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Swallowing down my nerves, I typed into my phone.
Me: Ok. See you then.
Collin: See you, raccoon girl.
Despite the cheers from my friends sitting across the table, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d made a big mistake. The last time Collin and I had been alone together had been at the beach house. That little rendezvous had started a vicious rumor and made me the laughing stock of the entire school. And song writing was such a personal act for me. Did I really want to share it with the person who seemed to have nothing better to do than make my life miserable?
I guess I’d already shared one humiliating secret with Collin Preston. Why not bare the rest of my soul? And hope he didn’t stomp on it with his football cleats.
Chapter Eight
Mom would kill me if I threw up on her sheer Prada blouse.
I repeated that thought over and over again as I walked into Kenwood Park to meet Collin, my backpack hanging on my shoulders and my guitar case swinging at my side. My stomach was doing flips inside my abdomen, threatening to dislodge and make an appearance right there on the sidewalk.
To make matters worse, my new song partner was nowhere in sight. I’d walked most of the perimeter of the park, searching the playground, picnic area, and even ventured into the infamous make-out spot at the top of the ridge for a hint of his effortlessly mussed brown hair or even the motorcycle that seemed to complete his bad-boy image. No luck.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I checked for the hundredth time to make sure Collin hadn’t messaged me. Nope. It was 6:15 and I was the lone loser at Kenwood Park. The next bus didn’t come for twenty more minutes. I was stuck.
Nevertheless, it was a nice location to play. The sprawling grassy field was still a vivid green and the leaves on the trees had just begun to turn yellow. It was picture perfect and all mine. Not one to miss an inspiring moment, I shrugged off my backpack and pulled my Gibson out of her case. There was a rocky formation near the swings, so I perched up on the highest part and began to strum.
I’d stayed up late the night before, working on a song for our performance. It was my best yet. The bridge still needed a bit of tweaking and there was something missing from the chorus, but if Collin’s range was good enough, we could nail it. That was, if he ever decided to show up.
“He probably can’t even sing,” I grumbled to myself.
Would Mrs. Banks have paired me with him if he was tone deaf? Was this some sort of test? I wouldn’t have put it past her. Maybe that purple hair dye of hers had seeped into her skull and made her batty. That was the only reasonable explanation for my current predicament.
The sound of an engine roaring made me spin around. A motorcycle had just turned onto the parking lot. It was a big, ugly, black thing. Crouched on top of it was a familiar muscular figure in a leather jacket and sleek black helmet.
I gulped and reminded myself to remain calm. Most girls would’ve found the sight of Collin on his motorcycle irresistible. Me? I was immune to its effects.
Mostly.
After parking, Collin pulled his helmet off and looked around, his gaze coming to rest on me. Immediately, my throat tightened and I felt my grip tighten on the neck of my guitar. Resting the helmet on his seat, he strode toward me with all the swagger and confidence of a teenaged boy on top of the world and stopped just short of the boulders.
“Ready to rock?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.
My eyes went straight to his mouth where he was chewing lazily on a toothpick. He had surprisingly white teeth. For some reason, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from that toothpick and those lips. He’d probably planned that on purpose. Used it on all the girls. The minute he could get them to stare at his mouth was the minute he got them thinking about kissing him. And all signs pointed toward Collin being a great kisser.
Not that it mattered to me.
Gulping down my nerves, I cleared my throat and finally tore my eyes away. “You’re late.”
“And now, I’m here.”
He climbed up the rocks to sit next to me. His body was entirely too close for comfort, only a couple inches dividing us. I shifted, as if readjusting my seat, and tried to leave more room. But all I ended up doing was nearly toppling myself over the edge.
“Watch it.” He grabbed my arm and steadied me, grinning as if he knew exactly how he was affecting me.
A thrill went through my body, much like it had the night of the party when he’d brushed his hand up my arm. Despite my traitorous female hormones, I was determined not to fall victim to Collin’s male prowess. Pulling my arm away, I shot him a thin-lipped smile and finally found a position on the rock that felt more comfortable. And most importantly, farther away from him.
“Here’s what I’ve been working on. I’ve already written your part,” I said, handing over a folded piece of paper from my back pocket.
His cocky grin faltered slightly and his gaze met mine. “You’ve already done the whole thing?”
“Yeah, I figured I might as well go ahead. I can show you how the melody goes, but I think it’ll be helpful for you to pick up the harmony on the chorus. It’ll make it sound richer.”
It was time to see just how much of a tune Collin could carry.
