Full Count (The Catcher Series Book 1) (38 page)

            “I know. Is that a problem?” I really hope it isn
’
t. With Makenna now joining our table, it
’
s
going to be musical chairs every day and I
’
m bound to lose
out. Plus it really sucks not seeing Skyler at all during the day. At least
this will give me some motivation to get through the first half of my day.

            “No. Why would it be a fucking problem?” he questions
me like he
’
s actually mad I think that.

            “Because maybe you have a full table,” I throw out a
possibility.

            “Then I would move tables,” he deadpans.

            “Who do you sit with?” I wonder. All of our immediate
friends are in my lunch so I
’
m curious.

            “Some baseball and football guys,” he tells me.

            “Ooh, a jock table,” I sing, laughing afterwards.

            “You realize you
’
re a jock, too,
right sweetheart?” he teases, reaching across the console to shake my leg as if
I am sleeping.

            “Yeah, but I don
’
t rub it in
people
’
s faces or walk around like I
’
m
the shit,”
I argue.

            “You must be mistaken us for some other type of jock.
This is the misfit jock table,” he snickers, taking his hand off my knee and
putting it back on the wheel.

            “
Then I
’
ll
fit right in,” I smile back.

            I pass out before I even eat dinner. I somehow
managed to finish my algebra homework, but anything else I have to do suffers
from my necessary sleep. I wake up once to go to the bathroom just to pee, and
I reach out for Skyler to wake him up. Except he isn
’
t
there. I hate these nights. I hate waking up in my bedroom feeling like I
’
m trapped alone in an attic.

            After walking to the bathroom, I turn on the light
and allow my eyes to adjust before completely walking inside. I learned my
lesson from last night. I pee and then quickly return to my room where I sit on
my bed and lean up against the headboard. Without even thinking twice, I call
Skyler.

            “Hey,” his raspy voice answers after the fourth ring.
I close my eyes and pretend he
’
s curled up next to me and
says it so I can feel his breath on my shoulder. If this is what one night
without him feels like, I
’
m in serious trouble. “B, you
okay?” he asks when I don
’
t respond. His voice makes him
sound really tired, and I feel bad for waking him up.

            “Yeah,” I reply right away. “I woke up to pee and
reached over to wake you up but you weren
’
t there.” I
laugh as I say it because it sounds so ridiculous, but it
’
s
a kind of ridiculousness that makes me happy. He
’
s my
favorite part about going to bed and waking up every day; we
’
ve
had this arrangement since my accident, so I
’
m used to it.

            “Aw, I
’
m sorry,” he chuckles. “Alex
said you pretty much passed out right after you got home, so I just wanted to
let you sleep.”

            “I sleep better when I
’
m with
you,” I blurt out.

            “Me, too, sweetheart,” he agrees, and I can tell that
he
’
s smiling. “But it
’
s almost 5:00
a.m. so you can
’
t really come over since we have to get up
in an hour.”

            “Wow, I slept that long? Jeez,” I realize it totals
twelve hours. That
’
s impressive.

            “At least one of us slept,” Skyler mumbles.

            “You didn
’
t sleep?
”
I question.

            “Nah, I did. Just not for too long. I woke up worried
about you.” My heart aches for him, to be next to him but also to have him
sleeping soundly again. I hate that he
’
s constantly
worried about me no matter how nice it is to always be on his mind.

            “I wish you didn
’
t worry so
much, Sky,” I plead.

            “It
’
s part of my job,” he
states.
As my boyfriend.
Ah, that will make me smile forever knowing
that he
’
s mine. Some ruffling in the background awakens me
from my short daydream on Cloud Nine. “Can you hold on a second?”

            “Sure?” I answer. He just complained about being
tired but okay. I
’
m not going to go to back to bed
anyways. I
’
ll just wake up more tired if I do. Some
creaking sounds but I can
’
t tell if it
’
s
through the phone or at my window. So I crawl over to my window and look
outside. Sure enough, Sky is scaling the gondola ladder just outside my bedroom
window. I don
’
t want to scare him so I step back after
unlocking the screen door.

            “You still there?” I hear him ask over the phone.

