“I’m not doing anything,” she said as he reached a hand down. She grabbed it so he could lift her off the sidewalk.
Eli pulled and she bumped into the front of him. He grinned at her, and her insides tingled. Why did she always react to him like that? He was cute, but she had a boyfriend. She couldn’t crush on another guy. He leaned in close to her. “Need any help?”
She shoved him away. “No.”
He laughed and took a step back. “I just thought it looked like you were having fun, digging around in the bushes.” He spread his hands out.
He was an impossible flirt. What was she supposed to say to that? She just made a face and started toward the school doors. He fell into step beside her. “You cold? You look a little…blue.”
Embarrassment once again heated her ears and she yanked on her mini-skirt. “I know. I didn’t check the weather before choosing my outfit.”
Eli’s gaze traveled over her as they entered the school building. “It looks good on you.”
Pleasure pooled in her stomach. How did he do that? Make her roll her eyes one second, then feel all tingly inside the next? And why couldn’t Jack ever make her feel like that? She grinned and flipped her hair over her shoulder, a move she’d learned from the popular girls. “Thanks.”
Amanda walked up to them, her book bag slung over her shoulder. “Hey, Des.” She gave Eli a sideways glance. “Eli.”
“Hey.”
Amanda looked down at Destiny’s sandals. “Cute shoes.”
Destiny smiled and turned her ankle to show them off. “Thanks, they’re Jimmy Choos. Got them half-price.”
Amanda made a face. “How much were they?”
“Two hundred.”
Eli made a noise and Amanda blew out a breath. By the look on Amanda’s face, Destiny was going to get a lecture. She loved Amanda, but sometimes she was a little over the top. “Do you know how many endangered seals you could save by donating that kind of money?”
“I did donate it. To the Destiny-Needs-To-Look-Good Fund.” She gave Amanda a silly grin. Then she tacked onto the end a quick, “Just kidding.”
Amanda rolled her eyes, but Destiny knew it was good-natured. Amanda was her best friend. Always rooting for the underdog, which Destiny liked. It showed how tender-hearted Amanda was. And when it came down to it, Destiny supported her friend.
When Amanda organized something, Destiny was there with her. She painted signs and showed up to the Clean the Lake March, even though it was fifteen degrees outside that day. And she walked right alongside Amanda, waving her sign and letting people know it wasn’t acceptable to toss trash in the lake. And when Amanda got all crazy about raising money for the Gorilla Foundation, Destiny donated three hundred dollars. She wanted to save the animals as much as Amanda. She loved animals.
Amanda swiveled around. “Don’t look now, but the brain-dead troop is coming our way.”
Destiny elbowed Amanda. “Don’t call them that,” she hissed. “You know I’d burn down a small forest to get in with that crowd.”
Amanda gasped. “Blaspheme!”
“Who?” Eli said.
“The popular girls,” Amanda said.
“Shut up. Here they come.” Destiny smiled as Nikki and her clan approached them. Nikki was the head of the pop girls, as everyone liked to call them behind their backs. They were even more popular than the cheerleading crew. Nikki couldn’t be bothered with getting excited about football. She was too cool for that.
Destiny glanced at the group. Nikki was leading them, as usual. Kara and Charley flanked her, their snooty faces firmly in place. Nikki glanced at Destiny and gave her a quick once-over. “Nice shoes,” she said. Kara and Charley immediately nodded.
“Thanks.” Destiny’s heart pounded. The leader of the pop girls had noticed her. Holy. Freakin’. Cow. This was amazing. She turned to say something to Nikki, but her sandal strap caught on her other shoe, and before she could catch herself, she fell on her butt for the second time that morning.
Eli reached down and pulled her up in one swift move, and once again, she found herself in his arms. His eyebrows came together in concern. “Are you okay?”
Laughter rang through the hallway, but Destiny didn’t want to look to see if it was coming from the pop girls. She wanted to run away and never show her face in Rockford again. Heat burned her face. “I’m fine,” she mumbled and pushed past Eli, stumbling down the hallway in a useless attempt to flee her humiliation.
