The Libby Garrett Intervention (Science Squad #2) (14 page)

“The closest ranked boarder after my dad. My dad’s retiring, and this is his last competition. With Dad quitting, Rhys might have a shot at the next Olympic trials. It’ll be a sad world indeed without Sean Garrett competing anymore, but all is not lost. He and my mom are opening up a snowboard/skateboard shop in Spanish Fork—just down the road from Jo’s, actually. He’s pretty excited about it.”

“Cool. It’ll be nice to have…”

I looked up to see what had captured Adam’s attention. His eyes were glued to the guy coming down the half-pipe. He seemed captivated by the guy jumping, twisting, and flipping his way down the shoot. His rapt interest was adorable. “Scott Stevens,” I told him, smiling. “He’s got to be my favorite boarder of all time—next to my dad, of course. The man is genius on a snowboard. You should watch the videos on his website. He gets creative.”

“That’s amazing,” Adam breathed reverently. I don’t think he blinked once the entire time Stevens worked his magic. Then he stayed mesmerized through the rest of the competition.

Libby

“You see?” I teased Adam
after we’d snagged a quick lunch and
he
was the one in a hurry to drag me back to watch the finals. “You haven’t even tried it, and you’d totally give up a car to be able to do this all winter long every year.”

Adam nodded. “I totally would.”

His obvious love for the sport was all I needed to forgive him any past grievances. “You know, you’re really not as bad as I originally thought.”

Adam pulled his eyes away from the snow for a minute to smirk at me. “Does that mean I’ve progressed back to plain old ‘Coffee Man’ instead of ‘Coffee Jerk’?”

I bit back my own smile and pretended to consider it. “Possibly. I’ll think about it, at least.”

Adam laughed. “I won’t hold my breath.”

I was surprised at how much I’d enjoyed this day. I hadn’t realized how little fun I’d had over the past year. I’d spent less and less time with my friends, and while I’d enjoyed the time I spent with Owen, we never just hung out and had fun like this. I took in a big breath of the fresh mountain air and sighed contentedly. “Thanks for coming with me today. You’re way better company than Avery at these things. She usually just sits here texting Grayson and complains about the cold.”

“Are you kidding? Thank you for bringing me. This is probably the coolest thing I’ve ever done.”

“I’m glad. I’d happily bring you from now on, but since this is my dad’s last competition, it’s probably the last time the passes will be free, so I don’t foresee too many of them in my future.”

“Ouch. It really is a sad day, isn’t it?”

I laughed again. “Like I said. Tragic.”

We settled into our seats, ready to see my dad kick butt in the finals, when Adam had to go and kill the mood. “So…did Owen know this was your dad’s
last
competition when he blew you off for a future hangover?”

I gave him a look that sincerely expressed my annoyance with this line of questioning. “Hence the reason I dumped him last night, okay?”

“Sorry. I had to bring it up. I’ve been completely slacking on the job today. We’re supposed to be talking about this, remember?”

“I thought we were supposed to be making me forget Owen, which, miracle of all miracles, I managed to do all day until now.”

“As happy as I am that you haven’t spent the day pining over the prick, we do have to talk about this. You can’t walk the road to recovery if you don’t know how.”

I wanted to groan, but I managed to resist. “Fine. Enlighten me, spiritual leader. Guide me. I’m ready.”

He gave me the infamous Coffee Man staredown again. I rolled my eyes and tried not to start an argument. “I’m serious. What do I have to do first?”

“Take this seriously,” he answered, scowling.

“Oh, come on. We’re pretending I’m a drug addict because I can’t get over His Holy Hotness. You have to admit it’s a bit ridiculous.”

The scowl turned into a full-on glower. “Ridiculous?” he snapped. “Then what am I doing here, Libby? Do you even want my help?”

I was startled by the outburst, but it made me angry, and I snapped back. “I want my boyfriend to not be embarrassed of me. I want to stop putting up with his crap because I’m afraid no one else will ever love me. I want to stop feeling like there’s something
wrong
with me. I want my friends back. I want to stop being such a disappointment to everyone. And I want self-righteous sphincters like you to stop judging me. You have no idea what it’s like to be unlovable.”

Adam’s anger vanished. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The muscles in his jaw popped because he was clenching it so tightly. When he opened his eyes again, there was an intensity in them that frightened me. “The only thing
wrong
with you,” he said in a low, calm voice that was so soft it made me shiver, “is that you don’t believe you can do any of that.”

He had me trapped in his gaze, never taking his eyes off mine. “You have to find hope, Libby. You have to believe that there is a higher power out there, greater than what you know, that can help you heal. Be it God or Fate, however you understand it, you have to surrender yourself to that power. Make a decision right now to put your life in His hands and trust that He will take care of you.”

Adam made it impossible not to feel the weight of his words. He seemed so calm and so sure of what he was saying. I wanted to do what he said. I wished more than anything that I felt the hope he talked about, but I didn’t. I’d been bullied my entire life because I was too smart, too weird, and too fat. He could take me on a journey with a hundred different steps and it wouldn’t change any of those things.

I looked away because I couldn’t stand to see the confidence in his eyes. I didn’t know him, and half the time I didn’t even like him, but the thought of letting him down right now was too much. “Easier said than done,” I muttered, turning my eyes to the half-pipe where the first finalist was making his descent.

