Page 12 of Kickoff

“Red velvet?” I asked.

“What else?” Paige retorted, aware they were my favorites.

I lifted my hand to high-five her. “That’s my girl.”

My brother groaned. “Mase…”

I ignored his grimace. “What’s on the agenda today?”

He shook his head, deciding not to join in my humor. “Sheldon’s dad has secured a bunch of tickets for the races this afternoon.” He fished out his wallet and slid four tickets toward me.

“Who’s going?”

My brother shrugged. “We’re all going.”

“Who’s all?”

“Huh, everybody. Someone you’re trying to avoid? Another girl you pissed off lately?”

I dragged a hand over my face. “Nah. All good. Just curious.”

Only one question pinballed through the walls of my skull: Would she be there?

Melinda Shepard had been gone all summer and had returned yesterday.

Last night, in the few seconds I saw her, she disappeared with Elk River High’s resident bad boy. Dressed in a teal number that made her eyes pop, with her brown hair loose over her shoulders and her smile disarming, I couldn’t look away the entire time she glided from the restaurant to his pickup truck. I watched her like a freak, hiding in the shadow of the building next door, my heart bouncing inside my chest. I had no idea what went down during the time she was away, but she appeared taller, more confident of herself, and definitely hotter than I recalled. Perhaps it was my mind playing tricks on me since I’d been on a Melinda-withdrawal phase for months, but the sight of her had cast me under a new kind of spell, and now that she was back, I was aware I was screwed more than ever before. That girl had gotten under my skin years ago and had no idea about it. Yes, I’d been madly in love with her for as long as I could remember—or since the day she moved into the house next door with her parents and half-brother, five years ago, and had rejected me for the very first time.

We were strangers for what felt like forever after that fateful day. I might have killed our budding friendship and pushed her away for good on the first day of seventh grade when I put her on the spot and embarrassed her. With age came insight, and I realized it wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but I was a kid back then and believed I was being smooth about all this. From that moment, Melinda had acted as if I didn’t exist. Until Paige and Craig started dating and our groups of friends merged, and she couldn’t avoid me anymore. Except for the last three months when she’d been away, and like a stupid lovesick puppy, I’d missed her.

Anytime she was around, I had a hard time keeping my cool. I became a nervous wreck and cracked more jokes than usual or flirted with all the wrong girls.

Yep, my defense mechanisms were warped when it came down to her. Something broke inside me every time we breathed the same air. Yeah, I grew into a defective version of myself. In so many ways. I was always saying stuff I didn’t think through, talking too loud, and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. For what? A chance to draw her attention.

So far, all my attempts had been in vain. She hated me. I was pretty sure the attraction was one-sided. This year, if I wanted a chance with her, I would need a brand new gameplan. Something incredible that she wouldn’t be able to resist because, so far, Melinda Shepard had never indulged me or made me believe we could ever be friends—or more.

High school started in two days, and already I got angsty at the idea of seeing her every day after months spent living in two different states. My summer felt like a never-ending saga without a single glimpse of her. The only news I received was through Paige, and only when I extracted them from her, trying to be as subtle as I could get. Yep, that was me. King on the field, lame on the love scene. Melinda had blown my attempt once, and I was in no rush to be rejected again. Thus came my rule to steer clear of the dating scene. Unless it was her. Why I was still obsessed with my neighbor after all this time was a mystery to me. But hey, Mom told me once you can’t choose who you love, so maybe that was the case here. Whatever.

“Are you coming?” My brother’s voice pulled me out of my spiraling thoughts. I felt my cheeks warming up as I zeroed in on him and prayed he wouldn’t be able to guess what—or rather who—had invaded my mind.

“Where?” I blinked, not sure what we were talking about just now.

“Did you listen to anything I just said?”

“Huh…”

“Huh?” My brother snickered. “That’s your answer? Seriously, I thought Mom and Dad taught you how to speak when you were two.”

“Bla-gadda-ta-ma. Better?”

“So much more articulate, baby bro. I knew you were fluent in English. Anyway, back to business. Are you in?”

I couldn’t recall what we were talking about before I zoned out.

“C’mon, Mase, pay attention. The races. Later today. Are you coming?”

My mind switched back to the girl next door.

Would Melinda be attending? Geez, my Melinda Shepard problem was getting out of hand. No matter what I did, my brain always reeled back to her.