“How are you?” she murmurs in my ear, her soft lips brushing my cheek. “I’ve been thinking about you all day.”
“Okay,” I say. She pulls back and reaches into her pocket, briefly flashing a cellophane packet and a smile. Red Vines, which are definitely not part of my nutritional regimen, but my favorite candy in the world. The girl gets me. And my parents, who require a few minutes of polite conversation before they head out for their bowling league.
My phone chimes, and I pull it out of my pocket. Hey, handsome.
I duck my head to hide the grin that’s suddenly tugging at my mouth, and text back: Hey.
Can I see you tonight?
Bad time. Call you later?
OK miss you.
Keely’s talking to my mother, her eyes bright with interest. She’s not faking it. Keely isn’t only beautiful; she’s what Nonny calls “sugar all the way through.” A genuinely sweet girl. Every guy at Bayview wishes he were me.
Miss you too.
Chapter Four
Addy
Thursday, September 27, 7:30 p.m.
I should be doing homework before Jake stops by, but instead I’m sitting at the vanity in my bedroom, pressing fingers to the skin at my hairline. The tenderness on my left temple feels as though it’s going to turn into one of those horrible oversized pimples I get every few months or so. Whenever I have one I know it’s all anyone can see.
I’ll have to wear my hair down for a while, which is how Jake likes it anyway. My hair is the only thing I feel one hundred percent confident about all the time. I was at Glenn’s Diner last week with my girlfriends, sitting next to Keely across from the big mirror, and she reached over and ran a hand through my hair while grinning at our reflections. Can we please trade? Just for a week? she said.
I smiled at her, but wished I were sitting on the other side of the table. I hate seeing Keely and me side by side. She’s so beautiful, all tawny skin and long eyelashes and Angelina Jolie lips. She’s the lead character in a movie and I’m the generic best friend whose name you forget before the credits even start rolling.
The doorbell rings, but I know better than to expect Jake upstairs right away. Mom’s going to capture him for at least ten minutes. She can’t hear enough about the Simon situation, and she’d talk about today’s meeting with Officer Budapest all night if I let her.
I separate my hair into sections and run a brush along each length. My mind keeps going back to Simon. He’d been a constant presence around our group since freshman year, but he was never one of us. He had only one real friend, a sorta-Goth girl named Janae. I used to think they were together until Simon started asking out all my friends. Of course, none of them ever said yes. Although last year, before she started dating Cooper, Keely got super drunk at a party and let Simon kiss her for five minutes in a closet. It took her ages to shake him after that.
I’m not sure what Simon was thinking, to be honest. Keely has one type: jock. He should have gone for someone like Bronwyn. She’s cute enough, in a quiet kind of way, with interesting gray eyes and hair that would probably look great if she ever wore it down. Plus she and Simon must’ve tripped over each other in honors classes all the time.
Except I got the impression today that Bronwyn didn’t like Simon much. Or at all. When Officer Budapest talked about how Simon died, Bronwyn looked … I don’t know. Not sad.
A knock sounds at the door and I watch it open in the mirror. I keep brushing my hair as Jake comes in. He pulls off his sneakers and flops on my bed with exaggerated exhaustion, arms splayed at his sides. “Your mom’s wrung me dry, Ads. I’ve never met anyone who can ask the same question so many ways.”
“Tell me about it,” I say, getting up to join him. He puts an arm around me and I curl into his side, my head on his shoulder and my hand on his chest. We know exactly how to fit together, and I relax for the first time since I got called into Principal Gupta’s office.
I trail my fingers along his bicep. Jake’s not as defined as Cooper, who’s practically a superhero with all the professional-level working out he does, but to me he’s the perfect balance of muscular and lean. And he’s fast, the best running back Bayview High’s seen in years. There’s not the same feeding frenzy around him as Cooper, but a few colleges are interested and he’s got a good shot at a scholarship.
“Mrs. Kelleher called me,” Jake says.
My hand halts its progress up his arm as I stare at the crisp blue cotton of his T-shirt. “Simon’s mother? Why?”
“She asked if I’d be a pallbearer at the funeral. It’s gonna be Sunday,” Jake says, his shoulders lifting in a shrug. “I told her sure. Can’t really say no, can I?”
I forget sometimes that Simon and Jake used to be friends in grade school and middle school, before Jake turned into a jock and Simon turned into … whatever he was. Freshman year Jake made the varsity football team and started hanging out with Cooper, who was already a Bayview legend after almost pitching his middle school team to the Little League World Series. By sophomore year the two of them were basically the kings of our class, and Simon was just some weird guy Jake used to know.
I half think Simon started About That to impress Jake. Simon found out one of Jake’s football rivals was behind the anonymous sexting harassment of a bunch of junior girls and posted it on this app called After School. It got tons of attention for a couple of weeks, and so did Simon. That might’ve been the first time anyone at Bayview noticed him.
Jake probably patted him on the back once and forgot about it, and Simon moved on to bigger and better things by building his own app. Gossip as a public service doesn’t go very far, so Simon started posting things a lot pettier and more personal than the sexting scandal. Nobody thought he was a hero anymore, but by then they were getting scared of him, and I guess for Simon that was almost as good.
Jake usually defended Simon, though, when our friends got down on him for About That. It’s not like he’s lying, he’d point out. Stop doing sneaky shit and it won’t be a problem.
Jake can be pretty black-and-white in his thinking sometimes. Easy when you never make a mistake.
“We’re still headed for the beach tomorrow night, if that’s okay,” he tells me now, winding my hair around his fingers. He says it like it’s up to me, but we both know Jake’s in charge of our social life.
“Of course,” I murmur. “Who’s going?” Don’t say TJ.
“Cooper and Keely are supposed to, although she’s not sure he’s up for it. Luis and Olivia. Vanessa, Tyler, Noah, Sarah …”
Don’t say TJ.
“… and TJ.”
Argh. I’m not sure if it’s my imagination or if TJ, who used to be on the outskirts of our group as the new kid, has started working his way into the center right when I wish he’d disappear altogether. “Great,” I say blandly, reaching up and kissing Jake’s jawline. It’s the time of day when it’s a little scratchy, which is new this year.
“Adelaide!” My mother’s voice floats up the stairs. “We’re heading out.” She and Justin go somewhere downtown almost every night, usually restaurants but sometimes clubs. Justin’s only thirty and still into that whole scene. My mother enjoys it almost as much, especially when people mistake her for being Justin’s age.
“Okay!” I call, and the door slams. After a minute Jake leans down to kiss me, his hand sliding under my shirt.
A lot of people think Jake and I have been sleeping together since freshman year, but that’s not true. He wanted to wait until after junior prom. It was a big deal; Jake rented a fancy hotel room that he filled with candles and flowers, and bought me amazing lingerie from Victoria’s Secret. I wouldn’t have minded something a little more spontaneous, I guess, but I know I’m beyond lucky to have a boyfriend who cares enough to plan every last detail.