Playing His Game

Chapter Twelve | Hearts For Sale

Twelve:

"He did what? " Austin asked incredulously.

I laughed halfheartedly. "Yeah he ditched me for another girl." The familiar feeling of annoyance bubbled within me as we talked about Jace.

"Well, if it's any consolation, I would never do that to you," He said, leaning against the wall of lockers as I put my books away.

"Thanks...I guess I spent a ton of money on a dress for nothing," I muttered.

I slammed my locker shut and we began walking side by side through the crowded hallways, towards the exit. It was the end of the day, Thursday, and Austin was giving me a ride home.

"Well...I don't have a date, either," he said hesitantly, looking at me as we walked. "So It doesn't have to go to waste if you don't want it to."

We were now in the parking lot, already past three rows of cars as we approached his. I stopped by the hood of his car and looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

He ran a hand through his dark hair and laughed nervously. "You know, I could be your, uh, replacement date."

My eyes widened. "Oh! You don't have to. I mean-"

"No, I want to. I mean I know it's sudden with the dance being tomorrow and all, but I like you...a lot."

I looked away from his pleading expression for a moment before smiling. "Sure, I guess."

"Awesome!" He said, his usual confidence returning as he unlocked his car.

Once we both buckled in and were speeding out of the lot, he looked over at me with a teasing smile. "So...what color tie should I get to match your dress?"

I raised an eyebrow, caught off guard. Matching tie? I thought that only important for actual prom, not a winter dance.

"Blue," I said after getting over my initial surprise.

"Ah. Would that be navy blue? Sky blue? Or maybe midnight blue?"

I looked over at him and stifled a confused laugh. "Um, teal...I guess?"

"Cool. I already have a tux and I'll buy the tie after I drop you off."

"Okay, sounds good."

"Anyway...you got any plans for break?" he casually asked as we turned onto my street.

I laughed. "Surprisingly, yes. My friends and I are leaving for this skiing lodge on Saturday to celebrate my birthday. And Trent and Lauren's; they're twins."

"Nice. Where're you guys staying?"

"We're thinking about going to some place called Big Bear lake, or something like that," I shrugged. "I've never been there but Lauren says it'll be good."

"Yeah, I stayed there a few times with my family when I was little. It's a really nice place!" Austin pulled in front of my driveway and killed the engine.

"That's good," I laughed. "Because we'd be staying there for four nights."

"Well," he grinned, "I hope you have fun."

"Hey!" I exclaimed, as a thought occurred. "Maybe you can come with us, if you want to?"

Hope appeared in his eyes at my words. "Are you sure? Wouldn't that be a lot of people going?"

Lauren, Tyler, Trent, Lily, Carly, Sean (Carly's boyfriend), a couple of Trent's friends, and I were all planning on going on the trip.

I looked over at Austin, who was still waiting on my answer. "Don't worry, a ton of us are going. One more wouldn't hurt."