The ball bounces while I抦 still staring, but I easily catch it in one hand. She stands tall and takes a tentative step toward me like she wants to switch spots again.
揘ah, you go again,?I say and hold the ball up to indicate I抦 going to toss it to her. She places both hands out in front of her apprehensively. I smother a laugh and throw it directly into her hands.
I抎 be lying if I said I didn抰 look down her shirt the next three times she does it, but I convince myself it抯 better this way, so she doesn抰 fumble around trying to catch the ball as it shoots out at her. And I think she kind of likes sending flying objects in my direction.
When we抮e finished with the launcher and start calculating velocity, I find myself back on my side, and the two of them huddled together.
I keep waiting for my buddy to ask her out, but he doesn抰 even after we finish the lab and start packing up to leave. Huh. Maybe he wasn抰 that serious about it. Or maybe I抦 just that good.
Or he caught sight of her small tits or terrible ball catching skills and decided against it. It doesn抰 sound like him, but whatever. I抦 just thankful he didn抰。
Crisis adverted.
5
DAISY
Over the next two weeks, I continue to sit with Liam and Jordan during physics, and it actually starts to feel normal. Or as normal as sitting next to your popular crush while trying not to physically combust ever feels.
Sometimes the way he smiles at me, I convince myself that he likes me too. But when class is over, he says goodbye and races out the door like he can抰 wait to get wherever he抯 going.
Today when I slide into the chair next to Liam, he gives me the same smile and greeting, but his face doesn抰 light up the same way, and he drops his gaze to the table while Professor Green talks through the lab.
While we work through the lab, he barely speaks梕ven to Jordan. I抳e never seen Liam like this. He抯 sullen, broody even. He ducks out to refill his water bottle halfway through, and Jordan scoots closer.
揟he next step is to measure the amplitude.?He taps his pencil on the paper.
I nod, then ask, 揑s he okay??
揧eah,?he says as he hitches the sleeve of his T-shirt up on his shoulder. The movement lifts the cuff showing off his bicep and the bottom of a tattoo. He has a few. A long, skinny cross on the back of his left arm, then a hockey player and a puck going into a net梠ne on each thigh, that I抳e seen on days when he has worn shorts. Today his jeans cover them, and I imagine he has even more ink hidden underneath his clothes.
揌e doesn抰 seem okay.?
揓ust a tough practice today.?
揙h.?My brows knit in confusion. I expected something, I don抰 know, bigger? 揟hat抯 all??
揥ere you hoping for more? Maybe a dead pet or incurable disease??
揘o, of course not.?My face heats.
He grins and brings his pencil up behind one ear.
揧ou were at practice too??
His dark brows pull together slightly as he nods.
揂nd yet you haven抰 lost your sparkle.?
His deep chuckle does something funny to my stomach. 揚art of my charm, I guess. I don抰 let things get to me like Liam does.?
I finish the measurement before I prod a little more. I want to understand Liam梬hat makes him tick and what gets to him. 揂 bad practice really gets him that upset??
揝ometimes, yeah,?he says.
My face must show my surprise because Jordan shakes his head. 揑 wouldn抰 expect you to understand.?
I start to ask what he means, but Liam returns, and Jordan moves back to his spot. The time to himself seems to have done Liam well. He smiles a little brighter as he takes his seat and sets his bottle in front of him. 揂ll right. Where did we leave off??
Liam is more talkative for the rest of the class, and I forget all about Jordan抯 remark until we抮e leaving.
揌ave a good weekend,?Liam says.
揧ou too. Good luck at your games.?I have the hockey team抯 schedule memorized, so I know they抮e traveling Friday and Saturday for away games.
His smile dims ever so slightly. It抯 such a small change. I think it抯 only because I抳e watched him so long that I抦 able to notice. I steal a glance at Jordan. He抯 watching for his friend抯 reaction, too. I抳e hit a sore spot, which obviously isn抰 what I wanted.
He recovers quickly, and his mouth pulls into a forced smile. 揟hanks, Daisy. See you next week.?
Jordan tips his head to me and departs with him.
揝tupid, stupid,?I mutter softly as I head in the opposite direction.
I meet up with the girls at the cafeteria for dinner. Violet is in full-on planning mode for the ball. She flips through images from her Pinterest board, showing us everything from table designs to a photo background. As I suspected, she抯 gone way overboard.
Jane is all about it, and Dahlia is busy cramming in homework. She has the craziest schedule of the four of us since she is on the golf team. They have practices in the afternoons and workouts in the evenings or mornings, sometimes both.
So, while my friends are preoccupied, I think about Liam. I can抰 believe I was so stupid to bring up hockey when Jordan had just told me that was why he was upset. I guess I didn抰 really believe that was all it could be. I know student-athletes take their sports seriously, but even on bad days, Dahlia seems more like herself than Liam did during lab.
揈verything is still good with the flowers??Violet asks me, shaking me from my thoughts.
揧es.?I take a drink of water. I抳e said so few words during this dinner my throat is dry. 揝he can deliver everything that Saturday afternoon, or we can pick it up as soon as Friday on the weekend of the event.?
揝aturday afternoon??Violet抯 eyes widen. 揟hat抯 too late.?
I nod. Hence the need for a backup plan梐ka picking it up ourselves.
揑 don抰 think you understand how many flowers we抮e talking about here, Daisy,?she says.
揝o, we抣l take more than one trip.?
I look to Jane and Dahlia for backup.
揑 don抰 think we have a vehicle big enough for the archway,?Jane says. 揢nless it comes apart somehow.?
揑t doesn抰，？Violet says. 揥e need a van or a truck or something.?
I hadn抰 thought of that. Honestly, I抳e given the flowers very little thought at all beyond the specific instructions Violet gave me. But I can practically see the stress rising as her shoulders lift toward her ears.
揑 will figure it out,?I say. When she doesn抰 look convinced, I add, 揑 will. Leave it to me.?
揟hank you.?She exhales.
揥hy are you putting so much pressure on this? We had a blast last year, and it wasn抰 nearly this厰 I search for a word that doesn抰 make her extreme planning seem negative.
揇ecadent??Dahlia offers, looking up from her homework.
揧es, that.?I point to her.
揃ecause厰 The energy around Violet shifts as she struggles to put her feelings into words. She gets this way when she抯 really passionate about something. 揊or one night, I want our friends to feel like they are part of something as amazing and unique as they are. How many times have we been turned away or left out because we抮e not cool enough or outgoing enough or don抰 have the right friends? It抯 dumb. We抮e awesome. I want this party to be so incredible that people are begging to be invited.?
揟hat抯 sweet, Vi.?Also, slightly delusional. 揟he flowers will be there Saturday morning.?
She tilts her head to the side and narrows her gaze.
揑 mean Friday night.?I smother a laugh.
揟hank you.?She smiles. 揇ahlia, do you have the fliers??
揧eah. They抮e in my backpack.?She stops working to pull out a stack of fliers.