Picturing Different Read online

  “I know I pissed you off just now, but let me help you get this stuff–”

  “No.” Ashlyn’s voice was firm. “Please, just go.”

  Tripp wanted to protest, but this time, he got the impression that he wouldn’t be able to sway her. Instead he allowed their time together to end on her terms.

  Chapter 6

  Tripp was forced to watch as the wavy dark-haired guy took his place next to Ashlyn. She seemed happy, full of smiles, as he put his arms around her shoulders and gave her a peck on the cheek. He hated how painful it was for him to see. He hated it even more that Deacon, Ellis, and now Byron, decided to sit with the girls on Monday. Maybe it had to do with Eric being back and wanting to see how that was going to go after all the trouble he had gotten into.

  Tripp tried his best to ignore his surroundings, and instead fell deep into his own thoughts. It was always easy when it came to girls. He was stupid to think that Ashlyn would have fallen head over heels that first day when he asked for her number. Just looking at her, just her showing him around the school for those few minutes, he knew she was different. The worst of it was, she had completely captured his attention, and he couldn’t even get a small percentage of that on her part for him.

  When he managed to look up, he was surprised to see that she was watching him. After Saturday, he fully expected her to gloat, to flaunt Eric around; however, the look on her face, her eyes on his, showed nothing but concern, and maybe a little something else. She bit her lip uncomfortably and quickly glanced away. What he wouldn’t give to know every thought racing through her mind right now.

  “Saw the sign,” Deacon said with a nod in Ashlyn’s direction. “Looks way better than before.”

  Eric nudged Ashlyn. “Maybe I’ll spray paint what a loser Willis is over it and the next one will be even better yet,” he joked.

  Ashlyn didn’t find it funny. “Don’t,” she insisted seriously. “We worked really hard on it.”

  Eric was quick to catch one particular word. “We?”

  Tripp held his breath and looked down at his food. There was no way that Ashlyn would tell her boyfriend that she spent her Saturday with another guy, even if it was strictly of a friendly nature, at least for the most part. He still had a hard time convincing himself that when she was in his arms, they didn’t have a moment.

  Before Ashlyn could answer, “Yes, we,” Emory spat. “So, leave it alone or I’ll kick your–”

  “I cannot deal with her right now,” Eric groaned. “I told some of my friends I’d see them today. I’ll catch you later, babe.”

  Tripp smiled ever so slightly at the disgust that spread across Ashlyn’s face at the word babe. He had never called a girl that, but he couldn’t imagine Ashlyn being one of those that would like to be referred to as such.

  Tripp tried to be inconspicuous about it, but he was curious as to where Eric was going, and glanced up every now and then until he exited the glass doors to the courtyard. He found himself intrigued as to why he’d leave Ashlyn to go anywhere else.

  He tried not to judge books by covers, but the table of friends that Eric joined did not at all seem like the people Ashlyn and her friends would fit in with. They honestly didn’t look like they cared to be in school at all. Even though he knew he was looking for even more excuses to dislike the guy, he couldn’t help but be rubbed the wrong way at how excited one of the girls got upon seeing Eric, and how close he sat to her.

  He shook his head and went back to the conversation before him, knowing that he was imagining something that wasn’t there.

  “Thank you, Emory,” Byron exclaimed, holding up his hand from farther down the table for a high five.

  Ashlyn rolled her eyes and smiled. Comments like that didn’t bother her, but when she thought about it…Shouldn’t they?

  “Assuming no one is going to say anything, Emory was with me this weekend,” June began, adding a fake cough at the end.

  Ashlyn could feel her cheeks reddening at the attention. They were all her friends. It wouldn’t hurt if they knew. Right?

  “By you taking that long to respond, you have us all curious as to that we comment…” Kayla added teasingly.

  Ashlyn attempted to discreetly shoot Tripp a look, wondering if it was okay for her to say anything. Though there was a playful look in his eyes, he must have sensed her uncertainty.

