Chapter Sixteen

Fuller

The carpet squished under my toes as I paced back and forth across my bedroom floor. “It’s no big deal, Fuller. She’s coming over to watch a movie. It’s like any other date you’ve had before.” My pep talk left me only more flustered. Partially because it was a lie. This wasn’t like any other date I’d had before. This was a date with Wren Carter. The girl who I hadn’t given the time of day to for years, only to fall for, hard, in less than two weeks.

I closed my eyes and flopped onto my bed. How had I missed it before? She’d been the same person since seventh grade, but now, all of a sudden, I was seeing her in a new light.

Opening up my Instagram app, I clicked on her account. Since she accepted my request over the weekend, I could finally see more than her profile picture. She’d posted a new picture yesterday. It brought a smile to my face. She sat with her arm around Gramps, both wearing matching Bulls jerseys. The caption read, “My favorite guy and me.”

I scrolled through the rest of her pictures, pausing on a selfie of her running. She was wearing her Magnolia Valley High School cross-country uniform and a pair of running shoes. She’d taken the picture just over two weeks ago, and captioned it with the hashtags #LastMeetAsACougar, #GCC, and #Runner4Life. The girls’ team had just missed out on qualifying for state this year, but that didn’t seem to bother Wren. Besides telling me that she listened to audiobooks on long runs, she never mentioned running or the team. She was always more focused on academics.

I zoomed in on her face. Those hazel eyes, the way they twinkled when she got excited, and those lips. Man, those lips. They were perfect.

I’d been thinking about kissing her all day. Especially when we were in the library. The way her face lit up when I asked her to come over… Hopefully Hudson and his friend would keep each other occupied while Wren and I watched our movie. The last thing I needed was two nine-year-olds interrupting our kiss with one of their Nerf Gun battles.

At least my parents wouldn’t be looming over us. They were heading out to dinner with some friends. Normally, they didn’t let me have girls over when they weren’t home, but, since Hudson would be there, and it was Wren, they were more than okay with it. They really liked her. In fact, even though they’d only met her once, she was the first girl they’d actually asked me to have over again.

I closed my eyes and let my phone fall onto the mattress. I hadn’t felt this happy or hopeful in a long time. My feelings for Wren were real and, like I’d told Brandon, I’d never do anything to hurt her.

I’d even come up with a plan to get Marc and TyShaun to drop the bet. Things had progressed way past the point where I could be honest with Wren; I knew there was no way she’d accept my story and forgive me. Everything that had happened between us was based on a lie. I’d already hurt her once; I couldn’t risk doing it again. My best chance was to cancel the bet, but I was running out of time. The season opener was next week.

Cringing, I imagined myself telling her tonight while we were sitting on the couch. It would be like middle school happening all over again. She’d never forgive me.

That’s why things had to work with Marc and TyShaun. It was pretty simple—I’d pull them both aside before our next practice. Unlike earlier with Marc, I’d talk to both of them calmly. I wouldn’t lose my cool. I’d tell them that I really liked Wren and that I’d do anything to get out of the bet. I didn’t care if they wanted me to do all their math homework until the end of the year, just as long as they never spoke about the bet again. I had a backup plan, too, in case that didn’t work, but I really didn’t want to have to use it. I had dirt on both of them. Pictures of them drinking at Marissa’s massive end-of-the-summer party. They were both obviously wasted and double-fisting beers. It would get them suspended and possibly kicked off the team.

I refused to go there, unless I was desperate. But Wren was worth it.

My bedroom door cracked open and Hudson stuck his head through. “Fuuuuuuuuller, your girlfriend is here!” He giggled and then raced down the stairs with his friend Davion.

“Hudson, don’t you dare get that door!” I sprang out of bed and raced after him.

When I got to the door, I frowned. Hudson and Davion were nowhere to be seen, and the door was still shut. I tentatively reached for the handle and opened it. Greeted with the chilly air and an empty doorstep, I shut the door. “You little dweebs.”

Hudson cupped his hands around his face and shouted, “Fuller’s got a crush! Fuller’s got a crush!”

Davion joined in, laughing the entire time.

I placed my hands on my hips. “Listen, I know you two think you’re adorable and all, but you can’t say that in front of Wren. For real.”

“Why?” Hudson moved his hips from left to right. “Because you liiiiiiiiiike her?”

Before I could respond, the doorbell rang.

“Both of you, upstairs. Now. Understood?” I tried to sound serious but couldn’t help cracking a smile.

Davion turned around and raced up the stairs.

