Infinite (Strange and Beautiful, Book 1) (21 page)

Stunned
at his words, it took me a moment to answer. “Oh, I . . .” I was about to say I
didn’t have any plans, but then I remembered Tegan was asleep upstairs. We
didn’t exactly have plans, but I wasn’t sure why Jackson was asking.

One
look at Skylar, and I could tell she was wondering the same thing.

“I
know it’s last minute,” Jackson said. “I’d have called, but I didn’t have your
number. Anyway, I had the night off from work and was looking around online to
see if
The Da Vinci Code
was still playing anywhere.”

I
raised my eyebrows as if to ask, “And?”

“Turns
out they’re showing it at the Starlite Drive-In over in Pine Gulley,” he
explained. “I wondered if you might want to go see it with me if you’re not
busy.”

“Wow,
really?” I was both pleased and surprised he would think to ask. Then I
remembered Tegan yet again. I really wanted to go to the movie. I hadn’t been
to the drive-in in years. It didn’t sound like a date or anything, so I decided
to let Jackson know that Tegan was over, but Skylar beat me to it.

“She
has a friend over,” Skylar said with such finality, as if I couldn’t possibly
go and that was the end of the discussion.

I
didn’t miss that Jackson hadn’t said a word to her since I’d walked downstairs.
I was sure it was weird for Skylar because it was definitely weird for me.

Jackson
seemed completely unfazed by this news. “That’s not a problem. Your friend can
come too.” He shrugged and bounced slightly on the toes of his chucks. “Unless
you don’t want to come, which is cool. I completely understand.”

“No,”
I said quickly, glancing at Skylar who huffed softly while crossing her arms
over her chest. “We didn’t have anything else planned. We’d love to come.”

“Sweet,”
Jackson smiled, and he looked relieved, like he’d actually expected me to turn
down his offer. He turned to Skylar, as if suddenly remembering she was there,
and asked, “Did you want to come too?”

 My
heart sank at the thought of spending the evening with Skylar. I knew without a
doubt she’d make it a miserable time. First of all, she hadn’t read the book,
which I knew wasn’t a requirement to see the movie, but she’d also ask a
million questions if she didn’t understand something. Plus, I was sure the whole
night would end up being all about her.

“I
would,” she began, smiling that too friendly smile I’d seen her flash at a guys
so many times, “but I have to be at work in an hour.”

“Oh,
too bad.” Jackson sounded genuine enough, but something in his stance made me
think he was just as relieved as I was. “Maybe next time.”

“Definitely,”
Skylar grinned, batting her to long lashes.

“I’ll
go get Tegan,” I said after a moment. And possibly vomit, I mentally added.
While it was clear I wasn’t the only who found Jackson attractive, I had no
idea why Skylar was so flirty with him all of a sudden. He was Scott’s friend,
after all; that wasn’t cool.

Jackson
nodded, and I turned and scurried back up the stairs.

I
burst into my room, heart pounding excitedly, and shook Tegan into
consciousness.

“What
on earth–”

 “We’re
going to the drive-in with Jackson Hart!” It was an effort not to shout or
squeal, but I managed.

I
went to the mirror and was relieved to find that my hair actually looked fine.
I also realized I was still holding my Subway cup. I frowned at it for a moment
before sitting it down on my dresser to toss out later. Then I grabbed a brush
and pulled it through my hair a couple of times. I thought it would be too
obvious if I changed clothes, so I simply smoothed my shirt out.

Tegan
had managed to sit up by the time I turned back to her. She seemed a little
groggy as she asked, “What do you mean we’re going to the drive-in with Jackson
Hart?”

“He’s
downstairs,” I began and quickly explained the exchange. By the time I
finished, she was grinning back at me.

“At
least I finally get to see him,” she enthused as she climbed out of the bed.
After brushing her hair, she stuffed a mint into her mouth. “I’d brush my
teeth, but I’m pretty sure you’ll have an aneurysm if I make you wait another
minute.”

“I
would not,” I argued as she offered me the box of cinnamon Altoids. I was
suddenly horrorstruck to realize I’d been downstairs, talking to Jackson while
sporting possibly bad breath. I took two mints for good measure.

