my cheeks push up as I tried to conceal a smile.
“There it is! There’s the smile I was waiting for.” She poked her finger into the dimple in my left cheek.
As I attempted to swat her hand away from my face, one of the soda bottles sprung loose from my grip and rolled across the floor. The cashier shot us a disapproving look. I quickly followed after the runaway bottle, and knelt down to catch it before it went any further. When I reached my hand out, a large-sized white sneaker stopped the bottle in its tracks. My eyes traveled upward – perfectly-fitting jeans, a white t-shirt that was tight in all the right places, broad shoulders – until they were looking into a pair of familiar eyes staring back at me. I quickly tried to stand when I saw who it was, but he bent down to help me up, and both of our heads knocked together. We recoiled, rubbing our heads in unison.
“You should be more careful crawling around on the floor with that arm,” he said with a smirk.
“You should be more careful with that head.”
“Are you okay?”
Ignoring his outstretched hand, I stood and brushed my pants off. “I’m good. I’ve been through worse.”
His eyes tensed. “I know.”
I immediately regretted my choice of words. I felt the tightening in my chest and averted my attention to the soda bottle still under his shoe. “Well, thanks for stopping that.”
“No problem,” he said as he picked it up. “Just don’t try to open it any time soon, unless you’re planning on wearing it.”
“Don’t worry. That one’s hers.” I pointed my thumb in Shelly’s direction.
His smirk turned into a grin, revealing his set of impeccably straight teeth. “Here. You can carry things better like this.” He stepped closer to me, and wedged the soda bottle into the crook of my elbow. The sling cradled it along with my arm and kept it from falling.
“Thanks.” I quickly backed up and turned to make my way back to Shelly. I had only walked a few steps away when I heard his voice call from behind me.
“Merritt?”
I turned back around. His eyes were sincere and warm, a look I was not used to seeing on him. Then again, I had never actually looked directly into them.
“I’m sorry about your dad. I am glad you’re okay, though.”
I forced my best polite smile, one that I had rehearsed. “Thanks, Chase.”
Shelly’s eyes were wide with curiosity when I reached her back at the table. “What was that all about?"
I shrugged. “Nothing. He picked up the soda I dropped.”
“Talking to Chase Brooks is never nothing. What did he say to you?”
I folded my pizza slice in half, and shoved a giant bite into my mouth. I smiled innocently as I chewed.
She shot me an annoyed look. “You will finish that pizza, and you will tell me what he said.”
Chase Brooks had been the topic of conversation in town since his return several weeks ago. I did not mind, as it took the attention off of my tragic headlines. Shelly and I had known Chase since kindergarten. He grew up to be the quintessential popular kid who was good at everything. In high school, he started his own band with aspirations to become famous. After graduation, he left for California, and everyone thought he would make it big in the music industry. Two years later, he was back here in humdrum Staten Island, and working at his father’s auto body shop. Nobody knew what happened in California, but it was clear that he did not end up rich and famous.
I took another bite of my pizza while I scanned the cafeteria. Chase was sitting at a table surrounded by his usual group of friends. From his messy-on-purpose blonde hair, to his thousand-watt smile, he effortlessly looked the part of rock star heartthrob. Girls had always treated him as such, and he had always eaten it up. I knew early on that I wanted nothing to do with a guy like that – no matter how washboard his abs might be.
“He seems different.” Shelly was looking in the same direction as I was.
“You haven’t seen him since high school. Of course he looks different.” I stuck my soda bottle in between my knees and tried to twist the cap off.
“Not physically. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
“It’s his eyes. They look sad.”
“I wonder what happened to him.” She shook her head. “Yet, the same girls are still