“Hey, Fuller.” Hudson stayed put. “I really like the way you are with her around.”

“What?” I had my hand on the doorknob.

“Wren makes you really happy. I like it.”

A warmth radiated from my chest to my fingertips. “Thanks, buddy. That means a lot.”

Hudson smiled and then raced up the staircase.

The doorbell rang a second time. Twisting the knob, I pulled the door open.

“Hey.” Wren smiled.

“Wow.” I inhaled sharply. She stood in front of me wearing a dress that cut off mid-thigh and accented her long legs.

“Thanks.” Her cheeks turned pink, but she didn’t look away.

“Oh, um, sorry. Come in.” Real smooth, Fuller. I’d never had trouble talking to girls before. Now I sounded like an awkward middle schooler trying to talk to his crush for the first time. I stepped back and wiped my damp palms on my jeans, making room for Wren to walk past me. As she did, the tropical scent of some kind of exotic flower floated through the air. A smile tugged at my lips.

“How was practice?” Wren asked as she slid off her shoes.

“Great.”

“Are you guys ready for next Friday?” She stood with her arms wrapped around her waist.

“I think so. Coach has been working us really hard.”

“How are the free throws coming along?” She arched an eyebrow. “Josh and Logan really struggled with those last year.”

I nodded. “Way better.”

She smiled and let one of her hands fall to her side. “Awesome. If you can get the team’s percentage up, that’s really going to help you win games. Especially Marc.”

I nodded in agreement. “Totally.”

“So…”

A few seconds passed before I realized that we were still standing in the hallway. “Oh, right. There are some snacks in the kitchen. Want to help me bring them into the family room before we get the movie started?”

“Sure.” She reached up and tugged on her braid.

“Kitchen’s this way,” I said, holding my hand out. Wren walked alongside me as we made our way through the hallway. “You look awesome, by the way.”

Wren’s arm brushed against mine. “Thanks. I wasn’t sure about the dress. I don’t usually wear them.”

Reaching down, I wove my fingers through hers. “I like it, but you look just as nice in jeans and a T-shirt.”

Wren stopped walking, our hands almost coming apart in the process.

“W-Was that not the right thing to say?” My heart was pounding. I’d never had feelings this strong for someone before, and I didn’t want to take any missteps.

She stepped forward, our bodies only inches apart. Her black lashes swept up, revealing those emerald and honey colored eyes. “It was the perfect thing to say.”

My hands found their way to her waist as hers linked around my neck. Our lips met and quickly melted together. Not only did she smell like tropical flowers, her lips tasted like coconut. Closing my eyes, I got lost in the kiss. Her tongue explored my mouth, sending shivers down my back.

A shrill giggle interrupted our moment.

My eyes flew open as Wren jumped backward, bumping into the wall in the process.

“Hudson, I thought I told you to stay in your room.” I put my hands on my hips, but my face was burning. He’d caught Marissa and me making out once or twice, but this was something different.

With Wren, there were feelings. Intense feelings.

“Hey, Wren! Thanks for the Deadpool sticker. It’s super cool.” He grinned.

I put my hand on his shoulder. “That’s great,” I said, “now, back to your room, please.”

“Davion and I wanted something to drink.” He grinned from ear to ear. “I didn’t know you’d be down here making out!”

I shooed him toward the kitchen. “Come on, Nosey McGee.”

He tried to stifle a fresh round of laughter by slapping a hand over his mouth.

I turned and squeezed Wren’s hand. “Sorry,” I mouthed.

She smiled.

Hudson’s eyes went wide as they landed on Wren and me holding hands.

Ignoring him, I walked to the fridge and grabbed two cans of LaCroix. “Here you go, Hud.”

“Thanks.” Smiling, he stole one more look at Wren before sprinting out of the room.

“Slow down, Hudson,” I shouted as his little feet pounded up the stairs.

I brought Wren’s hand to my lips and kissed it. “That was kind of embarrassing.”

“Yeah. Not going to lie, I’ve never been busted like that before. But he’s too adorable to be mad at.” She smiled and shrugged.

“It probably won’t be the last time.” I chuckled, wrapping my arms around her and kissing the top of her head. She fit so perfectly in my arms. Like a piece of a puzzle that had been missing for far too long.

“Okay, let’s talk food,” I said. “I made popcorn, and there’s a batch of chocolate cookies Dad made yesterday in a plastic container over there.” I pointed to the counter. “I also have M&M’s with and without peanuts, Nerds, Reese’s Pieces, Red Vines, and I got us a few of these.” He pulled out two heart-shaped lollipops covered in sprinkles.

