle. It might
be yours. I suggest dancing at least a foot away from me.”

Alex grabbed my hands and pulled me
up against his body. “I won’t settle for anything farther apart than this.” His
hands roamed down my back, dangerously close to dipping below my waist.

“Break it up!” Mrs. Jordan stormed
by, her arms filled with pompons. “The dance hasn’t even started yet and
already I’m dealing with groping.” The last part was under her breath, but we
could still hear it as she breezed past us. “Get ready for the game,” she
screamed over her shoulder.

“I guess that’s my cue to get to the
locker room.” Alex pecked me on the cheek. He sauntered down the hallway and I
couldn’t stop myself from watching him.

“I’m going to head to the band room
and pick up my uniform.” Becky nodded her head in the opposite direction. “Want
to meet up after the game?”

“Definitely. I’ll need a brain break
after cheering. I still can’t believe I’m a cheerleader.”

“It is kinda weird, but I bet you’ll
give the squad a nice jolt of reality. They’ve been doing the same cheers since
we were little. You’re good for them.”

I looked down at my shaking hands.
“And nervous. I’ve never been up in front of that many people before.”

Becky patted me on the shoulder.
“You’ll be fine. If I can march for seven minutes without falling and impaling
myself on my clarinet, you can cheer. Besides, no one will be watching you guys
most of the time. They’re focused on the game. Football is like breathing
around here. And when you do your dance at halftime, most of the people will be
talking or running to the concession stand. Seriously. Don’t sweat it.”

I relaxed a little and smiled. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Now get out there and
kill them!” Becky ran down the hall, her gym bag banging against the back of
her legs. She tripped, and then quickly righted herself.

I laughed. I’d give anything to see
her trip every day for the next year, but my mom wouldn’t allow it. Funny how
fast my opinions changed in just a couple short weeks.

I hefted my gym bag higher on my
shoulder. Pushing the door to the locker room open, I was greeted with a
half-dozen high-pitched squeals.

“Are you excited, Tabitha?” Callie
grabbed my elbow, pulling me into the locker room. The smell of rubber and body
odor hit my senses.

“Excited’s not the right word.” I
plastered a fake smile on my face, the nerves back in full force. I was
comfortable with these girls, but it wasn’t the same as hanging with Becky.

“It’s going to be incredible.
Everyone’s going to be so surprised at our new routine, all thanks to Tabitha,”
Kelly said.

The girls were all in various states
of undress, getting their uniforms out, and putting on makeup. My stomach
flip-flopped.

“Um, I forgot my mascara in my
locker. I’ll be back in five minutes, okay?” Before any of them could respond,
I rushed out of the locker room. My heart pounding, I ran up the stairs to the hallway
filled with lockers. My footsteps echoed in the dark, the only light came from
the emergency lights hung sporadically throughout the hall. Eerie, but it was a
small town. The worst hiding in the dark corners was an escaped goat from the
Future Farmers of America minifarm on campus.

I leaned up against the lockers,
letting my heart return to its normal pace. I just needed to breath a little
bit before heading out to the football field and cheering in front of hundreds
of strangers.

I walked to the girls’ bathroom and
pushed the door open, bathing the old porcelain fixtures in pure darkness.

“Creepy,” I said out loud. The
bathroom door swung shut before I could find anything to prop it open. “Shit.”

Sticking my hand into my back pocket,
I realized I’d left my iPhone in my gym bag, which I’d dropped on the floor in
the locker room. I could have used the light to easily see, but no, I had to
set it down and forget it.

I fumbled around the dark, my
fingertips grazing surfaces I wouldn’t normally touch. I prayed that they were
cleaned this afternoon, that I wasn’t sticking my fingers into today’s germs,
flung out every time a toilet flushed.

All I had to do was find a stall and
go really fast. Then I’d be back in the locker room in no time, getting ready
for my first football game.

I closed the door to the stall,
clicking the lock into place.

A creak punctuated the dark.

“Hello?” I waited, holding my breath,
for an answer.

Nothing.

Nearly soundless footfalls pattered
on the tile floor, but no answer came. I jumped up on the toilet, my feet
straddling the seat. I braced myself against the walls.

Squinting, I tried to see through the
cracks between the stall partitions. It was too dark. Terror slipped through my
veins as I tried to remind myself the school was filled with people. Likely it
was just another student playing a joke on me. Probably one of Kailey’s stupid
friends.

A few seconds passed, but I didn’t
hear anything else. Whoever it was was still inside the bathroom with me. Then
it happened again. That slight sound of something stepping across the tile. If
any other noise had been present, I never would have noticed it. The bathroom
was shrouded in silence. No running toilets. No sink water. No girls gabbing.

A click echoed in the room. It wasn’t
a stall lock. I’d already locked mine and it didn’t make a sound like that. The
only other lock in the room was on the bathroom door itself.

My mouth dried up. Not again. Not
now. I’d already given the dogu to Jon for safekeeping. There was no reason for
them to come after me.

“I don’t have anything that you want.
Go away now and I’ll forget this happened. I swear.” I meant it too. I was done
with the drama. None of this was my fault and I shouldn’t be punished like
this.

No response. Just the new sound of
breathing. Heavy. Purposeful. He wanted me to know he was still in there and
unwilling to take my pleas into account.

Just when it grew unbearable, I
reached out for the lock on my stall door. I turned it, silently, giving no
indication to whoever waited out there for me. Pushing hard with my palms
against the partitions, I swung up and kicked the stall door wide open.

Jumping to the floor, I fell into a
fighting stance. Jon proved I didn’t have it in me, but that didn’t mean I was
going to give up easily either.

He stood across from me, shrouded in
black, covering every inch of his body except his eyes. Dark eyes hidden in a
dark embrace of fabric.

“You’re shitting me. An actual
ninja.”

He didn’t move from his crouch.