make up for yesterday with the gas can, huh?”
“Uh…”
“I’m kidding! But really, I’ll be super fast. You won’t even have to get out of the car.”
“All right.” I go the speed limit this time through the neighborhood and pull into her driveway.
She bends to grab her bag, but I beat her to it, twisting the strap around my palm.
“You’re not carryin’ this anymore. You’re goin’ to break your back.”
Her hand grasps mine, harder than I would’ve imagined from her. “It’s okay, really. I’ll be two seconds. You can stay here.”
She attempts a smile, but I’m not buyin’ it. Something’s buggin’ her, but I’m not sure if it’s me or not. Should I give in? I mean, it’s just a stupid bag. Why do I care if she takes it, or if I do?
“Please?” Her smile twitches as she watches me struggle with my brain.
“Uh, you sure?”
“Two seconds.” She unwraps the strap from around my hand and shoulders it. She’s out the door and into her house so quick, I have to blink a couple times and shake my head.
Fine. I try to be a nice guy, but girls just have to be stubborn about it. Then they complain chivalry is dead. Screw that.
I rub my hand where she clutched me, the skin full of sparks or somethin’. I shake it trying to get the feeling to go away.
Well, time to go over the checklist I guess. Not sure why I’m still considering talking about Quynn with someone else, let alone actually being pathetic enough to ask for tips on how to make her mine.
Ugh. It is pathetic. I should change my mind and tell Hayley to just forget it. We can go to the library and actually… study.
Blah.
I slam my head on the steering wheel, and the horn jolts me back into my seat. Whoops. Hopefully she didn’t think I was tryin’ to rush her or anything.
Someone peeks out behind the curtains in her front window as a whole bunch of muffled dog barks shake the glass. It’s gotta be her mom. She’s older, wearin’ loads of makeup—it’s so bad I can see it from here—and she’s got a look on her face like she’s about to shoot me with a sniper rifle.
Yeah, I’m not lookin’ at her anymore. The speck on my window is less judgmental. The barks get a little louder for a second, then they muffle again. Before I realize what I’m doing, I get out of the car and open the passenger door like I’m some kind of chauffeur. Hayley turns bright red, but plops down with a small ‘thanks’.
At least she doesn’t give me shit about doing what guys should be doing.
“Okay,” I say as I strap on my seat belt and turn the key. “I… uh…” Brain fart. I know I was planning on saying something, but can’t think of it. I retrace my thought pattern as I look at Hayley, but nothing comes to me.
She laughs and flips through the preset stations, ignoring another one of my idiot moments. “No pop. I promise.”
There’s no conversation between her house and the library. She sings though, to every song that comes on. But I don’t care ‘cause her voice is kind of hot. All right, not kind of. Really hot. And it’s taking my mind off Quynn.
I’ve been to this library once before, with Lily—the make-out partner—and not a whole lot of studying went on. So I didn’t really notice how the shelves were set up, or the study tables, or the computers, but I notice now. How can a library be so busy, but look empty at the same time? The computers are all taken, and there are several people sprawled out on couches and bean bag chairs. But there is no one searching the shelves for something to read.
I think they need to rename the place.
Hayley beelines it to the back of the Non-Fiction section, curling up on a couch near some floor to ceiling windows. It’s dead to the world back here.
I sit, making sure I don’t touch her, and my entire body freezes.
What am I doing?
“It’s okay to be nervous.” Hayley smiles and tucks her knees closer to her body and rests her chin on them. “It’s hard to ask for help, especially when it comes to stuff like this.”
“I’m tryin’ to decide if I want to change my mind.”
She nods. “Well, I have references.” She chuckles, and I sort-of laugh.
“It’s not that. This is awkward. Makes me feel like I’m