Wren’s heart beat a little bit faster. “Nerds, my favorite. I’m cool with the rest, too.”

She was so easygoing. “Sweet. I’ve got some sparkling raspberry lemonade. Want to have some of that to go with the snacks?”

“That’s my all-time favorite drink. How did you know?” Wren arched an eyebrow. “Did Dae have something to do with all this?”

I bit my lower lip and tried to suppress a chuckle. “Maybe he did. Maybe he didn’t.”

“Well, you’ll have to tell him that he did a good job.” Wren grinned. “How about I grab the drinks and the popcorn, and you pile all the candy on top of the container of cookies?”

“Perfect,” I said, loading up the candy.

Wren grabbed the cans from the fridge and a large bowl of popcorn from the counter. “Avengers time?”

“Let’s do it.” My eyes went wide. “I mean, let’s watch the movie.”

The corners of Wren’s lips twitched.

We made our way into my family room. The overstuffed couch pushed up against the wall loomed in front of me. Swallowing my nerves, I set the food on the coffee table and sat down in the middle. I wiped my sweaty palms off on my jeans.

Tucking a leg underneath her, Wren sat on the cushion next to me. “Here you go.” As she handed me the can of lemonade, her fingers brushed against mine.

“Thank you.” My voice cracked slightly, which I immediately tried to cover up by clearing my throat and patting myself on the chest. Trying my best to avoid any further embarrassment, I grabbed the Apple TV remote and brought up the movie on the screen.

“Here we go.” Wren licked her lips and grabbed a handful of popcorn.

Her smile was totally contagious.

I pressed play and tossed the remote next to me on the couch. Normally, I’d be totally into the movie, but tonight, I couldn’t concentrate. All I could think about was Wren and that kiss we’d shared in the hallway. She must have coconut lip balm. From this point forward, that flavor would always put a smile on my face.

Shifting her body, Wren grabbed a pillow off the floor and plopped it onto her lap. She rotated her shoulders back and moved her neck from the left to the right.

“Everything okay?”

Wren reached her hand back to her neck and frowned. “Ah, my neck is a little bit stiff. I think I slept in a funky position.”

“That’s the worst. If you want, I could try and get some of the knots out.”

She bit her lower lip. “Really? That would be great.”

I pushed the coffee table back and patted the floor.

Wren got up and settled down in the space between my legs. “One sec.” She tugged the hair tie out of her hair and pulled her braid out. A moment later, she bunched up her hair in a bun on top of her head, the scent of her shampoo filling the air. My eyes closed momentarily as I inhaled the tropical scent. “Okay, good to go.”

I covertly wiped my hands off on the sofa before I started massaging her neck. I began with her shoulders and worked my way up to her neck. “Yikes. You’re really tight.”

“Yeah, I guess I’ve been a little extra stressed with everything that happened to Gramps. When things get really intense, I clench my jaw in my sleep. I also get headaches and sometimes, if I’m super stressed out, I come down with migraines. The dentist wants me to wear this mouth guard thing. It’s pretty dorky.” She laughed.

“That isn’t dorky.” She was so open. The complete opposite of Marissa, who used to ask me at least twice a day if I thought she was fat. The girl barely ate and was like a twig. Even though I tried to reassure her, she continued to ask. It was like a routine we had to go through. One time I mentioned talking to a therapist or school counselor about it—I thought I was being helpful. Turns out, I wasn’t. Marissa made me grovel for two weeks for that one.

“Wow. You’re so good at this.” Wren let her head fall from side to side.

I grinned. “Thanks. I tweaked my back during freshman year. Five massages and a few physical therapy sessions later, I was good as new.” My fingers continued to work in unison, making quarter-sized circles going up both sides of Wren’s spine. With each minute, the tight knots loosened up.

Ten minutes passed. Wren had completely relaxed. A few strands of hair had fallen down and tickled the backs of my hands. I would have gone on forever, but I stopped when Wren’s head fell to the side.

“Oh my gosh! Did you kill her?” Hudson’s voice squeaked out from around the corner.

My head snapped to the right. At the same time, Wren lifted her head and rubbed her eyes. “Oops, did I fall asleep?”

“Did you put her in a sleeper hold?” Hudson smiled as he pretended to put an imaginary person in the same move we’d watched professional wrestlers do on TV.

Davion popped out around the corner. “Are you guys watching an Avengers movie?”

“Yes.” I didn’t want to sound annoyed, but my little brother was totally messing up my movie date with Wren. “What do you two need? You’re supposed to be up in Hudson’s room.”

