Focused, page 15
part #2 of True Images Series
I had a few moments where I wondered if the girl was going to be homely or awkward in front of a camera. It happened sometimes. I’d been hired to do an occasional freelance photo shoot, so I knew I could run into some challenges with this. But, I knew some tricks that could make just about anybody look good.
When I saw Rylie though, I knew I’d lucked out. The girl was lovely in a quiet, understated kind of way. The feature that stood out most on her was her pale blond hair. How was it possible for hair to be that white? I wondered if it was dyed. Since I was taller than her, I sneaked a glance at the part in her hair and couldn’t detect any sign that she had darker roots. Crazy.
I tried not to be too obvious about looking her over as Olivia introduced us. I smiled and talked and answered questions, but the whole time, my mind was judging angles, studying her expressions, and noting her features. It took about 30 seconds to decide that I could get some dynamic black and whites of this girl. It would be incredible.
“So, have you ever done a photo-shoot before?” I asked her.
“No. Just for my senior pictures—but not the kind you mean,” Rylie said in a musical voice that reminded me of Olivia’s.
“Are you shy in front of a camera?”
“Maybe a little, but I think it’ll be easier with a girl taking the pictures instead of an old man.”
“I can see that. And, don’t worry, I’ll make it easy for you. You’ll be great and we’ll take some pictures that will knock your guy’s socks off.”
She grinned and her eyes lit up. “I hope so. Thanks so much for doing this. I hope you don’t mind too much.”
“Mind? I live for this kind of thing. I’m always looking for a new guinea pig—especially since my friend Marisol has been refusing to help me lately.”
“But why? She looked gorgeous in that photo you posted a few months ago.”
“Oh, you saw that? Then you should understand her problem. She about froze to death doing that.”
“You mean she was actually out in the cold in a bikini? I thought you must have Photoshopped it.”
I was a little offended, but not surprised that she thought that. “It would take some mad skills to do that in Photoshop. No, it was all real.”
“Wow. I bet she did freeze. Let’s do mine when it’s warmer.”
“Sounds like a plan. I can’t say I want to be outside any more than I have to either.”
Which was why I was now eating lunch in the cafeteria instead of outside under my favorite tree. I glanced sideways at Lee who was sitting next to me wolfing down a pile of nachos. I reached over and grabbed a loaded chip off his tray.
“Hey, I was saving that one,” he complained.
“Too bad,” I said before licking a dollop of cheese sauce off my finger.
Marisol and Will always ate lunch with us, but they’d gone to sit somewhere else when they saw Olivia and Rylie at our table. Olivia and Rylie weren’t eating though. They both had sack lunches that they hadn’t opened yet. I was wondering why when Olivia stood up.
“Well, we have to get to choir rehearsal.”
“Yeah,” Rylie agreed as she got up too.
She looked reluctant to go though, so I said, “Well, okay—but don’t wait till our photo shoot to hang out with us again.”
“Oh. That’d be cool,” Rylie said. Her smile was warm and pretty. My fingers were practically itching to take her picture.
As they walked away, Lee finished off his second carton of milk and said, “She seems like a nice girl. Pretty too.”
“Beautiful,” I agreed, pleased to notice that his comment didn’t make me feel the slightest bit jealous. I leaned over and nudged his side with my shoulder. “Just wait till you see her pictures.”
“You’re pretty full of yourself sometimes, you know that?”
I was familiar with every inflection of his voice by now, so I knew he was teasing me. The one thing in my life that I was even slightly arrogant about was my photography—and he knew it.
“Hey. When you’re good, you’re good.”
He was about to say something when we were surrounded by a bunch of guys who put their trays down on our table and sat down.
I was probably looking at them funny, but Lee’s expression was almost comical. It was a few of the players from his basketball team. This was weird because they were the ones that he hadn’t gotten along with at the beginning of the season- especially the big guy with stringy blond hair, Thomas Hardy.
I’d never talked to the guy before, so I wasn’t surprised when he just nodded at me and then ignored my existence. He was obviously at our table because of Lee. I hoped there wasn’t going to be any kind of trouble. I glanced at Lee’s expression too see how he was reacting to all this, but he seemed pretty relaxed now that his initial surprise was gone.
“What’s up guys?” he asked.
“Nothing,” Thomas said. “Mind if we eat here?”
“Nope. Not at all,” Lee told him.
It wasn’t long before they were talking about basketball of course. I’m pretty sure my eyes glazed over at some point, but none of them would have noticed anyway. Well, maybe Lee. I could see him glance at me every now and then from the corner of his eyes, like he wondered how I was doing. I’m sure he knew I was bored, but apparently it was important for him to stay here and talk to these guys even though we were both done eating.
Since we weren’t going anywhere any time soon, I pulled out a book I was supposed to be reading for English. It was hard to concentrate with so much talking around me though, so I’d only made it a few pages when Lee stood up to go. I stood up quickly and tossed the book back in my backpack, knowing I’d have to read it again later.
As we walked to journalism together, I asked him, “So are you guys all buddies now, or what?”
“I wouldn’t say that, but that was a good sign wasn’t it?”
