Page 65 of Anytime I Want

“Anytime I want.” She leans forward, kissing me again.

The front door swings shut, but not before we hear Nathan say, “Ew, seriously? At seven in the morning?”

THE END

Epilogue

Julia

Josie, Chloe and I squeeze onto the bleachers at the high school, all decked out in orange and gray, holding oversized poster boards, cheering for Graham. It’s his first wrestling tournament of the season, and I am determined to be the best, most obnoxious girlfriend in the crowd.

“Wrestling for the 165 weight class, Jacob Miller from Mesa High School and Graham Kealoha from Desert Valley,” the announcer yells into the microphone.

I jump up and scream, shaking my GO GRAHAM sign. Nathan is sitting a few rows ahead of us with some guys from the baseball team, and he laughs because, really, no one is cheering quite that loudly. It’s a wrestling tournament. There are three matches going on at a time, and because some take the entire six minutes and others get pinned in ten seconds, there isn’t a great flow. It feels pretty disorganized, and I’m not sure people are really paying attention. Judging by the amount of irritated looks I’m getting, my screaming is not what they are here for.

But, even though I wrote the Girlfriend List, I know that Graham wants me to cheer loud. It’s on-brand for him. I watch them shake hands and crouch, hanging their hands between them. The ref blows the whistle, and before his opponent even realizes what is going on, Graham shoots, yanking his legs out, lifting him up, and slamming him on the mat. He tries to roll over, but Graham grabs his arm, shifting his weight to hold the other wrestler's shoulders down. They struggle for a few seconds, the ref lying on the mat next to them. He blows his whistle, signaling the pin. Graham jumps up, flexing his muscles and shouts, “Let’s go!” Coach T.C. tells him to keep it to himself, but that only slightly douses his enthusiasm. He takes off his headgear and shakes hands with the Mesa coach before heading to his coach. They put their heads together for a few seconds before Coach pats him on the back and nods towards me.

Graham looks over at me, says one more thing to the coach, and runs onto the bleachers. He bumps into a few people before picking me up and kissing me in front of everyone. I tighten my arms around him and lose myself for a minute.

Chloe clears her throat. “Public, children.”

We let go and laugh, Graham grabbing my hand and leading me down the bleachers. “Julia! I won.”

“You were amazing! He didn’t even have a chance. By the way, I saw Mabel earlier. She said she wants to come watch you wrestle. She’s heard about the uniform.”

Graham laughs before gently stroking my cheek, making me lean against the wall by the gym entrance. Cheers fill the gym, signaling the end of another match, most likely a pin.

“So, what do you think? I’m all dressed in school spirit, your initials on my cheek since you don’t have a number, made signs. Can I check something off The Girlfriend List?”

“Absolutely. But don’t forget, you need to finish it all.”

“Haha, yeah. I noticed you added one. But I don’t know.” I chew my lip, pretending to think. Graham’s eyes flash as he watches me. “I already have the guy. What’s the incentive?”

“How about a bet?” Graham smiles, holding his hand out for me to shake.

“Deal.”

Bonus Epilogue

Nathan

I’m leaning against the wall of the school cafeteria, watching Julia and Graham sway to the fast song playing, right in the middle of the dance floor. They’ve been slow dancing all night, no matter what song. It makes a lot of people look at them, and I’m sure that’s at least partially by design. It is on The List after all. They are so into each other, it’s like no one else is there.

My eyes wander to the other couples, stopping on Paige and Greg. They’ve been together for years, and I want to be happy for them. And I am, I guess, but also, I’m jealous. Did he getshot down before it worked out? Probably not, since they’ve been together since middle school.

Chloe is dancing with a group of people from student council. The song changes to a slow song, and I scan the crowd for Josie. I wanted to ask her to dance, but this is the fifth slow song, and I haven’t worked up the courage. I spot her by the drink table, and I start heading her way. I am almost there when a senior pops up and beats me to it. She flutters her eyelashes at him, grabs his hand, and pulls him to the middle of the dance floor.

“I guess he’s her type,” I grumble. I try to shake it off, but it really sucks. I’m a nice guy, not super outgoing, but I’m not a jerk, except maybe to Chloe. I’m good looking, if how often girls look at me and smile is any indication. Plus, my mom is always talking about how attractive her kids are, and we all know moms never lie.

I run my hand through my hair, forcing a breath out. I look around, trying to find an empty wall to lean against. My eyes pass over a group of girls, looking at me, obviously hoping that I’ll ask one of them to dance. I know I should, but I head toward a wall anyways. I see Chloe talking to one of the chaperones. She looks up and catches my eye, giving me a quick smile. I smile back, mostly as a reflex. I don’t hate Chloe, but she’s also not super high on my list of people I want to spend time with. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Travis Cooper heading toward her. Now, Travisissomeone I don’t like. He’s a jerk to everyone, thinks he’s the best thing since sliced bread, and expects all the girls to fall at his feet. He’s on the football team, as if that makes him special. I mean, he’s pretty good, will most likely go to college on a scholarship, but still, he’s a jerk so all the rest of that fades in importance. On impulse, I head toward Chloe.

I stick my hand out, interrupting her conversation. “Dance with me?” Chloe gives me a surprised look before saying bye to the chaperone. She follows me to the dance floor before puttingher arms on my shoulders. It doesn’t escape my notice that she didn’t take my hand, and I laugh to myself.

“What’s so funny?” Chloe asks.

“Nothing, really. I do want you to know that I saved you from Travis Cooper. He was definitely going to ask you to dance.”

“Ugh, yikes. Thanks for that.” We dance in silence for a few seconds before she starts talking again. “So, having fun?”

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