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Chapter 3

I sat in class, and eyed Jake. For some reason, he looked different. Not a bad different, good, definitely. He seemed…happier and vibrant. I spent the whole math class staring at him, trying to figure what it was about him that caught my attention.

My friend Mia tossed me a note upon my desk. I unfolded it, minding the many lines.

Drool much?

I stared at it, hoping it didn’t mean what I thought it did.

What do you mean? I scribbled back and slid onto her desk.

You’ve been staring at Jake with this intense look for the last 15 minutes. The whole class has noticed. My eyes bugged out and I jerked my head to look at her.

Really? I mouthed to her. She nodded emphatically.

Oh, crap. Do you think Jake noticed? This time she caught it before it was dropped on her desk.

No, he actually pays attention to the teacher. Weirdo. I chuckled quietly when I read it, and sent Mia a smile. She hid hers under her black hair, and only the amusement in her blue eyes let on to it.

So why were you staring at him anyways? Do you like him? I gaped at that. Did I like him? How’d she know? I tried to remember when I started to like him. I had thought about him, and butterflies fluttered in my stomach; that’s when I knew.

Yes. I wrote slowly and carefully handed it to her. I heard Mia’s gasp, and the loud scratching of pencil against paper, and then something hit my head from behind me.

The scrunched up paper dropped onto my desk.

Miss me? I stared at it fiercely and swiveled around. My mouth dropped open when I saw Beck waving hello from the back row. I glared.

No. Are you stalking me now? I wrote back, tossing it back with more force than necessary.

Mia’s note came.

Oh, my god! Are you serious? And did the new guy just pass you a note? Lucky! I scoffed, and scribbled back,

Yeah, I like him. Yeah, he did, but it’s nothing to freak about. He’s a jerk. I gave it to her, and scowled when I saw Beck’s note back on my desk.

Yeah. I have a thing for pretty girls. I follow them everywhere, don’t you know? Say hello to your new classmate; me.

How about I just say good bye and save us a whole lot of trouble, considering that I never want to talk to you again.

I heard his chuckle and before he could write me back something, the bell saved me. But at the door, I was ambushed by Mia, Beck and Jake, cornering me in the hall.

“Hey, can I talk to you in private?” Jake asked me politely, and led me down the hall away from Beck and Mia. While I was being taken away, I saw them talk awkwardly, Mia practically pouncing on him, and Beck declining.

“Um, Risa?” He asked, looking adorable and uncomfortable.

“Yeah, Jacob?” I encouraged, thinking that he was going to ask for the homework or something.

“Would you…would you-go-out-with-me-this-Friday-night?” He inquired in a rush.

I smiled. Yes! “Sure, Jake. Call me later, okay?” He instantly grinned, his old nature of confidence returning. “Cool.”

He leaned down, and after looking me gently in the eyes, Jake kissed my cheek.

“Bye.” He said softly. I nodded, and stood there while he walked off, whistling in the midst of everyone.

“So this means you’re not free Friday night?” I heard from next to me. I turned dreamily to Beck, forgetting that I didn’t like him. I was too happy to care.

“Yeah,” I breathed. “Jake asked me out.”

He seemed surprised that I wasn’t biting his head off. “Oh, well, that’s nice. But we still need to talk about, well, you know.”

I blinked, and remembered what he was talking about. “Yeah, of course. How about…” I thought for a moment and squealed on the inside. I had a date with Jake! “Saturday?” I suggested.

“At Colcoffo’s around 9 am.” Colcoffo’s was a coffee place off of Main Street, and it was my favorite place to hang out.

He nodded, “Alright. See you then.” And then he left me to my thoughts of Jake, more Jake and dates.

By the time it was Friday, I was a wreck. I ended up begging Mia and Amanda for advice of what to wear. We were in my room comparing clothes, while I stood there only in my underwear.

“I am not wearing that skirt. It’s like microscopic. I’d be flashing him every two seconds.” I said to Mia, who was holding up a tiny leather skirt for an idea for an outfit.

Mia laughed. “No, maybe every 10 minutes, but I’m sure, this would make him regret not asking you out sooner, with the legs you have. Why don’t you show them off?”

