Cade

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High School...

I STEPPED ONTO the bus just as it started to close its doors. I was late. Truth be told, I was always late. My oldest brother, Connor, razzed me about it all the time, but I’d just smile and roll over in order to catch a few more Z’s.

As I walked down the aisle, I noticed a girl who was probably a year or two younger than me sitting in ‘my’ seat. I mean, it was a public bus, so it wasn’t technically mine, but I sat there every day on my way to school and now I was going to need to find another place. I was only five-hundred dollars away from the money to buy a car and once I got that, I wouldn’t need to ride public transit anymore. I’d been working after school and weekends when I could at my dad’s construction site. It was good money, and it was flexible.

I decided to sit in the row behind her, just across the aisle.

There was something about her I couldn’t put my finger on. She was gorgeous, blonde curls that cascaded down her back and looked almost like they had a mind of their own, big blue eyes I’d only seen for a second when she glanced my way, and a body that she looked like she was trying to hide in her oversized clothing.

She looked sad, and I don’t know why that pinged for me, but it did.

The bus pulled up to my stop, just outside my high school, and I rose to my feet. She did too. I frowned. She went to my school? I’d never seen her before.

Following her off, we headed for the front doors.

“You new here?” I asked. She jumped and I felt the slight movement all the way to my soul. “Shit. Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She blushed, her eyes meeting mine. “You didn’t.”

God, she was pretty. Not a stitch of makeup covering up her gorgeous freckles. I studied her for a second, and then she started walking again, holding her backpack closer to her side. She’d only hung one strap over her right shoulder, like she needed something to protect her.

“Do you want me to show you where to go?” I asked as I rushed to catch up to her.

“No, I think I’m okay.”

I heard a slight accent, but I couldn’t place it.

“Is it your first day?”

“No. I’ve been here a week,” she said, walking faster.

“Never seen you on the bus before.”

“It was my first time riding it. Mum was...” She shook her head. “Um, couldn’t drive me today.”

“I dig your accent,” I said. “Where are you from?”

“New Zealand.”

“No way, that’s hella cool.”

“Ta.” We reached the steps of the school, and she faced me. “I’m sorry, but I can’t be late for class.”

“I’ll walk you.”

“No, you don’t need to do that,” she said.

“What’s your name?” I asked, as she pulled open the door. But she didn’t answer and escaped inside.

Well, shit. She was about the prettiest girl I’d ever seen. I was going to need to find out more about her.

* * *

Navy

Oh my god! Cade Wallace talked to me. Me! The awkward, somewhat chubby girl from a tiny country most people had never heard of. I mean, the amount of people who thought New Zealand was part of Australia was staggering. Someone actually asked my mum once how long it had taken her to drive here. I rolled my eyes. If I didn’t love this country with every fiber of my being, I might wonder just how stupid Yanks were in general. But I refused to go there, because I did love this country. Probably more than most Americans.

And Cade Wallace noticed me. Cade was a junior and the star of the football team. He had longish dark hair and a jaw like Superman. He was so unbelievably gorgeous, I got tongue-tied.

For the first time ever, I was tongue-tied. I mean, I did tend to be an introvert. But that didn’t mean I was quiet or unfriendly. I definitely wanted friends. Mum often compared me to a Labrador puppy—friendly and nosy but getting my nose whacked a lot because I wanted to be friends with everyone. However, I did tend to tell the truth, sometimes to my own detriment. Mum said that was probably why I had a hard time making friends.

I shook off my mother’s criticism and scurried down the hall to my first class of the day, Trig. Holy hell, I hated trigonometry, but I was really good at maths, so I had been bumped up from sophomore level to junior level because of my advanced education. I might have been thrilled to leave New Zealand behind, but I had to admit, I was grateful for the lessons it had taught me.

“You’re almost late, Miss Simmonds,” my teacher said as I squeezed through the door he was closing.

“Sorry, Mr. Envers.” I took my seat and pulled out my trig textbook.