  “I happened to be out for a run,” Tripp offered. At that point everyone’s attention shot toward him. Perhaps he should have added more, but he wasn’t sure where he was going with it or how much he wanted to say. For some reason, he wanted to keep a lot of that day private, something just between Ashlyn and him.

  “Well that says nothing,” Emory scoffed.

  “Yeah, and what kind of running do you do on the weekends? I thought you live like five miles from the school,” Byron pointed out.

  Tripp only got a glimpse of Ashlyn’s face when Byron made that comment, but he couldn’t ignore the combination of speculation and intrigue behind her brilliant eyes.

  “Anyway,” Ashlyn began rather slowly, her eyes narrowed onto Tripp who suddenly couldn’t look at her. “He happened to run by the school and saw that I was a little behind. He helped with some of the lettering,” she concluded with a shrug. She tried her best to make it look like it wasn’t a big deal, and it wasn’t. Really it wasn’t.

  However, when she looked up, she saw how carefully her best friend was watching her every movement. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Emory was going to grill her about every little aspect of that day.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Tripp tried not to be too cocky when his teammates congratulated him on the 4 to 2 win, but he would have been surprised if he hadn’t have gotten at least one home run. He was ecstatic that he was able to get two; however, the team they played didn’t seem all that good. He thought the score should have been much higher.

  Had the game been on a weekend, no doubt there would have been further celebration; however, a Thursday night meant there was still one day of classes. He did go out for a quick bite to eat at a local grill with a few of the guys. Though Ellis didn’t play baseball, Tripp realized that he was an essential part of the group he had fallen into. He was a little surprised that Emory tagged along, and a little disappointed that a particular friend wasn’t with her. Unfortunately for him, Ellis’ girlfriend, Abby was also present. While she was a senior, he knew that she and Emory were both on the cheerleading team, and not necessarily the best of friends. It seemed that Emory wasn’t friends with many of the cheerleaders at all.

  Tripp had to come to the painful conclusion that since Emory didn’t do a good enough job with Rachel’s request, Rachel had found another way in. This now led to a very awkward meal with a girl beside him that he didn’t know or care to know.

  “I heard you were supposed to be good, but wow,” Rachel gasped. “That was some game!”

  “Thanks,” Tripp grumbled.

  Ellis gave him a thumbs up, but Tripp shook his head in return. If he had to be honest, Rachel was just like most of the girls he had dated, but lately he wanted something different.

  Rachel sipped on her diet soda to cover the lull in conversation. Tripp was thankful for that and created conversation with the girl across from him.

  “So, Emory. Do you come to a lot of the games?”

  Emory looked up surprised. Usually when she went out with her twin and his friends, she wasn’t included into much of the conversation. Knowing that their father wouldn’t be home, she only tagged along this time because she needed food and didn’t feel like cooking.

  Tripp saw Emory’s eyes narrow, and she took a minute to respond. “Yes. We do.”

  His stomach turned to knots with the way she was looking at him and the way she cooed her words. She knew why he was asking. The smart thing would have been to drop the conversation. It was already uncomfortable with Rachel right next to him. Though the guys didn’t seem interested in whatever he had to say to Emory, eventually someo
ne would overhear the wrong thing and take it in a way he didn’t want.

  Emory seemed to sense as much. She gave Tripp a knowing smirk and went back to her burger.

  It was at that moment that another presence took Tripp away from conversation with Rachel. He hadn’t noticed the person talking with Byron and Deacon until now. Now…Now Eric’s words were directed to him.

  “Heard you’re quite the hotshot,” Eric called out from across several people. He was standing between Deacon and Byron, obviously he wouldn’t be staying long.

  For the first time, Tripp decided to nix his overconfidence. “I’m okay,” he shrugged.

  “I’d say more than that if my girlfriend is staying in to write a stupid article about the game,” Eric laughed, although he didn’t seem to be amused.

