Fusion (Explosive #5) (17 page)

My stomach twisted at the idea of our kids. I knew he didn’t mean
ours
together, but the thought was already implanted in my mind. And, even though I wasn’t ready for sex, I could picture a little Jeremy-Sierra baby.

I smiled and leaned my head against his shoulder. “You’re the best, Jeremy,” I told him. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“You’ll never get the chance to find out.” With that, he stood up, pulling me with him. “Now, come on. We have a dance I need to practice for.”

Just as I’d thought, by Monday, the whole school knew that Danny and I weren’t a thing anymore. And you know what? I didn’t even care. Jeremy was more pissed about the looks and the whispers in the hallways than I was, and he stayed closed to me whenever he could. He was being overprotective, and I didn’t mind one bit.

“I’m so sick of this,” he grumbled as we walked into the lunchroom together.

Across the room, Danny was sitting with the other football players, and Mallory, naturally, was practically in his lap. Jeremy scowled and clenched his fists at his sides.

I placed a hand on his arm. “Calm down, Rambo. I don’t mind. I promise. I’m over it,” I said, waving them off.

He peered down at me. Then his eyes lit up as an idea struck him. Instant worry swirled in my belly. I was used to Jeremy’s not-so-brilliant plans, and I had no idea what he was about to propose. Before I could ask what the hell he was thinking, he grasped my hand, entwining our fingers. Then he pulled me in close, and my heart started beating fast as his lips hovered just above my ear.

“We’ll show them you’re really over it,” he whispered.

I barely had time to catch my breath as he dragged me over to the table where they were selling tickets to the dance. In his loud, booming voice, he asked for two tickets and let everyone in the room know that he was going to have the prettiest date there. My face flushed with embarrassment until I saw Mallory’s mouth gaping. I decided to play along with Jeremy and slid my free hand into the back pocket of his jeans. I wasn’t prepared for the tight, toned cheek to feel so incredible beneath my fingertips, and he wasn’t prepared for my touch. He jerked as he nearly choked on his spit.

I looked up at him innocently. “Oops. I was just going for your wallet,
sweetheart
,” I teased. “Did I pick the wrong pocket?”

His jaw tightened as he gazed down at me, heat in his eyes. I hoped I wasn’t misinterpreting it.

“Be careful, Sierra. You know what happens when you go into places unannounced.”

My eyes widened as I realized just what was happening. Jeremy and I were flirting. And I loved every second of it.

Once the senior sitting at the table handed Jeremy the tickets, he surveyed the room. Danny was scowling in our direction, and Mallory was now looking at Jeremy if he were the new it-man she wanted a piece of.

Over my dead body.

Jeremy took us to an empty table on the other side of the room, where we sat down next to each other, our thighs brushing. We couldn’t have been sitting any closer to each other if we’d tried.

“And that, my sweet Sierra, is exactly how it’s done.” He brushed his hands off as if he’d finished some exhausting project.

Feeling bold, I leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek. When I pulled back, I gave him a saucy wink. “Just so you know, that’s more than Danny ever got. If you play your cards right, you may get even luckier.”

“Don’t go teasing a man, Sierra, if you don’t plan on following through.”

I met his eyes. “Who says I won’t?”

Silence, along with rounded eyes, answered me—he hadn’t expected me to say that.

For the first time since I’d met him, I’d rendered Jeremy Banks speechless.

It was minor, but it gave me hope. Things were changing.

“Oh, Sierra,” Lexi breathed. Her eyes were shimmering with tears. Next to her, Mom was looking at me the same way. “Jeremy’s jaw is going to hit the floor.”

My sister was disappointed that she hadn’t been asked to the dance. She’d planned on going with some girlfriends, but when she couldn’t find a dress, she’d opted to just stay home. Still, a part of me felt bad. She’d told me she’d be fine. Some new book had come out and she said she’d rather stay home and read. The stars in her eyes, however, told me the truth. It was her first high school dance, and instead of dressing up with me, she was just watching from the sidelines. But that was Lexi. She didn’t do anything half-assed, and if she didn’t have a flock of butterflies in her stomach at hello, she wasn’t interested. After what had happened with Danny, I got it, and I didn’t blame her for it.

My cheeks flushed with heat. “Don’t be silly, Lexi. Jeremy doesn’t look at me that way.”

She laughed and shook her head in disbelief. “Are you freaking kidding me? That’s the only way Jeremy looks at you.”

Those same butterflies Lexi’s looking for attacked my stomach, making it clear that for me, Jeremy was the only one I wanted. Still, I willed myself to calm down. Lexi’s a romantic. She’d been hoping for a Jeremy-Sierra love connection since she’d discovered the L-word.

“And what way is that?” I asked, hoping she’d spell it out for me. That maybe I wasn’t the only one who had noticed Jeremy’s change towards me.

She sighed dreamily before her eyes rested on mine. “You know, I’ve always been a little bit jealous of your friendship with Jeremy.”

I raised my eyebrows in surprise and opened my mouth to protest, but she held a hand up, stopping me.

