The Exception (4 page)

“Oh.” Great, he barely remembered seeing me at the mall. I clearly don’t have the same effect on him that he does on me, but at least he remembered it was my birthday. “It was fun. You know, the usual back to school bash pool party. Maya always mixes up the theme and people actually dress accordingly, even though it’s mostly a pool party. Probably because they know she wouldn’t let them in if they didn’t,” I said, laughing to myself.

“Well, actually, I don’t know. This was the first time I was ever invited to one of Emma Crawford’s “back to school bash” pool parties,” he said teasingly.

“Oh,” I replied sheepishly. “Well, my birthday just happens to always fall on the first week of school, so Maya sort of turned it into a birthday slash back to school party all in one,” I said matter-of-factly. “And I have no control over the invite list.” I quickly added before looking away, feeling my cheeks start to turn red and not sure why I suddenly felt the need to defend myself.

He was smiling when I looked up. ”What? What’s so funny?” I asked, sounding more demanding than I meant to.

Chuckling, he replied, “Nothing. I’m just sorry I didn’t get to make it to the party. You’ll have to let me take you out some time to make it up to you. Unless you think Gabe would mind.”

“I’d like that,” I answered a little too quickly. “And Gabe won’t mind. I told you we are just friends.”

“Whatever you say, Blondie.” I noticed as his eyes gazed down to my lips as he spoke, which caused my cheeks to feel warmer than they already did. “I better get going before my parents get any ideas and play fifty questions when I get home. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” Now I was smiling and blushing. He had just nicknamed me. If anyone else had called me Blondie it would have unnerved me, but I liked the way it sounded when he said it.

“Alright, later.” Before I knew what he was doing he leaned in, kissed me on the cheek, then got out and walked toward where he was parked. I sat there stunned as I watched him climb into his truck. Never in my life has any boy had this effect on me – this intense attraction and longing to be near him. He made me feel things I never knew I could feel, and currently all I could think about was that I wish it would have been my lips.

I waited till he pulled out of the parking lot before calling Maya and heading home.

“What? Who kisses someone on the cheek these days?” she practically yelled, not able to hide her excitement.

“It was sweet,” I defended, putting my hand to my cheek where he had kissed me, remembering the way his lips had felt against my skin.

“OMG, Em! I can’t believe it! So he asked you to hang out again? Like a date? When are you meeting him next?” she squealed.

“No, not like a date. He just said he wanted to make it up to me since he missed my birthday. Besides, he’s a senior.”

“And? Gabe, Ryan, and Dylan are seniors. It’s so a DATE! I’m so excited for you, Em! EEK!”

“OK. Maybe a date. But I don’t want to get too excited. He hasn’t even officially asked me out yet. I mean, I don’t even know when we are going. Oh no! What if he was just being nice? What if…”

“Em, get out of your own head. The boy clearly likes you. Not to mention, I thought Jake and Gabe were going to throw down after Jake asked if y’all were still hanging out after practice.”

“I know! I don’t know what has gotten into Gabe lately. Thanks for diffusing that earlier.”

“No prob. Well, my mom is calling me down for dinner so I’ll talk to you later, biatch.”

“Mmkay. Later, Maya.”

The rest of the week went by pretty much the same way. Jake had asked me to hang out and just talk every day after practice. Gabe wasn’t too thrilled about it, but Maya was great at coming up with reasons for her and the boys to leave quickly after practice. By Friday, I was starting to think Jake would never officially ask me out but before practice he pulled me aside.

“Hey, Em,” he said seeming more nervous than he had all week. “I was wondering if you were free tonight for me to take you out, to make it up to you for missing your birthday?”

OK breathe, act cool Em. Act cool.

“Yeah, I am. But you don’t have to worry about making it up to me,” I said sweetly.

“OK, well then I was hoping you’d be free to go out with me tonight.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke, causing his bicep to flex in the process.

I bit my bottom lip as I tried to focus on my response instead of how the sight of his muscle flexing caused me to be keenly aware that my breathing had turned into slow, deep breaths. “I’d love too. Pick me up at seven?”

His eyes were on my lips when he tried to speak. “Uh, yeah. Seven.” The way he looked at me when he finally looked me in the eyes, I could have sworn he was about to kiss me. Much to my disappointment, he simply gestured for me to head to the courts. Didn’t even say anything.