While
Tegan located her purse, I took my wallet out of my messenger bag and stuffed
it into my pocket. I wasn’t sure how much the movie would cost, so I knew I’d
have to ask Mom for some money, which I hated doing after she’d already spent
so much money on me today.

When
Tegan and I made it downstairs, Jackson was still waiting by the front door,
but Skylar was noticeably absent.

“Jackson,
this is my best friend, Tegan Tyler,” I introduced. “And Tee, this is Jackson
Hart.”

“Hey,
it’s nice to meet you,” Jackson greeted with a swoon worthy smile. 

Tegan’s
cheeks flushed as she said, “Yeah, you too.”

“I’ll
be right back,” I smiled. “I’ve just got to let my mom know I’m leaving.”

Mom
was in the kitchen. All of the groceries had apparently been put away, and she
was giving the counter a good scrub.

“Mom,”
I said, drawing her attention. “Tegan and I going to the movies with a friend
if that’s okay with you.”

I
tacked the last part on out of courtesy, but Mom seemed somewhat distracted.
“Who’s your friend?”

“Jackson
Hart,” I answered, biting my lip. “He’s a guy from school.”

It
seemed so odd to refer to Jackson as a friend; though that appeared to be what
we were fast becoming.

“Okay,
just don’t stay out too late,” Mom said.

“I
won’t,” I agreed, “but could I get a few dollars?”

Mom
frowned slightly but nodded toward the dining room table. “My purse is over
there. I think I have a ten in there. If not, just take the twenty and bring me
back the change.”

I
thanked her and got the money, but I couldn’t shake my surprise that she hadn’t
asked more questions before letting me leave. I wanted to blame her inattention
on the cleaning at hand, but I didn’t miss that Dad wasn’t home, like he
usually was during the weekend. He’d been here at lunch, but I wasn’t sure when
he’d left. With Tegan and I upstairs all afternoon, I worried that Mom and Dad
had been arguing again.

“Ready
to go?” Jackson asked as I made my way back down the hallway to the entryway.
His question drew my thoughts away from worrying about Mom and brought back my
excitement.

“Yep,
let’s go!”

Jackson
opened the front door and let Tegan and I go out first. He pulled the door shut
behind him, and I started down the sidewalk but drew up short. His Camaro
wasn’t sitting at the curb like I’d expected. Instead, there was an unfamiliar
dark blue, Ford F-150.

“I
drove my dad’s truck,” Jackson said, understanding my confusion. “I thought
we’d be able to see the screen better in it than in the Camaro.”

“Darn,
I wanted to see this car that Silly’s told me so much about.”

My
jaw dropped as I turned to look at Tegan. Her face flushed as soon as she
realized what she’d said.

“You
talk about my car?” Jackson seemed thoroughly amused.

My
face felt hot. “It’s a cool car,” I shrugged, trying to play it cool, but it
felt pretty feeble.

“Well,
maybe next time, Tegan,” Jackson chuckled.

I
elbowed her in the side before we climbed into the truck. “I thought it was my
job to have verbal diarrhea,” I muttered.

“Sorry,”
Tegan murmured as I pulled open the passenger’s side door.

It
was an extended cab, so Tegan climbed into the bench seat in the back while I
climbed up into the front.

“Need
a stepstool?” Jackson teased once I’d clambered in.

“No,”
I said, indignant, as I closed the door.

Jackson
just grinned and started up the engine as I pulled on the seatbelt.

The
first part of the ride was somewhat quiet. I wasn’t exactly sure what to say,
and I thought part of that had to do with Tegan’s presence. I knew she wouldn’t
think I was dumb, but it was different having an audience to my conversations
with Jackson.

The
other part of me was still annoyed with Skylar. I couldn’t get her stupid,
flirty smile out of my head. At the same time, though, I felt kind of
triumphant. I wasn’t delusional enough to think he was asking me out as
anything more than friends, but Jackson had come over with the intention of
asking me if I wanted to go to the movie with him. That kind of threw a wrench
in Skylar’s warning not to bug him. He wouldn’t have invited me along if he
thought I was a nuisance. I wondered if that would be enough to shut Skylar up,
where Jackson was concerned, for a while. Probably not.

 Tegan
finally took the initiative and started the conversation. “I didn’t realize the
drive-in was open this late in the year.”

