My Totally Off-Limits Best Friend: A YA Sweet Romance (Sweet Mountain High, Year 2: A Sweet YA Romance Series)

by M. L. Collins

  “Can we get back to playing now?” Was I the only one in the group who wanted to gag?

  We were in the middle of playing “Wanted” by Hunter Hayes—another suggestion from Spencer that had my eyebrows climbing into my bangs and my heart racing (stupid heart)—until reality crashed down on top of me. Spencer stopped singing to pull his phone out of his pocket and look at the screen.

  It tripped me up for a second, but I found my place in the song and kept going. Only my hand froze mid-strum when Spencer actually stopped playing and took the call.

  “Hey, Ashley.”

  Um, what? Unless they’d changed the rules since the last time I’d been at practice, Spencer had just broken the golden rule.

  When the song clattered to an abrupt stop, I knew this wasn’t going to be pretty. Because unbelievably, Spencer had broken the band’s one ironclad rule since we’d started playing together: no phone calls during practice. None. The only exception was for an emergency or a call from your mom.

  We stood frozen in our spots, gaping at him. When he ended the call a few minutes later, checking back in from whatever alternate reality world he was trying to straddle, he frowned around at us, looking genuinely perplexed as to why we were staring at him.

  “What? Did I miss something?” Spencer asked.

  “What did you just do?” Cody asked.

  “I—oh.” He stared down at the phone in his hand, and his brain finally caught up to his ego. “Right. But, you guys, that was Ashley. She actually called me! I had to take it.”

  Unbelievable.

  “No. You didn’t. We’ve all had an ‘Ashley’ over the past two years. And until today, we’ve all respected our practices by letting our girls or guys leave a message,” Mikey said.

  “You got that right,” Rhys mumbled.

  “It’s great to have a plan and all,” Cody said. “But it shouldn’t change who you are and the code you live by.”

  “I’ve already had that lecture, thank you,” Spencer said, arching a look at me. He glanced down at his phone, tapping it against his palm twice before shoving it in his back pocket. “I’m sorry, all right?”

  “So you’re saying if she calls you back in the middle of our next practice, you won’t answer it?” I asked because he didn’t look that sorry.

  “I don’t know.” His response elicited groans from the guys, and everyone turned to put their instruments away, studiously avoiding Spencer’s eyes.

  “Ashley isn’t the problem,” Mikey said, his voice clipped.

  I shared his frustration, although I wasn’t so sure that Ashley wasn’t at least part of the problem. But then the girl had always gotten on my nerves with her perfectly fake smile and her fondness for glittery everything. Maybe I was being petty, but did a girl really need to shimmer in algebra class? I thought not.

  “Mikey’s right,” I said. “You’re trying to have it all, Spencer. It doesn’t work that way.”

  “At least I’m trying, Tess!” His intense gaze latched onto me and wouldn’t let go. “You play everything safe. And if it scares you, you pull back into your safe little world and miss what’s right in front of you.”

  I squinted across at Spencer because—hello?—how did I get to be the bad guy here?

  Cody blinked and raised his eyebrows. “You might have to choose between what to keep and what to let go.”

  “You’re the one who made the no-phone rule. Remember the passionate speech you gave about either we’re committed to our music or we’re not? Because it feels like you forgot it,” Mikey said. “Come on, guys, I’ll give you all a ride home. You too, little girl.”

  “Thanks, Mikey.”

  I pulled my gaze from Spencer’s stiff, emotionless face, feeling like something had broken between us all today. It made my stomach hurt.

  14

  Spencer

  And on that sour note, my garage cleared out. Man, talk about the bottom falling out. Sure, the band had had fights before, or someone threw a fit during a practice session—stuff like that. We’d dealt with stuff. Everyone had an off day. But that wasn’t what this was. My friends were right. If any of them had pulled what I had, I’d feel the same way. No one had ever broken the phone rule, and I had definitely been the jerk.

  I knew I had a tendency to go overboard toward a goal, but I didn’t know any other way.

  If Cody could keep a secret, I would have told him my plan—my real plan. Obviously, based on how things had ended tonight, I could use someone else’s advice on how far to go. But nope. I’d taken it too far, and it was too late now.