The morning dragged, and by the time the lunch bell rang, I honestly wondered if I was going to be able to stay awake for the next six or so hours. All I wanted to do was go home and soak in the tub. Even if it was the shallowest tub I’d ever seen, it was still a tub, and it was the first place we’d ever lived that had one.

Unfortunately, I had after-school tutoring, and the school actually paid me for my time, so I wouldn’t get home until after six.

I shoved my books into my locker and made my way to the cafeteria. I didn’t make my lunch today. I hadn’t had time, so I grabbed a tray and joined up at the end of the line.

“Cade!” a grating feminine voice squealed over the crowd.

I couldn’t stop myself from following the sound, and my eyes met the blue ocean ones of Cade Wallace.

“Cade! Over here.”

I looked away because I seriously didn’t want to see him walk over to Celia Somers. The senior beauty had everything. She was homecoming queen, would probably be prom queen, and she was on the cheer squad. Not the captain, but that didn’t matter, because her best friend, Nevaeh Nathans was, and they all moved in a pack.

A big, beautiful, skinny pack of mean girl hyenas.

Okay, no, not entirely accurate. Celia was actually sweet, but Nevaeh was not. Nevaeh “is heaven spelled backward,” I’d heard her say.

Well, Nevaeh, you are a slag. As are all your other friends, guys included.

I looked at them out of my peripheral and saw Cade give Celia a hug. Then, Nevaeh. I wrinkled my nose and studied my shoes as I imagined all the ways she could fall and break an arm.

“Why are you scowling?”

I let out a gasp and glanced up. Cade Wallace was standing right beside me.

I looked around and although there was a line behind me, he was looking right at me. “Eh?”

He smiled and I bit my lip to keep from sighing. “You were scowling.”

“I was?”

“Line’s moving,” someone grumbled from behind.

“So?” Cade snapped at him. “You got somewhere to be?”

“No. Sorry, Cade.”

I hurried forward, placing my tray on the raised aluminum counter.

“Whatya gettin’?” Cade asked, snatching the tray from the guy behind me and setting it next to mine.

“Aw, man, now I gotta get out of line,” the guy whined.

“Sorry,” I said as he stalked away.

“Ignore Brumley. He hits on every girl in school,” Cade said.

“It’s not like I’m a guy magnet or anything,” I whispered.

“Whatever,” he said like he didn’t believe me. “What are we having for lunch?”

“Well, I was going to get pizza,” I said, staring at the greasy squares in front of me.

“Hell, yeah, that sounds good,” he said, grabbing the spatula and sliding a piece on the plate on my tray, then did the same to his. “What else?”

“That’s it,” I said.

It’s all I could afford.

“What? No way,” he countered, grabbing the chocolate pudding I’d been eyeing and setting it on my tray.

I put it back.

“Well, if you’re not going to take it, I’m havin’ two.” He grabbed three.

“Maths is not your strong suit, eh?”

“Don’t you mean ‘math’?”

“No,” I said. “Maths is technically correct. Americans just shorten everything,” I retorted.

He chuckled, reaching for a bowl of something yellow and slimy looking. “Want some?”

“What are they?”

“Peaches.”

I swallowed. “Um, yeah, no.”

He grinned, grabbing another bowl.

We scooted down the line and I noticed there were chocolate muffins. My stomach rumbled and I closed my eyes briefly. I loved chocolate. Like, would marry chocolate if it asked.

Cade grabbed one and set it next to his bowls of pudding and my mouth watered.

We got to the ice-filled sink that held every kind of milk imaginable and he snagged one before offering one to me.

“I’m okay,” I said, so he put the second one on his tray.

We arrived at the till and Cade leaned over me and said, “Hey, Bernice, put this on my account, okay?”

“Sure thing, honey.”

“What? No,” I protested. “You don’t need to buy me lunch.”

“Already done,” he said. “Now, where are we sitting?”

I blushed. “You don’t have to sit with me. Your friends—”

“Where are we sitting, Sparkles?”

I shivered at his use of a nickname, even though I knew he was doing it because he didn’t know my name.

“Um, I usually sit over there.” I nodded to the corner by the windows where no one typically sat.