All eyes were on us when we finally made it to practice, which caused my cheeks to blush. Maya practically ran over and pulled me onto her court. “He asked you out, didn’t he?” she whispered. As soon as I nodded, confirming her suspicion, she shrieked, “I knew it! I could so tell by the way you two looked when y’all walked onto the court together.”

“That obvious?” I asked a little nervously.

“Like, Duh,” she giggled. “It looked like the two of you wanted to tear each other’s clothes off, and like y’all would rather be anywhere but here. If you know what I mean,” she concluded with a smirk. 

It must have hit us at the same time cause instantly we made eye contact, then glanced over at an apparently unhappy Gabe.

“Ah jeez, looks like you might have your hands full with that one. He has asked me what is up with you and Jake after practice every day this week.”

Turning back to her I quickly asked, “What? Maya! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You have been on cloud nine since Monday afternoon, and I was not about to ruin that for you,” she snapped. “Besides, he could have asked you himself. I am not about to become the middle man in this love triangle,” she giggled as she formed a triangle with her fingers in the air.

“Oh my God!” I laughed, while hitting the ball to the people across the net.

Gabe didn’t talk, much less look in my direction, the rest of practice and left as soon as practice was over. I asked Ryan about it when we were getting our stuff together, but he told me not to worry about it and that he’d eventually get over it. I guess Ryan was right. Besides, I couldn’t worry about it now, I had a date to get ready for! So I grabbed Maya and we left for my house to get me ready for my date with Jake.

Chapter Four

An hour and a half later, my hair was curled and my makeup was flawless thanks to Maya who was currently spritzing my favorite perfume “in all the right places” according to her. Then, I sat in my bowl chair and watched as she rummaged through my closet, picking out what I should wear on my first date with Jake. After a few
no’s and one hell no she finally pulled out a top and bottom and said, “Perfect!” It was a pair of white shorts that fit just right and a blue top that hugged all the right places.

“Oh my gosh!” I squealed looking at my outfit in the mirror. “This is perfect. And I didn’t even know I had this top.”

“Emma, it’s sad when you have so many clothes you don’t even know what’s in there.” Maya was gesturing to my closet when we heard someone pulling in the driveway. We looked at each other, then ran to my window and looked down to see Jake turning off his Ford and getting out of his truck. We both instantly backed away from the window. “Somebody’s early. Looks like Jakie Poo can’t wait to get you in that big ole truck of his,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows up and down.

“Oh stop!” I half laughed, whacking her on the arm.

Thirty seconds later, my dad was calling up the stairs, “Emma, your friend is here. Why don’t you come on down and introduce me to him,” he said sternly.

I rolled my eyes at Maya before turning to head down. On the way out of my bedroom door, Maya slapped my butt and whispered, “Have fun, biatch. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

I turned back to look at her. “So, basically anything.”

She gave me a dramatic wink before shooing me down the stairs. How I loved my best friend.

When I reached the last stair, I heard my dad giving Jake the “she’s my daughter, you better treat her with respect speech.”

“Daddy, I see you’ve met Jake,” I said, turning the corner of the stairs and walking into the kitchen. Hearing me come in, Jake glanced over in my direction. When our eyes met, he looked me up and down and a huge smile broke across his face, causing me to blush.

My dad turned and gave me an innocent look. “Hey my favorite oldest daughter. Jake and I were just having a little conversation man to man. Isn’t that right, Jake?”

“Yes sir, Mr. Crawford.” Jake said confidently, looking my dad square in the eye.

I could tell my dad liked Jake already. He always did have a soft spot for a “nice, confident, and respectful young man,” as he would say.

“Well if you’re done with your conversation, Jake and I will be back later,” I teased.

My dad walked up and gave me a hug, then shook Jake’s hand before we turned to head for the front door. Jake had just opened the door for us when my dad added, “Jake, be sure and have her home by ten thirty tonight.”

Before Jake could respond I had turned around, “Dad?” I was a little embarrassed that it came out more whiney than I intended. “My curfew is midnight. That’s an hour and a half earlier than normal.” As soon as that came out, I was officially embarrassed. Jake might not even want to hang out that late. What if he wanted to bring me home after dinner? Oh God, I can’t believe I just did that.

