Time And Again

Chapter 7

After his alarm clock went off, Johnny lay in his bed. He thought about how he made it one whole day without any repeats. That has to be a record. He also thought back to soccer tryouts after school. Same as the first go around, they took Daniel out before he even had a chance.

Now, he realizes if Nicole found out he had a hand in it, she might be disappointed in him. Hell, he might be disappointed in himself. But the guy had it coming. For one thing, he didn't need to call him an ass. For another, he didn't need to offer his two cents by telling him to get over himself. So while he didn't come right out and beat him to a pulp, he inadvertently gave Bobby the kill switch.

That was a thing of beauty to watch. Bobby totally decked him. He remembered scanning the field to see if Nicole happened to be there. Luckily she wasn't, and neither were any of her friends. They're not the sporty type, except for Kate, who plays tennis. But then it's tennis. Is that even a real sport?

Getting up from bed, he wandered to the closet. Typically he doesn't give much thought to what he wears. All of his clothes look good, so he grabs something, anything. But today is different. He wants to look nice and make an effort. Mainly because he wants to impress Nicole, his hand ran over a few of his shirts. He stopped and realized something. It's been years since he's actually wanted to impress anyone. 

It's also been years since he's gotten butterflies in his stomach too. Even at the thought of Nicole, that happens, which is weird. It stopped with Ali after a few weeks of dating, and then after a year with her, he stopped caring how he looked. He just showed up. What does that say about him? What does it say about their relationship? Was it already ending before it actually did? Because truth be told, he never felt any of these new feelings for Ali. 

Maybe the guys were right. One of them said they never connected on a deeper level. He can see that. It was mainly a physical attraction. The biggest being he thought she was hot, especially after dumping popcorn on Dutch. She has a tremendous fiery spirit, and he likes that. But then she also use that same fiery spirit on him, and he didn't like it so much. 

They'd argue a lot, and it wasn't friendly arguing either. He believes you can be kind even when clashing. When the name calling and put-downs begin, then it gets ugly. And you start realizing it's better to say nothing than to say something that could cause a fight. She would start it, he would end it, and both of them would leave upset, which led to him partying and drinking a lot more with the guys. 

It's also one of the reasons he forgot her birthday. But that's another thought for another time. He took a white plaid shirt, with red and blue in it, down from the rack and a pair of jeans. Grabbing a belt, he got dressed and did everything he usually does. Since he's made it to day two with no repeats, he decided to celebrate by grabbing breakfast to go at Bumpers. They have good sausage biscuits. 

It's also a good day to drive his car too. So he did. He even tried listening to one of the pop stations on the way there, except it hurt his ears, so he changed it. While ordering his food, he thought back to Nicole's drink when the two sat at the table and talked. It was a large cup of raspberry lemonade. Thinking she might like one, he ordered it for her. A big smile settled on his face.

While Johnny was waiting for his order to arrive, Nicole waited for him. After school yesterday, she went to the traditional Wednesday afternoon picnic in the park with her friends. First, they stopped by Frost Bite for ice cream, then headed to their spot at Cedar Oaks Park. She and Sarah always supply the blankets. 

The girls were sitting around eating their ice cream when Brooke halted her spoon and asked, "So Nikki, what's up with you and Johnny Lawrence?"

She knew it. She knew this would be part of the conversation. "Nothing really. On Tuesday, we were at Bumpers at the same time. He sat and ate with me. We talked for a long time, and it was pleasant. Then we talked that evening at the beach, where he asked if we could do this again, just the two of us. Today we had several classes together, the same as tomorrow. We talked during those as well. He asked me out for Friday, and obviously, we're all going to the Boardwalk with them tomorrow. That's about it."