“I’ll follow you.”

I swallowed and took a deep breath, forcing my feet to move. All eyes were on us as we headed to the table in the corner, and I slid into the seat by the wall.

I grabbed serviettes out of the dispenser and laid one on my lap, then I took a knife and fork and cut into my pizza.

“What are those?”

“These?” I held up my utensils. “Well, this is called a knife, and this is a fork?”

He laughed. “No. I mean, you can’t eat pizza with a knife and fork. You have to eat it with your hands. Like this.”

He took his piece, folded it in half and shoved almost the whole piece into his mouth, grinning as he chewed.

“You’re going to choke if you keep eating like that,” I warned, cutting off another piece of pizza and lifting it to my mouth. I slid the fork in and bit down, and Cade seemed to have a fascination with my movements, so I frowned. “Do I have cheese on me?” I asked, wiping my mouth after I’d swallowed.

He let out a quiet cough. “No, ah, it’s all good.”

I blushed. “You’d tell me if I did, right?”

“Yeah, ’course.”

I continued to eat as he shoveled food down his throat. It was endearing in a way.

Oh, what was I saying? He could let out a huge fart and I’d probably find it endearing.

“So, Navy, tell me about yourself,” he said.

I looked his way in surprise. “You know my name?”

“Yeah. I’m Cade.”

I let out an inelegant snort. “Everyone knows your name, Cade, you didn’t need to tell me.”

“I never assume anything.” He grinned, dropping the coveted chocolate muffin on my tray.

“What are you doing? That’s yours,” I said.

“I bought it for you. A pretty girl should never have to buy her own muffin.” He leaned in closer, sliding a carton of milk over to me. “And you can’t have a chocolate muffin without milk.”

“It would be a crime,” I agreed.

“Wouldn’t want to have to turn you into the school police on you first week here.”

I chuckled. “No, that would suck.”

“Totally would.”

“Thanks, Cade, you’re very sweet.”

“Oh, shit, don’t let that get around,” he retorted. “You’ll ruin my rep.”

A laugh bubbled out of me just as Nevaeh walked up, sitting daintily next to Cade, and pulling her seat closer to him. “What’s so funny?”

“Location joke,” Cade said, rolling his eyes in my direction, so I was the only who could see his expression.

I bit my lip and focused on peeling away the lining on the muffin.

“What’s a location joke?” Nevaeh asked.

“Had to be there,” Cade replied.

“Oh my god, you’re so funny,” she said in a sing-song voice, laying a hand on his arm.

He pulled away and faced her. “Is there something you need, Nevaeh?”

“We’re friends, Cade,” she said, her eyes boring into me. “Can I not come and say hi to my friend?”

“I already said hi to you.”

“Well, I’m saying hi again. Introduce me to this quiet little mouse.” She reached her hand over the table. “I’m Nevaeh. It’s Heaven spelled backwards.”

I shook her hand and tried not to vomit in my mouth. “Navy. That’s Yvan backwards. Nice to meet you.”

Cade chortled beside me as Nevaeh frowned. “Oh my god, is that an accent? Where are you from?”

“New Zealand.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Where’s New Zealand?”

“It’s an island in the South Pacific,” Cade answered for me. “Below Australia.”

My head whipped his way. He knew where New Zealand was?

“Two islands, actually,” Cade corrected.

Nevaeh glared at Cade. “How quaint.”

Before anymore could be said, the bell rang, so I rose to my feet and gathered my rubbish.

Nevaeh leaned toward Cade. “Walk me to my locker?”

“Did you forget where it is again?” he asked.

“You’re so funny,” she ground out, the sing-song gone from her voice.

“I can’t walk you today, sorry. I’m already walking Navy to hers.”

“You are?” I asked, and Cade’s eyes widened as he gave me a slight nod. “Oh, right. Yes. Cade’s walking me to mine.”

Cade gathered our trays and rubbish and smiled. “Ready?”

“Um, yep.”

He dumped everything in the bin and then we headed down the hall.

“I need to use the loo,” I said. “Thanks for lunch.”

