The Libby Garrett Intervention (Science Squad #2) (27 page)

After glancing at something behind me, she flashed a blinding smile and pushed me toward the edge of the bowl. Before I could look to see what had caught her attention, she clapped her hands together and said, “Okay, that’s enough about me for the day. It’s time for everyone to give Adam some room. You’ve all talked him up so much, I want to see the skateboarding god in action.”

How could I say no to that?

For the next ten minutes, I had the entire skate park to myself. Even Joey and his group stopped to watch. The fact that Libby was cheering me on fueled me to be more aggressive than normal. Yeah, I was showing off a little, but there weren’t many things I excelled at. Usually I was just that high school dropout who served coffee for a living. I liked having moments where I felt like I was worthwhile.

I turned trick after trick as if I’d been landing them my whole life. I called it quits after successfully grinding out a wicked dark slide and then landing a 720 gazelle flip—which was one of my best tricks, and I only landed it half of the time. Everybody cheered. I felt like a rock star. And then I wiped out—hard—because when I turned to Libby, Sean Garrett was standing there, watching me with his friend
Kendrick freaking Abbey.
Kendrick Abbey is only one of the best skaters of my generation. Sponsored by Independent, he’s a two-time X Games gold medalist, and a complete badass.

My friends howled with laughter and I wanted to be pissed, but when Libby giggled, I ended up laughing, too. “A warning would have been nice.”

Libby grinned. “But not nearly as entertaining. So I guess you know Kendrick.”

Kendrick Abbey held out his hand to me, and I tried not to shake like a freaking fangirl as I took it. “Yeah, of course I know you. You’re revolutionary.”

Kendrick smiled at me and said, “You’ve got some sick skills yourself. You ever compete?”

It was so hard to be cool when Kendrick freaking Abbey had just complimented my skateboarding. Libby giggled again, so I must have been blushing. “Nah. I just spend most of my spare time here at the park.”

“Because he kept getting chased by the cops off the elementary school grounds,” CJ joked.

“And out of the mall,” Dex added, making everyone laugh.

Of course, Rafe couldn’t leave it at that. “And don’t forget last winter, when he snuck into Seven Peaks Waterpark in Provo and went to town on all the waterslides.”

My friends all lost it, while Joey and his group gasped. “That was
you?
” Joey asked, looking at me with a new sense of awe.

I tried not to act too proud, because that had been a stupid move that almost landed me in jail. I hadn’t had Kate with me then, and I’d been a lot more reckless. But still, I’d owned that waterpark. It’d been the ride of a lifetime. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. “There’s no proof that was me. It could have been any kid in a hoodie.”

My friends lost it again, and Joey just shook his head, still fascinated. “Man, they played that security footage of you dropping into the Boomerang for a week. That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”

“No shit,” Kendrick said, blinking at me. “You dropped into a three-story half-pipe waterslide on your skateboard?”

I held up my hands and shook my head. “Hey. I don’t know anything about that. And my days of trespassing are long over.” I had a kid sister to take care of now. I couldn’t afford to be stupid anymore.

My response got another round of howling laughter, and Kendrick flashed me a grin of total understanding. The guy had definitely been chased out of a few places by the cops himself before. “You know, Zumiez is doing this competition series through the summer. They’re coming to Salt Lake. You should give it a shot. Winners make some decent cash.”

If only life were that easy. “I would totally love that, but I can’t afford to compete. Entry fees, the right gear, transportation, time off work…it all adds up pretty fast, you know?”

Kendrick nodded and said, “That’s tough. I remember those days,” while Sean said, “I could help with that, if you were interested.”

I immediately shook my head. “That’s awesome of you to offer, but no thanks.” I hoped I sounded gracious, because I was, but it was hard not to feel bitter or resentful. It sucked having to depend on others for things I should be able to manage on my own. “I mean, I appreciate it, but I’ve had to accept enough charity in my life already. I made a promise to myself that I’d make my own way.”

Sean nodded thoughtfully. “I can respect that.” He glanced at his watch and then smiled at Libby. “You about done, squirt? We were thinking dinner at seven. Kendrick got the design mockups, and we need your help.”

“Sweet,” Libby said. “Yeah. Give me a ride home? I need a shower if we’re going to dinner.”

“We were headed back to the shop, but—”

I interrupted without thinking. “I’ll walk her home, sir.”

I must have sounded a little too eager, because everyone standing around heckled the crap out of me—hooting and catcalling so obnoxiously that Libby and I both turned red. Sean’s grin was the worst of all. When he started to say something, Libby groaned and stopped him before he could embarrass us. “Don’t even think about it, Dad. He’s just being nice. Actually, not even that. He probably has some lecture he wants to give me that he’s been saving for me all week.”

She didn’t wait for anyone to respond before she grabbed me by the sleeve of my shirt and started dragging me away from the park. “Respect my daughter, young man!” Sean called after us. “I have a shotgun, and I know how to use it!” I didn’t take the threat seriously, considering he was falling apart with laughter. “Nothing more than kissing, Libby Garrett! You come to dinner with any hickies tonight, and you’ll be grounded!”

Now he was just torturing his daughter for the fun of it. She whirled around and shrieked at him, and then hit me on the arm when I laughed. “It’s not funny,” she whined. “The man is unbalanced.”

I rubbed my arms where she hit me, as if it had hurt. “I think he’s cool.”

Libby snorted. “Of course you do. He’s not
your
dad.”

