NorthangerAlibiInterior

  “Obvious?” When did he figure it out? I ignored his hand. “But . . .”

  He lowered his hand into his pocket and ran the other through his hair. “Well, yeah . . . you see, Sadie, um, I’ve known Sadie for like, two months now. And she’s never—I mean never—tempted me into kissing her.” Jaden put his other hand in his pocket and rocked back on his heels. The sheepish grin he gave me when he looked up nearly stole my breath away. “So, well, anyway. I figured it out as soon as I touched your lips, that you, uh, weren’t her. And well, all at once, I don’t know what came over me—I mean, I realized how nice you were and how much shock you must be in, since I practically attacked you, and well, something clicked. I knew I shouldn’t do it, but I just wanted to kiss you. And I was going to walk away—really, I was. But then . . . then you licked your lips, and I just had to taste a sample. So, there’s my confession. I’m sorry. The whole spill and everything was all my fault.”

  My jaw had dropped about halfway through his speech, and I still couldn’t raise it. I just stood staring at him like a stupid Mary Poppins codfish. He wanted to kiss me? Me? Even though he didn’t know me—and he knew he didn’t know me? This was better than Twilight!

  “Aw, Claire, you’ve gotta stop looking so cute. I’m trying to be honest with you. I don’t think you realize how close you are to getting kissed again.”

  What does a girl say to that, anyway? “Uh, okay.” I finally closed my mouth.

  “Okay?” He chuckled. “Are you saying I can kiss you again?”

  “No!” I blurted out. “I—I mean, er—well, whatever.” I’m such a dork. My heart was pounding so fast I couldn’t concentrate.

  Jaden glanced away and then cleared his throat. He held his hand out to mine, and while shaking it, announced, “Hi, I’m Jaden. I’m seventeen. I’ll be a senior this year, and I live near Seattle in a suburb about twenty minutes from here. I work at Old Navy every day except Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and apparently, I have a new fascination with kissing girls I hardly know and terrifying them into running from me. So, uh, you’re cute. What’s your name?”

  He looked so serious, I couldn’t help it. I burst into giggles. Then I did the unthinkable—I tried to flirt back. “Hi, Jaden. I’m Claire Hart. I’m sixteen. I’ll be a junior this year. But I live in Farmington, New Mexico. I’m just on a summer vacation here with my sister and some friends—”

  “What? You’re just visiting?” He looked so upset, I rolled my eyes. “But what am I going to do when you leave?”

  “Send me an e-mail?” I giggled some more. “Or text me?” I pulled out my phone and showed it to him.

  “How can I text you when I don’t have your number?”

  “Now, that was the best pickup line I think I’ve ever heard.”

  “It was good, wasn’t it? Pretty sly. I think I’m going to have to use it again. Well, that is, if it works.”

  It worked. He looked so charmingly at me, I really didn’t have a choice. After I gave him my digits, I asked, “So, do I get yours?”

  “Hmm . . .” He seemed to playfully consider the idea. “Maybe. For a price.”

  “For a price, huh?” I put my hands on my hips. “Would that price possibly be a kiss?”

  “Yeah, have to say, I think I’m headin’ that way for a payment.” Jaden took a step closer. My heart fluttered into my throat. “You game?” he asked.

  “I—I don’t know.” I tried to sound cool and calm about it, but I’m not sure how well I succeeded. “I’m not sure your phone number is worth a kiss.”

  “What?”

  “Nope.” I smiled. “I’ll have to see what you do with my number first, before I even think about kissing you again.”

  He took another step closer.

  I stood my ground.

  “Oh, I get it.” He raised an eyebrow. “You’re into challenges.”

  I thought about the bet with Cassidy and shrugged. “Sure. You could say that.” I nervously licked my lips and wished I hadn’t. Jaden’s eyes flew to my mouth.

  “What if I wanted to steal one anyway? What would you do?” he whispered as he lowered his head.

  “Probably deck you,” I whispered back. My chin rose a bit and my eyes fluttered closed, belying my words completely.

  “I think I’ll take my chances.”

