The Dating Game

THIRTY-SEVEN

"What's going on?" Chase asks immediately, not giving me any time to excuse myself first.

"Nothing?" I offer a white lie with a believable tone, much to my surprise. But instead of accepting the response, he takes my chin in his fingers and gently motions me to look up at him.

"You've been acting weird all day," he accuses. "Did Anna do something to you again?"

"What? No." Usually, I'd shake my chin out of his grasp and take a step back, but even though my brain is telling me to move, my heart seems to be in disagreement.

"You sure? Holly told me you guys were talking earlier, and you didn't look the happiest."

"I was talking to Anna Price. I don't think her telling me I won the lottery would even make me happy to speak to her."

He tilts his head in agreement and drops his hand from my face. I try to ignore the stinging in my chest when he's no longer touching me.

"Okay," he finally accepts. "You swear nothing happened?"

I nod with an impatient smile. "I don't think she'll be a problem anymore."

"Glad to hear that."

He smiles at me with that damn smile and I turn away to avoid feeling the feelings it inevitably gives me. He taps my shoulder once more before I walk inside, just to tell me to have a good night. I tell him to shut up and go home, just like Old Michelle would say, but I can't help the smile that creeps onto my lips when I shut the door behind myself.

Thursday, January 25th

When I make my way to meet up with Chase the next day, his attention is fixed elsewhere, along with everyone else's.

I look around, trying to gauge what exactly they're all looking at until I realize I should be trying to find who they're all looking at instead. Some underclassmen beside us gossip to themselves about a new student, which isn't groundbreaking news around here. New students come to Cactus Valley all the time, even when it's this close to the end of the year. So why is everyone so intrigued?

Soon enough, after eavesdropping on some jock's conversation with his fellow jock comrade, I realize this new student is some crazy-hot junior who's transferring from Sonora Academy—the private school two cities over that just so happens to be our rival school in all of our sports. I guess everyone is wondering why some private school girl wants to come to Cactus Valley instead.

"Do you know what's going on?" I ask Chase when he takes me in his arms. He releases me like normal and shrugs.

"Other than what everyone else has been saying, not really," he says.

"Everyone always goes so crazy for new kids," I mutter more to myself, but I don't necessarily care that Chase hears me. I slip my hand into his and we start walking to my locker, where the whispers progressively get quieter and quieter until they're practically nonexistent.

When it's almost silent, a chill crawls up my spine and I glance up at Chase, whose focus is nowhere near me. Instead, he's looking at the tall, tan-skinned, perfect-nosed woman who could easily pass for a young model. When I scan her maple-brown hair that looks soft to the touch and compliments her skin tone flawlessly, my chest begins to ache as I realize Chase is probably seeing the same thing I am.

"Hi," the girl says with a too-friendly smile, staring only at Chase Matthews—Cactus Valley's favorite heartthrob. "You must be Chase. I've heard a lot about you."

"Hi," he greets her back politely, grinning ever so slightly. I can tell he's not trying to flirt with her, but his mere mannerisms are enough to make any girl think he's interested in her. "Yeah, that's me. And you are?"

Without a second thought, I slam my locker door shut. It manages to get the attention of not only Chase and the new girl, but also anyone within a twenty-foot radius, and my cheeks start to heat up in humiliation. I can't even explain what kind of emotion surged through me quickly enough to make my hand slam on the locker, but it must've been strong enough to do it without me even knowing it was happening.

"I'm Carmen," she tells him, finally sparing a glance in my direction. She smiles even wider at me and even though it looks convincing, something in my gut tells me not to trust her. After all, no sane person just randomly walks up to the hottest guy in the entire school to introduce themselves. Not with any further ulterior motives, at least.

"Nice to meet you, Carmen," I tell her without realizing I've even begun speaking. Still, my lips keep moving without any further thinking and I move to link arms with Chase. "I'm Michelle. Chase's girlfriend."