AN HOUR LATER, I’m in my room, watching my ceiling fan twirl lazily around in circles, until I make myself so dizzy that I have to look away. A bag of Cheese Flips and an assortment of Mom’s gossip magazines lie scattered across my bed.
“Sophie! I can’t stand you being mad at me this long!” It’s Teegan, walking in with a card and a bunch of flowers, the bottom wrapped in tin foil. I can’t believe my mom let her in the house without asking me, although, I’m secretly glad she did. I wasn’t quite sure how to navigate this reunion. She comes in and sits on my bed. “Please, please forgive me?” She hands me the flowers and sports a sad pouty face. “I’m dying from Lost BFF disease.”
I try not to smile. And even though obviously she picked the daisies from her garden, I forgive her. “Me too. But you’d better not blow me off for a guy ever again, okay?”
“You got it!” She leaps up to hug me, and I hug her back. It doesn’t take long before I’m spilling my guts—about Busia’s boyfriend bargain, to how I met both Nick and Giovanni on the same day, and then asking her advice about what to do. Teegan listens intently as I recap my first day at Pet World, my entire date with Giovanni, and ending with the horrible story about how my mom yanked me inside during our good-night kiss.
Teegan’s springy brown curls bounce as she shakes her head, her lips curled in disbelief. “Wow, Sophie. Your mom acts like you’re still ten.”
“I know, right?” I bite into a Cheese Flip and think the name is apropos when half of it flips onto the floor. I wish I had a dog. I’ll get it later.
Teegan doesn’t miss a beat. “For all your mom knows, you could be the class slut. She gets mad about a good-night kiss? You’re a frickin’ junior in high school now. Give me a break!”
“I know!” I slug down a sip of soda. “And God knows I need the practice.”
Teegan giggles. “Listen. You tell your mom that you are old enough to make your own decisions about guys. Sheesh!”
“Try telling her that.” I’m about to ask Teegan’s advice about what to do about Nick when I get a text from him.
My bro and his GF
want to leave for Summerfest
in half an hour.
Ready for some major fun?
My jaw drops. “What? I thought we were leaving late this afternoon!” I show her my cell.
Teegan’s eyes widen, and she grins. “You go, girl!”
“Don’t you think this makes me a two-timing skank? I’m pretty sure Giovanni and I might be a couple, but it’s too early to tell yet.”
Teegan laughs and pushes my shoulder. “Then what are you worried about?” She giggles. “Look. You only had one date with Giovanni and loved it, but maybe Nick’s even better. You owe it to yourself and Dola to find out, right?” She looks at her watch. “And I have plans with Mike anyway. Go have fun. Make him pay for everything.”
“You sound like my mom.” I text Nick back telling him I’ll wait in front of Pet World. No way I want Mom to meet him. Whereas she practically threw herself at Giovanni, she’d probably take one look at Nick’s tattoos and diamond earring and slam the door in his face.
The moment Teegan leaves, I frantically kick into gear. Nick seems a bit more biker than hiker, so I put on a ton of eyeliner, leave my hair down, and put on the only concert T-shirt I own—a Blue Man Group baby blue tank. I keep checking out my bedroom window until finally a gorgeous red Firebird pulls up along the curb in front of Pet World. As I race through the house, I yell, “I’m going to Summerfest with Teegan, Mom! I’ll be home late!”
I run down the stairs and out of the house before she can ask any questions. As I hurry down the sidewalk toward the Firebird, the back door pops open. I hop in next to Nick, who is looking super sexy in his jeans, Smack concert tee, and a ton of bling—three chains around his neck, two hanging from his belt loop, and a couple of leather wristbands.
“Hey, Sophie,” he says, smiling so widely that a dimple I didn’t even know he had appears on his right cheek. The two people in the front seat turn halfway around and look at me. “Sophie, this is my brother TJ, and this is his girlfriend, Melanie.”
TJ looks a lot like Nick, but with a super short military crew cut, and, if you ask me, not nearly as cute. Melanie has short brown hair and a warm smile. After a quick round of hellos, TJ guns the engine. “Ready to go, kiddies?” he asks, chuckling. Before I can hook up my seatbelt, TJ floors it, turning onto the busy street, which sends my butt sliding across the seat toward Nick.
Nick says, “You work fast, don’t you? And here I thought you’d be playing hard to get.”
“Sorry about that.” I start to scooch back toward the other side when Nick clamps one hand on my knee and one on my arm, sliding me back toward him.
I don’t try to stop him. He snakes an arm around my shoulder and pulls me close, whispering in my ear, “Now that’s more like it.” His kisses me once behind my ear, and a tickle races from the spot where his lips brushed my neck down to my toes.