  “Claire! Oh my gosh! There you are!” Nora hollered from somewhere behind me. I didn’t care. I didn’t open my eyes.

  But the moment must’ve been ruined for Jaden, because he chuckled and murmured, “Don’t worry. You’ll get your kiss, I promise. And this time I’m going to deserve it.”

  My eyes flew open as he stepped back. I realized what a total dork I must’ve looked like, practically begging him to kiss me. Sheesh. I was so thankful for Nora.

  “Are you okay?” Her eyes were huge.

  “Uh, yeah. I think so,” I said, wondering how much she’d seen. I refused to look at Jaden.

  “You left your purse back there.”

  “Thank you! I forgot all about it. I’m such a moron, seriously.” I looked down and saw her jeans. They were splattered with dark smoothie spots. I felt even worse.

  “It’s okay. Joe’s not mad anymore, either. I totally told him off.”

  “You did?” Jaden’s voice right above my head made me jump.

  “Yeah.” She laughed. “It was no big deal, really. I just pointedly reminded him that if he wanted to keep his job as a store manager, he shouldn’t call customers names, or yell when they cause an accident. In fact, I suggested that if he continued to show disrespect and immaturity, Old Navy wouldn’t even hesitate to dismiss him.”

  “No way!” I gaped at her, and Jaden laughed.

  “Yep. He was very apologetic, too, and then admitted that all the clothes that had been ‘ruined’ were tax write-offs anyway.”

  I groaned. “Four hundred dollars’ worth of tax write-offs!”

  “There weren’t even that many. Honest. Joe way overexaggerated, so don’t feel bad. Once we cleaned up the mess, there were only a couple of shirts and a pair of jeans.”

  “Really?”

  “I promise. Even Joe admitted that he totally overreacted. Anyway, I stayed until it was all cleared up. It only took like, max, three minutes. I just wish your purse could’ve made it out a little better. I think it got covered the most.”

  I took the soggy purse she handed me. Nora was so nice. It was obvious she’d tried to wipe off as much smoothie as she could. “Thanks. I so owe you. You’ve been really awesome about the whole thing.” I looked down at myself for the first time and saw what a disaster I was. Even Jaden still had dark smudges all over him. He was one sticky mess. We all were. “Well, so much for the movie.” I sighed. “Sorry again.”

  “Oh! That reminds me,” Nora said. “Apparently, my speech hit home a little too hard with Joe. Maybe this isn’t the first time this has happened—”

  “No, it’s not,” Jaden confirmed.

  “Well, Joe’s treating us all to a new set of clothes—from his paycheck. He’s hoping he’ll be able to keep his job if we’re nice. So what do ya say? Are you feeling nice?”

  Seven

  His Sister's Keeper

  I was feeling really nice, especially after I was wearing my new uber-cute jeans and flowing floral wrap top. Nora looked positively hot in her new jeans and ultra-light chiffon pin-tucked shirt. Even Joe noticed. Actually, for the hour or so we were in Old Navy, I saw Joe looking at Nora a lot. I mean, more than I think she realized.

  “Way to go, Claire!” Nora exclaimed as we made our way out of the mall to the parking lot. “New outfits and a kiss. Who knew our day at the mall would get that exciting? That was just wild.”

  Tell me about it. “I know.” I giggled in disbelief as we approached her car.

  “So, I want all the gory details.” She clicked her remote to unlock the car. “I mean, what were you thinking when Jaden walked up and hugged you like that?”

  I opened the door and climbed
in the car. “That I’d died and gone to heaven. Honestly, I didn’t know what to do. Guys never, ever looked at me in Farmington. Not the way he was looking at me.”

  “And kissing you,” she added. Not that she needed to—I was already thinking it.

  “Seriously, could I have made a bigger fool of myself? The guy kisses me, and I freak out.”

  Nora began to giggle. “Okay, I know it’s not funny, but boy, was it funny! Your face when he kissed you, and then his when you dumped smoothie all over him—priceless. Honestly. I so wish I’d thought to pull out my cell phone and record it.”

  “Gee, thanks.” I fastened my seatbelt. “It’s nice to know who your true friends are.”

