Chapter Four

Allie watched as Justin sat, with deliberation she was sure, next to her on the couch in his upstairs TV room. Jeff and the tenacious Steve—who had continued to make acerbic comments about her the whole evening—sat in the two recliners on either side of the couch. She wasn't sure whether she liked the fact that he was sitting next to her or not. Part of her still wanted to have that crush she'd had on him in high school return, and yet another fraction of her didn't want to get involved in any more heartbreaking relationships, whether one-sided or not. She certainly did not want to risk having feelings for him again only to have him not return them… despite whatever the reputable Jeff was positive about.

"Want some popcorn?" Justin asked.

With a grin Allie took the entire bowl from him and set it on her lap, ready to dig in as soon as the movie started. Popcorn and starburst were the only things she'd never given up throughout her life—throughout braces and all. "Do you have pepper?"

"Pepper?" Justin questioned with a frown.

Pepper was a tradition for her; she always had pepper on her popcorn. It gave it a spicy taste while you could still sense some butter on it. "Just tell me where the pepper is."

Justin shook his head. "I'll get it," he saluted, and bounded down the stairs, leaving a shocked Allie holding a pepper-free large bowl of popcorn, obviously intended for them to share since Jeff and Steve each had their own smaller bowls of it.

"I tell ya," Jeff sighed, crunching on one of the kernels he'd found on the bottom of his bowl. "He's got feelings for you."

Allie shook her head in denial, not liking at all that she was getting a heads-up from one of his friends. Again she felt as if she were in junior high all over again. She refused to get a buzz from Jeff's claim.

Thirty seconds later Justin sat next to her and her peppered popcorn on the couch, and a movie playing in the DVD player. Star Wars Episode I kept her on her toes, and so did Justin sitting next to her… scooting closer, she was sure, throughout the entire movie. She half-expected him to try the yawn-and-stretch-and-put-your-arm-around-her move.


Justin stifled the urge to yawn as he followed Allie downstairs, watching her blond hair swish from side to side as she took them two at a time. She was always the bouncy, bubbly type, but she could also be very shy. He'd found that out in high school. But since college happened, she'd become more… he didn't know what to call it. She almost always found the perfect retort for his sarcasm and was suddenly friendly and teasing with him.

Suddenly she became his type.

He sat in a chair by the kitchen table, and when she threw him a questioning glance he realized he was smiling.

Jeff followed, flipping his keys up into the air and catching them again, with Steve in tow. "Hey, guys, I've got work in the morning, bright and early. I'd like to be irresponsible and stay up late with you crazy kids, but then I would only pay for it in the morning."

Steve nodded and shrugged. "He's my ride, so if he's going to be a party crasher, I guess I have to tag along."

Justin and Allie smiled and bid them goodbye. As they walked out the door, Allie took her favorite place on the stairs to look down on Justin.

"Are the stairs more comfortable than the chairs?" Justin asked with an eyebrow raised, gesturing to her spot.

She rested her elbows on her knees and her chin on her fist, shrugging and saying, "I don't know. At my house, our stairs come out into the kitchen like this, too. I'm used to sitting there, I guess."

Justin looked up at her, and she could tell he was about to tease by the look on his face. "I think you just like looking down at me."

Allie smiled. "Maybe that's it." Justin liked how she yawned, leaning her head back and then coming back down out of it with a small smile on her face. She took her hand from her mouth and rubbed her eyes. "I'm glad I don't have to work tomorrow like Jeff. I'm going to sleep in." Her expression was thoughtful. "Jeff is a pretty nice guy, you know."

Justin wanted to shake himself to get the ugly feeling out of him. He hated jealousy, despised the emotion with all his heart, but whenever it came onto him he couldn't get it off. It was a lot like selfishness, his mother always told him, wanting what somebody else had for yourself, and he hated knowing that both of those words—jealousy and selfishness—could be used to describe him.

To distract himself from the feeling, he grinned. "He also has a girlfriend, you know."

Allie frowned. "That's not exactly what I was going for. I was just saying that he's a nice guy. There are a lot of nice guys out there, and sometimes you could be counted as one of those."

"Sometimes, eh?" Justin asked, raising his eyebrows. He got up out of his chair, and putting his thoughts into action asked, "Want to go on a walk with me?"

Allie hoped her expression didn't betray the surprise that she was feeling. All of Jeff's words came rushing back to her. "You do know why he's that way?"

Justin was looking at her expectantly, and Allie said, "In the dark?" for lack of anything else to say.

He grinned that grin that was so popular, at least to her. "What, are you scared of the dark?"

She straightened and glared over at him. "Of course not. Let's go."

Before she could stand up, Justin was there, offering his hand to her. When she put her hand in his and used it to pull up, she willed the goose bumps that stood up on her skin to go away. She didn't want to be attracted to him. She'd just have to go back to college, and this summer would be nothing but a flight, a painful one to end.

"Why do you look like a deer in headlights?" Justin asked with a frown. He still had hold of her hand even though she was already up, and they began walking out the door.

That surprised Allie even more as she looked over at him. He began threading his fingers through hers, sending another wave of shivers and goose bumps throughout her body. "I don't know." She sucked in a deep breath and sighed, deciding to be completely honest. "I guess I don't know the implications of 'going for a walk'. At least not with you."

Justin looked over at her, completely serious for once. What he said, though, made her think otherwise. "Well, I wouldn't ask Jeff or Steve to go for a walk with me on a late night when it was dark." He held up their hands for her to see. "I also wouldn't hold Jeff's or Steve's hand."

Allie couldn't help herself from smiling, but the minute she saw him smiling back she looked away. How could she let things get this out of hand? She'd known she couldn't get involved or have feelings for Justin. She'd just end up having to break it off again once she had to go back to college.