Chapter 53: Chapter 53

/Amber's pov/

Kate shifted into a flirt mode, flinging her hair over her shoulder and smiling sweetly at Josh. "I'm the same way when it comes to names. "I think we have something in common," she purred as she examined him cautiously. He laughed, but he seemed to be uncomfortable. He didn't seem to be used to receiving female attention at all.

"So, what school did you attend before this?" I inquired, hoping to be of some assistance to him.

He thanked me with a thankful grin. "Actually, I went to an all-boys school in Merseyside," he said with a shrug of his shoulders. Okay, so that explains the flushing and feeling uneasy about yourself. I could almost hear Kate's thoughts racing through her head as she imagined teaching him new routines and breaking him in. I couldn't help but feel terrible for the poor lad who had to deal with this.

"An all-boys school? What do you mean?" "Well, that's no fun," Kate grinned while munching on a potato chip, clearly attempting to seem attractive.

Mike, who was sitting next to me, broke out laughing. "Kate, please don't bother the poor man; it's his first day," he mocked her.

Jake had a little angry expression on his face as he stared Kate in the eyes. It occurred to me at that moment what was going on. Jake was over heels in love with Kate! "I noticed that, Jake," I said, a wry smile on my face as I acknowledged his observation. He trembled and made an effort to seem innocent. Yes, I am completely envious! "Can you tell me what lessons you have this afternoon?" I inquired, returning my attention to Josh and attempting to keep the discussion continuing. I felt a bit sorry for him since he was clearly a fish out of water in this environment.

He gave me his schedule after pulling it out of his pocket. I nearly choked on my sandwich as I looked over it and realized he had been in every single afternoon class with me. "I have the identical ones," I murmured softly as I handed the item back to him. Mike slowly ran his palm over the inside of my thigh, and I leaned against him for support. Josh seemed to be a lovely person, but I didn't want him to be in my immediate vicinity all of the time. I could certainly put up with the odd talk, but what if he went home and my father inquired about my whereabouts? He would be privy to too much information about me, which I would find offensive.

“Yeah? Awesome! "Do you think you could teach me the ropes and everything?" he inquired, hoping for the best. I nodded carefully, knowing that I couldn't say no outright.

Jessica strutted up, her shirt buttoned up to the last two buttons and a grin on her face. "Hey, Josh. How are you doing? Interested in joining me for a meal? she inquired, wrapping her hair over one of her index fingers.

With a grin on my face, I responded, "Jessica, you missed a couple of buttons there, darling."

She locked her gaze on me. "It's intended to look like this, Emo freak," she said angrily as she walked away.

"Actually, I believe you're absolutely correct. When I passed by the hooker on the street last night, I saw that blouse being worn precisely like that," I said, a kind smile on my face.

"Do you like to meet on street corners?" she inquired, a smirk on her face, clearly believing she had won.

"I'll do it while I'm meeting with your mother." I shook my head.

Mike and Josh broke out laughing at the same time. "Bitch," she said as she rushed out of the hall. Kate and Lucy exchanged a high-five while laughing like two crazy chicks on speed.

"You're hilarious," Josh replied, a smile on his face as he looked at me.

Okay, I'm starting to worry about how much damage I've done to your chances of nailing her today. Do not worry; she will give you another opportunity tomorrow," I taunted as I sat down to eat another bite.

He snorted and rolled his eyes. The fact that she's been whining about this girl who stole her man has been driving me insane all morning. After all, what type of a man would go on a date with someone like her? "I'm sure he's a real ass," he mocked, shrugging his shoulders.

With the exception of Mike, the whole table broke into laughter. "That ass would be me, to be honest. With a shake of his head, Mike said that they were not going out.

Josh burst out in a rash of blushes. "Oh, I'm sorry," he whispered, a tinge of regret in his voice.

Mike had my arm wrapped around his. Then I cooed, bringing him closer to me. "Don't worry, baby boy, your taste has improved since then," I said as I drew him closer to me.

"Angel, my taste has been consistent over the years. "This is forbidden fruit." He leaned in rapidly, nipping the back of my neck and making me laugh. Then Jake cleared his throat, and Mike sighing and rolling his eyes, pushed away from me. I sat back and let Kate and Josh converse for the remainder of lunch, interjecting with the odd question or response when I felt it was necessary. He was, in fact, a pleasant individual.

In that case, it would have been simpler for me to blow him off and not feel like a piece of crap about it afterward, but it would have made things more difficult. I escorted him to his courses, and he sat next to me whenever he had the opportunity. When the bell sounded to signal the end of the day, I exhaled a sigh of relief, as did everyone else.

"Are you planning on returning home immediately?" As Josh and I made our way to my locker, he posed the question.

I made a shaky motion with my head. “No. I need to wait till Jake and Mike have done their practice before continuing."

"Yeah, what does Jake play?" he said, a tinge of curiosity in his voice.

"Ice hockey,"

“Cool. As a matter of fact, he volunteered to offer his services as a ride-share driver.

"For my birthday, my mother and Stephen surprised me with a wicked automobile," he said with a huge smile on his face. I felt my heart drop as I heard his name for the second time; the way he used it in ordinary conversation terrified the living daylights out of me.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'll hold out until I hear back from them." Because Jake has to leave to work, Mike generally comes over," I said quickly.

"Can you tell me where Jake works?" he inquired, leaning against the lockers.

"Benny's gym," In order to avoid being uncomfortable, I slammed my books into my bag with much too much force, bending all of the pages in the process.

"Jake doesn't seem to care about me at all," Josh said, his face a bit dejected.

I offered a comforting grin. "He hasn't met you before. It's simply that it's strange for us at the moment. It's been three years since we've seen our father, and then all of a sudden, he shows up and we find ourselves with an additional brother and a stepbrother. Jake is averse to change," I stated, attempting to deflect attention away from the real problem.

He nodded, his expression serious. "Yeah, I suppose it's difficult. So, do you think it would be okay if I stayed with you until the conclusion of their practice so that we could get to know each other a little better? We don't want this to continue to be unpleasant for either of us and while I'm here, I believe we should make the most of it," he said, gazing at me with optimism in his eyes.

Wow, that's a lot of stuff! I wasn't sure what to say, so I didn't say anything and just nodded before locking my locker.

"Would you want to sit at the front?" While walking out of the building, I remarked, "Normally, I sit beneath the tree and wait," I said.

"That sounds nice," he said, following me around the room with a little grin. I went up to the large oak tree where I normally sit and concentrate on my schoolwork and sat down against it. He sat down in front of me, plucking up a few blades of grass and twirling them around anxiously in his hands. My foot was near to a little daisy, so I grabbed it and placed it in the back of my ponytail because it reminded me of the daisy Mike had selected for me before dance practice the night after the first night we kissed.

I was feeling so uneasy that I squirmed on the spot while trying to come up with something intelligent to say. "How about your younger brother, Stanley.... "Well, I guess he's now considered my brother as well, but what I really wanted to know was, how is he?" I inquired, my curiosity piqued.

He flashed a grin. "He's so adorable. He's a pain in the buttocks, particularly when he wakes up crying in the middle of the night, but he's adorable. 'I have a photo if you'd like to see it,' he said, taking his wallet out of his pocket and offering it to me. I grinned and excitedly switched the phone open, ready to see the small infant within. When I glanced at the image, my breath froze in my throat because it wasn't just the infant in it; it was a family photograph. Looking at my father, I saw that he was beaming with pride as he wrapped one arm around his new bride and the other over Josh, who was clutching a little blond kid