Cinderella Sidelined (13 page)

"Let him sniff you. He's a really good dog," he says. "I promise it'll be okay."
 

I squeeze my eyes shut as Wilbur gets closer to me and then I feel a cold, wet nose lightly sniffing at my thigh. I try not to flinch or squeal but I'm pretty sure a squeak escapes my mouth and I hear Russ chuckle softly.

"You're okay, Em. He's just checking you out. I'm sure he'll like you just as much as everyone else does."
 

I smile even though part of me really just wants to freak out right now as Wilbur's frisky nose moves from my legs to my arms and then suddenly he tickles my neck and I can't help what happens next.

"Eeeek! Okay, that tickles!"
 

I try to get to my feet but instead lose my balance and tumble backwards.

And then he's on top of me.
 

Wilbur's standing over me, hellbent on licking every part of my face, and if you'd asked me five minutes ago what I'd do if I got the same bearhug treatment I'd watched Russ get, I'd have told you I'd probably pee my pants.
 

So when I hear myself laughing because it's suddenly obvious Wilbur isn't about to eat my face off, no one is more surprised about it than I am.

"Wilbur!" I squeal, trying to push the million-ton furball off me, but before I even know what's happening, Russ is here, scooping him away.
 

"Are you okay, Emma?" He kneels down next to me, then crinkles his forehead when he realizes I'm laughing. "Jeez," he mutters. "I thought you were crying under there."

I laugh harder. "No, no," I say in between breaths. "I'm just surprised."
 

He smiles. "Yeah. Me, too." I reach out and he pulls me to my feet and I dust off the back of my shorts, sure I look like I've been rolling around on the ground.
 

"So. Should we, uh, hike?"
 

"You're good with Wilbur coming?"
 

I take a deep breath, then shoot a glance at Wilbur. He's sitting patiently and panting next to Russ, and it kind of looks like he's smiling at me with his tongue hanging out.

"Yeah, yeah, I think so."
 

Russ grins. "Awesome! Let's go."
 

The three of us, about as unlikely a trio as I could've imagined just a few short weeks ago, set out at the beginning of the trail toward the top of Camelback Mountain.

It's easy enough in the beginning, and I credit volleyball with keeping me in reasonable enough shape that I can get up a mountain. It's not that tall, and the trail doesn't go straight up. It's practically flat in some place as we wind our way up the side.
 

But we're about twenty minutes into the hike, walking along in a quiet, peaceful silence, when I start to huff and puff just a little.
 

Or maybe more than that, since it's enough to make Russ stop and look over at me.

"You doing okay, Em?"

I suck in some air. "Just peachy."
 

"We don't have to keep going," he says diplomatically. "If you need to stop and go back, we can."
 

"And get my butt kicked by a dog?" I manage to say. "Fat chance."
 

But then I glance up and realize just how far away from the top of the mountain we are and start to feel a little woozy.

"We're not going all the way up," Russ adds, as if he's reading my mind. "I thought we'd just get up to Echo Saddle."
 

"Okay. I don't know what that is, but okay."
 

He grins. "It's a cool stopping point with a pretty great review. And the trail up to the summit gets a lot harder from there. We won't do that today."
 

"Or any other day," I mutter.

So much for volleyball keeping me in tip top shape.

I'm thinking I probably need to get back in the gym.

Russ and Wilbur walk and I struggle the rest of the way to Echo Saddle, and when we finally get there, I collapse down on the little bench and dig around in my backpack for my water bottle. When more than half the water is gone, I take a few deep breaths, and finally start to feel a little better.

Or at least like I'm not about to pass out on the spot.

"Jeez," I say.

Russ laughs. "Better?"

"Better." I sigh and take a good look at the view in front of me for the first time. "Oh, wow."
 

"Great, right?"

"It's beautiful." I get to my feet and take a few steps closer to the edge of the mountainside. The entire valley is spread out below me, and I feel like I can see for hundreds of miles, straight into the deserts that lay beyond Phoenix. "I bet this would be amazing at night."
 

"You know what's great at night? Driving out into the desert and hanging out in the bed of the truck watching the stars."
 

"Yeah, that doesn't sound terrible."
 

He smiles. "It's not."
 

I stretch my arms over my head and take in the view in silence. It's the first time in a long time I've done something and totally forgotten about the cast on my wrist.
 

It's like I'm normal again. Me.
 

And it feels good.

"He looks thirsty," I say, glancing at Wilbur. "Here." I pass Russ what's left of my water bottle and he smiles and kneels down next to the dog.

"Thanks. I have a bowl and a gallon of water for him back in the car, but this is a good idea."

I wait and drink in the incredible view as Wilbur gulps down water.
 

"Ready to head back?" Russ says, getting to his feet. "I want to make sure Wilbur's not stuck up here when it gets really hot."
 

We're about halfway back down the mountain when he turns to me.
 

"So what's the deal? You looked like a ghost when Wilbur first jumped out of the car and now you're barely paying any attention to him."
 

I glance down at the dog who's walking easily on Russ' right side, farthest from me, sniffing at a stray cactus here or there, but hardly even looking at anyone who passes us along the trail.
 

I shake my head. "Me and dogs haven't always had the best relationship."
 

"What happened? I can't imagine not loving these guys."
 

"I don't know," I admit, realizing it's true. "I just have this foggy memory of being a kid and having a horrible encounter with a dog."
 

"Were you bit or something?"

"Nope. My parents could never figure it out, either. I came home from my grandparents' house one day terrified of their dog Lucky. They looked all over me for a bite or a scratch but they didn't find anything. I don't know, maybe he growled at me and scared me or something. But ever since, I haven't wanted to be around dogs."

