Chapter 11 (Jillian's POV)
That night had really opened my eyes as to who Parker was as a person. He wasn’t as closed off as people believed, but he also wasn’t the monster that so many made him out to be. He was just a guy with a past, and although I knew he didn’t tell me everything about his past, I trusted him enough to know that he’d tell me when he felt comfortable enough to share it with me.
I wasn’t going to push him anymore, I was going to let the cards land where they may and just enjoy his company.
The only problem with that was, I didn’t quite know how this particular deck of cards was going to be shuffled.
As we sat in each other’s arms, letting the beauty of silence linger around us, I felt my brain start to overanalyze the situation.
‘Why did he put his arm around me in the first place?’
‘Did I really just kiss him on the cheek?’
‘What the hell is going on?’
My brain just wouldn’t shut up, but as the minutes passed and the night started to come alive, I slowly started to let myself enjoy the comfort. Even though I would’ve liked to just stay there with him for as long as I could, I knew that when my eyes started to feel heavy, and a yawn or two were able to escape me, that I should get going.
It seemed as though Parker had picked up on these things as well because, just a few seconds had passed before his arm moved away from my shoulder and he hauled himself up off the ground, offering me a hand to hold. “I think it’s time to go,” he had stated, helping me up as I intertwined my hand with his.
And I didn’t let go.
I kept my hand in his as we headed back to his house, talking about random things that popped into our heads. When we did reach his driveway however, I had completely forgotten about the fact that I had driven here with Saige.
“So let me get this straight,” he started, looking at me with an amused smile on his face, “You chased after me on foot, which could’ve taken you who knows how long, when you could’ve just hopped in your car and drove?”
“I was in a hurry okay,” I mumbled, an embarrassing blush lightly colouring my cheeks.
“Don’t worry, I think it’s cute that your mind went blank when all you were doing was thinking about me.”
My embarrassment turned into a glare as I saw a playful smirk grow on his face. “Hey!” I said, acting somewhat offended as I slapped his shoulder lightly, “I could’ve just let you wallow in your sorrows, but I thought that I’d make things better so the next time we talked it wouldn’t be awkward.”
Although he was laughing at my response, I could tell by the way his eyes lit up that he was appreciative for the fact I had gone after him. “I know,” he said, his laughter dying down as he continued. “And I’m glad you did.”
The way he was looking at me, as though his eyes were piercing into my soul, was enough to make me blush.
“I should probably go,” I said, trailing off as I let my gaze fall to my shoes, “It’s getting late.”
“Yea,” he replied, and I don’t know if it was because I wanted to, but I thought I heard a slight strain in his voice, almost as though he didn’t want me to leave just yet.
I smiled up at him, squeezing his hand that was still, for some reason, intertwined with mine. “I’ll see you at school Monday,” I said as I let my hand fall from his slowly.
“See you.”
Unlocking my car, I climbed in and started the engine quickly before looking through the windshield to see Parker still standing there, his hands dug deep into his pockets as he watched me back out of the driveway.
Waving one last time over the steering wheel, I didn’t look back in the rearview mirror until I had turned off of the street, and until I was sure I wouldn’t have to see the guy who was quickly grabbing a hold of me heart staring back at me.
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It was official… I was avoiding Saige.
I had accidentally forgotten my phone before going over to her house, and when I got home that night, I saw that I had at least ten frantic messages in my inbox. I didn’t even have to look through them to know what they were about, I knew they were all her wondering what was going on between Parker and I.
And honestly, I didn’t have an answer for her, so ignoring her seemed to be my best option.
Even as her messages continued as the weekend went on, I kept my phone on silent in hopes that maybe she would be discouraged by my lack of response, and all that I could do was pray she wouldn’t show up at my house looking for answers.
When Monday morning rolled around and I crawled out of bed, the weather looked dreary and chilly from my window, and not willing to go run through the cold this early, I changed into a set of workout shorts and a t-shirt before heading downstairs for my morning run on the treadmill.
As I ran, my music played through my headphones but I didn’t acknowledge the songs that were playing, instead, it was if my mind was running the same speed as the track beneath my feet. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to avoid Saige today, as we shared our first two classes, but maybe with a bit of thinking, I would be able to put off her questions for a couple of hours.
And that’s exactly what I did.
