The Special Girl Read online

  Maura

  After I finish whisking the eggs, I check on Zack. I realize he has a good amount of the flour he is supposed to be measuring out, on his tight black t-shirt. There is no need for imagination to see the hard-muscled body that tight t-shirt clings to. He definitely works out. He is more jacked then most of my football player friends. That elusive tattoo was peeking out too. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I started giggling at the sight of him looking so domesticated with the flour on his shirt. He portrays a tough, bad-boy exterior and yet here he stands covered in flour while measuring ingredients for muffins. He looks up and eyes me chuckling. Confusion flashes his face. I point to his flour dusted t-shirt and he looks down and realizes his appearance. A beautiful smile takes over his face. He chuckles, “I’m glad you are entertained by my cooking skills.” He grabs a towel and wets it in the sink. He dabs the flour off the shirt but only succeeds in removing some of it.

  I mix the remaining ingredients in the big bowl and spoon the batter into the cupcake liners that Zack put in the pan. “Should I put the pan in the oven now?” Zack asks. “No. I have to put my special touch on them first,” I say coyly. Zack says with a smile, “What are you going to spit on them?” “No way! That’s so gross! I’m going to sprinkle sugar on top,” I say. I sprinkle a little sugar on top of each muffin and give the pan to Zack. “Here you go. They are ready for the oven.” He takes them and puts them in the oven, and I set the timer for 15 minutes.

  He washes all the bowls, measuring cups and spoons. I dry and put them away. He seems comfortable with this chore. “You are good at washing dishes; I nominate you to take over this job for the entire semester,” I joke. “Now that is something I can do! I know about washing dishes,” Zack says. “Why is that do you not have a dishwasher at your house?” I ask. “We have a dishwasher but it’s stupid to use it when I only have a few things to wash,” he says. Without thinking through it, I ask, “What about your family?” I immediately regret asking such an intrusive question. But he doesn’t hesitate, answering, “My parents are divorced. I live with my father, but he is rarely there. I’m kind of on my own at home.” I think about that for a moment and it makes me sad for him. I couldn’t imagine not eating dinner with my family every night. My family and I enjoy spending that time together, chatting and laughing.

  Just then the timer starts to ring, and I get the potholders and take our muffins out of the oven. They look delicious and smell amazing. We wait a few minutes and then remove the muffins from the pan. I take one up to Mrs. Lingle for her evaluation of our assignment. When I return, I find Zack has washed the pan and is drying it. “Can I have one now?” he asks. I answer, “Go for it!” He grabs one up and devours it. “That’s fucking awesome!” he proclaims. “Mr. Deaton, language please!” Mrs. Lingle bellows across the room. “Sorry!” he answers her. “But really, these are amazing!” he whispered. I grabbed a brown bag from a drawer and put the remaining muffins in there. Handing the bag over to him, I say, “Here you take them.” “I can’t take all of them, you did all the work,” he argues. “No, I insist, besides, your shirt says otherwise,” I say with a wink. He takes the bag and thanks me. We say goodbye as the last bell rings, and he strolls out the door.

  I grab my purse and bookbag and turn to leave. Someone grabs my arm and I turn to see Mia and a few of my other friends looking pensive at me. Mia quizzes me, “What the hell was that? You were awfully cozy with emo boy.” I find myself tensing up with the suggestion that I was “cozying up” to Zack. He was different than I thought he would be, but we were just making the most of our pairing. Quite frankly, I was relieved he let go of his negative behavior towards me and made it tolerable, maybe dare I say, pleasant. He usually spewed a sense of hatred towards me and my friends. And if I’m being honest, my group of friends didn’t treat his group of friends so well either.

  “Please!” I dismiss Mia. I grab her arm and say, “Come on, let’s get out of here!” As we meet up with the rest of our friends outside, I notice Zack pulling out of the parking lot on his black motorcycle with a burgundy haired beauty behind him, her arms wrapped around his sculpted stomach. I recognize her as Piper, a girl that is no fan of mine. She always looks at me with total disgust. Is she his girlfriend? Maybe. I quickly turn away. I don’t want my friends to catch me looking at him. But as I turn around, Mia and Lana are watching me. Lana has a brow raised with a scowl on her face. I wave her off and we all walk to our cars in the parking lot.

