Never Have I Ever Land: A Sweet YA Romance (Fall in Love Like a Princess Book 3)

by Maggie Dallen

  My chest puffed up as my shoulders straightened. I had nothing to be jealous of. I was a freakin’ football god. Girls loved me. Which meant Callie would love me.

  She just didn’t realize it yet.

  I crossed my arms as I watched her talking, all animated with flailing hands, as they worked out rehearsal schedules and gave her some lyrics and sheet music to look over.

  But she would realize it soon enough and then Roman would just be her bandmate.

  And me? I’d be her guy.

  Maybe not her boyfriend. I didn’t really do the official boyfriend thing. Who had time for that between football and parties and school? But maybe I could make an exception for this girl.

  We’d see how things went and take it slow.

  But I was getting ahead of myself. We’d hook up and she’d be my girl and...yeah. I nodded. This would be good.

  We could definitely be good together.

  Callie’s beaming smile hit me like a punch to the gut as she hurried my way. That little grin of triumph left me more winded than I’d ever been after a tackle on the field.

  She was like a little ball of energy as we walked to my truck and this time she didn’t seem shocked when I picked her up. But this time I used a little less force so she didn’t land with a thud like before.

  “Did you see?” She turned to me with such over-the-top excitement when I slid into my seat, I could feel the warmth of it spreading in my chest.

  It was nice. It was really nice.

  “I saw,” I said.

  She gave me her address and I was smiling to myself as I turned the key and listened to her chatter nonstop on the way back to her place. She was so happy. So stinkin’ happy.

  I wasn’t sure I’d ever been that happy in my life. Or, if I had, I hadn’t let myself revel in it like that. Up until this moment I hadn’t realized that happiness could be contagious.

  “...and luckily there are no birthday parties for the rest of the weekend, you know? I mean, this way I can take my time and learn the songs and be able to dive right in at the first rehearsal.”

  She paused to take a breath just as we reached her house.

  It looked warm and inviting, just like Callie. The lights were on in the living room window and I could see a couple kids in there running around.

  She followed my gaze and turned back with another grin. “My brothers.” She rolled her eyes. “They’re such a handful, but they’re so much fun.”

  I nodded.

  Her smile turned unbelievably adorable as she pressed her lips together like she was trying not to laugh. The result was two perfect dimples on either side of her mouth.

  Her mouth. Her lips. I couldn’t look away. My breath was sucked out of my lungs and for a second my head was spinning. The air in the cab of my truck was lacking in oxygen and the already small confines seemed to shrink as I became acutely aware of the curve of her thigh that was visible through the slits of that ridiculous Tinkerbell skirt. The scent of her—her shampoo, most likely—it was vanilla and honey and something so homey and sweet, and I had no idea what it was called.

  She shifted to face me fully and even in the shadows, I saw it. Even with the glitter and the Tinkerbell hair and outfit. She was pretty. So gorgeous it made my heart stop. When it started up again, it was going a million miles an hour.

  I wanted to kiss her more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.

  “So?” She arched her brows. “Do you have any siblings?”

  It took me a second to register her words and then I shook my head.

  She nodded, hitching her lips to the side.

  Did she have any idea how adorable she looked when she gave me that knowing smirk?

  “So, just you and your parents then?”

  I nodded. And then added, “Just me and my dad.”

  “Oh.” I could see the question forming.

  “My mom died a while ago.”

  Her eyes widened. “I’m so sorry.”

  I shrugged. Not that I didn’t care that my mom died. Obviously, I did. But it wasn’t exactly the conversation I was hoping to have at this particular moment.

  In fact, I didn’t want to be having a conversation at all. I turned to face her head-on and watched as she blinked in surprise. I wasn’t encroaching on her space. Another one of those unspoken rules when you were a guy like me. You didn’t move too fast. Ever. And you didn’t make advances when they weren’t wanted.

  Ever.

  I wasn’t a bully, and I wasn’t some jerk who took advantage of girls. And I would murder any guy who dared to take advantage of this girl.

  I narrowed my eyes. That definitely included Roman.

