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“What was that?” I stared at him accusingly. “Do you always drink watered-down grass?”
He threw his head back and laughed. “It’s not grass. It’s an anti-inflammatory green smoothie. There’s fruit in there.”
“Not enough to keep it from tasting like grass.” I wrinkled up my nose. “You’re secretly a health-nut, aren’t you? You’re one of those people who willingly eat kale.”
His lips twitched as he looked at me. “Maybe.”
I couldn’t help my tragic tone. “But why?”
With a shrug, he lifted his shirt to reveal an impressive six-pack and V-cut just above the belt line. “This is why. Abs are made in the kitchen.”
My mouth bobbed open and shut as I stared at his naked and tanned torso. The sudden and powerful desire to run my hands over every one of those muscles raged through me. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen him shirtless before. He’d been shirtless at the Cascades just a couple weeks ago. But I’d never allowed myself to look at him like this. The way my heart was thumping painfully in my chest, I was pretty sure I was having a cardiac event.
“Um...yeah,” I said when I could finally make words again. “That makes sense.”
My eyes darted up to his face where I saw his self-satisfied smirk.
He’d caught me staring. The effect was like a splash of cold water in my face.
What was I doing? Earlier, I’d been admiring his face. And now I was drooling over Jayden Paul’s abs? It didn’t make any sense. I shook off the shock and slid back into my seat, staying silent as Jayden began to drive us back toward the baseball field.
“Feeling better?” he asked, turning his head slightly to look at me. He’d stuck to the roads, making the trip back a lot smoother than the drive over.
I nodded. “Yeah, at least for the next hour. Then, I get to go home and stew in all my anxieties about the rest of senior year. Will all of my scholarships be pulled if I don’t heal in time? It’s a really great way to waste a full night of sleep.”
“You’ll be back on the track in no time,” Jayden said in a firm tone. “I know it.”
For some reason, it felt nice to have his vote of confidence. I settled back into the cushion, letting my worries take a temporary back seat. That was, until we crested the final hill and the bleachers came into view, where my sister once again sat with Sarah and her friends.
There were a lot of reasons I needed to get my act together, and she was one of them. I couldn’t let Charlotte, my parents, or Coach Padilla down. They were all counting on me.
I had to get it together.
Chapter Twelve
As if I didn’t already have enough on my plate, the school had officially gone crazy with prom just five weeks away. Prom posters plastered the walls as Trina, Audrey, and I made our way to lunch on Thursday. The theme: Roaring Twenties. I could already picture the mocktails, live band, plush red carpet, and gold splashes everywhere. It was a good theme.
For the people actually planning to go.
“Are you guys really going to this thing?” I asked, as we turned the corner to the cafeteria and came face-to-face with yet another poster screaming about the upcoming prom.
“Yeah, if Mason asks me.” A dreamy look passed over Trina’s face. “I never expected I’d have a boyfriend during prom season. I can’t wait to see what he looks like in a tux.”
Audrey gave me a knowing smile from the other side of our friend. No matter how much I resented the whole prom thing at the moment, it was nice seeing Trina happy. Mason had helped her see that she didn’t need to put so much pressure on herself and that she could still follow her dreams. I loved him for it and supported their relationship in whatever way I could.
My phone buzzed and I dug it out of my pocket. Speaking of boyfriends, Collin and Mason had been texting me all week with odd sorts of questions. Like Trina and Audrey’s shoe sizes and favorite love songs. So random. It was getting sort of nauseating. Their final request had been to make sure that we all ate lunch together in the cafeteria today. It was top secret, so I wasn’t supposed to spill the details. Not that I knew much anyway.
Collin: Almost ready...
I rolled my eyes and put my phone back in my pocket. Whatever it was that those two had planned, I’m sure my two besties would love it.
“If Collin wants to go to prom, I’m game, too,” Audrey said as we picked up our trays and got in line for food. “I’ve already got a dress picked out. I’ve been drooling over it for weeks now. It’s kind of expensive, but Mom said that she’d buy it as part of my graduation present.”
I sighed and rocked on my boot. If the two of them were going, that meant a boring night at home...alone. As painful as that sounded, it was better than the idea of showing up at prom as a fifth wheel. There was no one I was even close to considering asking. Not unless...
“Mandy, you’re blushing.”
I looked up, startled by the sound of my name.