Part of me is glad he’s making a move on me faster than the speed of light because that probably means he really likes me, but the other part is as petrified as a California redwood. If we start the first five minutes on fire, where will this lead? And how can I possibly be sitting in the car with Nick even thinking about kissing him after the amazing date I had with Giovanni the other night?
My anxiety peaks when I’m suddenly aware that, like it or not, I’m pretty much at TJ’s mercy until midnight. If I’m not having a good time, it’s not like I can ask him to drive me home from Wisconsin. My stomach twists a bit more, worrying about whether I should kiss Nick back and how soon.
Stop it, Sophie! Relax and have a good time.
When I ease up, my worries soon disappear. Over the next hour, TJ and Nick trade insults about the size of their body parts, wallets, and brains. Melanie and I just laugh and laugh.
Nick whispers to me, “Watch me get TJ mad.” And then louder, he says, “Hey, Melanie, did my brother ever tell you about the time he peed in his pants in the church bathroom because he couldn’t get his pants unbuttoned fast enough?”
“Hey! No family stories,” TJ yells. But he’s smiling, so I’m guessing he’s amused.
“Poor baby.” Melanie rubs TJ’s shoulder, chuckling.
“Baby?” Nick says. “This was last week!”
“Liar! I was six!” TJ replies, but we’re all laughing too hard. TJ glances over his shoulder, raising his fist. “When we get out of this car, I’m taking you down, little brother.”
Nick laughs, waving his brother off. “I’m not worried. TJ’s all talk and no action.” He pulls me closer and whispers, “Not like me.”
His words make me nervous, but the heat of his breath on my neck makes my heart race. I look up at him and smile. He skims his hand across the side of my cheek and gently kisses me—our first kiss. It only lasts a second, no tongue, but I get a whiff of cinnamon on his breath. Using what I think is my sexy voice, I smile and whisper, “Very nice.”
“Always give the customer what she wants.” He nuzzles his face into my neck and plants several kisses there, sending all kinds of incredible sensations through my body.
I giggle and let out a little moan of pleasure, shifting my shoulders in response.
“Hey, no making out, you two,” TJ announces, glancing at us in his rearview mirror. “Not while I’m driving.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll stop.” Nick whispers in my ear, “For now. More of that later.”
Ignoring my inner voice freaking out, I can hardly wait for later to arrive.
We pull into the massive parking lot at Wisconsin’s Henry Maier Fairgrounds. But instead of getting out of the car, TJ grabs two Bud Lights from a mini-cooler on the floor by Melanie’s feet and hands them to Nick and then grabs two more for himself and Melanie.
Nick pops mine open and hands it to me. I take a sip, not really loving the flavor, but enjoying the giddiness of being on a date. The last time I drank beer was when Teegan snuck a few up to her room when her mom wasn’t looking last New Year’s Eve. The entire trip so far has left me feeling dangerous and daring—not at all like myself.
And to my surprise, I like this wild version.
We’re five minutes into a conversation about our favorite songs when TJ hands Nick a small pipe and a red Bic lighter. “Don’t bogart the bowl this time.”
My eyes widen in surprise. Nick smokes weed? He grabs the pipe from his brother. “Just give it here.” He brings the pipe to his mouth, sucking in hard while lighting the weed. His face contorts as he holds in his smoke, his throat squeaking a few times before he finally exhales.
I try not to cough from the mushroom cloud of smoke exhaled into my face. He hands me the pipe. “I think there’s a hit left in there.”
I shake my head. “That’s okay. I don’t smoke.”
Nick looks disappointed. “Really? Why don’t you like it?”
Not wanting to upset the good mood between us before we even start, I tell him the truth. “It’s not that I don’t like it. I just never tried it. Seems kind of scary.”
Three heads spin to face me. Almost in unison, they say, “Never?”
When I nod, Melanie smiles at me. “You gotta try it sometime, right? Why not now?”
“I don’t know. I’m a little nervous,” I concede. On one hand, I’ve always wondered what the big attraction is. A million people smoke weed all the time and live to smoke another day. On the other hand, knowing how bad my luck is with guys, I’m totally convinced that I’ll take one hit and then I won’t be able to get my shorts unbuttoned in the washroom and I’ll pee on myself.
Nick smiles sweetly at me. “There’s nothing to be nervous about. You can try one teeny hit and see what it’s like. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to have any more.”
That seems reasonable enough. I decide that Wild Party Girl Sophie would go for it. “Okay, so, what do I do?”