  I shook off the thought. Winners didn’t focus on the competition, they focused on winning. And I was going to win this girl.

  “Are you going to April’s party tomorrow?” I asked.

  She blinked at me like I’d just spoken Greek.

  “April Callahan,” I clarified, although I was pretty sure everyone knew April. Head cheerleader. Friends with Savannah. She was just as popular as me and Leo, the team’s quarterback. Everyone knew April.

  Except for Callie, apparently. “April Callahan?” she echoed.

  “Yeah, she’s having a bunch of people over tomorrow night.”

  “Oh.” She still looked perplexed. “Um, I wasn’t planning on it. I mean, I wasn’t invited.”

  Ah, so that was the problem. My lips quirked up a bit. “I’m inviting you.”

  “Oh.”

  I waited for this to register and then I shifted forward slowly. As slowly as I could so I wouldn’t alarm her or make her feel intimidated. “I want you to go to the party with me.”

  “With you,” she repeated.

  I let out a huff of amusement at her confusion. “Yeah.”

  “I-I—”

  I touched her cheek with my thumb and my hand looked freakin’ massive next to her face. A good reminder that I had to take it slow. Her shock that I was asking her out was adorable, but I didn’t want to scare her by moving too fast. “I want to kiss you.”

  “You...you what?” Her eyes were so big. But she wasn’t saying no. And it wasn’t horror in her eyes. In fact, I was pretty sure I saw a flicker of heat there when her gaze dropped to my lips.

  And yeah, I knew that she’d been crushing on Roman, but he didn’t see her. Not like I did. And I wasn’t exactly a bad catch, you know? I was actually kind of...in demand.

  Not to sound too cocky.

  I couldn’t tell what was going on in her head though because she was staring at me with these wide eyes that gave nothing away now except for surprise. I started to lean in. Slowly. So so slowly. I watched her eyes darken and a jolt of triumph made my chest feel ten times smaller and a million times larger all at once.

  She wanted this too. She felt it, this connection between us. I knew she would if she just noticed me.

  When I got so close that I could feel her short uneven breaths on my lips, she pulled back with a yip that might as well have been ice water dumped over my head.

  I froze and she bolted, scrambling for the door handle and jumping down before I could stop her. “I can’t—I don’t—I didn’t mean—” She stopped and drew in a deep breath with one hand on the door. “I, um—I’m sorry.”

  I frowned. She was apologizing?

  And she was leaving.

  And she...did not want me to kiss her.

  My brain was sluggish after that near kiss, but that one fact was clear as day.

  Callie didn’t want me to kiss her.

  She wet her lips and drew in another deep breath, her eyes still wide with alarm.

  Crap. Had I done that? Had I scared her?

  “I don’t even know you,” she said.

  My frown deepened. She knew me as well as any other girl in our school did and that didn’t seem to stop them from making out with me. But I knew enough about girls to know that you shouldn’t talk about your past like that. So instead I said, “You do
n’t know Roman either.”

  She flinched but she didn’t try to deny she had a thing for him.

  There was that flickering rage again.

  “I know him better than I know you,” she said, her tone defensive.

  I drew my brows together as I remembered the way she got all tongue-tied around him. How she could barely speak to him and yet she’d talked my ear off. “Doubtful.”

  This was apparently the wrong thing to say because Callie was frowning right back at me. “Look, I’m sorry, but you don’t know me and I don’t know you so this...” She waved a hand between us. “This is not going to happen.”

  I was still glaring as she slammed the door shut and ran inside.

  Four

  Callie

  Willow was not nearly as excited as one might hope.

  She gave me a totally bored look as she reached for a textbook in her locker. “And your rehearsals won’t interfere with your job?”

  I sighed.

  Willow had been sick so she’d been out of school and off work this past week, and she’d missed all the fun. I’d been so excited to fill her in on the fact that I was The Lost Boys’ new singer and this was what she focused on. My ability to balance work and fun.

  “Well, I just want to make sure you’re not biting off more than you can chew,” she continued.

  “No, Mom. It’s not going to interfere with my work schedule,” I groaned.