“Yes, sir. I’ll have her home no later than ten thirty, Mr. Crawford.” With that, my dad gave him a nod and we were finally out the door.

We walked in silence to the passenger side of his truck. When he opened the door for me there were flowers in my seat. He stepped forward to grab the bouquet before turning back to me and smiling, “These are for you.”

A huge smile spread across my face as I took the flowers. “Jake, these are beautiful,” I gushed.

“I wasn’t sure what your favorite flower was, but the lady at the counter told me I’d be safe with a summer mix,” Jake replied a little sheepishly while I smelled my flowers.

I was still beaming when I looked up at him. “Well, she was right. These really are lovely and they smell amazing. Let me just run inside and put these in water.”

Jake was grinning triumphantly at this point and said he would get the truck started while I ran inside. I quickly walked back to my house to look for a vase. As soon as I walked through the door with flowers, my mom saw me. “Oh, honey, I’m so sad I missed Jake picking you up for your first date. I was back in our room and didn’t even hear the doorbell ring.” My mom was mid rant when she saw the flowers, “Oh, and he brought flowers! He’s a keeper!” she said as she gave me a wink.

I couldn’t help but laugh at my mom. “Aren’t they beautiful?” I asked excitedly. “Would you mind putting these in water for me so I can get back out to my date?”

“Of course, honey. Have fun tonight.”

I thanked my mom then headed back to the door before turning back to add, “By the way, Maya is here. I told her she could stay and get ready before leaving to meet up with the guys.”

“OK, thanks for letting me know. But you need to go so you’re not keeping that boy waiting any longer.”

And with that I was out the door. As soon as Jake saw me, he hopped out of his truck and ran around to open my door. Once he made it back to the driver’s side, he looked over at me and smiled, “I hope you like Mexican food.”

“It’s my favorite. Where are we going?”

Jake told me about a place I had seen countless times but had never been to. Once we parked, Jake insisted that I stay seated so he could run around and open the door for me – again.

When we walked inside, I immediately noticed how quaint this place was. The hostess was down a little hall with two rooms on either side that contained just a handful of tables in each room. There was a small bar area off of one room and what looked like a party room off of the other. It was dimly lit inside, and we were seated at a small table in the corner.

Our waitress was around our age and had striking features with long, dark, almost black, hair that was pulled up into a ponytail. She was pretty but Jake didn’t seem to notice, which I could tell aggravated her. She seemed like the type of girl who was used to not having to work hard for a guy’s attention. So when she was getting our drink order, glancing at me only long enough to let me know she was talking to me, she shamelessly flirted with Jake. I must say I was a little shocked when she leaned over to touch Jake’s arm, revealing her very large cleavage, to let him know she’d be right back with our drinks. She lingered slightly before turning around to head for the kitchen.

“Did that really just happen?” I found myself asking in disbelief.

Jake shrugged. “Guess I just have that effect on women,” he teased. “But I don’t really care if I have any effect on her.”

“Oh, and why is that?”

“I’m already out with the one I want.” He looked me directly in the eyes, causing me to blush. I was not used to any guy being so forward and I had to admit, I liked it. “So what do you typically get at Mexican food places?” Jake asked while opening his menu.

“Well, enchiladas are my favorite, but whenever I go somewhere new I like to get a combo plate so I can try several things to see what’s good.”

Jake looked up at me with a humorous expression on his face. “I take it you’re not one of those girls who orders something small, takes two bites, then declares she’s full.”

I thought about it for a second and realized most girls probably don’t eat much on a date. I hadn’t really thought about that before, especially since this was my first official date. I mean, I had gone out with guys plenty, but we were always with a group and there was never any pressure of being on a “date”.

I let out a small laugh, “Guess not,” shrugging as I again felt a blush spread up my cheeks.

“Good, I hate it when girls do that.”

Just then our waitress came back with our drinks. Despite the fact that she was practically throwing herself at him while taking our order, Jake kept his eyes on mine, looking up only to hand her his menu. I couldn’t help but smile as our waitress rolled her eyes when she said our food should be out shortly, before walking away.

