Page 39 of Ask No Questions

“Yeah, they’re asking two of the volleyball guys to formal. We’re writing on their cars while they’re at practice so they won’t suspect anything.” She grinned like an evil mastermind as if this was the most diabolical plan.

“Right… well, you’re blocking my door. Good luck with the mission.” We moved so she could get into the driver side and continued dashing to the next row without being spotted.

We finally made it to Justin’s car, an older Honda Accord, and opened the pens to get started.

“What are we saying again?” I knew the plan by heart after having to repeat it back to the others so many times, but I was enjoying stressing Mckayla.

“Seriously? ‘Will you go to formal with me heart car number 1… come find me!’ It’s not that hard… or even original, how could you forget?” Okay maybe I needed to ease up, she looked like she was going to explode.

“I’m kidding. We’ve got this, don’t worry.” We rushed around the car writing each of our parts then adding a few embarrassing hearts and smiley faces just because there was no one around to stop us.

We were moving onto the second car just as the guys burst from the gym and took off running. We paused in the middle of the lane in plain sight trying to see where they were headed. "Get down!" I grabbed Mckayla who seemed to be frozen in place.

We dove behind the nearest car and watched them turn together and head the opposite direction toward the practice field. I leaned back against the car and looked at Mckayla, who was so freaked out I couldn’t help but laugh at her pale face.

“We’re good! None of them saw us. Let’s just hurry before they head back in this direction.” We took off sprinting to Mark’s Toyota Tacoma on the far side of the lot. Unfortunately, he didn’t move his car before practice, so we had less coverage than before. We repeated what we wrote on Justin’s car with a number two instead. As we were making our way back toward the gym to the girls’ cars, we saw the guys running back toward us.

“Crap! This is the end of their practice! We have to get to their cars before the guys come back out… run!” Never before had I seen Mckayla run that fast. Not even when we were little, and Brandon had chased her around the beach holding a dead fish.

I followed her, and we each took a car to write the number for each guy before running back to the gym to wait for the girls.

“Did everything go alright?” Alexis was out first and looked concerned, as if we couldn’t accomplish this one thing.

“Yeah, everything is set. We just have to wait for the boys.” Talia came out next, and we moved out of sight and waited to see the guys’ reactions. Justin came out with a few of his teammates, and they all walked out to his car. One of the others noticed the writing first and pointed it out. Justin hurried to his car and read the writing. He looked around like a girl would pop out, then motioned the guys to get in. He pulled out and began driving around the parking lot.

“That’s my cue!” Alexis jumped out and hurried to her car to wait for Justin. We watched as he finally made it to her row and stopped behind her car when he saw her. He jumped out and gave her a hug, guess they were set!

“He said yes!” Mckayla looked like a kid in a candy store watching them hug then Justin nodding. “Now Mark just needs to come out…”

Just as she said that, Mark appeared with another guy and began the trek out to his truck. This time, he noticed first and moved around taking in our drawings and the message. The two of them finally got in and drove back to the majority of the cars.

“Oh, crap! I need to be out there!” Talia stood and ran to her car before Mark approached. He must have seen the number on her window since he stopped and she jumped out. Mark stepped out of his truck and moved toward her. I could see them talking, then he nodded with a huge grin and brought her in for a hug. He seemed so happy she asked him, it was almost as precious as Sean’s reaction.

Since our jobs were done, Mckayla and I headed out to the parking lot toward her car. “Well done, girl. Now it’s just you that needs a date. We can plan for that tomorrow!” She was way more enthusiastic about the idea of me going with Luke than I was. I was too nervous, why would a popular guy like him go with a girl he barely knows? I shook the negative thought and got in the car to head home. I didn’t want to ruin my happy mood from this afternoon.

I didn't have dance after school, so when I got home, I changed into gym clothes and headed downstairs to work out. I looked in at the gym, but the weather outside was too sunny to be indoors. I changed direction and started jogging as soon as I hit the sidewalk. I didn't have a midpoint planned to turn around, so I ended up at the point of the peninsula overlooking the ocean. I stopped—inhaling the salty air and letting the breeze cool me down.

This was exactly what I needed to calm down and refocus. I came here to start over. I needed to let go of the insecurities I brought with me and enjoy being here. So far things were going one hundred times better than I could have ever hoped. I made new friends at school, I had a dance studio to attend, things between my brother and me were working out, and best of all, I was out from under my mom’s rule.

I still felt out of place, especially around Mckayla’s family… my family. I told myself it would take time to fit in as well as Brandon did, but it was hard feeling like an outsider with them.

I stood enjoying the view and ocean breeze for a few more minutes before turning around and continuing my run. On the way back, I saw a smoothie place and I decided I deserved one for finishing my course. I ordered and stood back, waiting for my name to be called. There were only two other customers, so it was hard not to notice the guy dressed in all black at the colorful table. I recognized Gage even from behind. When my smoothie was ready, I grabbed it and headed over to his table. I stood there for a moment, smiling, before he finally looked up.

"Hi, Gage, I'm Aubrey... from English... and the bonfire." There was no sign of recognition on his face, making me feel incredibly uncomfortable. How could he really have no idea who I was?

"Aubrey. Can I help you?" Wow, this guy sure knew how to make a girl feel warm and fuzzy. I was ready to turn and walk away and never speak to him again when his hand shot out grabbing mine. I looked down at our hands, then at his face. I was ready to let him have it for pretending to not know me and then touching me, but the look on his face stopped me. It was his turn to look uncomfortable, and it was even more compelling that he looked nervous.

"I'm sorry for being so rude. I just wasn't expecting anyone to talk to me here. Do you want to sit?"

I eyed him as I slowly sat down expecting him to bolt as soon as I did.

"Do you usually attack anyone that dares to speak to you?" I wasn't meaning to be so rude, but he had the ability to bring it out in me.

"No, no one’s usually dumb enough to try." He almost smiled as he said that but quickly went back to brooding.

"But you're so pleasant!" My sarcasm seemed to be lost on him.

"Why are you talking to me?" His eyes narrowed.