Nick gives me some basic instructions and lights the pipe when I inhale. I breathe some in and cough it right back out before I can “suck it in and hold it,” as he had suggested. But on my second try, I suck it in and hold it like a pro. Ohmigod, I smoked weed. I hand back the pipe, feeling oddly like I’ve done something worthy of praise. Yep, me and Nick’s drug dealer are both gleaming with pride right now.
“Down your beers, folks.” TJ drains his can and crushes it.
Nick tilts his head back and drinks his without stopping. I try to drink the remaining three-fourths of my beer fast, but I only manage a few small sips. The rest slides out the sides of my mouth, landing on the front of my shirt. “Darn it!”
The whole car erupts in laughter, but I didn’t think it was that funny. I look around for something to wipe it with when Nick holds up a napkin. “Need me to help dry that for you?”
I yank the napkin from his hand. “Very funny,” I say, my lips feeling tacky and dry all of a sudden. I wish I had gotten more of the beer in my mouth.
TJ grabs his Sox baseball cap off the floor and slides it onto his head. “All right, kiddies. Off we go.” When he opens the door, a smoke tornado swirls out of the car. I see a security guard at the entrance gate, and I start to panic. What happens if he notices a skunky smoke scent on us or searches TJ and finds the stuff in his pocket? Sweat breaks out on my forehead. Wild Girl Sophie isn’t so daring after all.
Nick grabs my hand, and we start walking toward the entrance. “You okay?”
I nod, trying to swallow, but my mouth has zero fluid. “My mouth is super dry.”
Nick squeezes my hand. “Cotton mouth. Don’t worry. It’ll go away.”
A blur of families with strollers, senior citizens, balloons, and a guy dressed like a giant bratwurst line up by the entrance. The whole beer-and-weed thing has me paranoid. I am convinced that when we get to the front of the line, the money-taker will blow a whistle and five pit bulls will run out and pin us to the ground while the cops rush in to arrest us.
We approach the gate, and I shove my hands in my pockets so I don’t raise them above my head and shout, “I smoked weed and drank beer. Arrest me now!”
When we get to the ticket-taker, Nick says, “Two please.” He lays out two twenties and collects his change.
I hold out a twenty. “Here you go, Nick.”
“Put that away. You can buy us Cokes later, okay?” He holds out his hand, and when I take it, he puts my hand on the opposite side of his waist and slides his arm around my shoulder so our bodies touch in the center.
I smile back, but inside, I’m worried about my sweaty palm leaving a wet mark on his shirt. “Sure, and thanks. Pet World must pay better than I thought.”
From behind us, TJ busts out laughing. “They don’t. It’s his commission that does wonders for him.”
This news interests me. “Salesmen get commissions, huh? Maybe if I start selling the dumb rats, my job won’t suck so bad.”
“As long as you’re working with Rat Face, it’ll always suck. That chick is hardcore mean.” Nick squeezes my shoulder. “Just say the word, and I’ll kick her ass for you.”
I let out a snort just imagining it. “I don’t think I’ll have to resort to that. Just promise me that you’ll only sell that adorable fluffy white kitten to someone super nice. How much commission will you make on two hundred bucks?”
TJ bursts out laughing. “Yeah, how much, Nick?”
“What’s so funny?” I smile at TJ over my shoulder, hoping he fills me in on the joke.
“Stop it, you guys. Just tell her the truth.” Melanie pulls TJ so she’s alongside me. “That’s not the kind of commission they’re talking about, Sophie. Let’s just say people might—” she holds up one-handed air quotes “‘—commission’ Nick because he’s really good at getting five-finger discounts.”
Maybe I’m high, because it sounds like she’s saying Nick’s a thief. “Oh, I get it now. Duh. No biggie.” I give her an awkward smile, trying to pretend that stealing stuff from your job is no big deal. And my mom thinks I’m a bad worker?
Nick pulls me closer. “It’s not what you think. I don’t rob banks or anything.”
“For sure,” I mumble, wondering what I’m doing high, slightly tipsy, and with an all-out bad boy. The new me is starting to feel like an imposter—like I’m in someone else’s skin. But is it the weed, the beer, or the company that’s making me nervous? My hand is now so sweaty I have no choice but to take it off of Nick’s waist and wipe it on my skirt. I’m not sure why I’m so shocked. At school, I’ve overheard a lot of kids bragging about stuff they stole.
As we pass a band playing an obnoxious song that I’ve never heard before, Melanie and TJ stop next to a giant speaker to gawk and listen. Melanie sings and sways to the music, and TJ joins in, singing loud and off-key. I can’t help but think of Giovanni and how he offered to help me pick out music I liked to download. Definitely not this band, that’s for sure. The music’s so deafening that I can’t think straight, so I just stand with my arms crossed so I’m not tempted to cover my ears. I plaster a smile on my face and bob my head.