“From the moment the two of you met, you’ve been inseparable. This solid unit that nothing could ever come between. Sure, you guys included the rest of us, but that didn’t matter. It was always the two of you. And I don’t know when it happened, but sometime over the last year, things have changed.”

Lexi paused to gauge my reaction, causing me to squirm under her scrutiny. Those damn butterflies took flight again. I sat on the edge of my bed, suddenly feeling a little bit dizzy and overwhelmed. Was she right? Things
had
changed. But I’d thought it was just me. Lexi had apparently noticed it, too.

“What
exactly
do you mean, Lexi?” I asked, my voice a bit shaky.

Mom and Lexi exchanged knowing glances.

“Sierra,” Lexi said, “you walk into a room and Jeremy’s eyes light up. Then they track your every move. They narrow and his nostrils flare if another boy so much as checks you out. And, according to Jenna, he was a grumpy toad the whole summer until you got home. You know, kinda the same way you were in Ohio.”

Even though my heart was fluttering, I protested. “That doesn’t mean anything. We’d never spent the much time apart. That’s all,” I said, waving her off.

They exchanged another look.

Mom crossed the room and sat next to me, placing an arm around my shoulders. “Oh, honey, that’s where you’re wrong. Everything your sister just said is true, and it’s not nothing. It means everything. The question is, do you feel the same way?”

My eyes shimmered with tears. All of this time, I’d been keeping my feelings to myself, and it felt so good to finally let it out.

I nodded. “I do. I have for a long time. But he’s my best friend, Mom. What if he doesn’t like me like that?”

Mom wiped away a lone tear that had spilled over onto my cheek. Then she cupped my face and brought her forehead to mine. “Sweetheart, I don’t think that’s something you need to worry about. Jeremy Banks has always worn his heart on his sleeve, and I’m pretty sure you’re in that heart. He just needs to know you want to be.”

“So…you think I should tell him?” I asked, wondering if tonight could be the start of something so new, so beautiful, with Jeremy.

She pulled back and gave me a smile. “I can’t tell you what to do, Sierra. The best advice I can give is to follow your heart. I know how scary it can be, putting your heart on the line when you don’t know how it’s going to be received, but that’s what life and love are all about. Taking risks. You may get burned a time or two, but everything worth having is worth fighting for. And the way Jeremy looks at you? It’s the way every mother wishes her daughter would be looked at. It’s how your dad looks at me still to this day.”

Lexi’s sniffling had my own tears welling up. She bounded across the room and joined us on the bed.

“It’s true, Sierra. If a man ever looks at me that way, I’ll be the happiest girl alive,” she declared.

Little did she know, it wouldn’t be long until she had that. And just like me, she’d be too blind to see it. But that’s her story to tell.

This time, it was Mom’s turn to tear up. She put her arms around both me and Lexi, and the three of us looked at our reflections in the mirror.

“When did my girls grow up?” she asked. “I swear you were just two little blondes with pigtails. Now, you’ve blossomed into beautiful young women I’m very proud of.”

“Love you, Mom,” I whispered, and Lexi echoed my sentiment.

“I love you both, too. And so does your father. Although he’s going to have a cow when he sees how grown-up Sierra is in that dress. We’re not ready for the two of you to grow up, but I guess it’s inevitable.”

Before I could respond, the sound of the doorbell filled the room. Lexi clapped her hands, Mom beamed, and my stomach was suddenly twisting in knots.

“He’s here!” Lexi exclaimed as she jumped up and ran to the door. But then she stopped and looked back at me, her face softening. “I hope you two have the best time, Sierra. You deserve it. And, for the record, Jeremy’s ten times the guy that creep Danny Moyer would ever be.” With a parting smile, she left the room with me reeling from her words.

I smoothed my dress out and checked my makeup in the mirror. Mom was watching me intently, perceptive enough to know I was stalling.

“Do you really think…?” I trailed off.

She gave me a knowing smile. “Sweetheart, I can’t tell you how the boy feels. That’s something he has to do for himself. I only know what I see, and let me say, I like it. As a mom, there’s nothing I love more than seeing the way Jeremy looks at you. And don’t think I haven’t noticed those same looks coming from you, too.”

A blush formed on my cheeks.

“From the very beginning, I’ve known that the two of you had something special. It’s up to you to decide what happens next. Now, let’s not keep that boy waiting.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

After a few deep breaths, I steeled my nerves. Even though I didn’t feel ready for this, I was as ready as I’d ever be. Mom left the room, and I followed after her, taking each step slowly and deliberately. I heard his rumbling laughter before I saw him. The sound sent those butterflies into overdrive.

This was it.

If Jeremy ever saw me as anything more than just his best friend, this would be the time.

Mom rounded the corner into the living room, and I gathered up what courage I could find and then stepped in right behind her.

The moment my eyes locked with Jeremy’s, I knew Mom and Lexi had been right. Everything else around us faded into the background. His laughter ceased as he took in the sight of me. And I did the same to him. He was dressed in black slacks that appeared as if they had been made for him. Memories of the night I’d walked in on him flashed in my mind, and I took a glance at his groin.