Page 58 of Ask No Questions

“I don’t like this. Does your brother know?”

“No, I haven’t told him yet.”

“You have to tell him. Even if it was a mistake, I would rather you are overly cautious than have something happen to you.”

“I’ll tell him. I promise.”

Gage strode toward me and gathered me in his arms. “Aubrey, I care about you, probably too much. I couldn’t bear to have something happen to you. I’ll protect you as much as I possibly can, but your brother needs to know too.”

I clung to him as I took in the meaning of his words. He believed me, and he cared about me. Gage, who had only known me for a handful of days really, cared more about me than my boyfriend of over a year. More than my mom seemed to.

Twenty-Four

Despite the progress I made with my friends over the weekend, I was still dreading school. Mike and I were walking through the halls to math when I noticed posters all over the walls. At first, I thought they were for school clubs or events coming up until I began recognizing faces. Each was for a different Winter Formal nominated couple. One was of Luke and me. Another of Sydney and Ryan, and Tucker with Michelle. Finally, I saw one of Mike and Shelby. Well, at least we were all represented.

“Who made these?” I gestured to the posters since Mike didn’t seem to notice them.

“The dance committee makes them for each couple. They do it every year.” He seemed bored by this conversation, but I was still confused.

“How do they know everyone’s dates? And where did they get the pictures?” I had never seen the photo of Luke and me, but I figured Mckayla took it the day he taught me to surf. It was actually a cute picture of us. We were standing close to each other, laughing on the beach in our swimming suits. It could be an ad in a magazine.

“They probably did a little digging and asked your friends for the picture.”

Great, now the whole school knew we were together. We’d only been on a few dates. I didn’t think we were ready for a public relationship.

Throughout my morning classes and while walking through the halls, people promised me they would be voting for us. People I have never seen before approached me and complimented me on what a cute couple we were. In passing, I heard groups discussing what couple would win, and I was shocked at how often my name was mentioned.

By the time lunch started, I was anxious to see Luke and gauge his reaction to what was going on. He was seated at my normal table with Talia and Mckayla rather than his usual spot on the other side of the quad. This was the first time he had ever made an effort to be seen with me at school, so either he was accepting our newfound status as a public couple or he was here to refute the whole thing.

Slowly, I made my way through the tables as people called congratulations and promises to vote for me. By the time I made it to the table, I had run through several different scenarios of how the next few minutes could play out.

“Hey, guys. Today has been crazy! I had no idea the Winter Formal was such a big deal.” I slid on the bench next to Luke, and he gave me his signature boyish grin. Maybe he wasn’t going to publicly disown me.

“We’re a pretty big deal now. I hear we’re ranking pretty high in the polls already.” He winked, and I looked around the table at the girls, confused.

“He’s serious. The formal committee has started a poll, and you guys are neck and neck with Mike and Shelby. It’s quite the upset since you’re the new girl, and Luke has never attended a non-mandatory school function.” I looked at Mckayla with a raised brow, and she continued. “Luke here is too focused on surfing to ever do anything else. It’s pretty crazy you got him to agree to this.” She looked at Luke and smiled, but Luke seemed distracted by his lunch and refused to meet any of our gazes.

“I didn’t know this was such a big deal for you. Are you sure you want to go?” I felt a tightness in my stomach as I waited for his response.

“Of course, I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t want to go.” Relief filled me instantly, and I released the breath I was holding.

“Good, but I’m sure you weren’t planning on being in the court. I don’t care about it.” It would be exciting to win, but the odds were against me.

“That’s good because I’ve been meaning to talk to you. I have a competition on Friday and Saturday, but I should be done with plenty of time to get ready.”

“So you might not make it?” Why would he tell me this the week of the dance? I felt like I was on a roller coaster talking to him today, going back and forth between panic and peace. Was he purposely trying to drive me to insanity?

“No! I just may run a little late in picking you up for the dinner. It should be fine, though.” All right, this kid was officially a yo-yo. Rather than freaking out, I took a deep breath in… and out….

I plastered on a weak smile. “Just keep me posted I guess.”

He grinned like there was nothing at all to be upset about. “No problem.”

After school, I changed into sweats and plopped on the couch to watch TV. As I was searching through the channels, my phone started ringing. I was shocked when I read the screen and saw my mom’s number. She rarely called me without news of an accident or to yell at me for doing something to embarrass the family. I ran through the last few weeks in my mind trying to recall anything I’d done that may have gotten the attention of her friends or Chicago gossip sources. Drawing a blank, I hesitantly answered.

“Aubrey, my dear, where have you been? Brandon told me you have news to share, but I haven’t received one call.” I assumed she was with someone if she was using a term of endearment to address me. Also, her enthusiasm was much too forced.

“Hi. Mom. Sorry I haven’t called. It’s been a busy couple of days, but the big news is that I made the company team at my new studio.”