Read Online NORMAL by Danielle Pearl - Free Book Online

sorta. Relax!"  
    Cam, placated, goes back to eating his sandwich and out of the corner of my eyes I can see Lacey swooning as she always does at Cam's protective streak, and as always, I wish it was intended for her benefit and not mine. I can handle myself. Certainly with Chip anyway.
    ****
     
    Practice always ends early on Fridays when there's no game. When Cam and I reach his car in the student lot, there's a white rose tucked under the windshield wiper on the passenger side. I stop in my tracks and Cam sighs. I look at him, bemused. He just shrugs.
    "Well it ain't for me," he says, and I look around to spot Robin staring at me from where he stands beside his car across the lot. He smiles, winks, folds himself into the driver's seat, and drives off.  "Jeez. He's pullin' out all the stops, i'nt he?" Cam grumbles.
    "Well it's on your car, maybe you're the one he likes," I tease as I pick up the rose and realize there's a note tucked under it:
    See you at 7, Sweetheart. Can't wait.
    I blush and try to hide my smile.
    "Yeah, well he should buy me a whole damn bouquet since I'm the only reason he's scorin' any touchdowns this season," Cam murmurs and we both climb into the car.
    ****
     
    I've never owned many dresses, but I did purchase a few on shopping trips with Lacey this summer. I choose a short, flouncy, red dress that has a fitted bodice with cap sleeves. I leave my hair loose and am thankful that my mother insisted on taking the time last year to teach me how to do my makeup. Lacey's tutelage left me with blue shadow and bright pink cheeks - so not me. My perpetual blushing around Robin does not require any cosmetic assistance, and I feel much more comfortable in just a little earth toned shadow and mascara paired with a sheer lip gloss. I barely recognize myself in the mirror. I look like such a girl .
    I can't believe I'm about to go on my first date and it's with none other than Robin Forbes. I have no idea how to act, what to say. He's going to kiss me, he said as much last week, and I haven't a clue how to kiss. I start to think I should have taken Cam up on his offer to teach me. Or maybe I should have listened to him and just declined this date in the first place. I text him.
    I'm freaking. You around?
    Yep.
    His reply is not only immediate, but I can actually hear his laughter and look out my window to see if he's outside, but it's too dark to tell.
    A knock sounds on my door and I swing it open to find Cam in his worn dark jeans and a fitted black tee shirt. He really is the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome - at least physically - right down to that perfect Florida tan. It's obvious why Lacey and half the girls in our grade are obsessed. He runs his hand through his overlong chocolate-brown locks and I'm thrown for a second by how positively male he looks. Suddenly he's not my best buddy Cam, he's a hot guy, and I don't know where these wayward thoughts are coming from. I step back, gesture for him to enter and raise my eyebrows for an explanation as to how he made it over so quickly. That's how it's been since we were kids - we don't always need words to have a conversation. Sometimes we can get through an entire exchange with only a few glances.
    "I was downstairs," he shrugs. That means he was talking football with my dad. Dad's a fan of Cam's too. I pull him by the sleeve into my room so I can close the door. "Your dad was grilling me about your date," he smirks.
    Really? Though, I don't know why this surprises me. My father is only interested in my life when a Forbes is involved. I'm sure "grilling" is an exaggeration, but the thought that my dad might care about me or something I do gets my attention. The thought of him worrying after me positively melts me.
    "What'd he say?" I ask. Because he's said nothing to me. Not one word.
    Cam rolls his eyes. He gets along with my dad just fine, but I know Cam doesn't like how much my father ignores me lately. Cam is the only one who knows how much I crave