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“I think you’ll like this one.”
Wanting nothing more than to flick him away like a speck of lint on my shirt, I spun around for the last time, ready to tell him off. Hopefully I could say enough that would make him disappear from my radar forever.
But I found him standing there, the smile still stuck on his face, his thumbs hooked through the straps on his backpack, looking… proud? What kind of surprise would lead him to be proud of himself?
“Fess up. Either tell me, or you get nothing.”
Charlie shook his head, his hair swinging with the movement. A lock of it stayed on his forehead, annoying me that it wasn’t tousled back with the rest.
“It’s asurprise, Una.”
A chill went through me when he said my name. I didn’t like how easily slipped off his tongue, like he had been saying it all his life.
“Just give in this once. I promise, it’ll be worth it.”
He held my gaze, not in a menacing way or as a challenge, but more of a gentle manner, as if he really wanted me to say yes becausehewas excited for whatever this surprise was.
“Fine.”
Chapter 11
Una
For the firsttime in a while, I didn’t have anyone on the docket for after school. I shot off some messages, sent directions to Flow and Jett for what to do tonight, and waited.
And waited and waited. I never realized how incredibly long and boring it was to sit and be patient. I was always on the go, always doing something, always in talks with someone.
It reminded me of how Charlie waited for me after his practice last week, sitting in the bleachers, not even knowing if I was there or not. He just sat.
I didn’t wait in the bleachers. I learned my lesson by being visible and decided not to do that ever again. Instead, I paced underneath the stands, letting my mind run wild with thoughts about Charlie’s surprise.
Given that it was Charlie Henrikson, I had absolutely no clue what it could be. I didn’t even have a starting place to try to figure it out, so anything and everything flew through my brain at some point.
Once I heard Dad’s whistle blow and the guys leaving the field, I dared to make my way toward the edge of the bleachers. I didn’t exit yet. Not until I saw Dad take off and Charlie hang back by himself. All the other guys either got straight into their cars or jogged back to the school to hit the locker room. Since cars were closer than the school, a lot of them just drove away.
But Charlie stayed. He leaned against the fence, his bags on the ground next to him, one foot propped up against the metal.
“Coast is clear,” he said casually, looking down at his phone in his hands. He hadn’t taken off his skull wrap yet, his hair flopping over the front of it as if he purposefully styled it that way. Not every guy looked hot in a skull wrap, but he did.
That annoyed me.
A lot of things about Charlie Henrikson annoyed me.
But he knew I was there, so it was worthless to keep hiding. I stepped out from under the bleachers and headed toward him.
“You came,” he said, sounding a little shocked, looking up when I approached.
“Curiosity, the cat, and all that,” I snapped. “Now what is it?” I wasn’t here to play games. He piqued my interest earlier, and it was time to fess up. I had been waiting impatiently for too long and my annoyance grew by the second.
Charlie reached down and grabbed his bags, turning toward the parking lot. He didn’t wait for me. He didn’t look back to see if I was following.
I didn’t know a lot about him besides our recent interactions, but going on those, this was odd behavior.
In the end, I followed, but I didn’t bother to hurry to catch up to him. After a few yards of walking, he finally glanced over his shoulder, smiling when he saw me behind him.
“Gotta get in the car to find out,” he said, making my heart jump. He was taking me somewhere? I didn’t want anyone to see us in a car together. That would be… weird. Disastrous even, maybe.
My head swiveled, looking around to see if anyone was watching. The last thing I needed was someone telling the Fairy Godmother Charlie and I were spotted together, even if it was just in the parking lot.
