Lana’s tone was filled with disbelief. “I didn’t realize making googly eyes at each other was that deep and meaningful.”
“We weren’t making googly eyes at each other!” I was embarrassed that Mariah had brought this up, but even more embarrassed that she’d seen the way Lincoln and I’d been looking at each other in English and then told our friends about it.
I’d been desperate to believe that Lincoln was just like Bennett, but I’d heard something in his voice when he’d been talking about his old life in New York. At first I thought I’d imagined it, but then the whole staring at each other thing had happened and I’d quickly realized that Lincoln wasn’t telling Mariah everything. Normally, that wouldn’t have concerned me, but the sad look in his eyes had. It reminded me a lot of what I saw in my own eyes when I looked in the mirror.
I couldn’t even begin to explain to my friends what had passed between us in class, but somehow we had formed a wordless connection. A bond. A link .
I chuckled at my own lame pun, shaking my head. When I noticed that my three best friends weren’t following me anymore, I stopped walking and found them staring at me like I was a stranger.
“What?’ I asked, puzzled by their behavior.
“Did you just laugh while thinking about a boy?” Estella asked.
“You, who swore off men for life and never wanted anything to do with them?” Mariah added.
“And not just any guy,” Lana pointed out. “This is Lincoln we’re talking about. Helloooo! Hottest guy to walk these halls in a long time.”
“You guys are overreacting,” I said. “We were just looking at each other, that’s all. It’s not ground-breaking or anything.” Then why did it feel like it was?
Estella looked thoughtful as we stopped at her locker, ignoring the crowd surging around us as they hurried to get off the school grounds. It was like the school was uninhabitable as soon as the bell rang for the end of the day, that’s the mad rush that everyone made to leave.
“Maybe he’s your rebound,” Lana said, neatly sidestepping a guy who had almost barreled into her.
Mariah shook her head with vigor. “Lincoln Bracks is not rebound material. He’s the guy you take home to your parents, marry, and have pretty babies with.”
“Lincoln Bracks is standing right behind you,” Estella said in a low voice as she shut her locker.
Mortified by Mariah’s big mouth, I turned around to see that Lincoln was indeed leaning casually against the locker behind us. His cool, blue eyes immediately landed on me and stayed planted there.
“Lincoln!” Mariah said, completely unfazed. Nothing ever got her down. If that’d been me, I wouldn’t stood there spluttering like a fool, but Mariah was always on her game. “We were just talking about you.”
“So I heard,” Lincoln said, without missing a beat.
The guy was as cool as a cucumber. Okay, seriously, what a lame cliché. It didn’t even make any sense. How were cucumbers “cool”? Saying he was as cool as an iceberg, or Greenland, made a lot more sense.
“How annoying was English today?” There went Mariah, talking non-stop as usual. Lincoln would be lucky to get a word in. “I mean, Wuthering Heights is sooo boring. And Ms. Flick is a total slave driver.”
“I don’t know, I thought English was pretty interesting,” Lincoln said, his eyes boring into me.
Mariah not-so-subtly elbowed me just then, and I shot her a glare. Way to go and make everything even more obvious, Ray.
“Are you going to the field party next Saturday?” Lana asked with a brilliant smile. “Everyone goes to those things.”
“Not everyone goes.” Estella’s smile was just as brilliant, but more reserved.
Not for the first time, I had Estella-envy. She was so beautiful, so poised, and so graceful that I wouldn’t blame Lincoln for checking her out. Except he wasn’t. He still had his eyes firmly planted on me. I felt so self-conscious, I didn’t
“We weren’t making googly eyes at each other!” I was embarrassed that Mariah had brought this up, but even more embarrassed that she’d seen the way Lincoln and I’d been looking at each other in English and then told our friends about it.
I’d been desperate to believe that Lincoln was just like Bennett, but I’d heard something in his voice when he’d been talking about his old life in New York. At first I thought I’d imagined it, but then the whole staring at each other thing had happened and I’d quickly realized that Lincoln wasn’t telling Mariah everything. Normally, that wouldn’t have concerned me, but the sad look in his eyes had. It reminded me a lot of what I saw in my own eyes when I looked in the mirror.
I couldn’t even begin to explain to my friends what had passed between us in class, but somehow we had formed a wordless connection. A bond. A link .
I chuckled at my own lame pun, shaking my head. When I noticed that my three best friends weren’t following me anymore, I stopped walking and found them staring at me like I was a stranger.
“What?’ I asked, puzzled by their behavior.
“Did you just laugh while thinking about a boy?” Estella asked.
“You, who swore off men for life and never wanted anything to do with them?” Mariah added.
“And not just any guy,” Lana pointed out. “This is Lincoln we’re talking about. Helloooo! Hottest guy to walk these halls in a long time.”
“You guys are overreacting,” I said. “We were just looking at each other, that’s all. It’s not ground-breaking or anything.” Then why did it feel like it was?
Estella looked thoughtful as we stopped at her locker, ignoring the crowd surging around us as they hurried to get off the school grounds. It was like the school was uninhabitable as soon as the bell rang for the end of the day, that’s the mad rush that everyone made to leave.
“Maybe he’s your rebound,” Lana said, neatly sidestepping a guy who had almost barreled into her.
Mariah shook her head with vigor. “Lincoln Bracks is not rebound material. He’s the guy you take home to your parents, marry, and have pretty babies with.”
“Lincoln Bracks is standing right behind you,” Estella said in a low voice as she shut her locker.
Mortified by Mariah’s big mouth, I turned around to see that Lincoln was indeed leaning casually against the locker behind us. His cool, blue eyes immediately landed on me and stayed planted there.
“Lincoln!” Mariah said, completely unfazed. Nothing ever got her down. If that’d been me, I wouldn’t stood there spluttering like a fool, but Mariah was always on her game. “We were just talking about you.”
“So I heard,” Lincoln said, without missing a beat.
The guy was as cool as a cucumber. Okay, seriously, what a lame cliché. It didn’t even make any sense. How were cucumbers “cool”? Saying he was as cool as an iceberg, or Greenland, made a lot more sense.
“How annoying was English today?” There went Mariah, talking non-stop as usual. Lincoln would be lucky to get a word in. “I mean, Wuthering Heights is sooo boring. And Ms. Flick is a total slave driver.”
“I don’t know, I thought English was pretty interesting,” Lincoln said, his eyes boring into me.
Mariah not-so-subtly elbowed me just then, and I shot her a glare. Way to go and make everything even more obvious, Ray.
“Are you going to the field party next Saturday?” Lana asked with a brilliant smile. “Everyone goes to those things.”
“Not everyone goes.” Estella’s smile was just as brilliant, but more reserved.
Not for the first time, I had Estella-envy. She was so beautiful, so poised, and so graceful that I wouldn’t blame Lincoln for checking her out. Except he wasn’t. He still had his eyes firmly planted on me. I felt so self-conscious, I didn’t
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