  I was used to juggling school, lacrosse, band practice, and work. I’d always managed just fine. But somehow, adding in a potential romance was messing with the natural order of things. Was I taking on too much, and it was simply more than I could handle? If everything started crashing down—then Cody might have been right. I’d have to choose what to save. And what to let go.

  To top it all off, lacrosse practice hadn’t even started yet. Maybe my best plan was to take it one day at a time and hope everything settled itself out. I’d worked too hard to rush this now. I needed to relax and give Tessa time to think about the idea of Ashley and me as a couple. A necessary step in this plan.

  Just turning a problem around to see it another way was sometimes the simple solution needed. I pulled in a slow breath, feeling the turmoil in my chest already easing up.

  I added a new addendum to my plan: take it a day at a time. I still had to deal with what had happened at practice today, but not now. I’d rather wait until everyone’s tempers had cooled a bit. With that decision made, I called goodnight to my parents, who sat cuddled up on the couch in the family room watching TV.

  I took the stairs to my bedroom two at a time. Darn, was it only nine o’clock? It felt like the day had had thirty-six hours in it. My survival instinct said that after the day I’d had today, it would be safer to hit the hay early rather than chance anything else happening.

  “Hey, Lex.” I stopped at my sister’s door, which stood wide open, just like her personality.

  Lexie swiveled away from her desk toward me. “If you’re here to lecture me about getting Tessa in trouble, I already know.”

  “Poor Tessa won’t hear the end of it for a while,” I said.

  “I feel awful, but you know Tessa. She jumped right in to help me. I couldn’t have stopped her if I’d tried.”

  “I know.” That was Tessa, all right. She had trouble saying no when someone needed help—which made what she did for Lexie even more impressive because it went against her risk-averse personality.

  “You have great friends.”

  I did. Too bad I’d pissed them all off.

  “If you still want a ride in the morning, don’t be late. I’m not waiting.”

  “When am I ever late?” She laughed because we both knew the answer was always. “Night, big meanie.”

  “You too, brat.” I closed her door with a shake of my head. I moved through my nighttime routine on automatic pilot with a quick shower, followed by brushing and flossing. (The flossing was on account of my upcoming dental appointment. Sadly, I was usually a slacker in the flossing department.) After popping in my retainers, I set the alarm on my dresser across the room before falling into bed. I stacked my pillows behind my head, squishing and pushing them around until I had them just right.

  Too many details from the day rushed at me, tackled me, making sleep an impossible feat—time to eliminate the clutter in my mind and focus on one thing.

  First to go was the threat from Trey. Yep, I mentally wrapped it in plain paper and tossed it like yesterday’s trash.

  Next, the fight with my bandmates—whoa. I sealed that one up double tight and launched it into outer space.

  Finally, all that was left in the now more spacious and much quieter space in my noggin was a vivid picture of my dream girl blinking her big, gray eyes at me. I let that movie roll through, frame by frame, as she flipped her soft, blonde hair off her
laughing face with a toss of her head. The muscles in my body relaxed, sleep finding a toehold as she opened her pink lips, ready to whisper something in my ear. I sank into sleep with a smile on my lips as her sweet voice whispered through my mind … Hey, you.

  15

  Tessa

  The ride to school the next morning was a silent one. Spencer hadn’t even turned on the radio. That was how I knew the fight at practice still stood like a wall between us. The fight he caused.

  Lexie sat sandwiched between us on the front seat. She reached out her left hand and tapped the small clock face.

  “What are you doing?” Spencer asked.

  “Checking to see if I’m still asleep,” Lexie said. “Wouldn’t it be lovely if I was still snuggled under my covers in bed and this was a dream?”

  She sipped from her travel mug, and I went back to staring out my window.

  “I thought I might still be asleep because it’s so quiet. Unusually quiet.” Lexie looked over at Spencer and then over at me. “I mean, Spencer, you’re frowning at the road ahead so fiercely I’m sure the future is shaking in her boots. And, Tessa, you’re staring out the window so studiously I’m pretty sure you’ve had time to count every pine needle on every tree we passed. What in the heck is—uh-oh. Someone’s had a fight.”

