Its okay. She stood. Now, if you boys would excuse me for a minute, I need to go to the restroom.

Great. Just what I didnt want: to be left alone with math club. I focused on my half dead food so I didnt have to look at him. I didnt trust myself not to say something I shouldnt, not to find a way to ruin this for her. Honestly, what I really wanted to do is tell the guy to stay the h.e.l.l away from us. But would I really be ruining it for her or saving her in the long run? I didnt know and I wasnt willing to risk finding out.

After a minute or two of silence, Roger broke it. Can I talk to you man to man for a minute, Sebastian? he asked.

This was the perfect opening for me. I leaned back in the chair and crossed my arms. As long as I can do the same with you.

He nodded his head, with a partial smile on his face. Fair enough. You go first.

My mom means everything to me. Shes been through a lot and the last thing she needs is another jerk thats going to bail on her. I dont want to see her hurt again, so if youre playing games, play them with someone else. A deep breath escaped my lungs. This was the thing, what all those girls who emailed me to hook them up didnt understand. Getting a guy isnt the same thing as keeping him. I can always promise a hook-up, but I cant control if it lasts or not. As far as I could tell, it almost never lasted.

If you asked me, I wasnt sure it was worth the risk.

The putz looked at me and smiled. Your mom is very lucky to have you for a son, Sebastian.

I know. I hated to sound c.o.c.ky, but I knew I was a pretty good son. Despite everything, she was a good mom, too. The jury was still out on this guy. Guilty until proven innocent when it came to her.

Roger took a drink of his water. I wanted to let you know, Im in love with your mom. Shes a special woman. If I have your permission, Id like to ask her to be my wife.

The fries and burger churned in my stomach. Theyd been dating like six weeks and he wanted to marry her? h.e.l.l, the ones shed tied herself to with that stupid piece of paper had turned out to be the biggest a.s.sholes. My dad included. And for her, when it fell apart, she always felt like she failed even more than if they just broke up. Like that piece of paper made everything so much more of a big deal.

Roger must have been able to read the look on my face. Or heard my breathing pick up. For all I knew, he heard how hard my heart pounded, because he said, I know its quick, but there is something about her. Shes genuine. Ive been alone a long time, and this is the first time Ive been willing to make this step again.

His speech was nice, but I still wasnt sure. It sounded like a politicians speech and even I knew how those usually turned out. Before I could tell the guy, h.e.l.l no, my mom came back to the table and sat down. Knowing myself, I probably wouldnt have said no anyway. Not if there was a chance it could make her happy. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? I didnt know.

Unaware of what just went down, of what he said and how I wanted to explode, Mom smiled. So! What did I miss?

I opened my mouth, but Roger cut me off. Just a little guy talk. It can wait.

Sitting there, watching her smile at him, her big heart plastered on her forehead, I knew I was screwed. My mom loved the guy. Theres no way I could tell him no and be the one to break her heart. Hopefully, hed give this some time. You know, sleep on it for me than five minutes. All I knew is, if he hurt her, he better pray he never ran into me again.

I blew the head off a video game zombie. A second later, I sniped another one and then another. It didnt help. I couldnt stop thinking about Mr. I-Want-To-Marry-Your-Mom. He was nothing like the guys she usually dated and honestly, I didnt think my mom was the kind of lady he usually went out with, either. Could that be a good thing? I had no clue. Thats why I was The Hook-up Doctor instead of Love Doctor.

But as much as I hated to admit it, even though hed annoyed me, he almost seemed nice.

Still I wasnt real sold on the whole happily-ever-after thing and the thought of her getting all excited at the prospect, and then the drama when it all fell apart, left me feeling the need to kill as many zombies as possible.

Add that to the fact that Aspen and Pris bailed on us tonight didnt help. The night was completely blown to s.h.i.t pretty much like the zombie heads I kept shooting off.

As soon as I got home from lunch Id texted Aspen. Like I said, shes the only one who knew how I felt about my mom and it took her two hours to reply and she said she couldnt hang out tonight. Im glad I didnt waste my time telling her what happened. If she didnt care enough to keep her plans with me, then I wasnt going to play Dr. Phil, spilling my guts to her like she could make it better or something.

Whats your problem tonight? Youre looking a little angry there, Sebastian. Those zombies arent really trying to take over the world. Jaden leaned against the video game. Around us, lights and bells went off. The arcade was packed like it was every weekend.

Game Over flashed across the screen.

