On My Own: (Sweet Valley High Senior Year Series #15)

Jessica stoked up her courage as she saw Evan trudging toward her, his mind obviously elsewhere. He still hadn't seen her, so she got to take a good, long look. If Evan had purposely chosen his clothes and hairstyle in order to mock her image of the ideal man, he couldn't have done a better job. Not only had he not shaved, but it looked like he hadn't shaved all weekend. And it wasn't a coarse, macho stubble either--it was a wispy black fuzz, the same color as his shaggy, unkempt hair, which looked like he was trying to grow dreadlocks. She checked out Evan's clothes and sighed. Frayed, drab olive cargo shorts--nothing too outrageous about that. Except for him the pockets weren't a fashion statement but were stuffed with God only knew what--his lunch, probably. His shirt, or jacket, or whatever was one of those coarsely woven, shapeless, hooded garments from Mexico or Central America. She shuddered. At least it was just plain, unbleached cotton, not covered with garish stripes. She hardly needed to look at his feet to know he was wearing Birkenstock sandals. She glanced down. Yep. Oh, well. Maybe he could change. There was always Beauty and the Beast. Jessica suddenly imagined Will's perfectly groomed, arrogant face, smiling at Evan with amusement and contempt. She flushed, angry that she had even thought of Will. There was one more reason to go ahead with this--to prove she was over the self-absorbed blond. Jessica leaned quietly against his car as Evan approached. The closer he got before seeing her, the better. She wanted to see his eyes when that first flash of recognition occurred, to observe that unguarded split second in which his true feelings might be glimpsed. Part of what was making her nervous was that despite all of her doubts about Evan, she was equally uncertain of what he thought of her. Evan was reaching into his pocket for his car keys when he finally saw her. His eyes widened for a split second, then narrowed. He unlocked the car door and threw his backpack in the passenger seat, not even bothering to acknowledge her. When he finally turned toward her, his face bore the indulgent half smile of a boy being followed around by his little sister. "Hey, Jessica," he drawled. "What's up?" "Not much." Jessica lowered her head, then peered up at him through her heavily mascaraed lashes, a look that never failed to have an instantaneous effect on the male respiratory system. Evan simply looked amused. His casual confidence was very different from the aggressive cockiness of a hotshot football star but was no less self-assured. He seemed in no hurry to say anything, and his relaxed smile was making Jessica increasingly self-conscious. Their eyes met, and Jessica was struck once again by the intensity of his expression. Feeling more flustered than ever, she decided she had to say something because he seemed like he could stand there forever. "I-I just wanted to apologize for last Friday," she blurted out. Evan shrugged, as if she were talking about something that happened several months ago. "I didn't mean to be rude," she continued. "See, I just got out of this pretty serious relationship, and I guess I sort of panicked. I mean..." She trailed off. What was making her apologize and babble on like an idiot? A few minutes ago she had thought she was doing him a favor just by talking to him. "Forget it, he said, a glimmer of irritation crossing his face. "It was just a dance. I wasn't proposing marriage or anything." Jessica straightened up and looked him in the eye. Enough of this doormat routine. "Well, since you're not totally traumatized, do you want to take another shot at it?" He raised his eyebrows in surprise, and Jessica felt she had regained the upper hand. "If you want," he said. "But it's no big deal. Don'tPascal, Francine is the author of 'On My Own: (Sweet Valley High Senior Year Series #15)' with ISBN 9780553493146 and ISBN 0553493140.