Adam

When Libby and I left
the park, she stopped at the main intersection and glanced down the street. “You don’t have to walk me home.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Your apartment is the other way.”

“Libby.” I used my stern voice and met her eyes. “I’m taking you home.”

“Uh oh. The Coffee Man Staredown. I’m in trouble now.”

When I frowned, she rolled her eyes. Grumbling to myself under my breath so that I wouldn’t yell at her, I pushed my skateboard off down the sidewalk toward her neighborhood. She caught up quickly and sighed. “I’m just kidding. Don’t get your panties in a bunch, Mr. Grumpy Pants. I get it, you’re a gentleman.”

I glared at her. “I am, if the girl deserves it.”

Whatever she’d been about to say died on her lips, and instead she smirked. “So you’re saying I deserve it? I’m not just a cheap hooker?”

“I didn’t call
you
a cheap hooker. I said Owen treated you like one.”

Libby scoffed. “Same difference.”

“No, it’s
not
.” I pulled her to a stop, pushed my skateboard aside, and stepped close to her. “Have you ever been treated with respect? Have you ever been on a date with a guy who was proud of you and treated you like a lady?”

She snorted, but there was a hiccup of nerves behind it. Her voice was a little unsteady as she said, “I’m not exactly a lady.”

“You still deserve to be treated like one. Part of your problem, Libby, is that you don’t believe you deserve respect. You settled for Owen because you didn’t think you deserved better. But you do. You’re smart, confident, funny, and a hell of a freeboarder.”

I pulled her even closer to me, close enough that our breaths mingled. My heart raced as I took her helmet off her head and pushed her scraggly bangs away from her eyes. “You’re beautiful.”

She sucked in a breath, and I swallowed a thick lump in my throat. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted more than anything to prove to her just how beautiful she was by kissing her until she collapsed in my arms. I wanted to make sure she couldn’t deny her self-worth ever again. The moment was almost perfect. But she was trembling slightly and staring up at me with wide, confused eyes. Cursing my stupid intensity, I took a step back from her and raked a hand through my hair. “You ever enter in any snowboarding competitions?” I asked, just to break the tension.

She let out a breath and picked up her skateboard. I kicked mine into my hand and we walked down the street on foot. “Not much,” she said. “I’ve done all right at a few small-time local things. I’m not quite good enough for the big professional competitions, though.”

“What about freeboarding?”

“I wish. The sport hasn’t gained enough popularity yet. There’s only like one pro team so far, and there aren’t really any competitions.”

“You could put a team together. Get some exposure. Your dad has the right connections. Maybe if you got enough interest, you could get some kind of competition going. It could be a good project for you. Something else to focus on this summer, you know?”

“Maybe.” Libby kicked a rock out of her path. “That could be fun, but it wouldn’t really help with my problem. Losing myself in freeboarding isn’t the same as having a boyfriend.”

My stomach twisted into a tight knot at the perfect opening. I took a deep breath so that my next sentence would come out sounding calm. “Is that what you need?”

“Doesn’t everyone?”

I shrugged. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

She stopped walking and gave me a defiant stare. “But you want one, don’t you?”

Not just
any
one. I wanted
her
. I wondered if she could see the truth in my eyes.

She started walking again. “No offense to the twelve-step program, but I don’t think I’m going to get over Owen until I have someone else to fill the void. And as great as freeboarding is, it’s not going to hold me when I have a bad day or take me to the prom. Which, by the way, is next weekend, and I don’t have a date because Owen was too embarrassed to be seen with me to take me. This year and last.” She let out an angry breath. “Jerk.”

“I’m so glad you finally see it,” I teased. She slid me a sideways glance that made me laugh. “You really want to go to your prom that bad?”

“Hell yes, I do!” I flinched back from the amount of passion suddenly being slung my direction. “Prom is a girl’s right of passage. You bet your
gluteus maximus
I want to go. I even bought a sick dress when I thought Owen would take me.”

Her enthusiasm made me smile. I could only imagine her all dressed up and going crazy on the dance floor. Something like that would be wasted on me, but I had no doubt Libby would have the time of her life. “So wear it,” I suggested. “You don’t need Owen to go to your prom.”

“Oh, no,” she scoffed. “There’s no way in Hades I could go without a date.”

That surprised me. Libby didn’t seem the type to be afraid to go stag. “Too self-conscious?”

“Please, Coffee Man. I just don’t want to be Avery and Grayson’s third wheel.” She shook her head, scrunching up her face. “Those two are so in love it’s disgusting.”

I laughed at that. The girl had a point.

We turned the corner onto Libby’s street, and I was bummed that our night was almost over. We reached her house, and I walked her to her door. This hadn’t been a date, but it still felt like that moment at the end of one. We were still saying good-bye. Everything inside of me was screaming to kiss her. Before I could work up the nerve to do it, she opened her door and said, “Come in for a minute. I’ve got something for you.”

She grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me inside before I was over the surprise of her offer. After shutting the door behind me she said, “I’ll be right back,” and dashed up the stairs.

I stood in the entryway, feeling a little awkward but also extremely curious as to what she was up to. With Libby, it could be anything. She came back a minute later, dragging a huge black garbage bag stuffed to the max on the ground behind her. It thumped behind her down the stairs, falling into the back of her legs several times and threatening to knock her over. I could have gone to help, but it was too entertaining to watch her struggle. “Do I dare ask what’s in there?”