For once, Adam wasn’t distracted by the snowboarders. His hand came down on mine, and he used his other one to gently turn my face back to him. “Libby Garrett, you are an intelligent, funny,
beautiful
woman.” He tucked my hair behind my ear. “You are
absolutely
lovable. Have faith that you can overcome your demons. I believe you can, or I wouldn’t have agreed to help you.”

My breath froze in my lungs. I was absolutely shattered. All my life I’d been building up walls around my heart to protect it from the hurtful things people said to me—I almost never felt an insult anymore—but I’d never had to shield myself from compliments. I was unprepared for the confusion and the pain. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me, and he was completely sincere, so why did I suddenly hurt so badly? Why did his faith make me feel like I was the scum of the earth?

I turned away from him again, and this time he afforded me my space. I tried to focus on the competition, but I couldn’t get Adam’s praise out of my head. The more I repeated each of his compliments in my mind, the more I felt like I didn’t deserve them. Then I couldn’t remember what he’d said at all. I could only think of the letters my friends had read to me, and of all the ways I’d hurt them. I could only see the way my parents looked when I asked if they were disappointed in me.

The truth was, I’d become a horrible person. I’d become irresponsible, selfish, and unkind. Owen had made me so afraid I was unlovable that I’d forgotten there were already plenty of people who
did
love me. I’d pushed away my true friends for a guy who made me hate myself. I wasn’t smart at all. I was an idiot—a pathetic, desperate, idiot.

If there was such a thing as Fate, she was a cold, cruel
Canis lupus familiaris
, because right then my phone rang, flashing Owen’s name on the display screen, as if my very thoughts had conjured him. I told myself not to answer the call, even as I hit the
TALK
button. “What do you want?”

“You know what I want,” Owen purred over the line. “I want
you
—all night long.”

My insides warmed and turned to mush. His words gave me so much pleasure that I shivered violently. I imagined the room we were supposed to have tonight, and all the use we would get out of it.

“Is your thing over yet?” Owen asked. “I felt bad after our fight last night. I’ve been thinking about all the ways I’m going to apologize to you all day, and I can’t wait much longer. I need you
now
, wildcat.”

Screw it. I’d quit him tomorrow. “It’s not over yet. My dad made it to the finals.”

Owen groaned as if he were in physical pain. I loved the sense of power the sound gave me. “Call me when it’s over, then, and I’ll meet you in Salt Lake,” Owen said. “It’ll be faster that way.”

“I can’t. I drove up with my parents.”

“I’ll come get you, then. I’ll leave right now. Will your thing be done in an hour?”

I jerked back in my seat, surprised he was willing to come all the way to Park City to pick me up. As I started to say okay, a hand slipped into mine. I glanced up, startled, and Adam gave me an encouraging nod.

Donkey dung on a stick! Thirty seconds on the phone with Owen, and I’d completely forgotten about Adam and the whole freaking point of his being with me today. Adam clearly understood my frustration. He squeezed my hand, mouthing the words, “You can do it.”

Yes, I could. All night long, if I wanted to. And our hotel room had a Jacuzzi in it. Adam playfully flicked my nose with his free hand, pulling me out of my X-rated fantasy. Ugh, what was wrong with me?

I shook my head, trying to clear it, and squeezed Adam’s hand as if I were on a labor-and-delivery table. “No, Owen.” I willed my voice not to shake. “I told you last night, I’m done. You don’t need to come get me. I’m not going to the hotel with you tonight.”

There was silence for a second as Owen processed my rejection. His disbelief was monumental. “Babe, you can’t be serious.”

“As an Ebola outbreak, Owen. I’m not seeing you anymore.”

“Is this because I won’t go to your prom?”

Adam leaned over and whispered into the ear I was holding my phone to. “Hey, beautiful, you might want to wrap it up. Your dad’s up next. They just called his name.”

I was so hung up on Adam’s deep, silky voice and the fact that he called me
beautiful
again that I forgot I was on the phone until Owen reminded me. “Who the hell was that?”

Normally I would be thrilled by his jealousy, but this time it pissed me off. “I had an extra pass and you didn’t want to come, so I asked someone else.”

“You brought some other guy?”

His attitude made me even angrier. “Is that a problem?” I asked, my voice laced with venom.

“Hell yes, it’s a problem. You’re
my
brainiac, wildcat. You think I want some slimeball prick taking you out instead of me?”

More shocking than his declaration was the hurt in his voice. I pinched my eyes shut because I could feel tears of frustration threatening to form. He was acting like I’d cheated on him. Like it
mattered
if I dated other people. I hated that I’d hurt him, but I hated even more that his hurt tore me up inside. It was wrong that he could act like a hypocritical pig, and yet his unjustified tantrum made me want to apologize to him. Any girl in her right mind would see how backward this conversation was, but all I saw was hope. Owen cared about me. Curse him for caring about me!

“You’re the one who pointed out that we’re not exclusive,” I said, once I could speak calmly. “You told me last night to ask someone else to take me to prom.”

“I told you to take one of your geek friends. Whoever that asshole hitting on you is, he didn’t sound like one of those dumb nerds.”

So much for acting in a calm and rational manner. “That’s because he’s not. The guy is sexy as hell.”

“Libby!”

“Tell me something, Owen, what’s more hurt right now: your feelings or your pride? You’ve never agreed to be exclusive with me because you thought you didn’t have to. You thought you could just get with anyone you wanted, but you didn’t have to worry about me doing the same because you didn’t think anyone else would ever want me.”