When I got to school an hour or so later, I made a quick stop at my locker to grab all the books I would need for the morning before hurrying off before Saige could come looking on me. I spent a good ten minutes wandering around the halls mindlessly and hiding out in the bathroom before I entered my first class just as the bell sounded, taking the seat next to the door.
I knew Saige was in the class, as I looked back to see her sitting in her regular seat, but averting my eyes, I focused on what the teacher was saying instead of listening to my conscience, which was telling me to just talk to Saige.
My routine continued throughout second period, as I had escaped first period as soon as the bell rang and only entered the second as class started, but when the lunch bell rang, I didn’t even try to avoid Saige as she caught up to me in the hallway after class.
“Jillian,” she said, grabbing my arm as she caught up with me. “Are you coming to lunch?”
Surprised that she hadn’t immediately ambushed me with questions about Saturday night, it took me a minute to respond. “Yea, I’ll meet you in there.”
“You sure about that?” she asked as her eyebrow rose questioningly.
I sighed and nodded, and without having to say anything, Saige seemed to accept my wordless response as she turned down the hallway.
Well, I couldn’t avoid her forever.
Grabbing the money I had packed for my lunch, I hurried towards the cafeteria and bought a chicken salad sandwich, a blueberry muffin, a fruit cup and a bottle of water before heading towards the free table that Saige and I normally sat at.
Just I was about to swallow my first bite of my sandwich, Saige slid her tray onto the table and sat down across from me. “So, you’re done avoiding me?” she asked, breaking the awkward silence that surrounded us as we started to eat.
Biting my lip, I smiled apologetically towards her. “Yea,” I trailed, “Sorry about that, it’s just…”
“You don’t have to explain anything,” Saige said, interrupting me just as I came to a loss for words. “I know I shouldn’t have been pushing for information, but I was just curious as to what was going on between you and Parker. You’re just lucky that Parker got to me before I left the house this morning and told me that it was your choice to tell me anything, and if you didn’t want to, I’d have to accept that.”
And without even begging me for details, she had managed to guilt trip me into talking.
“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you anything,” I explained, “It’s just that I don’t really know what to say.”
“Well, what is there to say?” she asked, a mischievous grin growing slowly on her face.
“There’s nothing juicy like you’re hoping,” I replied, shaking my head with amusement. “I just might’ve realized that I wouldn’t mind being a bit more than friends with your cousin.”
“I knew it!” she exclaimed with a smile. “I knew you had a crush on Parker! So, what was it about him that caught your eye? His secret past, the mystery behind the façade, the fact that he’s related to little old me?”
“Ha-ha,” I laughed dryly, rolling my eyes at the cheekiness in her voice. “And honestly, I don’t really know. It’s not like I’m having dreams and fantasies about what it’d be like to be his girlfriend, but I just feel happy and content when I’m hanging out with him. I know he has a past, and even though I only know a bit of it, I don’t care what other people think about him. He’s a good guy in my eyes and that’s all that matters.”
I could see her face softening as I spoke, as if my words were turning her into a puddle of goo. “Aww,” she replied, “I can’t wait until you guys are official; you’ll make the best couple.”
“Yea, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”
“Why not?” she asked, her eyebrows scrunching together as her smiled turned upside down.
“Because,” I said, taking a bite of food before continuing, “I’m not the kind of person who’ll just walk up to the guy she likes and say hey, I really like you, let’s go out.”
“I don’t think anybody who is actually looking for a date would be that straight forward,” Saige stated, “But I say that one of you just has to grow a pair of balls and ask the other to hang out, and some time soon.”
“I’m not sure what mark you got in health class, but I’m not actually capable of growing a balls.” I replied cheekily.
Disregarding my comment, she rolled her eyes as she continued. “Well, on that note, can we please stop talking about you and Parker? The fact that you like my cousin, and actually find him attractive, its just a little weird.”
Laughing at her expression, I replied. “You’re the one who brought it up in the first place.”
“And now I’m un-bringing it up.”
“Whatever you say,” I said, partially glad I didn’t have to explain myself any further.
The rest of lunch went relatively smoothly: the jocks a couple of tables away from us laughed obnoxiously at unknown jokes and comments, the nerds that sat beside us were catching up on homework that hadn’t even been assigned yet, the smell of the food started to wear off, and Saige and I just ate and talked like nothing had changed… which really, nothing had.
Just because I had acknowledged the feelings I had for her cousin, didn’t mean that our friendship was going to suffer.
“So, what are you planning to do while I suffer through class?” Saige asked as we headed towards my locker five minutes before the lunch bell was set to ring.