We talked easily through the rest of dinner. I found out that other than tennis, he also plays golf. It sounds like something he and his dad do a lot together. I told him that I’d attempted to play golf before, but that I couldn’t seem to actually hit the ball. Given that being able to make contact with the ball is sort of crucial in golf, it didn’t take me long to decide that golf wasn’t for me.

Jake told me all about his college plans to attend Texas A&M, and I couldn’t help but feel excited that we wanted to go to the same school. Then I realized that I was getting a little ahead of myself. After all, this is only our first date. I shouldn’t care about things like that. Right?

When we were finished eating, Jake paid for our dinner while gently brushing off another advance form our waitress. This girl really couldn’t take a hint. As we were standing up to go, our waitress gave one last attempt to flirt with my date. This time Jake didn’t even acknowledge her. He simply reached down, grabbed my hand, and led me out of the restaurant. This caused about a million butterflies to go off in my stomach, and all I could do was smile at our waitress as we walked right past her to the door.

Jake held my hand the entire way out to his car. Just the touch of his hand caused my body to react in a way I was not used to.
Holy crap, what was wrong with me? We are just holding hands. No big deal, right?
He dropped my hand to open the truck door, and I immediately missed his touch. He placed his hand on the small of my back when he stepped back to let me get in. That one little move sent a shiver down my spine, and I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks as I turned around and gave him a shy smile.

I could tell it was affecting him too because of the way he was looking at me and how he stuttered when he tried to speak. He quickly cleared his throat and began again.

“Since I have to have you back by ten thirty, we don’t have time to see a movie or anything. So how do you feel about getting some ice cream and going to the park?”

“That sounds great,” I offered, while trying to calm the rush of emotions that had presently taken over my body.

***

We had been at Baskin Robbins for about ten minutes, and I still had no idea what type of ice cream I was going to get. I was holding four sample spoons and was about to sample the double chocolate fudge when I noticed Jake leaning on the ice cream case starring at me with an amused look on his face.

“What? Picking out an ice cream flavor is a big decision,” I said, defending myself. I was unable to control the smile that had taken over my face, which caused Jake to burst out laughing.

“Alright, Blondie, why don’t we do this? We will get two large cups of ice cream. You pick which two flavors you want in your cup. I’ll get the other two you can’t seem to choose between in mine, and we will share.”

“Oh my gosh. Really?” I beamed. “But then you wouldn’t get to pick your favorite.”

Noticing my obvious excitement, he gave me that perfect smile of his. “I would gladly sacrifice my own favorite ice cream if it’s going to cause you to get this excited.” Then he asked which two flavors I wanted before ordering ice cream for us.

As he was ordering, all I could think about was “is this guy for real?” Even Gabe would have told me that it’s just ice cream and to hurry and choose. Jake just kept finding ways to make me feel special.

***

Jake pulled up to a small park close to where we had gotten ice cream and he, of course, ran around to get my door. It was a cute little park that had a sidewalk that went around the whole thing. Tall willow trees, with branches that brushed across the ground, were around most of its border – hiding its inhabitants in a cloak of green.

We found a bench near a lamppost and sat down to finish eating our ice cream. About every other bite, Jake tilted his cup toward me so I could scoop out a bite before laughing at something else that he said. When we had eaten all that we could, we walked over to a trash can and disposed of what was left of our large cups and then began to stroll around the park. We only made it a few steps before Jake took my hand, again cueing the butterflies in my stomach. Halfway around the park, he asked me if I had ever climbed a tree. When I told him I hadn’t, he said that everyone had to climb a tree at some point in their life and led me over to one of the big willows.

He helped me up before climbing up behind me. We settled on a branch that wasn’t too high up that allowed me to recline on the trunk of the tree. We talked hidden away from the world under a blanket of leaves that swayed in the light evening breeze. Eventually, Jake looked down to check his watch.

“We have to leave pretty soon so I can have you back on time, but there is something I’ve been wanting to do since I first saw you tonight in those little white shorts,” he said moving closer to me, causing heat to spread through my entire body.

“Oh yeah?” was all I managed to say as my heart began beating faster.

He leaned in until he was inches from my face, placing one of his hands on the tree trunk behind me. Nerves began to surge through me, and I bit my lip in anticipation. He glanced down, and a smile spread across his face as he reached up and ran his thumb across my bottom lip. “Have you ever kissed someone, Emma?”

“Uh huh.” I breathed.