Always Something There to Remind Me // Naked Eyes

Having been on a softball team from fifth to tenth grade, I have a pretty good aim. But even I'm surprised when the rock I threw is headed right between his eyes. I would have bitten down on my horrified expression, but before there's really time for me to have one Nico does some kind of move to bat the rock away while at the same time rotating his body to the side.

That's the only reason the rock doesn't connect. I will admit to myself that I'm relieved, but the look I project is disappointment. I don't want him to know that I would have leapt to my feet and run to tend to his wound if he'd been injured. I need to clamp down on that reaction. I felt it brewing and it can't happen. Not with this guy. Not today, Satan.

"Nico, Still got the reflexes I see," Emily says, the girl with the motorcycle boots and bleached blonde wedge cut who grabbed me at the beginning of lunch and declared me a badass who needed a crew, dragged me to the lot and plopped me down on the grass. She seems badass enough to keep from being harassed while also somehow slipping under the radar of high school attention. I could probably learn a few things from her and her biker gear.

"Muscle memory doesn't fade." Nico shrugs but hasn't taken his eyes off me. Since swatting at the rock, he's not covering his junk anymore so I'm guessing that was more of a defensive maneuver then a gesture to try hiding his lunchtime wood. Is he scared of me?

That'd be a first.

"Since when do you proposition females at school?" Emily adds while casually taking sips from a Dr. Pepper. "Your harem usually seeks you out, not the other way around."

I don't appreciate being lumped into Nico of the bad pick up line's harem. I remember that I also don't appreciate the fact that he actually addressed rumors about us this morning. So I return to glaring at him.

"Not that kind of request," Nico says. He meets my glare with a sharp look that takes me back a breath. If I could break down my iron wall and actually respond to him, I would probably swoon. He's hot. He's interested. And he's confident. I like it more than I care to admit. More than I should even contemplate.

"Doesn't matter. Something's brought you out of your cave of isolation and right to our doorstep." Emily looks between the two of us. "I'm betting it's the new girl based on the fact you can't take your eyes off her and your inner caveman came out this morning in first period."

"Emily, since when do you get in the middle of Jefferson drama?" another girl in the group asks. She's got wavy brown hair and had her nose stuck in a textbook until just this second. The small group of girls is an eclectic mix of bookworm and rebel.

"Since today, Sabrina. Study the climate instead of that English lit book and you'd be riveted too."

I'm guessing that this is not typical for the back lot Jefferson crowd: interaction. I'm the variable in the equation and the thought of being some kind of catalyst bringing Nico out of his usual pattern doesn't sit well with me. Especially after what he did this morning.

"Listen," I say with a snappy tone, heads whipping in my direction and mouths shutting immediately. This is the second time I've shut down a crowd in relation to Nico. Not cool.

"Don't get involved in the crap going around about me. I don't need you to jump in and make it your business because its not. Keep your observations to yourself, party boy." I cross my arms and continue the glare. There is so much more I want to say but I clamp my mouth shut instead. I've already shown too many of my cards to this guy. More would just be trouble I don't need.

He's eyeing me, up and down. Assessing how convicted I am, how concrete my stance is. I hope I'm projecting granite because inside I feel like jello.

Nico nods, but doesn't address my demands. Instead he pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through it. I hold back the frown and grip onto indifference instead.

"I've got tomorrow afternoon and Saturday morning open if you'd like some assistance with the exam. Otherwise, you're on your own...April." Nico looks up at me when he says my name and I feel my heart pick up an extra beat. It's the same thing that happened yesterday when I heard my name in his deep tones.

I swallow. I take a deep breath. I hope and pray that what comes out of my mouth doesn't sound as effected as I am. Because I'm way too close to jumping in this guy's arms and asking him to get outta here, like he asked when he walked up to us.

"I'm open tomorrow. Meet me at that burger place. You owe me a drink." Ah crap. I shouldn't have added that last part. In my head it sounded demanding, but out loud it sounds like one of his pick up lines.