When are you going to realize youre not funny? I asked him.

We started walking through the crowd. Hey, Im funny as h.e.l.l. Youre just mad because I get all the good lines in and youre the sidekick.

This time I couldnt help but laugh. Yeah, because we both know thats the truth. A couple of guys walked away from a table and we sat down. Im mad and bored. We need to find something to do.

As if the seat shocked him, Jaden lurched forward. Asketh and you shall receiveth. Behind you, six oclock.

Slowly, I turned in my seat so I could look behind me without being too obvious. What the? Ice slithered through my veins. What are the girls doing here? Aspen and Pris sat in the back by the pool tables laughing and talking. They couldnt hang with us, but they could come here?

Huh? Oh s.h.i.t. I didnt even see them. Look to the left a little. Two blondes are looking this way.

I mentally scrolled through Aspens text. She said she didnt feel like hanging out tonight.

Dude. Who cares? They ditched us. Get over it and check out"oh, she just waved. Lets go over there.

I was five feet ahead of Jaden, but I wasnt going to the blondes. This weird heavy feeling weighed me down. Why wouldnt they want to chill with us? Id needed to talk to her today and shed blown me off. As I stepped up to their table, Jaden grabbed my arm. Wrong way, Romeo.

They bailed on us. Why wasnt he upset about it?

Like I said, who cares? d.a.m.n, Bastian. Maybe they wanted a chick night? Theres no rule that we have to hang out with them every night. Whats going on with you lately?

Half of me knew he was right, but that didnt stop me from, pulling my arm away from him, and plopping down at their table. Fancy meeting you here. I crossed my arms so they knew I was mad. Pris eyes got all wide and Aspen stuttered when she talked.

Hey! I, um we were going to stay in, but changed our minds at the last minute.

That sounded awfully close to a line. Probably a line Id given in the past and it annoyed me that she not only used it with me, but that I let it bother me. Whatever.

Dont get your feelings hurt. Its not like youve never blown us off before, Pris said from across the table.

That wasnt the point, but if they didnt want to hang out with us, I didnt want to hang out with them either. Two could play at that game. I dont have my feelings hurt. Just thought Id stop by and say hi. It actually worked out better for us anyway. I nodded my head toward the blondes who were looking our way. Both Pris and Aspen looked over. I pushed to my feet. Have a good night, ladies.

When we walked away, Jaden grabbed my arm. Hey, you sure youre okay?

I peeked over my shoulder at Aspen and Pris, who were already off in some whispered conversation, then to the side at the blondes. My mind went to Roger and how he planned on officially moving in on my mom, like there was any point in taking relationships seriously. Yep, Im good. Come on, lets get ourselves some girls.

Hook-up Doctor, I had my doubts, but I think its actually working! I saw him this weekend and blew him off like you said. We were at the same get-together. He talked to me for a minute and I played it off like it was no big deal. I swear, the whole night after that, he kept watching me. Id look over, and hed turn away, but I could tell hed been looking at me. I kind of hate to admit it, but you actually seem to know what youre talking about here. One question though this is just a hypothetical. What would one do if it didnt work? If after one try the guy didnt seem to notice you were ignoring him, should she try again? Again, just curious. You know, us inquiring minds and all. Thanks! Hope to hear from you soon.

PA.

Chapter Five.

PA,.

Huh, looks like ignoring people is in the air lately. At least for you, you have a good reason. Whatever. Not like I care. Glad everythings going as planned. Told you I was good. For now, youre going to want to just kick back. Give him some time to think. The more he thinks, the more confused h.e.l.l get, until hes thinking about you 24/7, which is what we want. In the meantime, play it cool. Maybe show up where he is, dont ignore him, but dont pay him too much attention either. We like to be the center of attention, so if he feels youre kind of eh about him, guess who h.e.l.l start to want?

Hook-up Doctor ***

Two days pa.s.sed and I was still p.i.s.sed. Id never been ditched by a girl in my whole life. Now I had my so called BFF (and if I didnt stop using that word, Id cut my own tongue out) playing hooky on me like I was nothing. Was this how girls felt when I bailed on them? No. This was different. I always made sure girls knew up front I didnt do the dating thing. With Aspen, we were like yin and yang, soy burgers and tofu, Dawson and Joey h.e.l.l, I really needed to get a life.