Nick shouts something into TJ’s ear and then grabs my hand. “Let’s get a drink.”
I nod, thrilled to be doing anything away from the ear-shattering noise. As we approach the Lemon Squeeze stand, I dig out my money. “I got this.”
Fourteen dollars later, we walk away with drinks in hand. Instead of heading for the crowded bench, he walks to the side of the booth, out of the late summer sun. I lean against the wall and suck down several sips of the sweet lemonade with the thick flexible straw. “Even though it’s a dollar an ounce, at least it tastes good,” I joke.
“Not as good as you look.” Grinning, Nick flicks his hair off his forehead with a quick shake of his head and stands directly in front of me, his two feet flanking the sides of mine. When he takes a sip of his drink I notice that, in addition to his barbed wire tattoo, he’s got a hissing snake tattoo on his other bicep.
Wild Party Girl digs it.
Not-as-Cool Sophie worries he’s too much of a bad boy for her.
“Thanks.” I flash a nervous smile, not sure why my stomach is in knots. I’m starting to feel like I’m walking the plank on a pirate ship, but the pirate is so fricking cute, I don’t know whether to stay or jump.
Nick tilts my chin up, so I look at him. “What’s wrong, Sophie? You seem mad.”
“No. Not at all.” I give him a quick smile and shrug, unsure what’s wrong with me.
“Is it because I smoke weed? Because I don’t have to smoke when I’m out with you.”
His incredible blue eyes bore into mine, making it hard to think straight. Or is fog head a side effect of smoking weed? I glance to the side, staring at the people walking by. “It doesn’t bother me that much. But I’m not sure if I like it or not yet.” Truthfully, I’m not sure of anything at the moment, except that I need more lemonade. I clamp my teeth onto the straw and drink eagerly.
He moves his face directly into my line of vision, blocking out the kid with the cotton candy I was zoning out on. “Then is it the stealing thing?”
My lemonade swishes sideways in my gut. I shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
Nick sighs. “Melanie blew it out of proportion. Made me sound like I do it all the time. But I only do it when Wardley docks my paycheck for stupid things he dreams up—things that aren’t even true. I steal things to make up for what he steals from my paycheck. By the way, he already told me he’s subtracting thirty minutes for talking to you yesterday. He’ll probably do the same to you.”
My eyes widen. First with incomprehension, then with anger. “Whaaat? He can do that? That’s worse than my mom!”
Nick nods, a small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “I don’t know about your mom, but since he’s the boss, what can I do? I want to quit, but no one around here is hiring.”
I sigh, holding the cool cup up to my forehead. “Yeah, tell me about it.”
A little kid in a stroller lets out a screeching howl as he passes by, making us both look for an instant. Nick continues, “Seriously, it’s only been small stuff—a leash for my dog, Stosh, a squeeze toy, and—”
Knowing that Stosh is Polish for Stanley, I interrupt. “Wait. Are you Polish?”
“Yep. My last name is Walczak. Remember when Jason introduced us?”
“I must have been brain dead at the time. That totally sounds Polish!”
“Yup,” he says, a smirk on his face. “And when I checked your timecard so I could look you up on Facebook, I knew you were Polish too. But that was already after I knew I liked you.”
That’s so darned cute that I realize I’m back on board the Nick ship. But whether the two of us are headed for smooth sailing or the storm of the century remains to be seen. “Well, I liked you before I knew you were Polish, but I like you even better now. Not to mention my mom and Busia will flip.”
“Dobrze! So, are we good now?” When I nod, he offers me his hand, and, this time, I gladly take it.
After our little talk, the rest of our night is amazing! Smack turned out to be much more my style. The lead singer’s voice was scratchy and cool, and Nick knew every word to every song they sang. Best of all, my hands stopped being so sweaty, so we kept our arms wrapped around each other the whole time. After the concert, we all walked to the car, laughing and talking.
On the ride home, TJ and Melanie cuddled up close together, and so did Nick and I. The boy might not win any citizenship awards, but he’s a damn good kisser. On the flip side, I also find out he’s an explorer. His hands try to roam my personal landforms, but I play forest ranger and tell him he needs to stop.
“Okay, okay. It’s just that you’re so sexy. I promise I’ll be good.” He smiles at me with half-lidded eyes and dives in for another long kiss. I only have to remove his hand once more.
By the time I waltz into my house just after midnight, I’m not sure what the hell Dola thinks she’s doing, but I think I really like both guys. So very different, but they both have so many qualities I like. Best of all, they both like me. How’s a girl supposed to choose?
If Dola doesn’t step in soon and give me a sign about which guy Busia bargained for, I have no other option than to do some underhanded, double-cross dating of my own.