  “Everything’s fine,” Spencer and I snapped at the same time.

  “Well, okay then! I like your hair, Tessa,” Lexie said. “Did you use washable pink dye?”

  “Yes. Thanks.”

  “Don’t you like Tessa’s hair today, Spencer?”

  Poor Lexie was trying like mad to get things back to normal. I didn’t have the heart to tell her normal was smashed to pieces.

  “Sure. It’s very nice,” Spencer said.

  Still quiet. Even quieter than a minute ago.

  “I’d let you to work this out on your own, but the silence is getting to me. It’s like you’re trying to break me, and believe me when I say, I’m ready to crack. I’ll confess everything. Except I have nothing to confess.”

  More quiet. A very frosty quiet on a cool North Carolina morning.

  “It’s like driving with mimes.” Lexie did a short mime-in-a-box routine with her hands. “Everyone knows mimes are creepy. Driving with mimes sounds like a horror movie, doesn’t it?”

  My lips wobbled, but I refused to call a truce before Spencer.

  “I’m sorry about the other day, Tess. I really appreciate your help, but I’ll feel bad if you end up the butt of jokes.”

  “It’s fine. Even if that happens, I’ll be fine.” I shrugged. “I’m not the one in this truck who cares what other people think.”

  Spencer made some growling noise deep in his throat but stayed quiet.

  “All right, seriously. What is going on?” Lexie’s head whipped back and forth between the two of us. “Do you need an intervention?”

  “Your brother did something dumb,” I said, leaning forward to glare over at Spencer. “That’s all.”

  “I already apologized,” Spencer said, still looking straight ahead at the road. “Some people aren’t big enough to accept apologies.”

  “That’s because some people’s apologies aren’t really apologies.” I snorted and turned back toward my window. “Not when they intend to turn around and do the same thing again.”

  “No, that’s because some people don’t appreciate an honest answer. They’d rather have someone lie to them just to be able to get mad all over again.”

  “Okay. That’s it,” Lexie said. “Go back to your frosty silence and pissy pants. It’s not even eight in the morning, and you’ve just shattered my lifelong dream to be a counselor. I hope you’re both happy. #SoulCrushers.”

  “Lexie, you do not want to be a counselor,” Spencer said, throwing her a glance.

  “Well, not anymore.” Lexie released a dramatic sigh. “Now, I’m just another junior without a dream—doomed to spend the year—possibly my whole life—drifting aimlessly.”

  Spencer looked across Lexie over to me. “You know she can go on like this for days if not weeks, right?”

  “Yeah, I know.” I looked at Lexie with narrowed eyes, sizing her up. She let out the saddest sigh like it came from the bottom of her crushed, demented soul. “Fine. Spence, I accept your apology, but you had better mean it.”

  “My work here is done.” Lexie switched on the radio and sat back with a grin.

  “I’m begging you, please turn this song off,” Spencer groaned.

  “I know for a fact Ashley loves the Biebs,” I said, reaching over to change the station.

  “While we’re on the topic of Ashley… Did you talk to her again last night?”

  “Which Ashley?” Lexi asked.

  “Ashley Marks,” Spencer said. “Yeah, we’re going to try to meet before school since we don’t have any classes together.”

  “So, your plan is still on track then.” Something in my chest deflated. I didn’t want to think about Spencer—my Spencer—and Ashley together. Just, no.

  “Whoa, wait,” Lexie said. “When you told me your plan, you didn’t mention it was Ashley Marks.”

  “Yeah, so?” Spencer said defensively, his hands gripping tightly on the steering wheel.

  “I’d advise you to have a backup plan.” Lexie shook her head. “Look, I know you can be stubborn, and you’ll probably do whatever you want anyway. I’m just suggesting you get to know her before you do anything drastic.”

  Lexie was right about Spencer being stubborn. Usually, it was a good thing, like when it drove him to excel at lacrosse and guitar. But he’d never been crazy enough to fall for someone like Ashley before.