When Nico gives me a sideways grin, the left side of his mouth curling up to showcase that dimple thing he's got going on, I know what he's thinking. He thinks I'm caving. But I'm not. I'm a rock. I'm Kilimanjaro. He can't conquer me.

"Nah, baby. I dropped my drink first. The next one's on you."

"Baby?" Ew. All of my lady bits just shriveled right up. I let every ounce of the disgust I feel show on my face.

"Um," Nico looks very unsure of himself and steps back and away. "Yeah, see ya tomorrow."

Tail between his legs, he turns and books it away from us. Two of the girls gasp and Emily smacks me on the back so hard I cough. "What the hell?" I'm trying to take a breath while Emily starts laughing.

"Never seen that guy run so fast. You have got to be the scariest girl at Jefferson." Emily shakes her head while I watch Nico disappear around a corner. "Either that or the craziest."

"You looked like you were going to claw his face when he called you baby." The girl with the book, Sabrina, looks at me in awe.

I shrug. "Baby is what guys call you when they think you're weak." I lean back on an elbow and look at the spot Nico just vacated. "Not my fault his game needs work."

This time it's Sabrina who laughs. "Game? Nico doesn't need game. He's the top of the food chain here. Girls seek him out, not the other way around."

"Are we talking about the same guy? The one who can't stop the bad pick up lines to save his life?"

Stone effing silence. Emily, Sabrina and two other girls I haven't officially met yet stare at me. Then they stare at each other. Then they look back to where Nico went, and once again back to me.

"What?" Suddenly lunch doesn't sound like a good idea. My stomach reacts to the silence in a terrible way.

"What have you done to him?" Sabrina whispers.

"Me?" I sit up and silently freak out. I don't need this kind of attention. It's exactly what I was trying to escape by coming here. Or rather, by being forced to come here. I knew it was a colossal mistake to move schools within the same town. I should have insisted on commuting two towns away.

Emily smacks me on the back again. "I think you just might be the one to fix him." She says nothing more, returning to her lunch while Sabrina returns to her book. The other two gather their things, walk over to a group of guys and start flirting.

I, however, don't move a muscle, frozen in place with that terrible feeling in my stomach finding its way to the rest of my body. Nico mentioned a reputation but I have no idea what it is. These girls don't seem to be interested in enlightening me. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Nico acts differently with me. And I just agreed to spend time with him.

I tell Emily thanks for the lunch invite and grab my bag. I actually brought school supplies for day two not wanting more trouble from Dr. Connors after the day one chat we had. If I weren't still a teenager, I'd wonder if I was having a midlife crisis. Maybe it's just an identity crisis. I may be projecting a façade of indifference, but I used to actually feel that way. I was the ball buster, the girl people stepped out of the way for, the one with more confidence than anyone else.

Those Miller assholes ripped that from me. I realize that now. And Nico, though he doesn't know it at all, has given some of it back to me. Only this version of me has no idea what to do with it.

***

I enter auto shop on day two with my stomach in a ball of knots and doom. Every nerve cell in my body is lying in wait for the impending Nico encounter. He's too much for me to take twice in one day, I've decided. I put my proverbial blinders on and walk with a straight back to the section team two is in today. Thank goodness I remembered which guys they are. Everyone has those coverall things over their clothes and their hair covered in ball caps so each guy becomes indistinguishable.

Everyone except Nico, of course. Despite my efforts to pretend he doesn't exist, which I will admit to myself are only sub-par at best, I sense him in the corner by a beat-up car. Once again, he doesn't have coveralls to protect his clothes, nor does he wear a cap like the rest of the guys.

I know absolutely nothing about cars. I can barely keep mine running as it is. But it doesn't take a trained mechanic to see with clarity that Nico's motor-repair skills are far above the rest of the class. I've noticed that he doesn't have a team assigned to work with him. And he isn't even doing basic maintenance on his car. It looks like he's taken the entire motor apart piece by piece and is...cleaning it?

