Paper Airplanes Read online

  “Okay, people, we’re opening in five minutes,” Rick said, having appeared from the kitchen. “Brooke, put the silverware away. You guys can work on it later. We need the dining room ready to go. Jared, are we good out here?”

  From somewhere across the dining room, Jared responded, “Yeah, we’re good.”

  I was learning that he was a man of few words.

  Brooke got up from her seat in a huff, grabbed the bin of unrolled silverware and stalked away from me. She was not a fan of me, and I had similar feelings toward her. So much for not making enemies

  “Justin! Scotty! How we doing back here?” Rick asked, as he burst through the kitchen doors. I heard Scott respond to him, but their conversation was muffled by the closing doors.

  Then Jared was by my side. “You ready to do this?” he asked, a faint smile flirting across his lips.

  I nodded. “Let’s do it.”

  As I looked over my shoulder, I saw Brooke glaring at me, her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed over her ample chest. I figured if she still hated me by the end of my shift, I might pull her aside and tell her I wasn’t interested in Jared. I wasn’t about to encroach on her territory. What I’d told Jared earlier had been accurate. I wasn’t looking for a relationship. A part of me was still hung up on Will, and mentally I wasn’t even sure if I was ready for something like that. It was too soon.

  * * *

  By the end of my shift, I was flat-out exhausted, and all I’d done was follow Jared around, refill drinks here and there, and run food. He was doing all the hard work like charming the customers and remembering orders without writing them down and talking effortlessly about the specials. I could barely keep up. It was only seven, but I was ready to go to bed.

  Just as I was untying my apron and moving to the register behind Jared so I could clock out like he’d showed me, Scott came bursting out of the kitchen. I’d seen him frequently throughout my shift since I had to run in and out with trays of food regularly, and he was always there, smiling at me, and telling me good luck with the tray. He was sweet. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about his crush on me, but until he tried something, I figured I was safe.

  “Yo, dude, you ready?” he asked Jared loudly.

  Jared just glared at him.

  “Sorry,” Scott said, lowering his voice. “Cass! What’s up, girl?”

  I smiled. “Not much, Scotty. Just getting ready to go home.”

  Somewhere throughout the day, we’d started calling each other only by our nicknames.

  “Ah, big Friday night plans, I assume?”

  I shook my head.

  “Really?!” he asked, a little surprised and way too excited.

  “Nope,” I said, shrugging in the hopes of making light of the fact that I was just headed home. I had no friends, ergo, no plans.

  “Oh, I find that hard to believe. A girl like you with a thousand friends must have some party to go to.”

  I saw out of the corner of my eye that Jared was watching me pensively. Maybe he thought I might start crying again, but I wasn’t going to. My tears had nothing to do with my lack of a social life. I could have had one if I wanted, but I couldn’t bring myself to pick up the phone and call Nicole or any of my other friends who were home for the summer. I couldn’t imagine going back to a life of drinking and partying and not caring about anything. Life had become too heavy in the past few months.

  “No, no plans,” I said, quieter than I’d intended.

  I guess the idea of going home to one of the many books on my Kindle didn’t sound so appealing after all, but I didn’t have any other options that sounded interesting. Had Marley been there, we’d have had a movie marathon, but she was halfway across the country. Maybe I’d call her and see how she was doing.

  Scott’s eyes brightened. “You wanna hang out with us?”

  I raised my eyebrows in question. “What are you guys doing?”

  Across the servers’ station, I saw Brooke looked up in surprise. When she saw me looking at her, she glared at me. I looked away, my gaze shifting to Jared who was watching me pensively as Scott started to launch into a description of what they had planned. I’d assumed Jared would have plans with Brooke, but maybe I was wrong since he seemed to have arranged to hang out with Scott.

  “It’s a Playstation Battle Night. We’ve got big plans to fight it out and see who the champion is,” Scott said exuberantly.

  Jared just rolled his eyes and mumbled something about not being cool. But I’d spent my life only doing things that were considered ‘cool’. Maybe doing something not cool would be a nice change.