  “I totally agree, Lexie, but it’s not like you to say a bad thing about anyone.” I shot her a curious look. Lexie was so sweet and nice; she was like a Twilight Sparkle from My Little Pony in human form. “What’s up?”

  “I’m not saying anything bad about her. Her little sister, Brittany, is one of my good friends, and I’ve had sleepovers at her house. I’ve been around Ashley a lot.” Lexie fiddled with the thermal mug in her hands, spinning the lid around before glancing at her brother. “Ashley is very pretty, but . . . well . . . she’s not . . . I mean, she can be . . .”

  “Spit it out, Lexie.” Spencer huffed out a breath.

  “I can’t figure out how to say it without saying anything bad about her.” Lexie shrugged. “I just don’t see the two of you together. At all.”

  “Okay, enough about my life.” Spencer pushed his sunglasses up on his head. “Tessa, did you make a decision about a certain guy?”

  “No, not yet.” I turned my head away to hide the heat surging through my cheeks.

  “Oooh. What guy?”

  “Brian Muldowny,” I mumbled.

  “The football player?” Lexie’s eyebrows rose.

  “Yeah, that’s the one,” Spencer said. “Let’s hear you trash him.”

  “Oh, Brian’s great,” Lexie said, giving me a thumbs up on the guy.

  “Hey! You’re just taking her side because you girls always stick together.”

  “No, I actually know Brian Muldowny,” Lexie said. “He has twin brothers in my grade. Sean and Patrick. They were in my band class all of last year. I think Sean plays the trumpet, and Patrick plays the snare. Or maybe it’s the other way around, Sean plays the snare, and Patrick plays the trumpet.”

  “I don’t think having twin brothers who are musically inclined proves he’s a great guy,” Spencer grumbled.

  “Oh, you’re right.” Lexie looked at Spencer just as he threw a smug smile my way. “I figured out he was a great guy when I was in a quartet competition with his brothers and Keisha Williams. We went over to their house every week for a month to practice for it. I was at their house every Tuesday. Brian fixed us all snacks. Then, he’d ask if any of us needed help with homework. When we finished practice, he’d throw the ball with his brothers.”

  “He does seem nice,” I said.

  “Maybe his parents paid
him to babysit his brothers,” Spencer said. “Did you ever think of that?”

  “No.” Lexie darted a side-eyed glance over at Spencer. “I guess that’s a possibility.”

  Spencer seemed to like Brian just fine yesterday, so why did it seem like he was trying to find something wrong with him now?

  I looked around and realized we were sitting in the school parking lot and probably had been for at least five minutes.

  “I need to find Ashley.” Spencer shoved the sun visor in the windshield.

  “Then let’s get going. Let me out, you big fat seniors.” Lexie pushed Spencer out of his door, following quickly behind. “You know what’s funny with all this romance in the air with Ashley and Brian?”

  “What?’ I asked.

  “I always thought you two would end up together.” Lexie shrugged. “I guess being a matchmaker isn’t in my future either. Later for me.”

  Lexie walked away, leaving Spence and me standing speechless.

  “Leave it to Lexie, right? You and me?” Spencer’s intense blue eyes met mine before jerking away. “That’s funny.”

  “Pfft. More like crazy,” I said. Except . . . not crazy at all. And not the first time I’d thought of Spencer and me. Together. My stomach wanted to do flips off the diving board, but my brain stepped in like the strict lifeguard with the annoying whistle and shut it down. “Ha! Never. Just thinking about it is like . . . ew, no.”

  “Hey, I’m not that bad.” Spencer frowned. “And you didn’t have to agree with me so quickly. You could have waited a few seconds to save my ego.”

  “I’m sure your ego can take it. Especially now that you’re new, improved 2.0 Spencer.” I raised an eyebrow at him, having found my footing again. “That guy is very sure of himself.”

  “I wish,” he mumbled.

  “Hey, she likes you, Spence. You’re a likable guy.” I punched him in the arm because it was nicer than punching him in the stomach. On the one hand, he was my best friend, and I wanted him to get what he wanted. Even if I hated his idiotic plan, dang it.