            This is easily the best morning of my life. I
’
m not sure if I
’
m dreaming or not, but I
nod as he peers through the glass door with a small guilty smile on his face
but serious eyes. His expressions always make me question how one half is
expressing one emotion and the other half is showing another. But I
’
ll take his smolder and broody eyes any day.

            He welcomes himself into my dark bedroom with only
the pool lights outside illuminating the area. The sun hasn’t started coming up
just yet.

            “What are you doing here?” I chuckle as I greet him,
throwing my phone on the floor and pulling on the bottom of his shirt so I can have
him closer to me.

            “I wanted to kiss you,” he admits, leaning down to
kiss me. He
’
s making up for lost years of not acting on
our crushes for each other. Forget about morning breath; I can kiss Skyler
morning, day, or night. “Damn, you really did pass out when you got home,” he
laughs, examining my wardrobe. I
’
m still in the outfit I
wore to school yesterday. Oops.

            “I was tired,” I defend myself in a giggly whine.

            “It
’
s fine. I just want to make
sure you
’
re okay,” he says with dark, passionate eyes. My
chest floods with butterflies scurrying around, igniting my whole body. It
doesn
’
t help that he
’
s running his
fingertips along my exposed skin everywhere - my neck, my arms, my lower back.

            “I
’
m okay,” I promise him. When
he reaches around my thighs and picks me up, I almost screech but he quickly
goes in for a kiss to muffle my noise. After guiding me down onto my bed,
Skyler climbs over me, continuing to work his lips on me. We spend the next
hour making out and goofing around simultaneously until he has to climb back
down my house so he won
’
t get caught in my bed this early
in the morning.

            When Rex sees me in the hallway on my way to the
breakfast table, he asks me in a mumbled voice, “Why the hell are you so
chipper this early?”

            Shrugging, I play it off. “It
’
s
what happens when you get twelve hours of sleep. You should try it sometime.”
Or
when Skyler sneaks into my bedroom before the sun rises and claims me as his
for about an hour.

            “Is that including the two hours you slept in class
yesterday?” he snaps in a fatherly tone. It
’
s kind of
creepy, honestly.

            “No, Dad, it
’
s not,”
I answer.

            “If you need to skip school and sleep, everyone will
understand. I
’
ll help you keep up with classes,” he
offers.

            “I
’
m fine. I just needed to
catch up on my sleep from the night in the hospital,” I tell him.

            I scurry to the freezer to grab a waffle and stick it
in the toaster as I pass Baylee making a smoothie. “Morning, Bay,” I cheer,
giving her a kiss on top of her head. Another year or two and she
’
s
going to be taller than me, but in the mean time I
’
m still
capable of reaching the top of her model-like hair.

            “Morning?” She
’
s probably
wondering the exact same thing as Rex but is too tired to deal with actually
asking me, afraid she
’
ll get an answer too chipper. As Rex
is pouring a glass of milk for himself, Baylee mutters, “Why is she so… buzzed?”

            “She slept for twelve hours,” he repeats my fact.

             “Wow. Must be nice,” she slurs.

            A little while later Skyler pulls up the driveway to
pick me up for school, and I literally skip down the sidewalk and jump into his
passenger seat, watching his eyes narrow on me.

             “
Good morning!
” I smile like an
annoying elf who is overly happy on Christmas day and wants to spread the
cheerful disease. All Skyler does is shake his head and laugh with a raspy
sound like he has just woken up - but I know better. He wasn
’
t
going to go back to bed when he left my room this morning. He left at the
absolute last second before we would
’
ve been caught. “You
look as surprised as Baylee and Rex were when they saw me.”

             “If I were them I would think you just fucked me
with how happy you look,” he blurts out. At first he
’
s
just staring at the road, and I think he
’
s going to avoid
my gaze, but then he turns and meets me looking like we
’
re
about to fuck right here in his Jeep. A chill shoots through me making the spot
between my legs flutter.

            “If Rex thought that he probably would
’
ve
made me stay home,” I point out, laughing at his hypocrisy. Skyler told me Rex
and Leah have sex frequently, so I
’
m prepared to use that
information however necessary when the time comes for me to lose my v-card.