  I turned back to Scott. “I don’t really play video games.”

  “Told you so,” Jared mumbled, so I shot him a look before turning back to Scott who was telling me that it didn’t matter, he could show me how to play.

  I looked back at Jared and smiled. “Well in that case, I’d love to join you guys.”

  Across the station, I heard Brooke make a huffing sound before turning on her heel and walking away.

  “Psycho-bitch is pissed at you,” Scott sang to Jared.

  Jared narrowed his eyes at him. “Don’t call her that.”

  Scott rolled his eyes. “Sorry, my bad,” he said, not sounding the least bit sorry.

  Jared slugged him in the shoulder, so Scott elbowed him back as they started to walk out of the restaurant. I followed them. When we got outside and they quit play fighting, Scott turned to me.

  “Come over in an hour. We’ll have snacks and stuff. Cool?”

  I smiled, as out of the corner of my eye I could feel Jared watching me. I wondered if he expected me to back out. I wasn’t going to do that. I liked Scott. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but in truth, I also genuinely wanted to hang out with them. I wasn’t sure I’d be any good at video games, but I also didn’t care. I just hoped Scott didn’t think this was a date, but that would be hard to assume since Jared would be with us. I figured I was safe.

  “I’ll get changed and come over,” I told Scott before I turned and started walking toward my car. Halfway there, I glanced over my shoulder and saw that Jared was watching me. “See you soon, Jared.”

  In the waning light outside, I thought I saw him blush, but I couldn’t be sure.

  Chapter Eight

  Jared

  This was weird. Cassie was sitting on the floor next to Scott in his game room as he showed her how to use the Playstation controller, and she was listening with rapt attention as if she was actually interested. It was the same way she’d looked at me all day as I’d walked her through the serving process at work – how to use the register, how to take orders, how to strategically check on multiple tables in various states of dining, etcetera. But those had been things she needed to know to effectively do her job. This was not.

  If anyone had told me at sixteen that in four years Cassie Witter would be sitting on Scott’s pillows, drinking a Coke Zero and gearing up to play Gods of War with us, I would have laughed in their face, it was that surreal. But she seemed genuinely happy to be there, laughing with Scott and playfully nudging him with her elbow. And he was having the time of his life.

  “And then if you want swing your sword to decapitate someone,” I heard Scott telling her excitedly, “you use this button, but if you want to gut them, it’s this button and that button at the same time.”

  I rolled my eyes behind their heads. “Dude, stick to the basics. You’re confusing her.”

  Cassie and Scott looked back at me in question, and then Cassie screwed up her face in annoyance, her nose crinkling in a slightly adorable way. She’d been doing it all day at work whenever she was frustrated with something she was trying to learn that took her a few tries. I equally hated and loved when she did that because it was really cute, but it made me think things I shouldn’t when I knew my best friend liked her.

  But I couldn’t help it. I’d been enjoying surreptitiously glancing at her while she tried to learn to play a game that wasn’t
easy. It was ridiculously cute how tenacious she was, and I couldn’t seem to stop staring at her – her soft blond curls tumbling down her back, the tan skin on her bare shoulders and the little freckles that dusted her nose.

  Dammit!

  I had to be careful or she’d realize what I was doing, and I didn’t want her to have a clue about the ridiculous thoughts that were filtering through my head. I knew it was one thing to be friends with guys like us, but I knew there was no way in hell she’d ever date someone like Scott or me. She’d made that abundantly clear earlier in the day. Besides, Scott liked her, so even if I thought I had a chance in hell, I’d never make a move on her – bro code and all. He’d kill me if he knew what I was thinking in that moment as my eyes drifted to her long tanned legs that stretched out in front of her on the floor.

  “He’s not confusing me,” she insisted, and my eyes snapped back to her brown ones that were looking at me insistently even though I knew she was lying. She was completely lost.

