Not Just Another Boy Next Door

Chapter 12

I am not entirely sure if my subconscious is rooting for Beck or myself to score the winning goal...but I do know that my opponent suddenly looks very determined to succeed.

"You're scary when you're focused." He laughs at my comment and licks his lip while squinting his eyes as if the action somehow initiates his laser-focus, stirring that same army of butterflies in my stomach that always seem to attack when Beck's around.

"Only when I'm focused?" His question implies that he doubts this notion, his eyes not leaving the game but his words making me sigh.

"I am not scared of you." I retort, hoping I sound convincing to both myself and Beck.

What's he getting at, anyway?

Beck chuckles and maneuvers himself into a better position, knocking the wooden men around strategically enough to take the last shot. The ball connects with my end of the table and I attempt some defense, using the handles to desperately move around the little players.

PANG!

Damn, I think I just lost.

His victorious smile proves that obvious and I groan in defeat, my clammy hands making their eternally popular appearance. Before I can even speak Beck beats me to it, stretching his arms up over his head and cracking his neck. "I hope you're free tonight, because my prize requires your presence this evening."

I pretend to grimace at this announcement but secretly feel excited, the possibilities of where this could take us making my hair stand on end. How does he have such an impact on me with so few words? Where does he want to go this time? I have never felt like this and the stronger this feeling grows, the more unnerving it becomes. In just a few moments of overthinking I somehow talk myself out of sticking to this plan altogether, the gears in my brain promptly coming up with an excuse that I'll use to get out of this bet later.

I'm sorry, my Aunt Loren is sick, she got food poisoning. I have to run to the pharmacy for supplies and take care of her...

"And don't even think about trying to get out of it." Beck interrupts my thoughts as if I spoke them aloud, my mouth promptly dropping open.

"How did you...?" What is he, a literal mind reader now?

"You have your deep thinking face on."

I snort, unable to hold it back. "My deep thinking face?" Beck responds by imitating said face, a tiny wrinkle forming between his brows from the change of expression. I can't help but laugh as he deepens the scowl, his silly and overdramatized version of my "deep thinking face" definitely helping to keep the mood light.

•••••••••

"Logan, this is Rome. Rome, Logan." The girl standing before me looks no more than 15, 16 at the most. Her hair is blonde and wispy, tied back haphazardly with a fluffy, pink scrunchie. Her pale complexion is stained with sunburn, the skin on her nose peeling heavily. Despite this, she is a very pretty girl.

Beck has lead us via bicycle to an area below the boardwalk, secluded except for Logan waving at us eagerly once we arrived. "Oh, and here's the rest of the gang now." Two older teenagers approach suddenly, closer in age to us than the first girl. The boy is beyond tall, with very deep brown skin and his hair pulled back in thick dreadlocks. The girl beside him is short and stocky, her straight black hair nearly concealing her face and her eyes only meeting mine for a second.

"Hey! I'm Jamal and this over here is Emilia. She doesn't talk much." Emilia gives me a close-lipped smile but nevertheless warms me the instant we meet, the kindness in her heart radiating through her lovely face.

"Hi guys, nice to meet you." I clear my throat and try not to sound nervous, especially being the odd one out.

"Is Lavender coming too? I figured she'd be with you guys." Beck asks, his neck craning and his eyes scanning the area behind Jamal and Emilia.

Jamal rolls his eyes in response, sparking a giggle from the quiet Emilia. "She got herself in trouble again. Her mom caught her making out with some shoobie at the arcade."

"You're kidding!" Beck snorts as soon as he hears this and my mind is already wondering who this Lavender is.

"I wish I was. And on top of that, they were hiding in the photobooth and didn't even make it through the first shot without sucking face- so there was photographic evidence!" Everyone bursts out laughing including myself, with Jamal throwing his head back so hard that he nearly bangs it against the wooden plank behind him. We continue chatting about the mysterious and mischievous Lavender, my curiosity peaking an all time high when I notice how much Beck smiles when he talks about her.

I wonder if he likes girls as well as boys?

Ugh, I have got to stop. Am I reading too much into his behavior or have I reading too much into our friendship this whole time? If it's the latter, I wouldn't be surprised. I keep asking myself the same questions over and over and somehow convincing myself that the outcome will be different.  Starting now, I am inwardly vowing to stop hyper-focusing on the romantic aspect of our relationship. I am going to just focus on being friends and having fun this summer.

"Well since this'll be Beck's last hurrah before he runs off to be a college man, we really have to go all out." Jamal declares, pulling out what appears to be some sort of crumpled map.

"How do we go all out without Lavender? She's usually the ring leader when it comes to finding the best hiding spots." Logan asks, puffing out her bottom lip in a pout.

"Oh, I don't think we need to worry about that. Per usual, Lavender thought of everything...except how to not get caught by her mother, that is." It is at this moment that Jamal pulls a sealed envelope out of his windbreaker pocket like a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat, holding it up proudly for us all to see. "You didn't think she'd let get grounded rob her of orchestrating your final scavenger hunt, did you Beck?"

"You guys really make it sound like I'm off to go die or something." Beck responds and takes the envelope from Jamal, grinning from ear to ear. He tears the seal and peeks inside, the rest of us watching with interest. "Well then, let's start scavenging!"

To be continued...