  Chapter 3

  Zack

  I drop Piper off at the salon she works at and head home. I park my bike in the driveway by the garage, grab my bag I strapped onto the back of my bike and head inside. I pull out the muffins from the bag and start to rip the wrapper off one of them. I can’t help but think of Maura. I can picture her beautiful smile, long silky blonde hair, steamy blue eyes and that body. I could not help but take in her voluptuous body, from her tits to her ass in those tight jeans she was wearing today, as she prepared these muffins. I devour my muffin while playing the events of the cooking class and Maura in my head when I am snapped back to reality by a door opening.

  “Yo bro where are you?” I hear Max yell. “In the kitchen,” I respond. Max and Benny strut into my kitchen. Benny hops up onto the counter while Max grabs the bag with the muffins. “Well what do we have here?” he says. He pulls a muffin out of the bag and promptly pulls the wrapper off and starts to eat. Benny jumps off the counter and grabs at the bag. “Let me have one!” he yells. Benny grabs a muffin out of the bag and smells it. “Where did you get these?” Benny asks. “I started cooking class today,” I respond. “Dude, no way did you make these muffins!” Max exclaims. “Well my cooking partner did most of the baking, I just helped a little, mainly with the cleanup,” I offer. “Is that why your shirt looks fucked up man?” Benny laughs. “Oh shit! I forgot about that! Let me go change. I’ll meet you in the basement. And don’t eat all those muffins!” I say.

  I run upstairs to my room and quickly change my shirt. I run down to the basement and Benny and Max are sitting on the mismatched furniture filling the basement that I have claimed for myself. Posters of metal bands, half naked women and one of Johnnie Cash giving the middle finger dot the walls. On the far side of the basement is a weight bench and lots of free weights. There is also an old pool table that we use a lot. This is essentially my space in the house. My dad has always stayed out of the basement, even when he was spending time here. Now that he is never home, I still prefer to hang down here. I spend a lot of time lifting weights and listening to music here. My friends come here a lot and I prefer to keep them down here. When my dad does come home, he whines if there is any kind of mess on the main floor.

  I join them on the couch. They have already put on music and Max is lighting up a joint on the couch. He takes the first pull then offers me the joint. I take it and after a drag, I give it to Benny. After passing the joint to Max, Benny tells us Aidan went to register for welding classes for the summer at a technical school. Apparently, his older brother can get him a full-time job after he completes the summer training course. This is no surprise to any of us. Aidan is very close to his brother and has been telling us about the welding job his brother has and how great it is for a while now.

  Benny has been working at a tattoo shop in town. Mick, a tattoo artist there has been teaching Benny the trade since he turned 18 last October. Mick has done all our tattoos. Benny has mad skills drawing tattoo designs. He should be on track to be tattooing soon. Benny will begin full-time work at the tattoo shop after graduation.

  I work for my dad and Al, my dad’s partner and best friend. They are contractors and do a lot of construction work. My dad lets me work when I want basically. He says to enjoy this time and fuck around now because I will be working for the rest of my life. Max works with my dad also. He tends to work more than me. His parents don’t support him very much, and he needs money to pay for anything he needs, usually meals too. Despite being a general fuck up, M
ax shows up when expected and works hard when he is there. Max and I will probably end up working for my dad and Al full-time after graduation. The pay is good, and their business is busy enough to offer steady work. Things probably won’t change too much with my group of friends since none of us is leaving this area.

  Benny leaves so he can go work at the tattoo shop. Max and I start lifting weights. We lift for about an hour and a half. Max talks about some chick he has been messing around with. He says she is going to meet up with him later. He complains about the way she talks. He said she has a squeaky voice. I ask him why he still sees her if she is so annoying. He tells me, “I’m not meeting up with her to talk. I’m meeting up with her to fuck! She’s hot!” I smirk and shake my head. “Don’t you want to fuck someone that you also like to spend time with?” I ask. He stops and puts the dumbbell he’s using down. He looks up at me and raises an eyebrow. “Spend time with?” he asks. “Do you spend time with Piper or Rachael or that waitress from Joe’s?” he laughs. “What is up with you?” he pleads. “Nothing. I was just thinking how much better it would be to have someone special than just some girl. It was stupid. I don’t know man.” I say. “Well hell, I’ll keep my hookups for now. I’m not ready to have just one girl!” he says. I nod in agreement.