“Slow down, or you’ll fall again,” Amanda said after they’d turned a corner and the students thinned out.
“Sorry.” Destiny forced her steps to slow. Then she buried her face in her hands. The stale stench of failure wafted around her. How could she show her face again to the pop girls? They would make fun of her for eternity. “I can’t believe I did that,” she said, groaning.
Eli put his arm around her. He smelled like that popular cologne that all the teen guys wore. “Don’t worry. No one noticed.”
No one noticed? Right. She could only wish for that in her dreams. “I heard the laughter.”
“Losers laugh. You’re above that. Just ignore them. If they laughed at you, they don’t deserve your friendship anyway.” His kind words warmed her heart. Eli could be a real nice guy when he wanted to be.
“He’s right. They are losers.” Amanda pushed her glasses up with one finger. “They don’t matter.” She gave her a hug. “I’ll see you at lunch.” Amanda took off down the hallway.
Even though Amanda was quirky, she was a good friend. Destiny took in a deep breath. Maybe they were right. Maybe the pop girls weren’t important. Maybe she would be better off ignoring them.
Was it horrible that deep in her heart, she hoped Nikki would like her? That she would be invited to sit at the cool kids’ table and be counted as one of them? Or maybe she was delusional.
Eli squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I can make you forget all about them.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
She squirmed away from him. “You can’t help how you are, can you?”
He raised one eyebrow. “And how’s that?”
“A hopeless flirt.” Destiny was half-joking, half serious, but Eli seemed to take it as a challenge. He took two steps toward her, and she backed up until she was against the lockers. Her body broke out in tingles. Stupid. She stared at him.
“Really?” His gaze traveled over her, like he was drinking her in. “Something tells me you kind of like that.”
Crud. How could he tell? She did everything in her power to remind herself she had a boyfriend and wasn’t going to encourage this kind of behavior from Eli.
He leaned in until he was so close, she was enveloped by him. She swallowed, her heart suddenly pumping like crazy. “No.”
“I don’t believe you.” He ran a finger down the side of her jaw, and shivers exploded over her skin.
She scolded her body for reacting that way and shoved his chest. “Get away. You know I have a boyfriend.”
“You mean the guy who is never around? Because I can honestly say I’d be a much better boyfriend to you than him.”
That stung, and Destiny sobered. He’d hit a nerve. Jack wasn’t paying much attention to her lately. He had things going on, she understood that. How could she fault him for all the activities he was involved in? And she tried to be a supportive girlfriend, but lately he wasn’t very attentive even when he was with her.
She straightened. “Too bad we’ll never get to find out.” She turned and left him standing there. A tiny bit of guilt wormed its way through her chest, but she swallowed it down. Eli got what he deserved. He was coming on to her, even though he knew good and well she was dating another guy. Who does that?
And yes, Eli was cute. And she did like the way his eyes crinkled at the edges when he smiled. But his smiles were always fake. He came on too strong with her. She appreciated the attention, but it felt so surface. Like he was pretending to like her.
Who cared if he was cute
, if he was also shallow? She wanted someone who liked her for who she was. Someone like Jack. At least, how Jack had been when they first started dating.
Back when Jessica had been into him.
Guilt surfaced from that as well. She hadn’t meant to steal Jack from Jessica. He’d just been so charming. So attentive to her. She didn’t realize at the time that Jessica and he were still going out. And then he dumped Jessica and it was too late to do anything about it.
But now, Jack was aloof. So distant. She needed to figure out what was going on with him so she could heal their relationship. Then she could forget about Eli and the way his touch made her stomach feel like it was full of fizzy bubbles.
Chapter 2
Eli stared at Destiny’s retreating back. Stupid. He came on too strong. What was he thinking? He needed to cool it. Why did he get all flustered and act like an idiot when she was around? He couldn’t seem to get himself under control. She was too pretty, and he got too nervous around her.
He turned to head toward his locker. Maybe tomorrow he could find a way to spend more time with her. Talk with her for real or something. He made it his goal to get to know her better. Ask her some questions. After he got his locker open, Jack came up to him and slapped him on his shoulder. “Dude. How’s it going?”