The grease is coming off of each part and attaching itself to Nico. He's a mess. He also looks content, so maybe the mess is what he prefers.

Between calling me 'baby' earlier and enjoying the grease, Nico's got two strikes against him. I won't even count the pickup lines because at least those were mildly entertaining. I don't do dirt, and grease falls into the same category. And I refuse to do sugary sweet nick names. Just no. Gross.

And shut up, April! What am I doing? Nico doesn't need strikes on a pro/con list! He was off the list before a list was even a possibility. No, April, no, no, no.

The hour ticks by slowly. Every minute feels like ten, but finally the bell rings and we are released. I turn to grab my bag and book it to my car when I notice that Nico is already gone. I'm shocked I didn't see him leave because for most of the class I had to focus so damn hard to not turn and look at him.

I make an exit and rush to the lot, wanting out of this place before I lose my mind and start hunting for Nico. I pass nameless faces that I haven't taken the time to learn. The few names I do know don't show up in the front lot. I'm seriously considering parking out back.

There's just something in my gut that won't allow me to slink back there. It pisses me off that this is even a thing, so why should I cower to the students with the power?

I step out of the main door and take the steps two at a time. It's when I get to the curb of the sidewalk that I finally look around. I stop short, the air rushing out of my lungs, because I see Nico looking right at me.

He's greasy, and disheveled, but gorgeous standing next to his silver truck, leaning against the door. His arms are crossed and his body is relaxed, a casual pose like some kind of mechanic spread in a magazine. And he owns it.

I take a deep breath and feel myself shaking. No one has ever affected me this strongly and I do not appreciate it. I hitch my bag a little higher on my shoulder and turn away from him. Thank goodness I was almost late this morning. I was forced to park at the end of the lot, far away from the silver pickup truck, pun intended.

Just as I take three steps into the lot, I'm confronted by a familiar face. Asshole number one, my first friend at Jefferson, is back. I'm pretty sure he's not heading up the hospitality club.

"Didn't take my advice, did you sweetheart." The guy with sandy blond hair and eyes the color of blue I have never seen in real life. It's like an easter egg. He's dressed in clothes that cost more than our rent, I'm sure. And the look on his face screams power. He's got too much of it and I can only hope that someday someone will knock him off of his throne.

I glare at him with a side-eye, yes it's possible, and pull my keys out of my purse in a defensive maneuver that all girls are taught by age ten. Keys between the fingers and pointed at Mr. Advice-giver, I speak.

"Nope." I let the word linger. Once again, silence holds its own power.

The guy smirks. "You are a wild cat, aren't you." He eyes me up and down. I now feel as filthy as Nico looks. Gross.

"You don't want to find out, dickbag."

"Naughty nicknames already? We just met, sweetheart." He winks.

I think I might barf.

"Oh God, does this shit actually work?" I examine his physic a little closer, but in a clinical way. Nothing like he just did to me with suggestion dripping from every look he gave.

"Please do not tell me that the girls at this school are foolish enough to give you the time of day."

Mr. Dickbag looks confused for about a half second. Then he looks pissed.

"Once again, crazy, this lot is for high performance imports. Not trash cars like yours. Park in the back."

I make a pouty face. "Aw, thanks for the lesson, but I could care less about your rules. Bite me." I give a Marilyn Monroe wink, using my entire face in an over-the-top gesture.

As I walk away I make the mistake of checking on Nico's status and find him still watching me. A new look graces his face, and I'm surprised at how it makes me feel. He looks proud. And it makes me feel...good.

Dang it.

Yeah, okay...so April is catching some feelings. But will she let them stick around??? There's probably a little more she needs to work through before Nico can be on her list of Pros. There was so much I loved about writing this chapter, and did you like the Matt cameo? This is when he's still in his major jerk phase but if you've read More Than This you already know the path he's about to take.

Nico is always there, reminding April of his grease monkey hot mechanic presence... this song is my nod to his persistance.

https://youtu.be/lVrELhxOFnM