A/N: To the reviewer who asked why I'm making Jamie and Eddie do a math project…bro, I've got a degree in math. It's my favorite. And I swear I'm trying to keep mathy talk to a minimum, so you'll just have to deal. I promise, the Jamko cuteness picks up soon!
Tuesday
The squeak of the locker room door startles Eddie out of her cream cheese frosting induced trance. She backs all the way into the corner of the locker bay until she feels the cold metal against her bare back. If a coach—or worse, one of the lifeguards—catches her eating in here she can kiss her cupcake goodbye.
Her head tips back with relief as Lauren and another teammate, Alicia, round the corner.
"There you are!" Lauren says. "The hell are you doing? Aren't you coming to the movie?"
"Can't." Eddie swipes a thumb across her lower lip to catch a glop of frosting. "Gotta go to Jamie's."
"I thought that was yesterday."
"It was. But we have more to do today."
"Come on," Lauren whines. "That thing's not due for three weeks. It's break! Do something fun!"
Eddie has to admit it's tempting to blow Jamie off the way he did to her last week. But she suspects that if she doesn't show up today, he'll start with the stupid excuses again and she'll be stuck. Plus, well, she likes his mom. Mary Reagan sent Eddie home yesterday with four leftover cupcakes that didn't make it to the calculus Christmas party, kind of a severance prize for forcing the change in plans. No way Eddie will pass up a chance for more.
"You know what's fun?" Eddie says finally. "Cupcakes. Not seeing A Bug's Life for the third time."
A glance at the clock tells her that she's wasted enough time in here. Outside the coast should be clear. So she pulls a hoodie over her sports bra and yanks her favorite yellow hat over her wet hair.
"I'll buy you whatever you want at the movies," Alicia says.
Eddie slings her swim bag over her shoulder and starts toward the door. "Sorry. I can't."
She doesn't miss her friends' suspicious whispers beside her but she chooses to ignore them. The humidity of the locker room gives way to the cool air of the rec center's main hallway and the girls head for the lobby.
"You all got plans today? Eddie?"
Eddie tries not to roll her eyes as she turns around to see Craig Douglas standing up from a bench against the wall. Her strategy of hiding out in the locker room for an extra ten minutes didn't work.
"Busy all day, Craig. Sorry."
His face falls. Eddie has to admit he's not bad looking—tall, remarkably tan for the middle of winter, muscular swimmer's build. But he's ruined his chances by getting on her nerves at every Barracudas practice since September.
"Another time," Eddie says. "Will you be at the Princeton meet?"
"No," Craig says sadly.
"Aw, that's too bad."
"Hey, uh, do you need a ride home?"
"No thanks. Lauren's driving me."
"Oh. See you tomorrow, then."
"Yeah, see ya."
Eddie leads the way out the door and all three girls explode into giggles as soon as they're out of Craig's earshot. "You're so mean," Alicia says. "You know he didn't qualify for Princeton."
"Yeah—why do you think I said it? Now I'm totally off the hook."
"Until he asks if you want to hang out tomorrow."
"Oh, sorry, I really have to go home and rest up. I'm going to the invitational at Princeton this weekend," Eddie says airily. "Easy peasy."
"Just tell him to leave you alone!"
"She won't. She likes the attention," Lauren tells Alicia.
"Do not," Eddie argues, earning dramatic eye rolls from her teammates. "I can't stand him."
"You go back and forth on him every two days," Lauren says. She slows her pace as they approach her car. "I'm not really driving you home, by the way. The movie starts at noon."
"I know," Eddie sings. "I'll see you tomorrow." And with a grin she continues on to the subway.
Eddie is used to early morning workouts with the Barracudas, not this eight-to-eleven school break business. And the school swim team, which typically practices late at night during the winter sports season, is completely canceled this week. She doesn't know if it's the extra sleep or the cutback to her usual hours in the pool, but she's full of extra energy.
Or—maybe it's that the sun is out for the first time in days. Or the awesome bagel creation she made for herself when she stopped at home. Or the promise of another ham sandwich as big as her head, courtesy of Jamie's mom.
Whatever it is, she's in a great mood as she walks up Jamie's street.
She bounces on her toes as she waits for somebody to get the door. She doesn't recognize the tall, angular college kid who answers, except that he looks sort of like Jamie. But when he says hello, she matches his distinct voice to the one that answered her phone call last week.
"Is Jamie here?" Eddie says. "I'm here to work on homework."
"Jamie!" the boy shouts over his shoulder. "There's a girl at the door!"
Eddie brushes past him as he waits for a response. A moment later, rushing footsteps thump down the stairs. Jamie yanks himself to a halt with a hand on the banister and draws in a deep breath like sprinting down here is the most strenuous exercise he's ever managed. Eddie smirks at the thought.
"It's just Eddie, Joe," he says. "We have a project together."
"Ah, a project," Joe says with an intentional flick of his eyebrows. "Alright, Jamie. I'll leave you to it then."
"It's for school!" Jamie calls, but Joe just grins as he rounds the corner into the kitchen. Jamie groans, embarrassed, as he turns back to Eddie. "So, uh, that's my brother Joe. Sorry about him."
But Joe didn't bother Eddie at all. She just giggles as Jamie wonders aloud if they should work in the living room or set up camp at the dining room table. And instead of answering, she marches straight to the dining room.
"I think we can get this mostly done today," Eddie says. "I mean, unless you've got more flute teachers to visit or whatever."
"Yeah, sorry about that."
"Quit saying sorry. It's annoying."
She shakes her head, entertained by the way he bites his lip to keep from apologizing yet again. As much as she insists to Lauren that Jamie isn't attractive, she can't deny that he's at least a little bit cute. To be honest, she's secretly thought so since the beginning of the school year.
Jamie's mother appears as they organize themselves at the dining room table. With a smile she delivers the ham sandwich that she promised yesterday after Jamie left, and she backs Eddie up when she gripes at Jamie for swiping a potato chip off the plate.
Eddie likes this house more and more.
She eats as they both work. It's a pleasant surprise that Jamie went over his work and corrected the mistakes she pointed out yesterday. He's on the same page as Eddie now, so they easily collaborate to analyze their equation, finding the times of heaviest and lightest traffic flow at their assigned intersection. After a couple hours of work, not counting Eddie's cupcake break halfway through, they finish the biggest section of the project.
"Alright," Eddie says, triumphantly clicking her calculator cover back in place. "That's all for that part. I think everything looks right."
Jamie nods in agreement. "Um, yeah, I think so. Can you hand me that?"
Eddie passes him the assignment packet and he flips to the page with the instructions. "Yep, that's all for Part 1," he confirms. "Part 2 is figuring out a way to improve traffic flow and Part 3 is basically doing Part 1 over with the idea from Part 2. So…do you want to start that?"
"Hmmm." She glances over the packet and pretends to contemplate, though she already knows she's ready for a break. "No. Let's start on Part 4."
"You want to start the write-up? Before we do 2 and 3?"
"Yep! Easier to do it as we go. But first, I want a snack. You mind if I look in your fridge?"
She gets up without waiting for his answer. He follows and leans against the island, regarding her with a mixture of intrigue and confusion. "Do you ever stop eating?"
Eddie scowls as she rips open a string cheese with her teeth. "Yeah, when I'm full."
"So…do you ever get full?"
She considers for a second as she chews. "Nope. Never. Isn't there one more cupcake left?"