  “Hey, it’s not like I’d post it on YouTube” —she laughed— “that is, not right away. So, come on, you have to tell me. I mean, first off, I would’ve dropped my smoothie too. You have no idea. I don’t know how you managed to stay standing, actually. He is hot! So, what was his kiss like? And was it just me, or was he going to kiss you again? Because when I walked up, it totally looked like he was ready to kiss you again. And when did he figure out he didn’t know you?”

  “Wait! You are just as bad as Chloe, my older sister. But before I answer your third-degree assault, I want to know one thing.”

  “Okay, what?”

  “Please tell me you noticed Joe checking you out. Please just tell me you did, because that guy was doing anything and everything he could to get you to notice him.”

  “What? Are you kidding me? Joe?”

  “Shut up! You didn’t see him?”

  “No,” Nora said. “You’re high, aren’t you? Joe hates me. I mean, seriously, I threatened to get him fired. He should hate me. If he doesn’t, then he’s stupid, and I don’t like stupid guys anyway.”

  “Whatever. He’s hot, and you know it.”

  “Yeah, but hot and brainless? What’s the point in that?”

  “So, you’re saying if he were to ask you out, you’d tell him no?” I couldn’t believe it. “Even after how nice he was?”

  She wiggled her eyebrows and put the car in gear. “I don’t know. It’d depend on where he wanted to take me.”

  “You are so bad.” I giggled.

  “Well, I mean, who am I to pass up a free date? Come on. If he’s willing to pay to get to know me a little more, I might as well oblige him.”

  “Admit it. You like him.” I turned sideways in my seat so I could see her better as she pulled out of the parking lot.

  “No way.”

  “Okay then, admit that you don’t like him. Admit that you aren’t the teensiest bit interested in him.”

  “I’m not going to admit anything.”

  “I knew it!” I laughed as I fell back against the seat. “You do like him. As soon as Jaden texts me, I’m going to let him know, too. I’ll have you set up with Joe before you can blink.”

  “You wouldn’t dare!” Nora’s jaw dropped open.

  “Chicken?”

  “Claire, serious. You really think he likes me?”

  “Yeah, it seemed that way. He was sure watching you the whole time you were in the store.”

  She changed the subject. “Okay, so it’s only four o’clock. What do you want to do?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know, do some more shopping? Go out to eat? Head over to the movie now, that sort of thing?”

  “Oh! Um, I don’t know. Maybe we could swing by the theater and see what’s playing and then go from there.”

  “Ooh! I got a better idea. We’ve got a twenty-minute drive. Why don’t you call Tony and ask him what movies are playing.”

  “Tony?”

  “Yeah, he’s home right now. He can look it up for us.” She handed me her phone. “Just look up call history. He should be the first or second call on there.”

  “Okay.” It took me a minute, but I was able to find Tony Russo. I pushed the button, and he picked it up on the third ring.

  “Hey, Nor. How’s it goin’? Are you still with Claire? Has she mentioned me at all?”

  Huh? Oh my gosh. Now what do I do?

  Nora studied my shocked face. “Claire? What’s wrong? Did he pick up?”

  I nodded and then handed the phone over to her.

  “What did you do to Claire?” she accused into the phone. “She can’t even talk right now.”

  Yikes. I covered my face with my hands and willed myself not to think of Tony actually thinking about me and interested enough to ask if I mentioned him. I didn’t succeed. Maybe Cassidy was right. Maybe he does like me.

  I heard Nora laugh and looked over to see her rolling her eyes. She whispered, “He’s so embarrassed right now. The dork.”

  I grinned. The thought of him embarrassed because of me seemed cute somehow. Man, I’m evil.

  “Do you think you can handle talking to Claire now?” Nora teased. “What was that? You do? M’kay, let me see if she wants to talk to you.” She beamed over at me. I nodded. “Here she is. Now be nice.” She handed over the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Sorry about that.” Tony sounded sheepish.

  Okay, so how cute is he?

  “So, what did you need? I promise this time I won’t ask you anything awkward.”

  “Actually, we were wondering if you could help us with something.”

  “Sure, no problem. What’s up?”