  I sighed. “Whatever. Just let me know when you guys are ready to play,” I said, aiming for detached boredom in an effort to not bring to light the fact that I was enjoying the scene in front of me a little too much.

  Cassie looked confused by my statement that might have bordered on harsh. I might have put more emotion behind it than I’d intended, but before I could say anything else, she shook her head and turned back around while I resumed my flipping through an Us Weekly that someone had left on the couch. It was probably Scott’s little sister, Saylor. She was a celebrity gossip junkie, even at sixteen.

  “I need a refill,” Scott said, after downing the rest of his Coke. “Anybody want anything? Cassie?”

  She shook her head as she practiced killing guys on the screen. She was going to get knocked out in about five minutes if she kept up what she was doing. Scott had given her too much information, and she was trying to do too many things which basically resulted in her spinning in circles and swinging her sword randomly every now and then.

  I was just glad Scott hadn’t tried to get her to play the modern warfare aspects of the game that he loved so much. He probably knew I’d never play with him if he did that, and I was truthfully afraid it might scare Cassie, knowing she’d been through the same thing as me. Ever since the shooting, I couldn’t play any video games that were too realistic or that took place in modern times or with modern weaponry. It freaked me out and brought me to the dark place I’d been in when I’d been lying on the floor watching the blood run out of my side and onto the dirty tile. I hated that place. In that place I’d been terrified and afraid I was going to die. It was literally hell for me.

  Scott respected that, so we were playing the medieval version of the game that night. Gods of War was a game that had a ridiculous amount of eras to choose from. I liked to play in ancient Japan where the warriors used samurai swords, but Scott preferred the variation of weaponry allowed when fighting in medieval times. And because of that I’d become a master with the throwing spear and the crossbow, my go-to weapons, since I could use them from afar. Scott always chose the broadsword, because he liked to be in the thick of the action. It was why we made a good team.

  I noticed Cassie’s player continue to struggle with her broadsword, so I slid down off the couch onto the pillow next to her. She looked over in surprise but also with a little bit of amusement in her eyes when I shot her a coy smile – my way of making amends for what I’d said a few minutes earlier. It was the same way she’d looked at me when she’d turned around halfway to her car earlier in the night and caught me watching her. Thankfully she didn’t tell me what she was thinking. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

  “Help,” she said playfully instead. “I suck.”

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it. She was cute when she said things like that.

  “Here,” I said, reaching for her controller. “There are just a few things that you need to know to survive.”

  I showed her on the controller I’d taken from her before letting her try, and after a few minutes, she was actually advancing in the practice round and killing enemies.

  “I’m doing it,” she said excitedly, looking over at me, her brown eyes alight and crinkling on the sides.

  “You’re doing it,” I said, returning her smile as I nudged her shoulder.

  Then she laughed, and it was a really great sound. I hadn’t heard her laugh genuinely before, and I wondered when the last time she’d done it was.

  “Oh, hell yeah,” she said, stabbing at the controller with vigor as she took out two knights who were swinging morning stars.

  “Nice job,” I said, elbowing her, and she looked over at me and smiled.

  When she tried to do an advanced move and failed, I reached over to show her how to push the buttons at the right time, moving my fingers over hers. She froze, so I pulled away quickly. Neither of us said anything for a few seconds.

  “I’m sorry,” I finally said, and she shook her head.

  “It’s okay,” she said, but I noticed her swallow hard, and I wondered if I’d crossed a line. I vowed to keep my hands to myself for the rest of the night.

  “What did I miss?” Scott asked cheerfully, coming back into the room and plopping down on the other side of Cassie.

  “Nothing much,” she said quickly, keeping her eyes on the TV. Then she turned to Scott. “Look what I can do.”

  She showed him a few of the basic moves she’d mastered, and he cheered her on. I decided I’d let them have their moment and slid back up to the couch, putting distance between Cassie and me once again.

  Scott turned back to look at me then. “See, Jared. I told you I wasn’t confusing her.”

