Believe in Us (Jett #2) (8 page)

The gym is loud today. Normally I can tune out all the noise and listen to music on my earbuds while I work out, but today I’m working out with D’andre so no music. The gym at the track is huge enough to be a regular gym at one of those chain companies like 24 Hour Fitness. Because of this, we sell gym memberships to regular people too, not just dirt bike riders. It’s a great source of extra income for the track, which my dad always stresses is important when you run a business, but sometimes it’s annoying when I’m used to having the place largely to myself.

The Track is located right between two small towns and there aren’t any other gyms nearby. So although today is a Thursday, and it’s only two in the afternoon, seemingly everyone and their freaking mom is here working out today.

D’andre sits on the bench opposite of me and focuses on dumbbell curls. He’s a lot stronger than I am but he doesn’t give me shit about it, which is part of why we’re friends. He doesn’t get all macho man competitive with me. Of course, I’m faster than he is on a dirt bike so I guess it all evens out.

“That’s kind of insane,” he says after I’ve told him more details about the Parks adopting Keanna. “It’s like a perfect girl for you just fell from the sky.”

I snort and lift the weight bar. “It’s a good thing, too, because there’s no good girls for me here in Lawson.”

“Yeah right,” D’andre says quickly. “I seem to remember your ass dating a new girl every week before you met her.”

I point at him. “Exactly. There weren’t any girls to settle down with before. Now there is.”

He shakes his head. “Keanna helps me out, too because now you’re not taking all the chicks around here.”

“What’s up with you and Maya?” I say, sitting up and re-racking my weights. “Is that still going on?”

He nods. “I’m hoping my luck continues until school starts. Can you imagine what kind of cred I’ll get by dating a cheerleader first thing? I’ll have girls tripping over me like they used to trip over you.”

I shake my head. “Don’t even act like you’re not completely obsessed with this girl, man. You couldn’t be a player if you tried.”

He sighs through his nose and readjusts the fifty-pound dumbbell to his other hand. “Hey, I only like her if she likes me, okay? At least, that’s how I’m acting. That way if she ditches me for some other dude, it’ll look like I don’t care.”

I sigh, suddenly feeling like I’m the Yoda of dating advice. “Man, the only way to pull off the vibe that you don’t give a shit is to genuinely not give a shit. She’ll see right through you if you’re only faking it.”

He grunts as he does a few last curls of the weight. “Then let’s make sure she likes me.”

A sudden high-pitched and insanely feminine ringing bursts through our part of the gym and D’andre grins like he’s a kid in a candy store.

“What the hell was that?” I ask.

He reaches into his pocket and takes out his phone, all the while his smile stretches across his whole face. “It’s Maya texting me.”

I run a hand through my hair that’s half wet with sweat, so then I wipe my hands on my shirt. “What the hell is that ringtone though?”

He shrugs. “Last time we hung out she said she wanted a special tone for her number and I let her pick it out.” He grins goofily and clutches the phone to his chest. “It’s like music to my ears.”

I stare at him. “You’ve officially gone off the deep end.”

He reads her message and his eyes go wide. I can’t tell if he’s happy or terrified. “She said she wants to come see me.”

“Tell her to stop by. Keanna loves watching me work out. I’m pretty sure all girls think it’s hot. She can see you being all swole and shit.”

He nods. “Good idea.” I go back to working out while he types out a reply and then when the stupid girlie music plays again, he says, “She’s on her way. Do me a favor and don’t be charming, okay? I don’t want her falling for you.”

I put a hand to my chest. “I am a taken man, dude. You don’t have to worry about me anymore.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” he says.

I move over to the leg press and send Keanna a quick text before I put my phone on the windowsill to keep it from falling out of my shorts on this weight machine. She’s working the front desk today, otherwise she’d be back here hanging out with me.

Me:
I miss you

Keanna:
Then come say hi!

Me:
I will after this set. D’s bringing a friend to come watch him work out.

Keanna:
You mean *bats eyelashes* MAYA!!!?

I laugh and type back:
Yep, that’s her.

Keanna:
He’s so gaga over her it’s a little insane.

Me:
Just like how I’m gaga over you?

She sends me a thumbs up emoji, followed by:
Bring her up here. I want to meet her.

When Maya arrives, she’s all smiles and anxious energy, and you’d be an idiot if you didn’t figure out that she likes D’andre just as much as he likes her. I don’t usually care about these things, but I’m happy for him. He’s been single a long time and he wants a relationship more than anything. Maybe this will work out for him.

I let them hang out for a few minutes and then when their awkwardness with each other reaches epic proportions, I step in. “Hey, Maya,” I say, waving at her as I towel off the sweat from around my face and neck. “Glad you could make it out.”