“Do you want to be friends with them?”
“I don’t know about that, but we’ve been playing better as a team since we’ve begun to know each other better. With the district tournament next week, it’d be great if we were solid, you know?”
“Wow. I can’t believe basketball season is almost over already. How do you feel about that? You’ll never play high school ball again.”
He grimaced. “Thanks for pointing that out.”
“Oh, sorry. I just meant—well—you should try to enjoy it while you can.”
“No problem. Being state champs will be a lot of fun.”
“Now who’s full of themselves?”
“Hey. When you’re good, you’re good.”
That got him a poke in the ribs that somehow turned into a PDA warning from a passing teacher.
Chapter 15
Lee
I was drained but excited as Dad and I pulled out of the parking lot near Bud Walton Arena and started the drive home. I’d hated disappointing Sienna by not being with her on Valentine’s Day, but she’d been a good sport about it and the trip had been worth it.
Not just because I felt the coaches and other players had had good reactions to me, but because, for the first time, I wanted to go to Arkansas. Not for Sienna, for me. I hadn’t been expecting that. In fact, I’d been afraid that I’d get there and hate it. But the opposite had happened.
Sitting in Bud Walton Arena, surrounded by upwards of 15,000 screaming fans had been impressive. Something about the atmosphere there got to me. I wanted to be part of it. It felt like I’d come home. Meeting the team and coaching staff the next day had cemented my impression. It felt right. Hopefully, my highlight video would close the deal. If any video could do it, Parker’s could.
The guy had done an impressive job. I wished I’d had him do my other videos since he’d easily outdone the professional ones my parents had paid for. I owed the guy a lot, even though I’d paid him for it. I’d have to think of some way to do that.
Traffic was getting heavy since we were trying to get out of the city during rush hour. I settled back and closed my eyes against the glare of the sun. It was nice to leave the driving to my dad.
“I wish we could have left a little earlier to avoid all this traffic. Your mom won’t be happy with me if I get home too late to enjoy her dinner.”
“Yeah,” I said, not opening my eyes. “Thanks for bringing me though, Dad. Especially since it isn’t Arizona.”
“Well, you know how I feel about that. Arkansas has a great program though. I wouldn’t mind watching you play for them. Our Razorback gear might be a little unpopular in Oklahoma though.”
I laughed and said, “Just a little.”
My mind wandered as we drove. I thought about what the future might be like. Now that I’d been to campus and been around downtown Fayetteville a little, it was easier to picture. I could see Sienna and I having some good times there.
Dad must have read my mind. “Why don’t you go over to Sienna’s house tonight? I know it’ll be late, but you should have a little time.”
“I’d feel stupid showing up when I can’t take her out or anything.”
“Do something creative.”
“Um. Okay? Why big interest in how I spend my evening?”
My dad’s voice was usually bland, but there was humor in it now. “Well, son, I wouldn’t mind getting you out of the house for a while. It’ll be more…”
“Romantic?”
“Private,” he amended.
“Oh, gross, Dad. Fine, I’ll go to Sienna’s. No wonder you are so enthusiastic about getting me off to college.”
“The thought has crossed my mind.”
So, leaving my parents to the privacy of an empty house, I left for Sienna’s as soon as we got home. I considered grabbing something to eat, but one glance at the way my mom and dad were looking at each other changed my mind.
Instead, I stopped and got a pizza on my way over. When I pulled up to Sienna’s house, I was glad to see a couple of cars in the driveway. I didn’t know how her mom would feel about me being here if she was gone.
Holding the pizza box, I knocked on the door. Half a minute later, Mr. Greeley opened the door. Seeing him there reminded me that he was going to be Sienna’s step-father soon. He’d probably answer the door for me a lot in the future.
“Come in,” he said, smiling.
I was glad for the welcome since I could tell I had obviously walked in on a candle lit dinner for two. Feeling more than awkward, I asked, “Uh, sorry to interrupt. Is Sienna home?”
“No, she’s out with her other boyfriend since you weren’t available tonight.”
I knew he was joking. I knew it. But I couldn’t help it when my eyes opened wide and my mouth dropped open. He slapped me on the shoulder, laughing and teasing me while Sienna’s mom shook her head.
“She’s in her room. I’ll get her,” she told me.
I wondered if I should have called first, since I wasn’t sure what we were going to do with her parents eating at the table. When Sienna came out and jumped on me, though, I stopped worrying about it. With her arms around my neck, I had a hard time balancing the pizza box as I held it out of her way.
“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe you’re here,” she said.
“Where else would I be?” No need to tell her I was practically chased out of my house. “Want some pizza?”
“You bet. Let’s go eat it in my room.”
“No way,” my mom said, pointing her fork at me. “Any room with a bed is absolutely off limits.”
Sienna’s face was horrified. And red. “Mom! We would never… you know.”
“Never’s a long time,” Alex said, laughing.
“I mean—oh forget it. Can we eat in your studio, Mom?”
“I guess. But keep the door open.”
Sienna rolled her eyes.
I stood there, uncomfortable for causing so much trouble. But once Sienna had grabbed some sodas out of the fridge and led me through a door in the kitchen I’d never been through, I stopped worrying about it.