  Maura

  I pull into the parking lot of Sprinkles driving my ten-year-old black Nissan Maxima, a hand-me -down I gladly accepted from my dad when he bought a new car last year. Sprinkles is a popular ice cream parlor in the center of town. It is fun to work there, and I get pretty good tips as it stays busy. However, there is obviously something going on in the parking lot today. I quickly realize that the commotion of people and balloons is caused by my group of friends. I park and get out of the car very confused. There is about 15 people waiting for me. Lana comes running up to me. “What is going on? You know it’s not my birthday, right?” I exclaim. Everyone crowds around me and suddenly Cameron pushes through the group and is smiling brightly, wearing a suit and carrying flowers and a lot of balloons. He approaches me and hands me the flowers. He bends down on one knee and asks, “Maura McDevitt, will you please do me the honor of accompanying me to the prom?” Everyone is giggling at his obvious attempt to replicate a marriage proposal for a promposal. I am shocked to say the least. “Yes, I will,” I smile. He embraces me and everyone cheers. I thank him and everyone else for their part in the grand gesture. I apologize as I scurry into the ice cream parlor in my uniform carrying flowers and about 20 balloons. I wave goodbye and blow a kiss to everyone as I push through the door.

  My manager, Cassie, eyes me curiously as she watches me dash through the restaurant and into the tiny employee locker room. My balloons fill up the entire space. I shove my stuff into my locker and hurry out onto the restaurant floor. As I go about my night, I can’t help but think about Cameron and the promposal. He has been on me all year. If I really think about it, he was after me since Mason and I broke up last July. But do I want to be more with Cameron? Not really. He is a lot like Mason. I don’t want to go through that type of relationship again.

  Mason Garrity was a year older than me. He was one of the most popular guys in school, extremely good-looking and the crush of most girls. He played football and asked me out early in my Junior year during football season. I fell hard for him. He treated me well but he was a bit possessive. We spent a lot of time together and grew close. After a few months of him pressuring me, I gave him my virginity. I thought we were in love. Our relationship continued this way until he graduated. He seemed to change overnight. He began to withdrawal from me and stopped talking about the future. I knew even before he broke up with me, prior to his trip to the beach with his friends, that he was going to end us.

  Mason was slated to attend a college six hours away. He decided he wanted to go away to college without any attachments. Lana told me she heard from one of his friends that he planned to do that all along. He was just passing time with me. He never intended to continue our relationship past his senior year. That revelation hurt me deeply. I truly thought we were the real deal. I did love him, but I realized that he couldn’t have loved me. If he did, he wouldn’t have been able to let me go so easily. Because of this, I am afraid to trust again.

  Cameron is sweet to me, but he isn’t always good to others. He likes to be the big man on campus. He would have liked to spend his senior year with me. He was always talking to me and asking me if I wanted to go for coffee or see a movie, but I always said I didn’t want to get involved with anyone. I was leery to let him get too close. Going to the prom with him should be fine. I think I can handle going with him as a friend. That is what he intends, right? I hope so. He was annoyed today when Zack and I were laughing together. Cameron was livid when he approached me at the food pantry in cooking class and asked if I wanted him to “set Zack straight.” I told Cameron that I was good. I was not having any issues with Zack. I think Cameron was jealous that I was enjoying my time with Zack.

  Mostly I think I am ready to get out of here and get away from all the high school bullshit. College will give me an opportunity to get away and start over. It will be good to meet new people and escape this bubble. My friends here are suffocating sometimes. They can be so callous to people they do not deem worthy of us. I think that mindset is immature and quite frankly, I’m over it. Lana, Sara and Mia have been my friends since 8th grade when I moved here. They instantly welcomed me and steered me away from befriending anyone not in their circle. I foolishly complied as I wanted to be accepted in a new school. But now I want to meet other people and maybe make new friends. I am going to the state university a couple hours away in the Fall. I am looking forward to expanding my horizons.