Maya’s expression hardens just a bit as she looks me over. “Hi, Jett.”

There’s a weirdness in the air and then she finally smiles, even though it doesn’t feel very genuine. “I’m not really supposed to be talking to you,” she says, looking back and wrapping her arm around D’andre’s. “But I will for D’andre’s sake.”

I fold my arms across my chest. “Why can’t you talk to me? We’ve always been cool.”

She nods. “
We
have yeah but . . . well, if the girls on the cheer squad knew I was being nice to you then they’d kill me. You’re not exactly their favorite person.”

“Ah . . .” Like a sack of bricks hitting me in the chest, it all comes back to me. Last year at school, I
might
have dated one or two—or five—of the cheerleaders. None of those flings ended well. How did I forget that over the summer break?

I run a hand through my hair. “Well, I guess my next question is out. I was going to ask if you’d help welcome my girlfriend Keanna to school next week but . . . yeah . . .”

She laughs. “D’andre told me about your new girl. Apparently you got lucky and she just moved here so she doesn’t know about your past.”

“She knows,” I say, feeling the weight grow heavier in my chest. “she’s just okay with it. I’m a one-woman man now.”

“That’s good,” she says, giving me a more genuine smile. D’andre has practically frozen in his spot, unable to stop grinning and looking at his arm where Maya has her tiny hand wrapped around it.

She waves the other hand as if waving away the bad vibes from the air. “It’s cool. I’ll be nice to your new girl. It’s not her fault that every girl at LHS hates you,” she says with a laugh.

“They don’t
all
hate me,” I say. Hell, most of them want to date me—but I’m not about to say that out loud. D’andre and Maya exchange a look so I amend my statement. “Okay, okay.
Some
of them don’t hate me.”

While they share a laugh at my expense, I bite down on my lip until it draws blood. This whole summer was a dream—a whimsical, falling-in-love, dream. Now that school starts next week, I’ll be forced to face an entirely different life. High school.

Maybe packing up and running away with Keanna isn’t such a bad idea after all.

“So,” Maya says, putting her hands on her hips. “When do I get to meet this charming new girl who has stolen your heart?”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “Come on, I’ll introduce you now.”

After four days of professional driving lessons followed by driving around town in Becca’s Honda Accord, I’m a pretty good driver. Becca and Jett have taken turns studying the driver’s manual with me and I’m pretty sure I’ll pass the written test without a problem. The excitement of getting a license, even though I don’t have a car, is still pretty awesome. I’ve been saving most of my money from work so maybe I’ll be able to buy one by next summer. Plus, I’m pretty sure Becca will let me drive her car around, but I haven’t asked yet. I’m not trying to push my luck here.

Becca walks into the living room while she’s pulling her hair back into a messy bun. “You ready?”

I nod and turn off the TV. “I’m hoping this doesn’t turn into one of those scenes from a teen movie where I make a total ass of myself.”

Becca laughs and we walk outside to her car. “You’re going to do fine. You’ve totally got this.”

Park walks outside too, and remotely unlocks his truck. “You girls have fun,” he calls out as he gives Becca a quick kiss. “I have some errands to run, but let me know how it goes.”

“Will do,” Becca says.

Park gives me wink. “Good luck!”

At the DMV, we get to bypass the long line of people waiting for renewals and I’m brought to the back of the building into a small room. Much like the courthouse, this town’s DMV hasn’t been renovated since it was built. Who cares though? I can handle a little musty smell in an old classroom if it means getting a license.

The test goes by quickly and I’m the only one taking it which helps my nerves calm down. Then I’m brought outside where a thin man with wire framed glasses explains the driving test to me. It’s pretty simple—I get to use Becca’s car if I want to, and I do, and so I don’t have to get used to driving one of the DMV’s loaner cars.

We cruise around the parking lot and he has me make several turns and practice parking. Then we drive up and down the main road a few times and then circle back. In all it takes about fifteen minutes, and absolutely nothing dramatic happens like in the movies. Phew.

“Congratulations Ms. Park,” my instructor says. He hands me a piece of paper with his signature at the bottom. “You passed.”

Becca sets her e-reader in her lap as soon as I emerge back in the waiting room. She watches me with eager eyes and a huge smile. “Well?”

I hold up my paper and grin. “I passed.”

“That’s my girl,” she says, squeezing me in a hug. I get my paper license and they tell me the real on will come in the mail in a few days.

Out in the parking lot, Becca holds up the keys. “You want to do the honors?”

