The Gossip Web (23 page)

Tearing my mouth away from Trace’s, I tucked my red hair neatly behind my burning ears and looked over in her direction. She was standing with her hands on her tiny hips, surveying me with a surprised and disapproving expression. Go figure.

“Hello, Erika,” I said in the most offensive voice I could muster. Trace began to cough upon hearing it, then moved out of the way to give us some space. He knew something unpleasant was about to go down, and how right he was.

“Your father was worried when you didn’t come home. He’s out looking for you, Jade,” Erika said softly.

“I told him I was going to take a walk,” I replied hotly. “Or did he forget? Maybe he was just too preoccupied to notice I was gone.”

Erika frowned and stepped towards me. “Don’t you think it’s a little late to be taking a stroll?” She asked.

I narrowed my eyes at her. Who did she think she was? My mother? Just because she had my father wrapped around her vindictive little finger did not mean that she had the right to dictate what I did. Suddenly, I felt my throat flare up and I knew that this was it, the moment where I finally let my temper do the talking. Telling this home-wrecker off was long over due. Taking a deep breath, I began to say, “You know what, Erika, I---”

“It’s my fault,” Trace interrupted, once again joining my side. “I stopped Jade on her way home. I just wanted to talk with her about something important.”

A small grin formed on her face as she replied, “Well, it looked pretty important...”

I rolled my eyes. Who was she to judge what went on in my personal life? I can kiss whoever I want, whenever I want! Damn the consequences. I felt the urge to tell her off again, but I subdued the feeling, realizing I had missed my chance. Glancing over at Trace, I bawled my fists at my side and gave him a “why are you butting in?” look.

He shrugged at me and added, “I’m sorry if I caused any trouble.”

Shaking her head, Erika moved closer towards us, smiling her usual false smile. “No, no. It’s all right. I was just concerned about Jade, that’s all.”

I snorted at her comment then played it off as a cough. As I tried to hack into my fist, I could feel her eyes burn into my skull.

“Are you ready to go home now, Jade?” Erika asked me after I ceased my fake-coughing escapade.

Mimicking her lovely smile, I replied, “Actually, Erika, I’m not. I’ll go home when I want to.”

             
She seemed taken aback by my rude response. Staring squarely me, Erika murmured, “Well, just make sure you make it home okay.”

             
After giving us one more smile, Erika turned away and started walking the route back to my house. We watched her leave in silence, and the way she had sounded before she left bothered me. Her tone had been weak, like I had hurt her feelings or something. I felt sort of bad---but not really. Honestly, I didn’t like the money-grubbing witch.

             
“What was that all about?” Trace asked me once she had walked out of our view.

             
I shrugged, almost forgetting that he was standing right beside me. “She just gets on my nerves.”
             
“Why is that? She seems nice enough to me.”

             
Rolling my eyes at him, I replied, “Of course she does. You’re a male.”

             
“Oh really? And what does me being a guy have to do with noticing how nice a person is?”

             
I faced him with a frown and replied, “It does when the person has extremely beautiful features and legs up to here.” I brought my hand to where my waist started, making a point of how tall she was compared to me---and I felt really short in that evaluation. “So, of course she’s nice,” I added irritably.

             
After listening to my analysis, Trace grinned and edged closer toward me. He dipped his head down, and I shivered when he brought his face towards my ear. “Don’t you know that you have the only set of legs that I ever want to look at?” He whispered slyly.

             
As I bit my lip, I struggled to reply, “You shouldn’t lie, Tracey. It doesn’t do me any good.”

             
He watched me intensely before saying, “I would never lie about your lovely legs.”

             
I didn’t know what to say. For once, I was at a loss for words. My heart started to pound as we stared at each other, and only the sound of our breathing could be heard---and maybe the sound of the swings moving with the breeze. This was a golden moment, and I wished for him to kiss me again and wrap his arms around me.

             
My gaze on him was steady as I murmured, “Kiss me, Trace.”

             
And that’s exactly what he did.

28

             
WHEN I GOT BACK TO THE HOUSE,
I was surprised to notice the porch light off. That was odd. Dad always left the porch light on for me. I frowned and wondered why he left it off. Maybe he was upset with me? My pulse quickened when I realized that Erika must’ve told him about Trace. I stared at the front door warily, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to avoid the situation; I had to go inside sooner or later. I sighed and reached for the handle, trying to think up a clever excuse. God, give me strength…

             
As soon as I walked through the front door, I anticipated finding my father pacing and  waiting for me. But he wasn’t. I found him in the living room, snuggled next to Erika on the couch. He had a huge smile on his face while he watched something on the television, and he barely looked up at me when I walked into the room.

             
My father gave me a brief side-glance before asking, “Did you enjoy your walk tonight, Jade?”

             
That was even odder. No questions? No yelling? My gaze flickered over at Erika, who’s eye’s were fixed on the television screen too. Didn’t she tell him what she saw? Who she found me with?

             
“Uh, yeah. I did,” I mumbled hastily, my eyes still focused on her.

             
The next few seconds passed by excruciatingly slow, and I anticipated her blurting out the truth. I imagined the scene in my mind: Erika would jump up off of the couch and point a finger at me while she yelled, “She was with a boy, Lucas! Kissing!” A little overdramatic, but can I blame my own imagination? Nothing happened though. She just sat there, remaining quiet. Honestly, it really surprised me.