“It’s going good.”
“How good? I need Destiny to dump me soon, or I’ll be out two hundred dollars. My new girl is getting on my back. If I’m not free soon, she’s going to tell Gabe about us, and I’ll lose the bet. I don’t have two hundred to give him. You gotta help me out here.”
Eli kind of wanted to punch the guy. He was a real jerk. From what he could tell, Gabe wasn’t that much better. But Jack was the one who bet Gabe he wouldn’t find another girl, then turned around and did just that.
“She likes me. She’s just super loyal. To you.” Eli frowned. “Although I’m not sure why.”
Jack laughed. “You just keep flirting with her, buddy. I think you can do it. You just need to try harder. Destiny’s the kind of girl who gets easily distracted, if you know what I mean.”
Now he really wanted to sock the guy in the throat. Before Eli could say anything, the bell rang and Jack shoved his shoulder. “You better hurry. If I lose this bet, we’re both out a hundred bucks. You should join the Halloween Dance committee. We meet in the library after school.” Jack walked backwards. “It would give you a chance to work your charm. I’ll even help you out.” He clicked his tongue as he pointed at him and disappeared down the hallway.
Great. Eli sighed and slammed his locker closed. Now he had to join a committee? Why did he even agree to do this for Jack?
Oh, right. He needed the money. If he didn’t scrape enough together for his car insurance, he’d be out one sweet ride. And he’d already applied to a ton of places around town. No one seemed to be hiring.
Even though Eli disliked Jack immensely, he had to admit that a hundred bucks would help him out. And really, charming a girl like Destiny was fun. She was a cool person. And it was okay that he was trying to break her up because Destiny didn’t deserve to be with a slime like Jack anyway.
At the end of the school day, Eli gathered up his books and stuffed them in his locker. A note fell out and fluttered to the floor. He bent and picked it up.
Don’t forget to go to the library after school.
Jack. Eli crumpled up the note and tossed it in the trash on the way to the library. He swallowed down his irritation.
It wasn’t hard to find Destiny. As he walked through the library, he heard her laughter coming from the room in the back. He entered and saw her sitting cross-legged by a large poster with black-and-gold lettering. Amanda was there, too. Jack and one other guy he’d never seen before were sitting at a table. He walked into the room and smiled at Destiny. “Hey. I heard this is where the Halloween Dance committee is meeting. I’d like to join.”
Amanda looked up at him and nodded. “Sure. Come on in. You can help the guys with the paper spiders.” She motioned to the table. “That’s Cole and Jack.”
Eli waved and crossed the room, joining the guys. Scraps of paper lay scattered across the tabletop along with some black Styrofoam balls. Cole looked at Eli and motioned. “Grab some scraps. I’ll show you what we’re doing.”
Cole was a big guy. He looked like a football player, although Eli wasn’t sure why he’d be stuck in the library, gluing spiders together, instead of out on the field with the team. Eli grabbed a bottle of glue and a Styrofoam ball. “You doing this as a punishment or something?”
Cole looked at him funny. “What? No.”
“I just thought maybe you’d rather be with your team.”
Amanda started laughing so hard, she snorted.
Cole frowned. “What’s so funny?”
“He thinks you’re on the football team,” Amanda said, laughing through her words.
“He’s not?” Eli suddenly felt stupid.
Cole chuckled. “Naw, I couldn’t catch a football if my life depended on it. I just like to work out.”
Amanda giggled as she dipped a paintbrush into a jar of paint. “Cole’s not into sports ball. He’s into spreadsheets.”
“Hey,” Cole said, clearly affronted. “Don’t make it sound like I’m a wuss. I like sports just fine. I simply have business aspirations, that’s all.”
Amanda adjusted her glasses. “He’s going to be the world’s youngest billionaire.” She made a face like she found that distasteful.
Eli shrugged. “What’s wrong with making money?”