“I’ll wait,” he said.

I faced him with a sigh. “What’s going on?”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Why are you being nice to me? Did you lose a bet?”

A darkness flickered in his eyes as he met mine. “What the hell? No. Why would you say that?”

I shook my head. “Because guys like you do not just magically talk to girls like me.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Who says?”

“Every eighties movie ever created.”

“We’re not in the eighties, Navy.” He raised an eyebrow. “In case you haven’t noticed, we have the internet now. We’re firmly in the twentieth century.”

I pressed my lips into a thin line and breathed slowly. “Cade—”

“Go pee,” he ordered. “I’ll wait.”

I threw my hands up in the air and stepped into the bathroom.

* * *

Cade

I smiled. Navy was absolutely the sweetest girl I’d ever met, and she wore all of her emotions on her face. I knew exactly what she was thinking, and I liked it. Unlike the Nevaeh’s of the world, who were calculating and bitchy, Navy was the opposite. She was honest and open and fucking adorable.

I couldn’t wait to get to know her better. I just hoped she’d let me do that.

Navy walked out of the bathroom and looked genuinely surprised to see me as she shook her hands out. “You’re still here.”

I grinned. “Told you I’d wait.”

“Yes, you did,” she mumbled, wiping her hands on her jeans. “They ran out of towels.”

“Hate that.”

“Me too. I don’t have any lotion with me, so my hands are going to be cracked by the end of the day.”

I noticed a bracelet she wore on her wrist and nodded to it. “That bracelet’s hella cool.”

She smiled as she held it up to the light. “It’s my favorite. It’s paua shell from New Zealand. My best friend, Nicola gave it to me for my thirteenth birthday.”

Just as she said that, Celia Somers walked up to us and grinned. “Hey, Cade.”

“Hey, Cel.”

She turned to Navy. “I’m Celia. You’re new right?”

Navy nodded. “Navy.”

“That is such a cool name.”

Navy smiled. “Thanks.”

“Well, if you need anything, please let me know, okay? It’s always scary to be in a new school.”

“You got any lotion?” I asked.

“Cade,” Navy hissed under her breath.

“Like, hand lotion?” Celia asked, sliding her backpack off her shoulders.

“Yeah,” I said.

“I sure do.” She pulled out a travel sized bottle and handed it to me. “You can keep it. I have two.”

“Thanks.”

“Sure thing.” She turned to Navy again. “Seriously, if you need anything, holler. And ignore Nevaeh. She can be...um, well, a little off-putting sometimes. But she has a good heart under everything.”

I tried not to scoff out loud. Nevaeh’s heart was black as tar. I was sure of it.

Navy nodded, and Celia gave us both a friendly smile, then walked away. I grinned, handing the bottle of hand lotion to Navy.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to do that,” she said, unscrewing the cap.

I shrugged. “I get things done.”

“Apparently.” She squeezed lotion onto her hands and replaced the cap, keeping the bottle between her teeth as she rubbed the goo between her hands. I tugged the bottle from her teeth, and she grinned. “Ta.”

“Ta?” I asked.

“It’s the Kiwi abbreviation for thanks,” she explained. “Sorry, I forget sometimes.”

“Don’t apologize, I love it.”

The warning bell sounded just as we arrived at her locker.

“Shoot,” she said, working the combination on her lock. “I’m late. I’m never late.”

“You’re not late. You’ve got ten minutes.”

“Shouldn’t you be heading to your locker?” she asked as she pulled out her backpack and shoved an English textbook into it.

“I’ve got time to walk you to your class,” I lied.

“Cade, you don’t really. Please don’t be late on my account.”

“It’s math. I hate math.”

“I hate it, too, but we must soldier on.” She swung her backpack over her shoulder. “Thank you for lunch.”

“Same time tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure,” she hedged. “Can we play it by ear?”

I tried not to show how disappointed I was. “Sure.”

“Ta, uh, thanks. I appreciate it.” She smiled gently, then turned around and walked away from me. I suddenly felt all kinds of bummed.