  Tripp perked up at the mentioning of Ashlyn. He didn’t expect to have a noticeable reaction to Eric’s comment, but he must have, because the next thing he knew, someone’s foot collided with his shin. When he looked away, Emory was glaring at him.

  “Ash was at the game tonight for the school’s online newspaper. When she joined sophomore year, she went to a lot of the football games because I had to be there, and in the spring, she went to pretty much every baseball game because…” She stopped and nodded in Eric’s direction.

  Right. Of course. Tripp clenched one hand beneath the table in frustration. Ash was only at his game because Emory was there and, apparently, she was doing an article for the school’s paper. They definitely weren’t on a friendly enough basis for him to think that she’d come to see him. At least she wasn’t at the game to see Eric, and even better, she was at home right now tapping away on a computer, not picking up food with Eric.

  Eric proceeded to ask Tripp questions. Normally, Tripp would be flattered, but something about Eric’s questioning rubbed him the wrong way.

  It was a little after nine when everyone started breaking off and heading out. Tripp was relieved that Rachel had received a text from her mother earlier, saying that she was needed home. He was even more relieved that Abby and Rachel left together. She had hinted about possibly needing a ride home, and there wasn’t a single part of him that wanted to be left alone with her.

  He was within feet of his G-Class when a pitter-patter of footsteps rushed up to him.

  “Hey,” a voice called out.

  Tripp was stunned when he turned around and found Emory approaching him. She halted feet before him and took in his vehicle.

  “Whoa, no wonder you came to Raymere Grove,” she scoffed.

  Okay, his dad was rich. It was a surprise that came with the move. If it had been up to him, he would have been fine with a newer model Mustang or Corvette. He never expected something upwards of a hundred and thirty thousand.

  He didn’t care to talk about his father’s wealth. He was exhausted and still had one assignment that needed completing before second period.

  “Did you need something,” he asked, trying not to show any irritation.

  “Oh, yeah. Duh. Here you go,” she laughed, handing him a napkin with the Flip’s Grill logo on it.

  He narrowed his eyes not understanding, and that’s when she turned it over. Ten numbers were written neatly and clear as day. Tripp felt sick to his stomach when he looked up and saw the bright smile across Emory’s face.

  “Uh,” he began, swallowing heavily. “Thanks, but…I should let you know, I think you’re cool, but I’m not really–”

  He was interrupted by a fit of shrieking laughter. Was this some kind of prank? He didn’t understand what could be so insanely funny about the situation. A second more and she was dabbing at her eyes, crying from laughing so hard.

  Tripp stood there, still holding the napkin, with a nervous and uncertain expression across his face.

  “Oh gosh. Wow.” Emory coughed trying to catch her breath. “You should have seen the look on your face.”

  Tripp held the napkin up.

  Emory turned into a mix of playful and serious. “No, that’s not my number, you idiot,” she scoffed. “Don’t get me wrong, I think you’re cool,” she said, mimicking his own words.

  Tripp rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Ugh. Rachel.”

  “No. Eww. I thought we cleared that up at lunch. The girl is crazy. She put on a cute show tonight, but that’s just until she’s got you in her web.”

  Tripp looked at the number on the napkin. Thank goodness it wasn’t Rachel’s. “Then I’m confused.”

  “Oh, come on,” Emory screamed, gesturing with her hands. “If you could have anyone’s number, who would it be?” She watched as Tripp’s eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning.

  “She told you to give me–”

  “Whoa,” Emory interrupted. “Definitely not.”

  Tripp’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

  “She tells me everything, you know. Well, almost everything,” Emory went on. Everyone had their secrets after all. “I know that you asked her for her number on your first day. She ranted about it for several days, about how you could be so bold, and then not caring that she had a boyfriend.” Emory raised a brow and shook her head. “Anyway, there you go.”

  “Why are you doing this,” Tripp was quick to ask.