Russ is frowning. "Weird," he says at last. "But you didn't run from Wilbur."
 

"He obviously isn't a vicious man-eater."
 

"Most dogs aren't."
 

"I guess."

"Em, I wouldn't bring a dangerous dog to hike with us."
 

I wrinkle my forehead. "No, I know, I wasn't saying you would. I just wasn't expecting him to come running out of your car and it freaked me out."

He nods. "Sorry. I guess I should've told you he was coming. I always assume everyone's like me when it comes to dogs."
 

"You volunteer at an animal shelter," I point out. "You're probably doing more than most dog lovers out there."
 

"I just do what I can."
 

"Well, it's nice of you."
 

"You should come with me sometime."
 

I swing my head around to stare at him. "What?"

He shrugs and offers me a sheepish grin. "Too much? Just trying to keep you on your toes."
 

"Yeah, I don't think I'm ready for that yet. Wilbur's enough for me right now."
 

At the sound of his name, Wilbur looks up at me and does the whole panting-smile routine again, and it just makes me laugh.

"What kind of dog is he?"

"Border collie mix, I think," he says.

"He's a good dog. He should get adopted."
 

"There are a lot of good dogs in the shelters that never find a home," Russ says, and I don't miss the way his eyes flicker wirg sadness.
 

I blow out some air. I know what he's implying, that some dogs go into the shelters and never come out, and it makes my stomach twist, and it's almost enough for me to want to do something about it.

But that would mean going into the shelter with all these dogs, and I'm not sure I can handle that.
 

We get to the end of the trail and it dumps us back into the parking lot.
 

Russ gestures to my cast. "Need a ride?"
 

"You have to get Wilbur back."
 

He glances down at his watch. "I've got enough time to swing by your place."

"Okay," I agree. "Thanks."

I hop into the car while he helps Wilbur jump into the backseat, then pushes the driver's seat back and gets in. He smiles at me before sticking the key into the ignition and the old beater's loud, familiar engine roars to life.
 

"Indian Bend to the 101 is probably the fastest way to my place."

Russ eases out of the parking lot. "I remember where you live, Emma."
 

I don't say anything else as Russ drives me back home, and the only sound filling the car is the heavy panting coming from Wilbur.

 
I pull my phone out of my backpack and check my messages. Nothing from Blaine, but I'm not expecting there to be. Football season is in full swing now and Coach Pepp is big on weekend practice to go over the game from the night before.

But there's a message from Stella waiting for me.
 

"Ugh," I mutter under my breath as I read.
 

"What?" Russ asks.
 

"Nothing," I say, closing the message and putting my phone away without responding. "Apparently Richie is having a party tonight and Stella is about to go off the deep end."
 

Russ takes his eyes off the road long enough to look over at me with confusion. "Am I supposed to know who those people are?"

"Richie Silva? The starting defensive end on the football team?"

"You should know by now that I'm not exactly the kind of guy who's up on the high school football roster."
 

I smile tightly. "Fair enough. Anyway, he's also Blaine's best friend, and Stella is my best friend, and she'd really like something to happen there."

"Ah." Russ nods like it's all becoming clear to him. "Gotcha."
 

"Yeah, so it's not just like there's any old party tonight. It's Richie's party, which makes it ten times more dramatic for Stell." I sigh. "I'm so not looking forward to this."

"Then don't go."
 

Russ says this like it's the most obvious no-brainer in the world.
 

"Yeah right."
 

"What? I'm not kidding. If you don't want to go, then don't. Why do something you know will make you miserable?"

"You don't get it. I can't just not go to something unless I have a good excuse. And since it's Richie's party, I know Blaine's going to want to be there."
 

"If you say so," Russ says, flicking his right blinker on and moving over to exit the freeway. "But that doesn't sound like a good time to me."

I don't respond as he makes a bunch of turns and proves he hadn't been kidding when he said he remembers where I live. He pulls up in front of my house and I'm quick to get out of the car. I'm surprised when he gets out, too.

"Uh, I had fun," I say as he rests his elbow on the roof of his car and looks at me. "I hope Wilbur finds a home soon."
 

"Well, you've gone all awkward all of a sudden."
 

"I'm not awkward. I just don't appreciate you making fun of my life."
 

He rolls his eyes. "Please. I wasn't. I just think it's ridiculous that you're going to force yourself to do something that you make sound like torture."
 

"It's called being a good friend."
 

He goes quiet for a second. "You said Stella has been chasing Rocky for awhile, right?"

"Richie. And yeah."

"And he's shown no interest in her, right?"

I shrug. "Right. So?"

"So maybe you'd be a better friend if you told her it's probably time to move on."
 

"She can still land him."
 

"No halfway decent guy who's into a girl would string her along for this long, Em."
 

"Maybe he doesn't know she likes him," I say, but his point is hard to argue with. It's something that's been nagging in back of my mind for the last few weeks, but I haven't wanted to say anything to Stella.
 

"You don't really believe that."
 

No.
 

He's right.

I don't.

But I'm not about to tell him that.

"You think you're so smart about all of this, then you come to the party tonight and see for yourself," I tell him, raising an eyebrow.

"Challenge accepted," he replies with a cocky grin. He flips his sunglasses back down over his eyes. "Text me the address. See you tonight, Em."
 

And with that, he slides into the driver's seat and his car roars away from the curb. I watch until it disappears around the corner, then head up the driveway toward the house, wondering what I've just gotten myself into.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

It takes me three hours to decide whether or not I'm actually going to send Richie's address to Russ, but something tells me he'll find it with or without my help, and I don't need to piss off the one ally I seem to have in the entire play.