Destiny scoffed. “Oh, don’t get her started on the evils of the world, Eli. You don’t know Amanda like we do. We’ll be stuck here all night, listening to how corporations ruin everything. Let’s talk about something safer. Like the dance.”
“Oh, pu-leeze,” Amanda said, putting her fists on her hips. “It’s our duty to better the world, not destroy it.”
Eli could see a lecture coming, so he quickly interrupted. “When is the dance?”
“Halloween night.” Destiny shifted so she could get better access to the middle of her poster. “We need to hang these tomorrow to help spread the word.”
Jack just sat there, acting uninterested in the conversation. Eli watched him as he glued spiders, his muscles tense.
“Isn’t it late to be hanging posters? Halloween is just a week away.” Eli hadn’t meant for it to sound so rude, and he quickly tacked on, “I mean, it’s probably fine.”
“No, you’re right,” Amanda said, her eyebrows pulling down. She brushed her long, brown hair over her shoulder. “We’re late getting them done.”
“But,” Destiny said as she dipped her paintbrush into the water jar, “we have them almost done and we’re hanging them before we leave so we can be sure to get a good turnout. Besides, we have this dance every Halloween, so people are used to it. People are already talking about it.”
Jack’s gaze settled on the jar of water Destiny was cleaning her brush in.
Eli leaned forward to pick up another scrap of paper and the bottle of glue. Jack was making him uncomfortable. “Then I think you’re okay.”
Amanda shifted to another poster and started adding gold accents to it. “We should give Eli some assignments for the dance. We need another cleanup person.”
Great. He didn’t want to be stuck cleaning up after a dance if Destiny wasn’t going to be there. That was the whole reason he was doing this. He shifted in his chair. “I’ll help with whatever Destiny is doing.”
Amanda looked between Jack and Eli, her eyebrows pulled down. “Destiny is part of the cleanup committee. You can help her and Cole take down streamers.”
Jack suddenly stood up and walked toward Destiny. “Hey, babe, I’ve got to go.” His shoe kicked the dirty water jar, and it spilled over the poster.
“Oh, no!” Destiny jumped up so fast, she was a blur. “My poster!”
Jack leaned down to grab the water jar, but it was too late. Her poster was ruined, buckling
where the rivets of water had run. “I’m sorry. Did I do that?”
Destiny blinked back tears, and Eli waited for her to wail, but she held it together. She rushed to Jack and threw her arms around him. “I know you didn’t mean to.”
“You’re right. It was an accident. And I’m so sorry I can’t help you re-make the poster, but I’ve got a thing I have to get to.” He turned to Eli. “Can you run to the store with Destiny and get a new poster board, and help her remake this?”
Eli stood. “Sure, I can help.”
Jack squeezed Destiny to him. “There. Eli will help you remake it. Don’t worry. It will be fine.”
Destiny nodded, still looking like she could burst into tears at any second. “But the library is closing soon.”
“Go with Eli. He’ll help you get more supplies. Then he can help you finish the poster at your house.” Jack smiled. “It shouldn’t take long to redo it.”
“But we spent all our budget,” Amanda said.
Jack dug into his pocket and gave Destiny a twenty-dollar bill. “This should cover it.” He kissed her cheek and headed toward the door. “Call me later, babe.”
“I will,” Destiny said, staring at the space he’d been in a second before. She folded the twenty-dollar bill and placed it into her purse. “I guess we should go,” she said, turning to Eli.
He felt sorry for her, and even worse that Jack had done it on purpose so he would spend time with her. What a jerk. Didn’t he care at all how Destiny would feel? It just gave Eli more motivation to get Destiny away from that creep. He stepped over the ruined poster and grabbed her hand. “Come on. We can take my car.”
She walked out of the room with him but took her hand back as soon as they stepped into the hallway. She still seemed upset as they left the building and took the cement steps down to the sidewalk. “You okay?” he asked.
Destiny wiped at the corner of her eye. “Yeah. It’s just a stupid poster. It doesn’t matter.”
“Of course, it matters. You worked hard on it.” He took a sideways glance at her. “I’m sorry it got ruined.”
A Young Adult Romance Collection Page 27