Never Enough by Denise Jaden Read Free Book Online Page B

and out, and pretended to watch TV again.
    When Mom got home, I bolted out of my chair and went to meet her. She had two large boxes with a clear plastic container of salad on top. “Hi, Mom! Let me get the pizza for you. Claire’s boyfriend, Josh, is over,” I said at around three hundred decibels and then mentally kicked myself for it. As if that wasn’t totally obvious. As if Claire shouldn’t be the one to make that statement. Shut up already, Loann!
    Minutes later we were all seated around the table, Josh right between Claire and me. It reminded me so much of our cafeteria lunch that I felt myself flush at the thought of how Josh’s leg had brushed mine.
    “So, Josh,” Mom launched in. “It’s nice that Claire could finally bring you home for dinner. You go to Alder Grove High with the girls, right?”
    “Yes, Mrs. Rochester,” he said, sitting up a little straighter. “I’m a junior, and on the football team. I’m hoping to get a sports scholarship next year.”
    I’d almost forgotten that Josh was in my grade and notClaire’s. We didn’t have any classes together and I usually saw him with other seniors like my sister. Whether he knew it or not, though, he’d just scored major points with Mom by mentioning a scholarship.
    Claire scrunched her nose when Mom passed a plate with a slice of pizza toward her, and instead asked for one of the clean plates and reached for the salad. Claire liked pizza, and Mom had ordered her favorite—vegetarian with no onions and extra peppers. The act must be because Josh was around. Though the way he was shoveling back his third piece, I doubted he cared.
    “Don’t hog it all, Claire,” Mom said about the salad. In the last couple of years, a power struggle had cropped up between the two of them—who ate better, who dressed better, you name it. I was glad I wasn’t in that particular race.
    Claire had only taken one small scoop of salad, but she closed the lid and passed it back to Mom. “Don’t worry,” she said pointedly. “I’m really not that hungry.”
    After dinner, I cleared the plates, but kept one eye on Claire and Josh in the living room. Even though they were both smart in school, they sure seemed stupid sometimes. Claire gabbed nonstop in her regular blossomy way about her hair, which I’m sure bored Josh, and he talked about new football plays as though she was an aspiring coach. It was entertaining to watch—them staring into each other’s starry eyes, not hearing a single word out of each other’s mouths.
    After cleaning up, I set my homework on the dining room table and settled in, glancing in their direction every few minutes. They didn’t leave the TV.
    At nine o’clock, Mom announced the time. Which meant, Say good-bye to your friend, please, Claire in Mom-language. Claire took the hint while Mom headed back to the kitchen with her empty wineglass. I watched Claire through my eyelashes as she walked Josh to the door. Neither of them acknowledged me, but I knew I had faded into the background over the last couple of hours, so I wasn’t offended. But then Claire turned and caught me watching.
    I darted my eyes back to my homework, but I guess it was too late. The door opened and they took their good-bye outside.
    I was interested to see exactly how their good-night kiss worked: Would he just kiss her right away, or stroke her cheek or something so she knew it was coming? Would they both shut their eyes like they do in the movies, or do people always have to shut their eyes when they kiss? I had so many questions. Peeking out the living room window, I didn’t see any sign of them near Josh’s car so I raced upstairs to my window that overlooked the side yard.
    I’d missed the beginning. Josh and Claire were already kissing out beside the oak tree and the streetlight gave just enough glow to see them. The jealous irk in my gut soon gaveway. It was mesmerizing to see two such beautiful people kissing in real life. After the weekend