“Oh, um, Davion said he hasn’t seen this movie yet.” Hudson turned around and threw his arm over his friend’s shoulders. “So, we were wondering if we could, um, if we could watch it with you guys?”

Pausing the movie, I jutted out my chin and drew my eyebrows together. He knew better than to come down here and ask to join us. Mom and Dad explicitly told him to stay upstairs. They trusted me to follow their rules and be respectful.

Wren stood and rolled her neck to the left and right. “I don’t know. Do you two think you’re tough enough to handle it? There are some pretty intense scenes.”

My heart sank. I loved my little brother, and Davion was a really good kid, but I selfishly wanted alone time with Wren. Time to talk to her, hold her hand, and most of all, time to pull her into my arms for another make-out session.

“I’m not a crybaby.” Hudson put his hands on his hips. “I watch Deadpool all the time.”

Davion nodded, his eyes going wide. “Yeah, and they even say the f-word in that movie—like, a lot.”

“Hmmm.” Wren appeared to eye up Hudson and Davion. “I don’t know, Fuller. What do you think? Should we let them crash our movie night?”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “I don’t know.”

Hudson clasped his little hands together. “Please, Fuller. Pleeeeeease.”

Davion followed suit.

Wren turned toward me, tilting her head to the side. “I think we should let them. Just this one time.” She winked at me, instantly turning my knees to jelly. Thank goodness I was sitting down.

Patting the sofa, Wren motioned for the boys to come over.

“YES!” Davion cheered.

Hudson punched his little fists in the air. “Wren, you’re, like, the coolest girl Fuller has ever had over. You’re way better than Marissa. She used to tell me to get lost all the time.” He rolled his eyes. “She’s a total Regina George.”

My jaw dropped and heat rushed to my face.

“Did you just reference Mean Girls?” Wren started laughing. In fact, she laughed so hard she snorted, which only caused her to laugh even harder. Hudson and Davion joined in. I tried to keep a straight face but failed. A moment later, I burst out in laughter right alongside them.

Nearly three hours later, the movie credits rolled. Davion and Hudson sat in silence. They’d both blinked back tears when Spider-Man had turned to ash. Luckily, Wren reminded them that Spider-Man was okay and that there were more movies starring the web-shooting hero, so they didn’t have to worry. She’d ended by saying, “Remember, guys, Peter Parker always finds a way to beat the bad guys.”

I didn’t know how she did it, but Wren made everything better. Even hanging out with my little brother and his friend had been more fun with her there. Wren had them eating out of the palm of her hand.

“I wish Groot had his own movie,” Hudson said, resting his head on his hand. He let out a yawn. “After Deadpool, he’s the second best.”

“But he only says one thing.” I chuckled. “Wouldn’t that make for a boring movie?”

“Nope! I am Hudson. I am Hudson. I am Hudson. See how different it sounds?” He let out a high-pitched laugh.

Wren grinned. “Did you know that he’s played by Vin Diesel, who happens to be a top-row-teeth smiler?”

“Nice,” Hudson said, returning the smile.

“Okay, guys. Mom and Dad will be home soon. Head upstairs, brush your teeth, and get your pajamas on, okay?”

Hudson saluted me. “Yes, sir.”

Davion stood up with a straight face and repeated the same gesture. “Sir, yes, sir.”

“It was fun hanging out with you two.” Wren smiled. “How about we do it again sometime soon? Maybe watch Ant Man and the Wasp together?”

Hudson’s eyes lit up. “That would be awesome!”

“Totally.” Davion looked like he’d been given a puppy.

“Okay, night.”

Hudson rushed over to Wren and wrapped his arms around her. “See you soon!”

“Yup,” Davion said, gently reaching over and hugging Wren and Hudson at the same time. All his friends knew to be careful around Hudson, but Davion was always the most vigilant. He was a good little guy.

The boys let go and raced up the stairs.

“Wow.” I shook my head in disbelief.

Wren looked at me. Her eyes were full of concern. “Is that a good wow or a bad wow?”

I smiled and pulled her into my arms. “A very good wow.” I placed a kiss on top of her head. “No one has ever been that cool to my brother before.”

“Oh, good.” Wren looked up at me, her eyes sparkling.

“Hey…” I licked my lips. Like my mouth, they were dry.

“Yeah?”

“I really like you, Wren Carter.” The words came out as soft as a whisper.

Wren bit her lower lip. The corners of her eyes crinkled. “I really like you, too, Fuller James.”