A shy high school senior jock and a closed-off girl battling an immune disorder fake a relationship to win a social media contest.
Being shy isn't easy, especially when you're the new kid at school. Scotts Valley's football program is subpar compare...
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Time warped on me. Thursday and Friday passed like a blur, but each second sitting in Dr. Katz's waiting room seemed like it wouldn't pass. My heart pounded faster as I stared at the clock, willing it to move faster.
The small lobby squeezed in tighter with Brody sitting next to me. He read through a sports magazine with his legs extended and feet crossed. We weren't touching, but his presence was suffocating. The hot air and low ceilings were suffocating. Dad's huffed breathing and glancing over my head every minute were suffocating. Morgan giggling over her phone at Brody was...annoying.
"Paige Hart?" A nurse smiled over my chart.
The weight of Brody's gaze made my backside—all of the back of me, not my butt—tingle. Mom came with me, but he remained sitting with Dad, who'd reminded repeatedly of how he wasn't allowed back in the examination room until the end.
Poor Brody. This would be my most embarrassing appointment ever. With my cheeks burning, I answered the usual screening questions—no changes, my psoriasis still sucked—and Dr. Katz examined my elbows, back, and behind my knees and ears.
"They were looking marginally better a couple of appointments ago," he hummed, releasing my right ear. "The beach did wonders, Paige. It's regressed."
Brody deserved all the beach credit. Behind Dr. Katz's white coat-covered shoulder, Mom smiled. "Guess you'll have to make more trips to the beach."
I was less worried about her liking Brody than Dad. He wouldn't like anyone Morgan or I dated and took the longest to warm up to Nate being just my friend. What would Dad ask him in private? Hopefully nothing embarrassing.
"How do you feel about more sun exposure?" Dr. Katz asked.
"Great." I huffed. "More awkward staring."
Sympathy filled his kind eyes. "I know it's hard to look different, especially at your age. But the sun and salt water are good for your skin, reducing the dryness and inflammation, so if you'd like to reduce these—" he rubbed his thumb over the white scales on my right elbow. "—sun and cold saltwater are helping."
Other than fewer flakes, I hadn't noticed much of a difference. It still itched, but I wouldn't know if a more consistent approach worked unless I tried. With a sigh, I slid off the table to the sound of more rustling plastic.
"Now, what's this about a young man having some questions?"
A constricting sensation choked my throat, and I curled my hands to close my front-open robe.
"After her laser." Mom stepped between me and the doctor, waving me to where the nurse would do the laser. "Are there any new treatment options, Dr. Katz?"
His answer, "Nothing besides the biologics," muffled behind me. I squirmed more than usual under the pricks and burns from the laser, rolling onto my stomach and clenching my teeth when the nurse passed over my lower back.