Shrugging my shoulders, I replied. “I don’t really know. I’ll probably just start on the biology homework and fool around on my phone for most of the time.”
“You know what they say,” she started, a lopsided smile on her face, “Nothing good can come from fooling around with your phone.”
Catching her joke, I was pretty sure I snorted as I started to laugh. “And who the hell says that?”
“I did, just now.”
“Right,” I said, rolling my eyes as I slowly stopped laughing.
As we turned the corner, walking along the hallway that my locker was in, I saw Saige stop beside me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, confused at her sudden frozen stature.
Her eyes flickered between me and where my locker was located, and it suddenly all made sense when I glanced down the hall. Even though he didn’t know I was here already, I could see Parker leaning against the row of lockers next to mine, his head ducked as he scrolled through something on his phone.
“Well, since you seem to have company,” Saige said slowly, backing away from me as a semi-smug look appeared on her face, “I’m just going to grab my books and head to class early, maybe get a window seat. Have fun.”
Although I turned away from my best friend’s grinning face, heading towards my locker without a reply, my silence was not so appreciated by Saige herself.
“Grow some balls!” I heard her yell down the hall, and although most people were still in the cafeteria or just finishing up their club meetings, the few students that were strolling the halls definitely shot her a look of disbelief as she scurried off before I could reply.
Turning once again with a flush of embarrassment colouring my face, I saw that Parker was no longer focused on his phone, but rather on me.
“Hey,” I mumbled in embarrassment, leaning against my locker.
“Hey,” he replied, his face a mix of confusion and laughter, “So, what exactly is this about you growing a pair of balls?”
The amusement that seeped through in his question was immediately, which made me stare flatly at him and roll my eyes. “Your cousin just has something seriously wrong with her brain sometimes.”
“Oh, I know that.” he said, still slightly amused at the situation.
“So,” I asked, opening my locker as I glanced at Parker, “No offence, but why are you at my locker?”
At my question, the amusement that was radiating off of him suddenly disappeared, slowly being replaced with nerves and uneasiness.
“I just came around to say hi,” he replied quietly.
“Well… hi.” I said with humor, raising an eyebrow at him, silently telling him that I wasn’t buying it.
“And,” he continued, taking a breath after a period of silence, “I wanted to know what you were doing Saturday?”
Now that I wasn’t expecting.
“Umm… nothing I don’t think.”
“Did you maybe, you know, want to hangout?” he asked nervously, staring timidly at the ground as he spoke. “If you’re doing something with your dad or Saige it’s fine, I was just thinking that maybe we could go for lunch and do something together.”
Even though the conversation had shocked me, the fact that after this past weekend, Parker was asking me to hang out, alone, was really tugging on my heartstrings.
“Sure, “ I replied with a lopsided grin, “That actually sounds fun.”
His eyes snapped up quickly at my reply. “Really,” he asked, the shadow of a smile wavering on his lips.
“Yea, just text me later on in the week and I’ll let you know when it’s best to meet up.”
As I finished speaking, the bell rang, pushing hundreds of students through the hall around us.
“Okay, I’ll text you then,” he said, smiling at me as he bid me goodbye and left for his class.
Staring blankly into the shelves of my locker, I smiled to myself as I thought about what had just happened.
Did he just ask me out?
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The week seemed to pass normally: assignments were given out and handed in, and my homework was starting to pile up as the weekend approached, but from my point of view, some things had changed. Saige had started to tease me a little more frequently after I had admitted to having liking Parker, and as for Parker and I, we were acting like friends.
For that fact alone, I had managed to convince myself that when Parker asked me to hang out, he meant just as friends.
It wasn’t a date.
And although Saige had tried countless times to tell me that it was a date, I didn’t want to get my hopes up in case he really did mean for us to hang out as just friends.
Saturday rolled around, and after talking to Parker throughout the week, we had agreed that, since I was the only one with a car, I would drive to his house and we’d walk to where he wanted to take me. Apparently he wanted it to be a surprise, and me driving would ruin the mystery behind the lunch.
After a bit of arguing on my behalf, because I really didn’t see what the big deal would be if it wasn’t a surprise, I had grudgingly agreed to meet him at his house.
