“Here,” I said as dropped the party invite in front of Taylor. Then I removed my backpack and sat it next to my chair. It was still a few minutes before the bell.
“What’s this?” he asked as he looked up at me. He picked up the invite and flipped it over in his hand.
As if he doesn’t know. “Your invite. You said you wanted one. There it is.” I walked away to get my art supplies. When I came back he was waiting for me.
“So, I, uh, actually got a coveted invite?”
“It appears so, doesn’t it?” I grinned so my words wouldn’t sting as I plopped into my seat. “Zack got one, too.”
“Why the sudden change of heart, Chloe Hart?” He grinned back at me.
“Oh, I thought it would be good for you.”
He frowned slightly. “Good for me? What do you mean?”
“I thought you’d like to meet Blake.” I stood up to sharpen my already-sharp pencil. For some reason I wanted to be as far away from Taylor as possible. “Be sure to bring Kylie,” I called back as I walked across the room to the pencil sharpener.
As I began to sharpen my pencil to make my ploy look good, I was surprised to hear Taylor’s voice behind me.
“Why are you sharpening something that’s already sharp?”
Dang! “One can never be too prepared.” I cranked the wheel of the sharpener. “What are you doing here?” I tossed over my shoulder.
“Oh, just sharpening my pencil. Same as you.” He stepped forward and stood right behind me. His arm reached around mine to show his pencil.
I paused to compose my senses. Taylor was so close I could smell his aftershave. He smells so good. The tingling warmth of his arm as it touched mine nearly undid me. I turned my head slightly to look at his pencil, but I couldn’t focus enough to comprehend what I was seeing. He breathed on my neck, sending a multitude of sparks racing down my back. What is wrong with me?
“Your hair smells good, Chloe,” he whispered near my ear.
“Uh!” Instantly, I became a flurry of motion again as I realized I had nearly gone dizzy over the guy. Taylor dropped his arm and chuckled as he stepped back.
“You’re not going to have much pencil left if you keep that up,” he pointed out.
I pulled my sharp pencil out and saw it was couple inches shorter than when I’d started. In my haste to move away, I accidentally broke the pencil point against the sharpener. Taylor laughed.
I resigned myself to stay there long enough to sharpen the pencil again.
“Who is Blake?” Taylor asked, still a little too close for my comfort.
“The guy I’m seeing,” I answered. “He’s really great. You’ll love him.”
“I hope not,” he stated. “That would be awkward.”
I rolled my eyes and focused on the pencil sharpener again.
“Blake? What’s his last name?”
“Winter.” I sighed, trying to annoy him.
“Blake Winter,” Taylor repeated. “You sure about that?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Winter. Why does that name sound so familiar?”
I thought of how Blake worked for Taylor’s dad. For some reason I didn’t want to remind Taylor of that fact. “You’re a smart guy, figure it out,” I said as I miraculously managed to move myself and my pencil away from him. I could hear his laughter behind me as I walked away. I looked down and saw my pencil was half the size it had been when I’d started. Why is it he always gets the last laugh?
It was two weeks later and the Halloween party was in full swing. Almost forty vintage TV characters had arrived. Everyone looked so cool. I had dressed up like Lucille Ball from the I Love Lucy show. I thought with my red hair it would be the best bet.
Alyssa dressed up as Catwoman. Her costume looked really good, and Zack couldn’t stop staring at her. I was so happy he had come. His costume was probably one of the coolest. He came as Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld, with a brown frizzy wig and all. He did a mean impression of Kramer, too. We were all impressed.
Madison went all Scooby Doo on us and dressed as Daphne. She had found this funky purple dress from the thrift store. It looked so cute. With her red wig and lime green scarf, I almost didn’t recognize her.
I couldn’t wait to see Blake. He was supposed to come as Bo Duke from The Dukes of Hazzard. As soon as I’d told him about the vintage TV show theme, he’d announced his character. With his blond hair and those dimples, I knew he would make a killer Bo. I just hoped he showed up before Taylor did. As of today, Taylor had insisted he would bring Kylie to the party. I kind of thought he would change his mind at the last moment. He still could. Now, that would be a relief.
The doorbell rang and I ran to answer it. Please let this be Blake.
“Hello. Come on in.” I smiled to hide my disappointment as I let Knight Rider and Batman in. They were both guys I knew from four-wheeling. Just like a proper hostess, I exclaimed over their costumes and pointed them to the back room. Before I shut the door I searched again for Blake’s truck. Where is he?
“Chloe!”
I turned to see Alyssa hurry through the crowd. “What’s up?”
She stopped in front of me and looked around, then pulled me down the side hall and into my bedroom.
I frowned. “What?”
She gulped dramatically. “Ethan just told me that Blake’s not coming.”
“What? Why? Did something happen? Is he okay?”
“Apparently—” I had to lean over to catch her words “—Blake isn’t coming because of Taylor.”
“Taylor? What? Why? That’s crazy. What has Taylor got to do with anything?”
“Ethan said that Taylor stormed up to the front desk of the hotel where Blake was working and demanded that he tell him his name. As soon as Blake said, ‘Blake Winter,’ Taylor turned and stomped into his father’s office and told him to fire Blake.”