I picked up my phone and scrolled through her texts. They started out with Im sorry and by the hundredth one transformed into, Whatever. Its not like youve never done it. So, apparently this whole thing was my fault. She was wrong, though. I never would have lied to her like that.

Glancing at the clock on my bedside table, I discovered I had a good two hours before my first shift at DJs. I wasnt looking forward to it. On top of work, Mom and the loser, and the whole Pris/Aspen thing, I needed to do something to relax. Heading to my closet, I pulled out my guitar and leaned back on my bed again. My fingers moved across the strings with so much ease. It was almost like touching a girl; I knew just what to do, where to touch, and I enjoyed the h.e.l.l out of it. My talent was the only thing I had that I could thank my moms sperm donor, AKA my pops, for.

An hour later, I took a quick shower, put on the black slacks and prep-school-looking green shirt and hoped like h.e.l.l they wouldnt make me tuck it in. Jaden had some secret mission or something going on today so he was out as a possible ride to work. I knew he wasnt off with a girl, because he never kept his mouth shut about stuff like that. Jay had some kind of secrets going on that he didnt let the rest of us in on, but because of his sneakiness, getting to work was all up to me. Since I wasnt talking to the girls, once I had my shoes on, I grabbed my skateboard out of the closet.

I liked riding, but it was something I wanted to do for fun. Not to ride to my minimum wage job because I was too poor for a car and my friends had all decided to bail on me.

By the time I kicked my board up to walk into DJs, I was sweating like crazy. Nice. And it was all Aspen and Priss fault.

DJ showed me where to clock in and had Matt train me. I dont know what it was, but there was something about the guy that bugged me. He talked so much I had the urge to sock him in the face the whole time. You could tell he thought he knew everything and that rubbed me wrong.

Halfway through the shift as he was teaching me how to make a meat supreme pizza, like it was so hard or something, and he nudged my arm. So, is Aspen your girl?

Pfft, think again. I dont do the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing, I said, while in my head I wondered why it was any of his d.a.m.n business. Then a thought reared up inside me like an angry bull. Did this dude think he had a chance with her? I had a sort of sixth sense when it came to jerks. Maybe it had something to do with all the guys that came in and out of my moms life, who knew.

What I did know was this wasnt the kind of guy I wanted Aspen with. He only wanted one thing from her. I could practically read his mind because I thought the same things when it came to other girls. Which was totally different. But I watch out for her. Make sure n.o.body hurts her and all that. Out of nowhere, something else tumbled out of my mouth. I didnt know where it came from and couldnt make it stop either. Not that I have to do it real often. She doesnt date much. Her parents are real strict. They only let her datehippies. Yeah, they have all sorts of rules. Shes only allowed to go out with vegetarians who live in energy efficient houses.

And I was a friggin idiot.

No, s.h.i.t? Matt asked, one of his eyebrows rose like some cartoon character.

Luckily, he seemed to be an idiot, too. Yeah, crazy, huh? I tossed some pepperoni on the pizza. Theyve been thinking about moving out to this hippie commune, so who knows, they might not be around much longer. My mind was screaming at me to shut the h.e.l.l up, but I kept talking. They make guys meditate with her dad before they let her leave with anyone. Something about being centered. I think its some kind of hypnotizing thing, so they wont mess around with their daughter.

Apparently, I didnt know when to shut up. Id been known to lay it on a little thick, I guess. Whatever. When he rolled his eyes, I knew I was losing him. Dude, if you want her, all you had to do was say so.

Huh? What was he talking about? I didnt want Aspen. I was being a good friend. Taking care of her so this guy didnt play around with her. The last thing Id ever want was Aspen to get hurt. Youre barking up the wrong tree there, Mattie. I dont want Woodstock. I didnt.

Matt grabbed the pizza from in front of me and put it in the oven. Matt. The names Matt.

I ignored him. Sodo you? Want her, I mean? My shoulders lifted in a shrug. Just curious. Like I said, I take care of her.

Matt shook his head and laughed softly. I couldnt help but measure him up. You know, just in case I had to kick his a.s.s. He was about my height, maybe an inch shorter, but I was definitely more muscular. I could take him no problem.

I dont know. Shes pretty cute. Funny, too. I saw her at the arcade a few days ago, but she was kind of being b.i.t.c.hy though.

Hed been there too? And what the h.e.l.l? Who did he think he was calling her b.i.t.c.hy? Shes not a b.i.t.c.h.

I didnt say she was. I said she was being b.i.t.c.hy. Theres a difference.