  Emory simply shrugged in response, acting as if she didn’t care. In the distance Tripp heard Ellis and Deacon screaming from a car. “Do what you will,” Emory said in one rushed breath, then turned and bounded off toward the car.

  Tripp got into his vehicle, still staring at the napkin. Maybe he should have played it cool, waited a few days, but something inside him was bouncing like the Energizer bunny at the idea of talking to Ashlyn outside of the occasional lunch or that one class. Without thinking it over too much, he put the number into his phone and fired off a text he should have run through his head a time or two.

  ✽ ✽ ✽

  Ashlyn just closed her computer when a vibration from nearby startled her. She reached for her phone, anticipating one of her friends, or possibly, but not holding her breath, Eric.

  The text was none of what was expected.

  Unknown: It was great seeing you today.

  Ashlyn sighed and quickly fired a text back. Poor guy or girl.

  Ashlyn: Wrong number. Sorry.

  Tripp had never thought about the anonymity of starting a conversation with Ashlyn, and only then realized that he could potentially have a little fun. He knew that she’d throw a bit of a fit when she found out it was him regardless.

  Unknown: No, Ash. I’ve definitely got the right number.

  Ashlyn’s heart raced as she climbed into bed, about to put her phone on silent and on her nightstand.

  Ashlyn: Who is this?

  Unknown: Who would you like for it to be?

  Ashlyn: This isn’t funny. Either tell me who you are or lose my number.

  Unknown: Goodnight, Ash.

  Chapter 7

  Unknown: You look incredible today.

  Ashlyn nearly choked on her water when the text came in. Her friends, as well as Eric, who was joining her for a few brief minutes at the start of lunch, all looked at her in the same confused way.

  “What was that about,” Eric immediately asked, nodding to the phone Ashlyn had below the table.

  “Nothing. Just…my mom,” Ashlyn lied.

  The statement was good enough for June and Kayla, and possibly Eric, who seemed consumed by his own device.

  “Oh, tell Poppy I said hi,” Emory spoke up.

  Ashlyn eyed her friend suspiciously, but Emory held a look of pure innocence.

  Ashlyn had a difficult time sleeping the night before. For some odd reason, the number that had text still made her body buzz in excitement. As strange as the texts were, she looked forward to the mystery. Despite feeling a sense of guilt, she waited until Eric joined his friends outside before replying.

  Ashlyn: So, we go to school together?

  Unknown: Yes.

  Ashlyn: And are you in the cafeteria now?

 
Unknown: Yes.

  Tripp had to look away once he saw Ashlyn’s head pop up. She wasn’t stupid, if she saw him staring at her, she’d know right then and there who the number belonged to. He was a little surprised that she hadn’t guessed already; however, since last Saturday, he had tried to be more standoffish and distant, even feigning loss of interest.

  She reminded him of a wounded animal, which probably wasn’t the best way to describe her. He’d never tell her that, but the little bit he had known about her in that short time, she seemed hesitant and vulnerable. He wanted to come on strong; that was his usual way. He didn’t see the point in beating around the bush. He found her interesting. The first time he saw her, something clicked in his head. He wanted to get to know her better. Was he head over heels in love? Definitely not. Did he find her attractive and wonder what it would be like to touch her again? To kiss her? Absolutely.

  Tripp waited until lunch was over before checking his phone.

  Ashlyn: How long are you going to keep your identity a secret?

  Unknown: It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours. I’ll add impatient to what I’m learning about you.

  Tripp silenced his phone and threw it into his bag as soon as Ashlyn walked into their class. He was pleased to see that she was on the phone, no doubt reading the message he had just sent. He found it cute how she bit on her bottom lip slightly upon looking at the device.

  “Hey,” he acknowledged when she sat down. Without another word he retrieved his notebook and pen from his bag.

  Ashlyn eyed Tripp with a great deal of skepticism and a bad feeling came over her. She waited until the bell rang and the class fell silent while Mrs. Cohen called attendance. She then shot off a text to the number and waited.