Page 88 of Chasing Infinity

“You’ve kinda got a thing for her, don’t ya, buddy?” Jordan nudges me with his elbow as we walk.

I glower at him and shove his shoulder away from me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I can’t blame you. I mean, you two have always had this weird vibe going on. And she’s gorgeous now. It only makes sense that you’d be interested.”

Something about the way he says that rubs me the wrong way. As if I’d only be interested in her since she’s hot now. I scowl even harder at him, my blood pressure rising.

“Well, I’m not, so drop it. I wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole,” I sneer. “Pretty or not, she’s still Hurricane Addison. Nothing will ever change that.”

I can tell Jordan believes me just about as much as I believe myself, which is minimal, to say the least. A smirk takes over his features, and he looks at me with amusement. “Whatever you gotta tell yourself to sleep at night, brother.”

“Shut the hell up, Jordan.” He snickers as I turn and walk away from him, seething.

I do my best to stay out of everyone’s way for the rest of the day. I limit my attendance to my classes; as soon as the bell rings, I’m gone. I skateboard to the park and make my way to the old wooden bridge. Setting my book bag down on the fraying wood, I settle in and try my best to get comfortable.

This bridge in this little park is one of my favorite places in town. People are often too busy running errands in the town square to remember that it’s here, which typically means it’s vacant. I lean my head against one post, closing my eyes. I listen to the sound of the water trickling in the creek below. After a while, I hear footsteps on the wood, but I don’t look to see who it is, guessing they’ll just go on with their day.

I’m wrong, of course.

“Hi.”

The sound of a feminine voice breaks through the silence. I look up from where I’m resting to find Addison Parks standing over me, a stack of books in one arm and a water bottle in the other. I narrow my eyes against the sun and shift a bit. “Parks, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I saw you sitting out here, and I was wondering if I could join you? Things are busy in the café, and I want to get some homework done.”

“Careful, Parks. Someone might see you sitting with me and think we’re friends or something,” I say, but motion for her to sit next to me anyway, and she does without hesitation. I watch her warily. This is different.

She laughs. “That would be just terrible for you, wouldn’t it?”

I grin at her, and she smiles back, one of those lovely smiles that makes her hazel eyes gleam. With the afternoon sun shining on her face, I can distinguish the golden streaks in her eyes. They flare out from her pupil and make her iris appear as if it is a thousand leagues deep. Parks feels my heavy gaze on her, and then she glances away quickly and opens up her book, thumbing to a page with a bookmark.

“What are you studying?” I ask her with a lazy voice.

“I have an exam coming up in my zoology-botany class,” she murmurs.

“Nerd,” I muffle with a cough, and she rolls her eyes at me but doesn’t engage any further, quickly getting sucked into her reading.

I lean back again and close my eyes to relax, but I’m hyperaware of her sitting just a few feet from me. Finally, unable to take the silence any longer, I sit up straighter, my fingers finding a little twig on the bridge next to me, and muster the courage to say something to her.

“I saw Monty asked you to homecoming,” I say, twisting the twig between my fingers.

Addison looks up at me from her textbook, an eyebrow raised. “He did.”

“And you said yes?” I inquire, even though I already know the answer. I was rightthere, for God’s sake.

“I did?” she says it like a question.

I lean back against the wooden frame of the bridge, closing my eyes and letting the sun hit my face. “That’s good. Wouldn’t want Monty to get his feelings hurt. You two make a good pair.”

Parks is silent for a moment, and I hear a page turning. “He asked me to be his girlfriend, too.”

I open my eyes and look at her, intrigued by her motive in telling me this tidbit of information. She’s staring back at me, her cheeks pink, but her expression unsure, as if she wants me to reassure her she did the right thing. “Did you say yes to that, too?” She nods her head slowly. “Well, well, I’m happy for you, Parks.”

She ties her fingers together on top of the book in her lap. “Yeah, I guess it’s good. I’m not really sure... I’m not good at this kind of stuff, Noah. What if he wants something more—”

I narrow my eyes at her, not liking the direction our conversation is leaning. “More like…?”

“Justmorethan what I want to give. It’s not really a secret about what’s supposed to happen after homecoming, and I am not sure if I’m ready. I’m worried he might have asked me simply because of that, which is stupid. But it’s just a thought lingering in my mind. I don’t even know why I’m talking to you about this, of all people. I just,”she pauses and takes a deep breath, looking at me hesitantly. “I’m not sure what to do and you always seem so confident with stuff like this, I mean you dated Rose forforever.”

---