“It’s
actually only open on the weekends from the beginning of October to the end of
November, and they mostly show older movies at a lower rate. They’re closed
through the winter, but reopen on the weekends again in the spring. They’re
only open full time during the summer.”

“Makes
sense,” I agreed. “What time does the movie start anyway?”

I
glanced at the clock on the dash. It was only going on four, and even though I
hadn’t been to the drive-in in a long time, I remembered enough to know it
didn’t start until the sun went down.

“Not
until seven, actually,” Jackson pursed his lips. “When I called to confirm they
were open, they suggested getting there at least an hour early. I thought we
could stop for something to eat first.”

“Oh.”
While I didn’t have a problem with that, I wasn’t sure I had enough money. One
glance at Tegan and I could see she was facing the same dilemma. “How much does
the movie cost?”

“Like
five or six dollars,” Jackson shrugged. Then he glanced over at me and his eyes
widened. “Oh, if you’re worried about money, don’t. It’s on me. I’m the one
that invited you guys.”

“No
way,” Tegan said. “That’s too much.”

“It’s
really not.” Jackson didn’t seem that concerned, but even if he wasn’t, I
wouldn’t feel right letting him pay for both the food and movie.

“How
about we pay for our food, and you can pay for the movie?” I compromised.

Jackson’s
eyebrows knit together for a moment, and I thought he was going to protest, but
he finally nodded, though he didn’t seem all that pleased with the concession.

After
much debate, or rather a lot of “Oh, I don’t care. You choose,” we finally
decided to go to Papa Johns. Jackson seemed less bothered when we decided to
order a pizza and split the bill three ways.

We
got a large pizza with extra cheese and pepperoni and mushrooms with onions and
black olives on half.

“Ugh,
I hate onions,” I murmured, shaking my head at Tegan and Jackson.

“Oh,
come on,” Jackson chuckled. “They taste good.”

“Losing
battle,” Tegan informed him. “My dad’s a chef. He’s tried to convince Silly,
but she’s finicky about her pizza.”

“I’m
not finicky. I just know what I like,” I argued.

It
was good-natured argument, though; one we’d had many times over the years.

“Hey,
at least we’re not trying to talk you into ham and pineapple,” Jackson pointed
out. “That’s what Jordan always wants to order when we have pizza at his
place.”

“Gross.”
I made a face before taking a bite out of my very simple, but very delicious,
pizza.

Once
the debate over whether or not certain topping combos were disgusting or
delicious, talk turned to movies.

Tegan
had actually already seen
The Da Vinci Code
back when it was released in
May. I’d finished the book on Thursday, so I was curious to see how the two
were different, but Tegan hadn’t read the book, and she refused to tell us what
happened even though both Jackson and I peppered her with questions.

“You’ll
just have to wait and see.”

When
we made it to the drive-in, there were only a few other cars there. We had
plenty of time to kill before the movie started, but Jackson tuned the radio to
the station they used for broadcasting the sound.

We
all took off our seatbelts and relaxed into our seats. Tegan slid into the
middle of the bench seat in the back so she could see both Jackson and I, and I
turned so that my back was to the corner of the seat and door while Jackson
angled himself toward me.

With
Tegan refusing to give us movie spoilers, conversation turned to other movies,
which Jackson seemed to know the most about because of his job at the theater.

“I
don’t get why they’re remaking so many movies,” he commented. “
Psycho
was
a total bust.”

“I
know!” I exclaimed. “It was exactly the same as the original. They should have
just left it alone.”

“Not
to mention they totally made Vince Vaughn into a total creeper,” Tegan sighed.
“Definitely not how I want to see him.”

“Oh,
me too. It just totally ruined my crush on him,” Jackson teased, speaking in a
high soprano that was so different from his usual baritone.

I
couldn’t help it. I snorted out a laugh. I didn’t have time to be
self-conscious as Tegan snapped, obviously amused and embarrassed, “Oh, shut
up, you!”

After
a good laugh, Jackson turned the conversation back to the original topic.
“Anyway, just this year there have been remakes of
The Omen
,
When a
Stranger Calls,
and
Pulse
, which was based on a Japanese film. And
Black
Christmas
is supposed to be out on Christmas day this year.”

“And
every movie you mentioned is a horror flick,” I commented. “I know there are
some that aren’t, but it’s like they can’t come up with anything new in that
genre, so they just recycle what worked in the past.”