  I watched Cassie’s mouth curve into a smirk as he said that, but she kept her eyes on the TV. Watching her made my own mouth twist into a small smile.

  “Yeah, you were right,” I said to Scott, not looking at him. He wasn’t watching me anyway. He’d turned away from me to join Cassie in the practice round.

  My phone chose that moment to ding, and I looked down to see Brooke’s name flash on the screen with a text. I sighed softly as I picked it up and read it.

  At O’Brien’s. Want to meet up for a drink?

  Brooke was a year older than me, and she’d turned twenty-one in March. But even before then she’d had a killer fake ID. O’Brien’s had been a go-to place for her the summer before, and we’d gone there for drinks after work all the time. In truth it was the last place I wanted to go, especially if she was going to be there.

  I texted back, No thanks.

  My phone beeped almost immediately after with a response.

  Please? I miss you, and I want to talk.

  I can’t. I’m hanging out with Scott tonight.

  It wasn’t exactly the truth behind why I was turning down her invitation, but for some reason, no matter how shitty she made me feel, I couldn’t be an asshole to her.

  Scott turned around to look at me when my phone beeped again. “Who’s texting you?”

  “It’s just Brooke. She wants me to meet up with her at O’Brien’s.”

  “Are you going to go?” he asked, as Cassie turned around to look at me.

  I shifted my gaze to her for a few seconds before looking back at Scott. “Of course not. I’m hanging out with you tonight. I told you that.”

  He grinned. “Cool.” Then he turned back to the game.

  After ten minutes of practice, Cassie said she was ready, so we started to play for real. I noticed right away that Scott was pushing forward in the game, trying to beat each level while Cassie’s character struggled to stay alive. He was so damn competitive that he lost sight of a golden opportunity to be her protector. So instead of pushing forward with him, I hung back and killed the guys she couldn’t get to. If she noticed, she didn’t say anything.

  After a solid hour, we called a bathroom break and decided to order a pizza. I stepped out into the hall to make the call since Scott was talking animatedly to Cassie at an elevated volu
me, and I was afraid the pizza place wouldn’t be able to hear me. She was laughing at what he was saying and leaning toward him, which made me wonder if she’d been too hasty earlier when she said she wasn’t interested in him.

  Maybe he’d change her mind in his own quirky, semi-charming way. They’d been goofing off with each other all day, using nicknames, playing around, teasing each other and laughing at inside jokes that they’d apparently made up in the seven hours they’d been friends. She seemed to genuinely like him.

  Stranger things had happened, and if they ended up getting together, I’d just have to be happy for my friend and pretend it didn’t bother me. Because I knew it would. I finally saw what Scott had seen in her all these years. There was something about her that drew me in, even though I hated to admit it since just twelve hours ago I sort of couldn’t stand her – and that had been before she’d told me I was an ugly loser in high school. But I couldn’t deny that everything she’d done since that moment had gotten under my skin in a way that was as confusing as it was appealing.

  She was different with me than she was with Scott. She didn’t play around as much, but she’d been nice to me, and she’d smiled a lot. In truth she’d probably acted like that just to prove to me that she wasn’t a bitch, and because she wanted to be friends with my best friend. I guess she figured she needed to win me over too. Of course my stupid brain took her kindness the wrong way. I wasn’t really sure what to do with the newfound revelation that I liked her. Nothing, I supposed, since two facts still remained – one, she didn’t like me, and two, Scott would kill me with his broadsword if I so much as asked her out.

  I sighed and shook my head as I left the game room, closing the door behind me. Then I stopped short.

  “Austin? What are you doing?”

  “Shit,” I heard my brother curse, just as he was following Saylor into her room across the hall and closing the door.

  Scott, Saylor and Austin had most of the second floor of the house to themselves. They each had their own room and bathroom, and they shared the game room and the theater next door to it. It was a pretty sweet set-up, so we usually hung out up there. Besides, Diana had an awesome habit of making us cookies or Rise Krispy Treats when we were hanging out, which made it that much better.