I glanced at my bare legs. They were nice, but I didn’t think they were that great.

I shrugged.

“How about this?” Amanda showed me a short skirt that would reach mid thigh, and a tight purple cami that I’d bought on an indulgence, thinking I’d never wear it. I thought it over, not exactly hating it.

“Oh, that’d look awesome on you!” Mia cooed, and Amanda threw it at me. I pulled the outfit on, already regretting it. Surprising enough, it didn’t look half bad. Amanda grinned. “It’s nice to know I still have the touch.”

I stepped in front of my mirror, and turned around, examining it from all sides. Yeah, not half bad. Then they practically attacked me with make-up.

“Guys, I don’t want to look like a prostitute, so lay off all the makeup.” I pleaded. They laughed, but agreed to tone it down a little. By the time they were done, Jake was going to be here in 5 minutes.

I didn’t even bother to look in the mirror, I pushed them out of the back door, ignoring Amanda’s protests that she lived here, and that of Mia who wanted to see Jake’s face when he saw me. “Mean!” They complained as I shut the door on their faces. I thanked them and went to sit on the couch.

A couple moments of me pacing the room passed until the bell rang. I ran to the door and opened it.

Jake stood there, holding a bouquet of flowers. I smiled and let him in. He came inside, and took a slow scan of me.

“Wow.” He choked out, making me smile with pleasure. “You look…amazing.”

“Thanks.” I led him into the kitchen where I took out a vase to put the flowers in.

“Where are your parents?” He asked.

“Out. Probably at some conference,” I shrugged and changed the subject. “So what’s the plan?”

“Oh, I thought we’d just hang out here and make out.” He joked, while walking to the front door and holding it open. I passed him, laughing. “Funny.”

The rest of our date was like a dream. We went to a French restaurant that I didn’t know had existed, then to a movie. We held hands most of the time, and came close to kissing once, but something held him back, much to my disappointment. The movie he’d picked was a horror, and I spent most of the time in his arms, whimpering. He laughed softly, and rubbed my back. It was like we were meant to be, like we’d been a couple for years. I felt safe and happy with him, shiny and new. We ended up back at my house, just watching a movie, with his arm wrapped around my shoulder.

“Risa,” I heard him say. I looked at him, only to find his face mere inches apart from mine. His eyes, glued to my lips.

I bit my lip lightly, and leaned forward, and closed my eyes. And waited. I felt his breath on my lips before he kissed me. It was warm, and quiet, like time had frozen, our breath the only thing we could hear. He slid his arm around my waist and pulled me closer, if that was possible, and changed the pressure on my lips to something mind blanking.

Beck. For some reason, his face popped up. I frowned into the kiss, and Jake pulled back.

“Is there something wrong?” He asked, worriedly. I shook my head and smiled, banishing all thoughts of Beck out of my head as Jake slanted forward and caught my lips in his.

My parents then barged inside, bringing noise, and startling us apart. I hurried to the other side of the couch, and Jake got the message. We started talking about some made up school project, and I grabbed some paper and a pen that was in front of us to pretend to make notes.

“Yeah, so, let’s do that for our project.” Jake improvised, and got up. “I’ll see you later.” And then he mouthed, call me, when he was behind my parent’s questioning eyes.

“That Jake is such a nice boy.” Mom sighed, and smiled. I agreed thoroughly.

But in the back of my mind, I wondered why I had thought about Beck when we kissed.

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That was a small chapter, yeah? It was a rather romantic chapter. Haha, I wonder why Risa thought of sexy Beck when she kissed Jake?

Hey, do you guys like Jake or Beck?

Jake- the all American hottie with red hair and green eyes. Plays soccer, and is popular

OR

Beck- the sexy bad boy with blonde hair that’s always in his face, and deep blue eyes. Plays the drums, but is not in a band. Is popular with girls, but guys dislike him. They think he’s going to steal their girlfriends.

Hah, you can tell who I like. So who’s yours? Sweet jock, or hot bad boy?

Thanks to Luv-TU, XxAmberRomancexX, and shifty309 for reviewing! You guys rock my…feet, since I’m not wearing any socks. Did y’all like this chapter?