  Chapter 4

  Maura

  The next day Lana, Mia, Sara and I are walking into school together. We start up the steps into the side door near the student parking lot. A group of guys are sitting on the steps. I recognize them as Zack’s friends. Lana fakes a cough and waves her hand in front of her face as we pass by because one of the guys is smoking. He blows the smoke at her and blows her a kiss. Another guy grabs at Mia’s skirt. She yanks it from his grasp and says, “Dream on dirtbag!” They all laugh. I realize Zack is sitting on the top step leaning on the brick building. He smiles at me and winks. I immediately blush and smile back. Sara is behind me and she pushes me along. I take the open door from Mia and turn to look back at Zack. He is still watching me. I smile again before heading inside.

  Cooking class continues with Zack and I making lots of scrumptious treats over the next few weeks. He tells me he has been trying some of his new talents at home. It makes me sad that he spends so much time alone at home. I even had the thought of inviting him to my house for dinner. My family would be welcoming. My two older brothers will be home from college soon, and they would treat him like a friend. My parents and younger sister would definitely be nice to him. But I don’t think he would want to come to my house. He doesn’t seem like the family dinner type. And could you imagine if my friends find out I had Zack Deaton over for dinner? The horror!

  Cameron often finds reasons to visit me at my assigned kitchen area during cooking class. He and Zack give each other dirty looks while he speaks to me. There is no love lost between those two guys! Cameron doesn’t miss a chance to touch me subtlety whenever Zack is around. He puts his arm around me or places his hand on my lower back as he speaks to me. It is almost like he is staking his claim. I don’t know why he is so insecure about Zack and me. There is no way Zack is interested in someone like me!

  Zack

  This douchebag, Cameron Loomis, is really trying my patience! I want to kick his ass so bad! The only reason I don’t is because I don’t want Maura to think I am a thug. I mean I kind of am, but I want to be better. I can’t fight every time I get mad at someone. I need to grow up and think about my future. But he really pisses me off. These dumb jocks stick together. They never stand up on their own. If we get into it, I would be fighting five guys inste
ad of the one that I want to. I guess he doesn’t like me talking to Maura. What is he her boyfriend?

  Cameron just came by as he often does. He whispered something in her ear and touched her arm in a flirty way before giving me a scowl and going back to his assigned area. She goes back to mixing the cheese mixture on the stove top for our macaroni and cheese dish. I’m standing next to her and she looks my way and grins. “What’s up with that guy? Is he your boyfriend or something?” I ask. She answers immediately, “Definitely not! He is just a friend and my prom date.” “You are going to the prom with him but not dating him?” I ask. “Yes, we are going to the prom together but just as friends,” she says. “Are you going with your girlfriend?” she asks. “First of all, I don’t do things like go to the prom, and I do not have a girlfriend,” I snicker. “What about that girl Piper? Did you break up?” she asks. “Piper? Piper is just a friend. She is nobody’s girlfriend!” I tell her adamantly. She says timidly,” Oh I thought you two were together. I’ve seen you with each other in the halls and I saw you had her on your bike a few times.” What? How did she see that? Was she watching me? “No definitely not!” I exclaim. “Oh,” she answers doubtfully. What is this about?

  After school that day I go out to my bike and Max, Aidan and Benny are waiting for me. “Yo dude, your house?” Max asks. “Sure. Meet me there,” I answer. I head home and they follow. We head downstairs and crank up the music as we lift. About an hour later, I’m soaked with sweat and have already ditched my shirt. The music is loud, I don’t hear her approach but suddenly soft hands with long darkly painted nails wrap around my stomach. Piper! She presses herself against my back and pulls me closer. I pull away and turn around to face her. She smiles seductively and winks. I go over and turn down the music. “What the fuck Piper! What are trying to do? I could have hit you with this dumbbell!” I say as I drop the dumbbell I was lifting onto the rack. Max is spotting Benny on the bench and they stop and look at what is transpiring between us. Aidan is smirking from his perch on the couch. I notice Lindsey has taken a seat next to him. Piper slithers closer to me and says, “You know what I’m trying to do,” in a sing song voice. But I’m not having it. I push her away a little more forcefully and she immediately drops her arms and looks at me in confusion. I run upstairs and grab a quick shower. I lock the door to the bathroom in case Piper comes after me. When I head back down, everyone is still there hanging out including Piper. Aidan says, “Let’s go get something to eat. I’m starved!” We all agree. I take my bike and they cram into Piper’s car.