My jaw dropped. “Taylor wouldn’t dare! What gives him the right to do that?”
“Yeah, I guess Mr. Anderson talked to Blake for over an hour after Taylor left,” Alyssa continued. “Anyway, Blake found out Taylor was coming to the party and opted to work tonight to avoid him.”
All of a sudden I felt sick to my stomach. Poor Blake.
“I just can’t believe Taylor would ever do that. It’s so weird,” Alyssa said. “Maybe Ethan heard wrong.”
“I doubt that. I can very well believe Taylor did just what Ethan said.” I was fuming. “He was totally hounding me a week ago, wanting to know who Blake was. If Taylor wants to bug me, then fine. But to hurt Blake? No way. Taylor Anderson has just crossed the line.” It infuriates me the way popular guys think they can run everything! Just because he’s king of the school doesn’t mean Taylor needs to get into everybody’s business.
Right then the doorbell rang. I half smiled at Alyssa and walked out of my room toward the front door. As I stepped back into the party zone, I almost wanted to cancel the whole thing. I had looked forward to seeing Blake, and now he wasn’t even coming. Because of Taylor.
I opened the door and almost slammed it in Taylor’s face. The nerve. On second thought I figured if I did that, it would show Taylor how mad he had made me. I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much he could affect me. I opened the door wider and pasted a smile on my face.
“Welcome.” My voice nearly cracked from the strain. “Wow, Kylie. You make a beautiful Jeannie.” I muffled a smirk at her no-brainer costume from the I Dream of Jeannie show. How many cheerleaders would’ve worn that exact same costume? Maybe it was a good thing I only had one coming to the party, or my house would’ve been be full of Barbara Eden wannabes.
“Thanks,” Kylie replied. Her beauty-pageant smile glowed as she passed me and entered the house. One look at her face spoke volumes. She was not happy to be around me and my ”little” friends.
Good. Maybe she’ll hate the party so much she’ll convince Taylor to leave early.
“What do you think of my costume?” he asked as he brushed past me.
I tried to focus on his outfit but couldn’t. Still silently seething, I found the longer I stood in his company the angrier I became.
“It’s great,” I mumbled.
As I shut the front door, I took a deep breath and willed myself to remain calm. I knew it would be really bad if I made a scene in front of everyone. Even though I wanted a whole lot of questions answered, I knew now was not the time.
You know, it’s a real good thing I didn’t fall for the guy like everyone else, I thought. I knew something like this would happen. Actually that wasn’t true. I didn’t know Taylor was that mean. What was with him? Seriously, what guy would maliciously try to get someone else fired? Especially since he knew I liked Blake. That’s what bothered me the most. He had no right to act the way he did, but it was like he was trying to purposely hurt me and Blake.
“Hey, Chloe, are you all right?” I turned to my right to find Taylor standing next to me.
“Oh, it’s you.” I went to brush past him and find Madison or Alyssa to man the door. I wasn’t feeling very hostess-y at the moment, and I needed a few minutes to myself to shake this mood. But Taylor was faster than I was and grabbed my arm before I could escape.
“Chloe, wait. What’s wrong?” He genuinely looked concerned.
How could a guy this intuitive not realize the last thing I wanted was to be next to him? “I’m not feeling that great,” I answered. Pointedly, I looked down at his hand on my arm. “Do you mind?”
“Sorry.” Taylor released me like he had been scorched.
“Excuse me,” I muttered as I walked away. I found Madison in the kitchen with a group of our friends. She seemed to be having a great time. The noise from the family room was happy and a bit boisterous. My mom was in there telling jokes with Alyssa and Zack until the rest of the guests arrived and the real games began.
“Hey, Chloe—er, I mean Lucy!” Madison called. “You’ve got to hear this idea.” She broke away from the group and moved toward me. I stopped and waited for her as she carved a path through six or seven people who were in line for the food. She was all smiles once she reached me, but after a quick look at my face she blurted, “What’s up? Is everything all right?”
“I’m not feeling too good. Would you mind watching the door for me while I sit out for a few minutes?” I asked.
“Sure.” I knew she wanted to ask more.
“Thanks,” I replied. “Just give me about ten minutes, okay?”
“No problem.” She looked at me curiously but didn’t say anything.
Without a backward glance, I escaped to my bedroom. With the door shut behind me I paced for a minute and then stopped. I really wanted to scream or something, but I was so afraid someone would hear me. The laughter and joviality of the party crept in my subconscious. At least they’re all having fun. Ugh! Taylor! I began to pace again, this time with no clear thought or direction as I fumed.
I knew it. I knew all popular guys were the same. Taylor is such a moron. Seriously. Why would he do such a thing? Why would he march into the hotel and demand Blake be fired? It just doesn’t make sense. What has Blake ever done to him?
I jumped at the sound of a knock on my door. I couldn’t believe it had been ten minutes already. Quickly, I picked up the teddy bear on my bed and sat down.
“Come in.” I called, then waited for Madison to open the door.
“Is it safe?” Taylor asked as he peeked his head into my room.