  “Well, we wanted to go to the movie later, and—”

  “And you needed a really hot guy to take you?”

  I smiled into the phone. “Well, there is that. Hmm . . . I’ll have to think about it.”

  He laughed. I loved the way his laugh sounded. “What? That wasn’t it? Okay, you better give me a heads-up before I make a fool out of myself for a third time today.”

  “We just wanted to know what movies were playing and what time.” I giggled. “And since you’re home and all—”

  “Oh, I get it. I’m just your information service.”

  “Yeah, something like that.”

  “Fine. But it’ll come with a charge.”

  What is it with me and guys today? “Let me guess. You want a kiss too?”

  “Uh . . .” Tony chuckled into the phone. “I was thinking more along the lines of letting me go with you so I don’t die of boredom here in the house all day. But hey, if a kiss is part of the deal too, who am I to complain?”

  Good grief. I could feel my face go bright red. Why did I even wake up today? I really don’t think I was meant to go anywhere or speak to anyone. I bet if I had read my horoscope that morning, it would’ve said something like: A friend may plan an outing with you today. Decline. It is not in your best interest, or theirs. Also, try to keep from mingling with the opposite gender in any way. If you do, you may live to regret it. Also, avoid all purchased beverages. If you must, buy water.

  “Claire?” Tony’s deep voice reminded me that I was still on the phone with him. “You got kind of quiet after I mentioned the kiss. You’re not planning to murder me now, are you?”

  He surprised a giggle right out of me. “Why would I be planning a murder?” Like I could murder a vampire if I wanted to, anyway.

  Tony laughed at my response. “Well, it’s just more or less a habit with me, you know? Call me suspicious, but whenever anyone gets real quiet, I have to wonder if they’re planning my demise.”

  I cracked up. “Your demise? What a word.”

  “Hey, you’d be surprised how many evil-tormenter-doomsday types live in the world today. And frankly, I don’t know you from Adam. And even though I can’t think of anything, I’m sure you could find a reason to get back at me. That is, if you wanted to.”

  “So, are you trying to tell me you’re some sort of superhero, and I’m your nemesis?”

  “Nemesis, huh? I like that word. It sends out all sorts of danger signals.”

  Danger signals? All at once, I pictured Tony kissing me, and I wondered briefly if his lips would be like Edward’s—cool marble. And then
, the silliest thing happened. I said something so completely baffling and unlike me. Maybe it was the recent conquest of Jaden, or the realization that Tony was interested. But whatever it was, I found myself going all movie star and using the most flirtatious line built into my subconscious that related to danger signals. “So, do you like playing with fire?”

  Tony groaned temptingly. He fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker.

  Fire and ice. What a concept.

  After he had promised to get back to us with movie info, I hung up and went to hand the cell phone back to Nora, but she refused to take it. Actually, she looked downright peeved.

  “Is something wrong?” I asked, trying to replay the last ten minutes to see if I’d said anything about her. Did I offend her somehow?

  “You could say that.” She stared straight ahead, her eyes never leaving the highway.

  Great. Now what have I done? “Want to tell me about it?”

  “Yep,” she responded, tight-lipped. “Give me a moment, and I’ll let you have it. I’m just trying to calm down first.”

  Calm down? I thought briefly of the facetious horoscope and growled. I would pick today of all days to venture out into the world.

  Nora must’ve heard the growl, because her head whipped around and she studied me for a second before snapping her eyes back to the road. “So, what’s the deal with you anyway, huh?”

  “Deal?”

  “Yeah. Are you just trying to get as many guys as you can while you’re here, or what?”

  What in the—?

  “Because, you know what, if that’s your game, then lay off my brother, all right? Find some other guy to bury. Because he doesn’t need this, okay?”

  Holy cow. Is she serious? “Nora, wait—”

  “No, Claire, you wait! Tony is one of the best guys you’ll ever meet. The most protective, nicest, caring guy ever. And if you’re just trying to get him to fall for you, then congratulations, you’ve done it. I don’t know how, when heaven knows loads of other girls have tried—but you have. So there. Game over. Now you can walk away.”