The hard part about Saturday morning was trying to figure out what to wear. I didn’t want to ask Parker, because I thought it would look like I was overexcited, and I didn’t want to ask Saige because, although she was my best friend, I knew she would tease me about the fact that I had a ‘date’ today. After debating between jeans or a skirt, I eventually pulled on a pair of nice jeans and a flowing top; a nice mix between casual and dressy.
Grabbing my purse, I tossed my wallet and my cellphone inside before picking up my car keys and heading downstairs to say goodbye to my dad.
I hadn’t exactly told my dad that I was going out with a guy today, alone, but I had told him I was meeting a friend for lunch and would more than likely be back for dinner. I think he probably suspected it was a guy I was meeting, since I was usually never secretive about who I was hanging out with, but he hadn’t mentioned anything so I wasn’t complaining.
“Hey dad,” I said, stopping at the edge of the kitchen, “I’m heading out now.”
He looked up from his spot at the dinner table, disregarding his work for a moment as he smiled at me, but even I could tell that his face radiated signs of exhaustion.
“Have fun Jill, did you need any money?”
“I should be good, I’ve got my wallet on me.” I replied, rejecting the money my dad was offering as I sent him a worried look. “What are you doing dad? I thought you had the weekend off because you worked last weekend.”
“I do,” he said, running a hand tiredly down his face. “I’m just looking over this case again because it’ll probably be going to trial in a month or two, and I don’t want to spend my Christmas holidays working instead of worrying about what your present will be.”
Cracking a smile, I walked over to him and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “I love you dad,” I said lovingly before walking towards the front door.
“Love you too,” he replied with a light chuckle, his voice drifting through the house as I reached the front door. “Oh, and have fun on your date!”
“It’s not a date.” I replied back, flustered and blushing from embarrassment. Not leaving him any time to reply or cause me further embarrassment, I quickly hurried out of the house and closed the door behind me.
My dad really was too smart for his own good.
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“So, where exactly are we going?” I asked, walking alongside Parker fifteen minutes later.
As soon as I had pulled into his driveway, only a couple of seconds had passed as I got out of my car until he was outside and ready to go. Honestly, I was glad he had met me outside because I knew that Saige had been home, and if she would’ve seen me, I probably would’ve blushed from the suggestive looks she would’ve been giving me.
“I told you,” Parker said, the side of his mouth lifting up into a grin, “It’s a surprise.”
“But why does it have to be a surprise?” I asked, probably sounding like a whining little girl who had just been told she couldn’t have the newest Barbie doll. “Why can’t you just tell me where we’re going?”
“Because.” he replied with a smirk.
“Because isn’t a real answer.”
“Well it is today.”
Rolling my eyes at his stubbornness, I decided to just drop the topic, saving the both of us a boatload of arguing.
Our conversation flowed smoothly after that as we talked about everything from school, to track, to his drawings, but I zoned out when I spotted the place we were heading towards.
“A bowling alley?” I asked nervously. I hadn’t been bowling for a couple of years, and the last time I remember was when I tossed five gutter balls in a row before knocking over one pin.
“Yea, is that a problem?” Parker asked challengingly, but I could just hear the ounce of nervousness in his voice, almost as though he was worried whether or not I would think it was lame.
I shook my head in response. “No, I’m just not a very good bowler.”
“Well lucky for you, the real reason I brought you here is because they make the best pizza in the world.”
“Oh really?” I asked in disbelief, not exactly believing his statement.
He nodded. “Yup, and after just one slice, you’ll be hooked for the rest of your life.”
“We’ll see about that.”
As it turned out, this bowling alley didn’t just have the best pizza, it had the best everything!
“Oh my god, how can so much greasy food taste this good?” I moaned, swallowing a bite of my pizza as I flushed from embarrassment when I heard Parker laugh.
“I told you,” he said, still chuckling from my previous comment, “Best food in town.”
“No, you said best pizza,” I pointed out, “You didn’t say they pretty much made anything taste like heaven.”
And it was true. Parker had order us a small pizza to share, as well as a box of sweet potato fries and two strawberry milkshakes, and everything pretty much tasted like an angel had just done a tap dance on my taste buds. I had offered to pay for my own food, but after he insisted a couple of times, I just let it drop, holding down a blush as a thought popped into my mind.
‘The guy normally pays on the first date.’
Now that that thought had been pushed to the side, I was happy just enjoying my lunch with Parker.
“So,” he started, raising his eyebrow questioningly as he tossed his napkin onto his plate, “You up for one game of bowling?”
“Ummm… sure.” I replied worriedly.