“Yep!” I say, taking the keys and sliding into the driver’s seat. “Let met text Jett and tell him I passed real quick.”

“Good idea,” she says. She checks her own phone while I send a quick text to Jett.

“Okay, so should I take the highway back home or go to the left?” I ask. I don’t really know my way around this area very well yet.

Becca frowns, looking at her phone. “You know what? I don’t want to go home yet.”

She squints as she looks around the parking lot and across the road where a shopping mall and a few fast food places wait. “Let’s get lunch.”

I try not to text Jett too much while Becca and I are eating toasted sub sandwiches at a nearby restaurant. It’s definitely rude to be on my phone so I keep it to a minimal. Becca however, can’t stop texting Park. I’m not sure what they’re talking about and it would feel rude to ask, so I just eat quietly.

Becca frowns down at her phone screen when the waitress takes our empty plates away. “I don’t feel like going home yet,” she says. Her lips slide to the side of her mouth as she thinks. “There’s a shoe store just up the road. “Want to go look for new school shoes?”

I agree because admitting that I only want to go home and cuddle with my boyfriend would be lame. Becca and I try on a million shoes and although I assure her that my favorite Chuck Taylors and a pair of sandals are all I need for school, she buys me three pairs anyway. I get a pair of running shoes for gym, some black ballet flats, and a silver pair of flats that are similar but covered in glitter. They make my feet feel like a mermaid.

Finally, Becca decides that we’ve done enough shopping and can go home. There’s only four days until school starts and I plan on spending every single second of them snuggled up with Jett, watching TV. Now that summer is pretty much over, they don’t need us to work at The Track since there’s no more kids taking lessons during the day.

I’m elated as I grip Becca’s steering wheel and drive us home. I am going to cuddle with Jett so hard. I don’t even care how much of a dork that makes me. I need him and I hate being away from him.

We near our house and something dark purple and shiny catches my eye. “What the . . .” I manage to say before stopping the car at the end of the driveway. Parked facing the road, is a brand new dark purple Ford Mustang. There’s a bright red bow on the hood. My jaw hits the floor and I look over at Becca.

“Surprise!” she says, throwing up her hands.

“That’s . . .” I say, unable to find words. “That’s a car.”

“For you!” She beams. “That’s why I had to stall so long. It took Park longer than he thought to get it home.”

“This can’t be real,” I say. My vision blurs and everything seems to move in slow motion. “You can’t get me a car.”

“We can and we did,” Becca says, grinning from ear to ear. “Come on, let’s go look at it.”

I pull up a little further into the driveway and then turn off Becca’s car, nearly forgetting how to put it in park. My legs are jelly as I climb out and walk toward the brand new and totally gorgeous car. I don’t think I could close my gaping mouth if my life depended on it right now.

Park walks outside, grinning. “I heard someone passed their test,” he says.

I manage to nod and then he hugs me and then Becca hugs me and I still can’t close my freaking mouth. “Guys . . .” I say with a heavy sigh. “You can’t do this. I don’t deserve a new car!”

They both laugh. Park holds out brand new car key for me. “Yes you do. You’re our kid now, and our kid drives in style.”

My new parents seem genuinely thrilled to watch me sit in my new car and take in all of its fancy features. It has black leather seats and a DVD player in the dash. I’ve never been in something so nice in my life and now it’s mine. Mine. I’m having a really hard time understanding that concept right now.

I call Jett and he rushes over and slides into the passenger seat. “Sweet ride,” he says, nodding in approval as he slides a hand across the dash.

“Can you believe this?” I ask, my voice coming out slightly louder than a whisper. I’m still afraid if I open my eyes too wide everything might vanish, and I’ll be back in a crappy motel room with Dawn.

“Yep, I can.” Jett leans across the center console and kisses me. “I picked out the dark purple color. Hope you like it.”

“Wait.” I eye him. “You knew about this?”

He nods and his grin turns from sweet to conspiratorial. “Of course I knew.”

My eyes bug. “And you kept it a secret from me?”

“Psh, duh. I wasn’t going to ruin the surprise.”

I press my lips together and shake my head. “I can’t believe I never suspected that you were hiding something.”

He grabs my knee and squeezes it. “I can be sneaky when I need to.”

I try to make a mad face but it doesn’t last very long. I’m starting to wonder if there’s a certain level of happiness one can achieve before their entire body reaches a max capacity and explodes. Of course, if that existed, it would have happened to me by now.

“So, beautiful,” Jet says, buckling his seat belt and leaning his head back against the headrest. “Where are we going first?”

“I don’t know,” I say, waving to our parents who are all sitting on the back porch watching while I crank the engine to life. “Let’s just drive.”