"Catch me at lunch," Jake said when we separated for classes. The gorgeous blonde was in my third period math class but she was up front and the only seat left for me was in the back. Damn, she vanished as soon as the bell rang. I swore she could move.
But this time I had a name.
I'd ask Jake about her. When the lunch bell rang, my brain already ached from the sheer number of "introduction" and "first of the year" speeches I'd received. It was nice that Jake was waiting for me right outside the lunchroom.
"Hold up," he told me when I would have gone on inside. "Waiting on some friends."
"Sure." I'd just leaned back against the wall next to him when I spotted the blonde again. She was strolling in our direction, talking animatedly to a tall, lanky guy next to her. His response made her laugh and I swore it was like being dropped inside of a bell as a gong sounded.
The vibration went straight through me. She was still smiling, laughter in her eyes, when our gazes locked. The lyrics to Savage Garden's "I Knew I Loved You," made absolute sense to me.
"Bubba, this is Frankie and Coop," Jake said and it was like all the sound rushed back in at once. "Guys, this is Bubba. Friend of mine from Germany. He's new."
"Wait," Coop said with smirk. "You have friends outside of us?" He wrapped his arm around Frankie's shoulder and I had the sudden desire to break it. "Well, what do you know?"
"Fuck you," Jake said, laughing as he dragged the door open. Frankie elbowed Coop, then stuck her hand out to me.
"Welcome," she greeted me as she shook my hand, but the eye contact didn't last anywhere near as long as I would have liked. Instead, she glanced past me to Jake. "You're really growing in your old age. Developing new people skills. Welcoming friends to our circle. I'm so proud."
She mimed wiping away a tear and I cracked up as Jake made a face at her and then shook his head. "Bubba doesn't count as new. So he's in. Deal with it."
I was? Fine by me. I hadn't realized how hard I was staring or how obvious it was as she and Jake led the way toward the line picking on each other or how Jake pretty much body blocked anyone from running into her.
"She has that effect on people," Coop said as he bumped my shoulder with his. At my glance, he touched the corner of his mouth. "You have a little drool right here.."
The flash of teasing in his eyes helped and I shook my head before giving him a little shove away. "Shut up."
He was still laughing when we caught up and she glanced back at us, a question in her eyes.
"Bubba just had something on his face," Coop said without an ounce of apology. "Don't worry, I fixed it."
At her raised brow inquiry in my direction, I found myself thanking Coop mentally. "I don't see anything," she murmured. "All good now."
Yeah. Yeah it was.
Seeing her had captured my attention. Hearing her laugh had snared my heart. But the fact she smiled at me and then talked to me.
All I could think of was soulmate. What a stupid fucking word it was, but at the same time it fit. Clearly, I kept those thoughts to myself. But I ate lunch with them every single day and it wasn't long before I had her number and we were hanging out.
Maybe all the last minute rushing and not being able to pick classes was worth it. Sure, I sat on the bench for half the year in football, but I got my times to shine. I found an old friend and new friends all on the same day.
Even better, I met Frankie.
I had no idea why all of that went through my head as we sat on the bus heading for graduation, but it did. Six, almost seven years ago, I couldn’t have imagined how this worked out. Hell, at the beginning of the school year I’d thought we’d doomed it before it could really start.
Yet here we were, beyond rhyme and reason.
All because I met Frankie and she was the best damn thing to ever happen to me.
FLASHBACK: MATH AND MEETINGS
ARCHIE
The car rolled up to the high school and I leaned back in the passenger seat. Jeremy cast a sideways look at me. “There’s still time to change your mind, Mr. Archie.” It was the first day of ninth grade and not only had we moved over the summer to a new place in Texas of all places, but I’d decided to go to school locally rather than remain at boarding school.
“Nope,” I said with a lot more confidence than I possessed. The last couple of years at Andover had been less than stellar. With Nana gone now, there was no reason to stay. She’d been the driving force behind my attendance. Particularly since she and Grandpa lived a few miles away. I could spend weekends with them. Grandpa didn’t want the house anymore and I couldn’t blame him.
The last weekend I spent there it had just been the two of us rattling around in that big empty house. Now that Grandpa and Edward were no longer on speaking terms, I didn’t even have that escape available. Grandpa’s last missive—passed through Jeremy since Edward, the asshole, had forbidden me direct contact with him—included the fact he was selling the house but would put the money into my trust for me.
I didn’t give a damn about the money. Honestly, I didn’t even care about the house. It was just a building without Nana.
This school though was a far cry from the boarding schools and preparatory academies I’d spent the last few years at. No uniforms in sight. The temperatures outside were sizzling. A hell of a lot more kids trailed up the walkways, got off of buses, and made their way in from the parking lot than had been at his boarding school.
A lot more.
Public school. Time to make my own way.
“I’m good,” I continued, glancing at Jeremy. The guy, who was pretty much the family manager from butler to chauffer to cook to confidant, regarded me steadily. “Seriously, I’m good. I want to do this. I need air to breathe that isn’t loaded down with expectations and plans made three generations ago.”
Also, I didn’t want any more damn arguments about what my next steps would be. Edward and Muriel both wanted different things for me. From prep school to Ivy League to diving into the family business.
Yeah, none of those were on my list.
There had to be a life outside of the moneyed halls with their polite stabs in the back and poisonous arguments.
“You have your phone, I’ll be along directly at four to retrieve you. If that changes for any reason just let me know.”
“Thanks Jeremy.”
“Of course, Mr. Archie.”
At least riding up front it wasn’t as conspicuous that I had a driver for school. We’d finished all my enrollment the week before. Jeremy had come with me to do the paperwork and signed everything. He’d pretty much done that since I was five. I doubt Edward or Muriel had ever set foot inside one of my schools.
Ever.
Somehow, I didn’t think it would change here.
“See you later,” I told Jeremy as I stepped out into the muggy heat and slung my backpack over my shoulder. One look at what the other kids were wearing and I was glad I swapped out the polo shirt Jeremy had put out for a band t-shirt I’d picked up at a concert over the summer.
As it was the khaki shorts were gonna stand out but fuck it. I tapped the top of the Lexus before walking away. I had my schedule in my back pocket and I may or may not have memorized the layout of the school because it was three times the size of the academy. They like everything bigger in Texas apparently.