Dude, what was wrong with me? I needed to get myself under control. Dont take it personal, man. The tightness in my voice annoyed me. I dont know why I was still letting Friday night bother me so much. Made me feel a little better that hed been there and she ignored him, too.

Anyway, not sure. Im pretty new in town so just getting the lay of the land, if you know what I mean. He put his hand in the air and I didnt leave him hanging even though his words rubbed me the wrong way. It was either give him five or punch him in the gut. Lay of the land? Who talked like that? Me.

Sebastian! Matt! Back to work, guys. Its time for the dinner rush. DJ yelled at us.

The rest of the night, I took my anger out on pizza dough and tried not to think about Matt getting the lay of Aspens land.

Sebastian, get in the car.

I rode my skateboard down the street, ignoring Woodstock driving at my pace beside me.

I swear, sometimes youre worse than a child. Its ten oclock at night. I know your lazy b.u.t.t doesnt want to walk home.

She was right. I didnt want to walk. I stank like pizza sauce and all I wanted to do was get home and take a shower. This doesnt mean Im not mad at you.

Youre pouting, she teased after I got in.

Only real men can pout without losing their masculinity. I have nothing to worry about there.

She laughed and I couldnt help but laugh with her. Thats why I avoided her. Even in the dark, all it took was knowing those green eyes were focused on me and I was a goner. My mom had the same power over me. I wondered how she couldnt know how much power she had. Mom too. Why she let guys trample over her when she had so much strength.

We took the ten minute drive in silence. A few minutes later, she pulled into my driveway. Part of me didnt want to, but I couldnt help but talk to her. Whyd you park here? I can walk.

Aspen hit the interior light and turned it on. I figured Id come in for a minute. I probably have some groveling to do, and Id much rather do it inside than in my car. I knew she was trying to make me laugh so I quirked up the left side of my mouth and gave her a half smile. Even though I wasnt over her ditching me yet, I was willing to talk about it. Like she always could, Aspen read between my lines and got out of the car. We were upstairs in my room a minute later. My mom wasnt home, but I still pushed the door closed, wanting privacy.

Have you seen Pris or Jaden? I asked after she sat down on my bed. I took the beat-up chair at my computer desk.

Nothing from Jaden. Pris is at some fancy dinner thing with her family. Before I could reply, she sighed and then started speaking again. Im sorry I lied to you. I just, I have my reasons and I know Im being shady because I cant tell you why, but I would never have ditched you without a reason. Theres just some stuff going on right now. Not like that makes it okay, because it was still wrong. Youre my best friend, so that should always come first, but honestly, I didnt think it would be that big a deal. I didnt know youd be so mad.

I stared at her as she picked up my pillow and put it on her lap. One of her feet was tucked beneath her on my bed while the other Nike-covered foot dangled near the floor. I couldnt stay mad at her even though I wanted to. So, its not just Jaden who says Im your BFF. You think so, too. I crossed my arms and leaned back in the chair. It felt good to talk to her again. I couldnt handle not talking with Aspen, Pris, or Jaden.

You know you are. She tossed the pillow at me. Am I forgiven? Aspen batted her eyelashes and something flipped in my stomach.

Whatever. I threw it back. See, girls have it so easy. Smile and bat your eyelashes and were defenseless.

Aspen scooted my guitar over on the bed and leaned back further. Whatever! Guys have it easy. Everything is much harder for girls.

Pfft. Lets not go there. Well just get in an argument again.

The room was quiet for a few minutes before she spoke. So, is everything okay? Its not like you to get so upset about something like that. Her voice was all soft and caring and I immediately felt like a wuss. What was I supposed to say? Some dude who, if Im honest with myself, looks like a nice guy wants to marry my mom and Im p.i.s.sed about it? Oh, and on top of that, Im confused about you right now. I didnt think so. There was no way those words were pa.s.sing my lips.

What do you mean, is everything okay with me? Youre the one who said you have stuff going on right now. What is it, Woodstock? Do I need to beat someone up? Toilet paper a house? You name it, and Im there.

Smooth move on the subject change.

Right back at ya.

Aspen sighed. No, theres nothing you can do. Its"complicated. I love that you asked though. Her cheeks went a little pink, getting a smile out of me. Id never seen her blush like that before.

You know I always have your back. I scratched my head and realized I had pizza sauce in it. I gotta get cleaned up real quick. I feel like a friggin calzone. You should hang out though. I shrugged.