            The rest of the short ride to school is quiet, which
allows me to daydream again about Skyler scaling the side of my house to come
see me so early in the morning. He
just wanted to kiss me
at 5:00 a.m.
as if it is the most normal teenage boy thing to do. I know he worries about me
and that
’
s partially the reason for him coming over - to
check on me - but at least he makes me have fun while he
’s doing
it.

            Skyler pulls into his parking spot and turns his head
dramatically towards me. “I like seeing you this fucking happy,” he whispers,
placing two of his fingers under my chin to support me as I melt into his eyes.
After starting to lean in for a kiss, I hesitate. We
’
re at
school in the open parking lot. Anyone can walk past us at any moment, and the
rumor will spread like wildfire. But I don
’
t want to worry
about it. He deserves a kiss. “
Damn it, Buzz,
” he
whimpers, resting his forehead on mine.

             “What? I
’
m sor-” I try
apologizing. I know we
’
re in public. Actually it
’
s worse; we
’
re at
school, the forbidden zone. I must be giving him really good bunny eyes because
Skyler
’
s lips disrupt my words by linking with mine,
giving me what I want after all.

            When he separates our lips slightly, he asks me, “Have
you forgotten about our deal?”

             “Oh, right. The secre-” I begin to answer him, but
he does it again. Every time he interrupts me mid-word with a kiss it takes me
off guard and gives me a whole new rush of feelings. “Sky… why do you keep
doing that?” I giggle.

             “Because I
’
m jealous of the air
that constantly gets to be touching your lips,” he taunts me with a sensual
face.

            I literally take the deepest breath that I can fit
into my lungs and let it out, my mouth forming a small “o” shape as my chest
rises and falls rapidly. It isn
’
t even 7:00 a.m. and I
’
ve already lost any prayer of focusing in my classes.

34 Skyler Swanson

Thank fucking God that Buzz switches her lunch to mine. Going a
whole day, five days a week without seeing her for eight hours was fucking
torture. Her fifth hour study hall is on the opposite side of the school from
my fifth hour history class, so I figure I
’
ll see her in
the cafeteria.

            At first I don
’
t see her, so I
go to the table to give the guys a heads up that she
’
s
coming. Today the table only consists of two baseball guys and one football
player, all of whom Buzz and I grew up with playing t-ball and little league
and, to this day, pick up games at the park. The two baseball guys are Brandon
Wilkinson and Luke Borden, both of which played on the Rockets with me, and the
football player is one of our school
’
s wide receivers,
Evan Smith - aka Smalls. He
’
s the one who told us to get a
room in the parking lot before school last week.

            Before I have a chance to warn them, Buzz walks up to
the table with just her backpack in hand, no food. Her eyes immediately land on
mine and look like she
’
s trying to cover up being
embarrassed about something. I have no clue as to what.

             “Hey, I
’
m Bianca,” she
introduces herself as if it
’
s her first time meeting them.

            Oh my God. I didn
’
t even
consider she doesn
’
t remember them or that she
’
s forgotten their names. I feel like such a fucking jackhole
for not thinking ahead.

            The guys all give her kind of weird glances but
thankfully play along. Individually they say their names, and then each one
looks at me like I could give them a silent explanation as to why they just had
to reintroduce themselves to a girl they have known since they were five. I
obviously can
’
t do it with her sitting right fucking
there, so I ignore them.

             “Where
’s your lunch?
” I ask
her, noticing she just rests her head on her arms on top of the table. She
doesn
’
t look like she
’
s even
considering eating.
Damn it, Alex! Damn it, Benny! I fucking told them to
make sure she was eating!

             “I usually just grab something in line,” she mumbles
without picking up her head.

            When she doesn
’
t move at all, I
whisper to her, “Do you need money?”

             “No,” she answers, slightly shaking her head at me.
Ummm,
okay? What the fuck is this?
She literally just doesn
’
t
eat? What is she waiting for? There
’
s literally no line.

             “Here. I must
’
ve taken Savannah
’
s lunch; there
’
s fruit in
it. I won
’
t eat it,” I offer her a bag of grapes
and pineapple cubes.