The studio was obviously a garage once. I looked around at a dizzying collection of canvases around the room, some obviously still being worked on. The room had a strong odor of something between gasoline and paint.
Sienna led me over to an old couch at one end of the room that had a coffee table in front of it. She moved some books and pads of paper out of the way and motioned for me to set the pizza box down.
“Are the fumes going to bother you?”
“Not really. What is it?”
“Mineral spirits. Mom paints with oils a lot and that’s how she cleans her brushes. What kind did you get?” she asked, opening the box. “Oh, that’s so sweet. You got a heart shaped pizza.”
I looked at it. It was shaped like a heart. They must have been making all their pizzas like that tonight. Unfortunately, I wasn’t good at the whole polite lie thing. “Sorry, I can’t take credit for that. I had no idea.”
Sienna chuckled as she picked up a piece. “I think it’s awesome anyway, and I love pepperoni.” Before she took a bite, she sat it back down, saying, “Ooh, we’re going to need napkins. Ugh. That means I’m going to have to go out there.”
“They’re just eating dinner,” I assured her.
“Whatever. They’re probably making goo goo eyes at each other or something.”
“That’s better than what my parents are up to.” She opened her mouth, so I quickly held up a hand to cut off her question. “Please, forget I said anything.”
“No problem.” She got up and went over to a shelf. “Let’s use these paper towels.”
I watched her as she reached for them. Her pony tail was falling out, her t-shirt and jeans had seen better days, and she was wearing fuzzy purple slippers. She still made my heart pound at how beautiful she was.
I went over and reached for the towels from behind her. I stood closer to her and pulled her against me as I handed them to her, then leaned down and nuzzled her neck. She spun around and pulled my face towards her for a kiss.
Something was different about the way she kissed me this time. There was nothing shy or sweet about it. Whatever she was doing, I wanted to encourage it. I wanted to, but I knew it was taking us into dangerous territory. With her curves pressed against me and her kisses leaving little doubt how she was feeling, I wanted to do about a dozen things that were against her mom’s rules. For good reason.
“Whoa,” I said, pulling back while I still could. “I think we need to go eat some pizza.”
She smiled at me and her eyes shone. “Sure you wouldn’t rather make out instead?”
I led her over to the couch and pulled her down with me. “I think you know the answer to that. But we’re going to sit here and eat pizza so that if your mom comes in here, she won’t want to murder me.”
We both started eating, and I remembered how hungry I was. I had downed about three pieces when Sienna broke into laughter.
“Remember when you held my hand for the first time? You did it in front of Alex because we wanted to see if he was going to tell my mom. I was so mad that they might be dating without telling me.”
“Yeah, now they’re out there engaged, and you’re in here trying to get me in big trouble.”
“No I’m not. I’m taking advantage of having a little privacy with you for a change.”
“Yeah. Why haven’t you brought me in here before?”
“Well, usually my mom’s in here.”
“I can tell,” I said, looking around at all the art. “Are you guys going to live here when your mom gets married or move in to his house?”
She took a deep breath and took a big drink of her soda before saying, “Moving.”
“You’re going to miss this place, huh?”
“Yes. I’ve lived in this house since I was a baby. I knew I’d leave home someday, but I always thought I’d be able to come back to it.”
I heard the catch in her voice and couldn’t stand to not be touching her anymore. I pulled her close again and she lay back against my shoulder. The clean scent of her hair filled my senses. I combed through her long ponytail with my fingers and wondered what to say to her.
Before I could figure that out, she spoke again. “A lot of things are happening in my life that I never counted on. Isn’t it weird how you go on, day after day and everything stays pretty much the same, and then all of a sudden, it all changes forever.”
“They’re good changes though. Right?”
I felt her nod against my shoulder. “But somehow, they still bring sad things with them.”
I thought about how different my life had been from hers. I’d moved around a lot, but I’d always had two parents and security. We’d both had a lot of love though, and I guess that was what mattered most.
“Know what?” I asked.
“Hmmm?”
“Your mom is still young. Did you ever consider that they might want to have a baby?”
Sienna sat up and looked up at me with big eyes. “No. I never did.” Her eyebrows puckered together and her mouth turned down.
“Would you mind?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve always assumed it would just be Mom and I. It took a while to get used to Alex- joining us. Having a brother or sister would be even weirder. But, I think… awesome.” She stood up and walked around like she needed to be moving. She reached back and tugged on her ponytail until it came out. She combed through her hair with her fingers and pulled it back into a ponytail. “I must look awful. I didn’t even think.”
“Not possible,” I said.
She smiled. “Thanks.” She came back and sat down again, throwing one of her legs over mine as she cuddled into me. Going my whole life without a dad, and then suddenly having two of them within a couple months of each other.”
“Well, at least you know what a great guy Mr. Greeley is.”
“Yeah. I’m starting to think my real dad might be one too.”
I wasn’t too sure I agreed with her on that. Something about her Dad still bothered me. But, if it made her happy to like him, I wasn’t going to mess with it. “I hope he is,” was all I could manage to say though.