Either Parker didn’t sense my apprehension or he just ignored it as he jumped out of his seat quickly in excitement. “Great,” he chirped, “I’ll go book us in at a lane.”
Watching him go away, I took the spare time to throw away the garbage we had made and finish off the last of the fries before he came back with two pairs of bowling shoes in his hands.
“So, I wasn’t exactly sure what size you were, but I got you a seven.” he said, passing me the smaller pair of shoes. “If they don’t fit we can just exchange them for a different pair.”
Taking them without a reply, I slipped off my shoes and slid on the bowling shoes without hassle. “You know, I wasn’t lying,” I said, confusing Parker for a second before I continued, “I really do suck at bowling.”
“Well maybe you just need some practice,” he suggested, nodding towards one of the open lanes, “You know what they say, practice makes perfect.”
“Yea, maybe a couple years of practice.” I replied.
“Come on,” he said, rolling his eyes as he picked up a bowling ball and handed it to me. “Let’s see you take one shot, and if you really suck, I’ll go pay for the bumpers to be put up.”
Glaring at him, I grabbed the ball stubbornly, and like a kid that was just learning to bowl, I brought it in between my legs, swinging my arms before releasing the ball down the lane. Honestly, as soon as the ball left my hands I thought it would go directly into the gutter, but I guess the small amount of fire that was behind my shot gave me an ounce of luck, as the ball kept rolling until it hit down two of the side pins.
“See,” Parker said, making me jump slightly as he stepped up behind me, “You aren’t that bad.”
“Knocking down two pins doesn’t exactly make me a championship bowler.” I pointed out with an eye roll.
“Here,” he said, passing me another ball before taking my hand, “If you just use your one arm and hold it with your fingers in the three holes, you’ll have a better aim and get more power behind your shot.”
The way his hand was basically holding mine was enough to make me blush, but as he guided my arm back and forth a couple of times, I tried my best to focus on the movements he was making rather than the sparks that were lighting up my skin.
“Now just bring your hand back one more time,” he said, maneuvering my arm in a way so that the ball would have a lot of momentum, “And let it go as you bring it forward.”
And just like he said, I let the ball fall from my fingers as he squeezed the back of my hand, and with a shocking result, it actually hit five of the remaining pins at the end of the lane.
“See,” he said, standing close enough to me that I could feel his breath on my skin, “I told you it isn’t that hard.”
Very aware that his hand was still touching mine, I turned around with a light blush on my face. “That’s only because you were helping me though, I wouldn’t have been able to do that on my own.”
“How about we make a little wager then?” he asked, shocking me as he moved his hand to intertwine with mine.
“What kind of wager?” I asked, trying unsuccessfully to keep my cheeks from turning up to the colour of a tomato.
He smiled down at me as he replied. “Well, how about the winner of this game has to buy the loser ice cream?”
“But you know I’ll be the loser.” I pointed out, confused as to why the bet wouldn’t be the other way around.
“Exactly,” he said, “That way, I’ll get to buy you ice cream to finish off the afternoon.”
Biting the side of my lip, I was trying really hard to conceal the smile that threatened to appear as I realized how sweet Parker was being, but when I saw that the tips of his ears were turning pink as well, my smile broke free.
“And what if I said that I didn’t find that very fair?” I asked cheekily.
“Then I’d just say that maybe the loser should buy the winner ice cream,” he replied, “But I’ll just shoot all my balls into the gutter to make sure I still get to buy you that ice cream.”
Laughing, I squeezed his hand in comfort. “Well then, I guess I might as well take that first bet then.”
“I guess it’s game on than Thomas,” he said, a challenging tone to his voice as he squeezed my hand one last time before letting it go.
As our bet was made, the lights suddenly dimmed before the glow-in-the-dark effect came into affect. The patterns on the walls were suddenly glowing and the shirt I was wearing had come alive, but even though the atmosphere had changed, I knew that my feelings for the sweet and adorable guy in front of me had not.
“Game on Parker, game on.”
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I can’t believe I actually got this whole chapter done in just over a week! I really enjoyed writing this, especially the last ‘date-ish’ scene between Jillian and Parker, and I hope you all like it as well :)
Hopefully next weekend I’ll have another upload for you, but that may be less of a possibility because of the fact that Easter is this weekend and I work more than 20 hours the next three days.
Until next time, I hope you vote, fan, and leave your opinion in the comment section below! x