Chasing Nikki

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

    

    "What are you doing?" Brittney asked me in a whisper as she followed my gaze. I was surprised to see her without Matt attached to her hip. I'd come to discover the guy was seriously one jealous dude.

    "Shhh. I'm spying," I replied, as I hid in the alcove by the water fountain, giving myself a clear view of Nikki's locker but staying enough out of the way she wouldn't see me. "You better leave before Matt sees you talking to me. I swear he looks like he wants to beat the crap out of me every time I look at you. He doesn't like that I hang around with you and your brother. I thought he was going to croak when I showed up at your house last night to pick up Brett. He thought I was there to see you." I grinned at the memory.

    She shrugged. "He'll get over it. I told him you were totally into Nikki. He says you don't stand a chance with her."

    "Listen, I know he's all chummy with her ex, so he feels loyal to him, but I never back down from something I want."

    She laughed. "I kind of got that after Brett told me about the little adventure you took him on last night."

    I chuckled. "Brett's a whiner."

    "Yes, he is, but don't tell him I said so." She tossed her long, blonde hair over her shoulder and smiled. "Well, good luck with your spying. I've got to get to class."

    "See you later," I replied, watching her walk away for a moment. She sure was a pretty girl, and I liked her. I wondered how she had ever ended up with a guy like Matt Wilson. She seemed too good for the likes of him.

    I sighed and turned my attention back to my current conquest. Nikki walked up to her locker and right away noticed the sticky note I left for her, pulling it off to read it. 

    "Roses are red. Violets are blue. What will it take to go out with you?"

    Her sigh was visible as she crumpled the note up in her hand and opened her locker. She gasped, and I laughed when the roses and violets fell out, showering her with flowers. She had no idea I'd been memorizing her combination when I stood behind her yesterday.

    Perfect. I ducked away before she could see me and hurried to my first class, hoping I scored with this gesture. She made it clear she thought I was a player, and well, I really was. I'd had girlfriends in the past, but no one I was really committed to. I tended to notice all the girls in the general vicinity, looking for the next one who might be ready to replace the last. 

    I actually kind of found it funny I was trying so hard to get Nikki. True, I loved a good challenge, thanks to my naturally competitive nature, but never had I put this kind of effort into getting a date.

    The bell rang right as I slid into my seat beside Brett in our chemistry lab.

    "So, how'd it go?" he asked.

    "Caught her completely off guard."

    "Did she like them?"

    "I don't know. Didn't stick around long enough to find out."

    "She better like them. Especially since I had to drive to three different garden centers with you last night trying to find those stupid violet plants."

    "Quit being a crybaby." I grinned as he rolled his eyes. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

    "What are you doing this weekend?" he asked.

    "I start my mandated community service. It's part of my sentence from the judge. I had to go to a weekend class on substance abuse and pay a five hundred dollar fine before I moved up here. Now I have one hundred hours to complete."