             “You don
’
t like grapes or
pineapple?” she questions like it
’
s the most absurd thing
she
’
s ever heard. Okay, so I
’
m lying
to her. I know I didn
’
t take Savannah
’
s
lunch because I packed it myself. I just want her to fucking eat something.

             “
No, I don’
t,” I lie. My chest
heats knowing I
’
m not telling her the truth. I can
’
t remember ever purposely lying to her, and I
’
m
not a fucking fan of it at all, no matter how small it seems. However, I tell
myself it
’
s worth it, and if I have to go the rest of my
life pretending I don
’
t like grapes and pineapple I
’
ll fucking survive.

             “
Thanks,
” she smiles. “You
should grab her lunch more often.”

             “
Your mom doesn
’
t
buy fruit?” I question. It seems like something Beth would do, buy fruit but
most likely just for show. So there should be plenty in the Ferrari household
if Buzz wants it.

             “She does, but I
’
m rarely at my
house in the morning, and if I am, I
’
m running too late to
make a lunch,” Buzz explains, starting to eat the fruit with a satisfied look
on her face.

            For the rest of the week I bring Buzz fruit for
lunch, and by the time Friday rolls around I
’
m craving
pineapple. When the guys come over for “guys
’
night” I
suggest we order pizza, more specifically Hawaiian. Before the pizza arrives I
go into the fridge and put some pineapple into a bowl to bring into the
basement for myself.

             “Can I have a cube?” Benny asks me once I sit down
at the card table.

            Rolling my eyes, I answer, “Fine.”

             “What? It
’
s pineapple. Don
’
t you have more upstairs?” he presses.

             “Yeah. Have some. I don
’
t
fucking care,” I tell him, shuffling the deck of cards. Alex and Sam are
studying me from across the table, and I don
’
t fucking
like it. I
’
ve been crabby all night. While I
’
m
paying attention to the deck of cards I
’
m shuffling, Sam
sneaks a piece of pineapple from my bowl, too, causing me to sigh in disgust.

             “Are you PMSing?” Alex jokes with his annoying
Prince Charming smile.

             “
No fucker,
” I snap. I take a
deep breath to regroup. It
’
s going to be a long night if I
don
’
t come back from the edge. The week dragged so fucking
long, and I didn
’
t get to play catch or baseball once.
That
’
s how I determine if it
’
s a bad
week. It also doesn
’
t help that Buzz had a rough week. Her
head has been hurting like crazy, and she
’
s been sleeping
a lot. “I just need a pick up game this weekend.”

             “Alright. We
’
ll make it happen,”
Benny agrees.

             “How
’
s Bianca
doing?
” Alex questions me. Although he
’
s smart
enough to know that being away from her is killing me, he isn
’
t
smart enough to phrase his question properly to not get an answer in the form
of a bark.

             “Shouldn
’
t you already fucking
know that answer? She
’
s your sister,” I deadpan.

             “How would I? She
’
s sleeps at
your house every God damn night,” Alex points out. So it does piss him off? Ha.

             “It
’
s a good thing she does
because if something happens I
’
m there to fucking take
care of her,”
I argue.

             “I
’
m sure that
’
s
why you let her sleep over,” he concedes one argument and starts another. I
didn
’
t think I was going to have to deal with his shit
about liking his sister for a while. Buzz and I aren
’
t
ready to tell everyone yet. Instead of arguing with him about it, I decide to
deviate the conversation away from her.

             “It is,”
I affirm.
“Can we just
play cards and not talk about girls?”

             “Yes, please,” Benny and Sam chorus.

            Little did we know, the girls are about to crash our
guys
’
night. Ten minutes later the pizza shows up at the
door, and I don
’
t know if the girls were spying on us or
what, but they walk into my house five minutes after the pizza arrives. I
’
m betting it
’
s no
coincidence.

             “Aren
’
t you having your own
sleepover tonight?” I snap at Tiffany, Baylee, and Buzz when they come into the
kitchen eyeing up the pizza. I don
’
t mind that they just
walk into my house like it
’
s theirs, but the pizza is
ours.

             “Wow, you guys pissed him off already? Nice work,” Tiffany
fake applauds Alex, Benny, and Sam.