             
“Okay, well, I’m going to my room now,” I told them as I rushed down the hall, eager to leave just in case Erika decided to change her mind.

             
I was confused about why she hadn’t said anything to my dad, but I didn’t let it bother me too much as I readied for bed. She probably had her reasons…and I wondered if she planned to use it against me in the future. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she sought to blackmail me, and I hope she tried; it would confirm my suspicions of her. Eventually, I forgot all about Erika, focusing my thoughts on Trace and the amazing kiss we had shared tonight.

             
As I laid down on my bed and awaited sleep, I looked forward to tomorrow, and hoped it would be another wonderful day of kissing Trace Gibson.

29

I FOUND TRACE STANDING BY MY LOCKER
after first period, holding a bouquet of yellow roses in his hand. I smiled at the sight of the flowers and wondered if they were for me, but I had a sure feeling that they were. When I approached him, I noticed that he seemed rather nervous: he kept fidgeting and his face looked slightly pale. As soon as I joined Trace by the locker, I opened my mouth to ask what was wrong with him, but he quickly silenced me with a kiss.

“Hi,” Trace said after his lips broke away from mine, and a large smile covered his face.

I couldn’t find my voice as my lips still tingled from his touch. This whole kissing thing was absolutely new to me, but I was going to have to get used to kissing him.

“Hello,” I finally managed to say. As I eyed the yellow roses with suspicion, I asked Trace casually, “So, who are the flowers for?”

He offered them to me shakily and replied, “You.”

“How sweet. Thank you,” I told him excitedly. I lifted the flowers to my nose, enjoying their tender scent, but I frowned when I noticed Trace still seemed uncomfortable. What was wrong with him?

“Do you like them?” He asked me hastily.

I nodded and continued to stare at him. He was acting so strange and I wondered why. It couldn’t have been my fault, or he wouldn’t have given me a bouquet of roses. Eventually his fidgety stance irritated me so much that I felt compelled to ask him, “Is something wrong, Trace?”

“Nothing’s wrong…” he replied faintly. “But I was wondering if I got you in trouble with your step-mom last night.”

After wrinkling my nose at the mention of her being called my stepmother, I replied, “She’s not my step-mom, Trace. And no, she didn’t spill anything to my dad.”

“Well that was nice of her,” he offered.

I shrugged and gave the pretty flowers one more smell. “She’s probably going to use it as blackmail or something.”

Trace remained quiet for a moment, and he looked as if he was debating to say something. “I---” he mumbled softly, but then played it off as a cough. I smiled knowingly at him. He wasn’t going to be let off the hook so easily.

“You might as well tell me now,” I told him sternly. “Because I’m not going to budge from this spot until you tell me whatever it is that‘s on your mind.”

He shuffled a quick hand through his hair and replied, “Is it that obvious?”

“Yes. I know all of your usual twitches,” I said with a smile.

Trace grinned at my remark. “Ah, been paying extra attention to me have you?” He asked.

“Yes, I have---so out with it. What’s wrong, Tracey?” I pressed nosily.

“Alright…” Trace sighed softly. “You win, Jade.”

As a look of defeat passed over his face, he took a careful step towards me and placed both hands on my shoulders. Trace squeezed them gently as he stared deep into my eyes. I kept my gaze locked with his, but I sucked in a deep breath to steady my nerves. My heart was pounding frantically from his touch, but no matter how anxious I felt at that moment, I knew I was in heaven. Honestly, I could’ve died right there.

Trace’s gaze turned shy as he murmured, “Jade, there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

“Yes?” I replied breathlessly, my eyes growing wide with anticipation. Could it be? Was he going to ask me to be his girlfriend?

Trace grinned when he noticed my face was burning. He laughed before he asked me, “Jade, will you---” but he frowned and closed his mouth quickly, not finishing his question. Trace’s blue eyes hardened as something behind me caught his attention.

“Hey, Trace!” I heard a masculine voice holler, and I twisted my head to see Freddie hurrying in our direction. He flashed us a sparkling smile as he looked between the two of us. When he noticed the flowers in my hand, Freddie’s smile wavered a bit.

             
“Sup, buddy? What are you doing all the way over in this hall?” Freddie asked Trace curiously. “We need to get over to the three hundred building, stat.”

             
Trace didn’t budge though, and his hands still remained on my shoulders. “Yeah, in a sec, Freddie,” he replied.

             
Freddie continued to smile, his white teeth almost blinding my eyes. “Okay, but you’d better hurry because---”

             
“Freddie, go ahead without me,” Trace interrupted him sternly. “I’ll catch up with you after I’m done here.”

             
But Freddie wouldn’t budge. “Done doing what, huh? Come on, Trace!” Freddie urged him. “You can talk later. We really need to go.”

             
I kept quiet, not wanting to get involved in their argument, but I noticed Trace’s face had turned red. It was obvious to me that he didn’t want to leave, but Freddie was just not getting it. I suppose one too many footballs to the head were to blame.

After sighing loudly, Trace shook his head at Freddie and muttered, “Please go away.”

             
Freddie gave him a confused look. His tone turned serious as he asked, “Trace, what‘s the deal?”

             
“Get the hell out of here, Freddie!” Trace yelled furiously at him.

Freddie stared blankly at Trace, the smile vanishing off of his face. After a few seconds of silence, Freddie shook his head and muttered, “Fine, dude. If you want to trash our friendship for this bitch then it‘s your loss.”