             “It
’
s not like it
’
s
hard to do,” Sam blurts out, stepping away from me once he slithers his hand
into one of the pizza boxes to grab a slice. He
’
s smart
enough to know I
’
ll hit him if he
’
s
close enough to me.

             “Benny said you guys were ordering pizza,” Baylee
butts into the bickering, causing all of us to fall silent. He
would
fucking tell his adolescent crush we have pizza. And now I have to hide that I’m
eating Hawaiian pizza with pineapple from Buzz - because fuck if I’m not
getting my damn pineapple.

             “Oh my fucking God,” I mutter, glaring at him from
across the room.

             “She
’
s practically your sister,”
Alex reminds him. His evil twin look is perfected with his arms crossed and
dark, scowling eyes, so much that it usually scares Benny enough to shut him
up.

             “Everyone here grew up together. Stop acting like
everything is such a big deal,” Benny announces. Looking around, I can
guarantee that no one knows whether or not he
’
s talking
about him liking Baylee as the big deal or if he
’
s trying
to play it off as they
’
re just friends. Either way it
’
s bull shit. Him liking her is a big fucking deal in every
universe, and he certainly doesn
’
t think of her as just a
friend.

             “The weird part is that Baylee likes someone that
looks like her brother,” Buzz mumbles for only me and Tiffany to hear. I know
she doesn
’
t want to make Baylee feel bad or disgusting,
but her statement couldn
’
t be any truer. Their resemblance
never wavers as the years pass.

            When Tiffany laughs at her joke, I growl, “What are
you laughing at? You like
my
fucking brother. That
’
s
no better than if you liked Alex.”

             “Just be glad I don
’
t like you,”
she snarks.

             “Gross,” I call her on it. I would probably be more
grossed out if Tiffany liked me than Baylee and Benny liking each other. I
enjoy my pissy banter with her, but that
’
s as far as I
’
ll go.

            After the girls eat half of our pizzas, we push them
out the door to go back to their own slumber party. Benny, Alex, and Sam
surrender to the basement before the girls even leave. I watch Baylee as she
pretends like it doesn
’
t bother her that Benny didn
’
t talk to her after we ragged on them, but it totally does.
None of us want for Benny to be an ass to her like this, but Tiffany is already
in repair mode trying to take Baylee
’
s mind off of it as
they exit my house.

            Like we telepathically plan, Buzz stays back for a
private good bye with me.

             “I have my phone on. If you need anything, call me
and we
’
ll come over,” I tell her in case she forgets,
which is literally impossible with how often I let her know I
’
m
here for her. It
’
s just an instinct to constantly say it
even though I know it must annoy her. I secretly want her to call because I
miss her sleeping next to me already.

             “Just have fun,” she replies with an encouraging
smile. Her girly curls bounce on her shoulders as she nods at me, and I can
’
t help but notice that my girl is so damn gorgeous even in just
a t-shirt and jeans.

             “I
’
m sure I will,” I snicker,
looking into her eyes in an attempt to relax and go back to the guys in a
different state of mind that will allow us all to have a good time. I
’
m just so on edge.

            Buzz reaches her arms up around my neck as her bright
face lights up the dark foyer. “Why are you so crabby?” she wonders. She
’
s literally the only person in the history of the fucking world
that can ask me that without me fucking attacking her for it. I don
’
t even have to pretend to not be angry with her. Looking at her
makes me instantly happy, and I feel bad that she even has to ask me why I
’
m in such a sour mood.

             “It
’
s just been a long week. I
’
m sorry,”
I tell her.

             “It
’
s okay. I know. Go kick
some ass in poker,” she grins, pulling me down to give her a much needed kiss.

             “If I win, I
’
ll take you to
Toni and Marie
’
s for dessert tomorrow night,” I offer her.
When we were kids and read the cursive font on the outside of Toni Marie
’
s, a local bakery in downtown Hinsdale that is one of Buzz
’
s few weaknesses, it looked like Toni
and
Marie
’
s. Our parents didn
’
t tell us it was
actually just Toni Marie
’
s until the name officially
changed to Toni
’
s a few years ago. Maybe to spite them we
still call it Toni and Marie’s. Anyways, they make these glaze frosted
shortbread cookies (with no sprinkles) that Buzz goes crazy over any time she
goes downtown.