  Isla joined us in time to hear that last part. “Willow, between you and Savannah, I don’t see that Callie and I ever need nagging parents.”

  Willow just shrugged. “We care.”

  Isla gave her a side hug. “And we appreciate it. But I think you were missing Callie’s point.”

  Willow arched her brows in clear surprise. “Was I?”

  I nodded vigorously. “Yes, you’re totally missing the point, Willow.”

  She pursed her lips. “Sorry. What’s the point exactly?”

  I gripped her by her shoulders. Willow wasn’t dense, just...different. She didn’t care about anything that normal girls did, and while it was often refreshing, it could also be frustrating. “Me. And Roman.”

  She blinked. And then she frowned. “Wasn’t he expelled last year?”

  “He didn’t get kicked out,” I said. “He was suspended. But he graduated with the rest of his class.”

  Willow did not look impressed. “I see.”

  “He’s the guy who’s been helping Flynn at the catering station,” Isla added.

  “Oh, right.” Willow nodded as if she’s just now placed him.

  The hottest guy to ever walk the halls of Lindale High and Willow only knew who he was when told where he worked. Isla and I exchanged a knowing smile. It figured.

  Willow’s face brightened with a smile. “Congratulations, Callie. I’m really happy that you got the gig. I mean, you are so talented and you deserve to get more exposure.”

  “Thanks, Willow.” The three of us headed down the hallway toward first period and Isla peppered me with the far more relevant questions that Willow hadn’t asked. Like what exactly Roman had said to me and how he’d looked.

  The important stuff.

  I told them every single detail. Except for maybe the biggest one.

  I couldn’t bring myself to tell them about Maverick and the almost kiss. It was too weird. I’d spent all weekend trying to figure out why he’d thought I’d want him to kiss me. And then I spent some more time wondering why I hadn’t let him.

  I mean, I wasn’t exactly bragging about the fact that I was the only senior on the planet who’d never been kissed. So why not?

  But the whole thing had been so strange.

  My mind called up an image of his face leaning in toward mine. The way his eyes had been so serious. So intense. So...hot.

  Okay, fine. There’d been a moment of temptation there. But this was Maverick Prater we were talking about.

  Maverick. Prater.

  Football star. Senior celebrity. Was he also a member of the Princess Troupe? Yes. Yes, he was. Was I friendly with him at work? Of course. I was friendly with everyone at work.

  But that didn’t mean we were automatically close. Just because Savannah and I had a lot of laughs together on the weekends didn’t mean we ate lunch together in the cafeteria. Because she was cool, and I was...me.

  I wouldn’t say I was a loser, or anything. I had friends. I had loads of friends. But I wasn’t popular.

  How did that work? I had no clue. Why did being friendly not equate to being wanted and popular? Maybe because I was liked in the way that people liked puppies. I was cute and harmless and whatever the opposite of sexy was. I was the antithesis of people like Savannah and April who weren’t necessarily liked but they were loved.

  I know, right? Our whole high school social system was bananas.

  Which was why Maverick should never have tried to kiss me. He was Maverick Prater. He might even end up homecoming king. Or no, his buddy Leo would probably be homecoming king. But Maverick would be riding in the same limo so...same same.

  I frowned at the memory. I want to kiss you.

  Maybe he’d been kidding.

  It hadn’t seemed like he’d been kidding.

  Maybe he’d been mocking me.

  Again, it hadn’t seemed like it, but it was a far more likely explanation.

  Isla was asking Willow about her weekend and I contemplated asking them their opinion for half a second and then decided not to. Isla barely knew Maverick since she’d just moved to town and Willow would...well, who knew what Willow would do but she knew less about boys than I did so I didn’t imagine she could help.

  We were walking toward the uber pretty group of girls who actually were popular. Girls like April, whose party Maverick inexplicably wanted me to go to. Girls like Savannah. I stopped at the sight of my friend who absolutely fit the vision of what I imagined Maverick’s ideal girl to be.

  But then again, the tall leggy blonde fit the vision of pretty much every guy’s ideal.

  Including Roman’s.

  I flinched at the memory of how Roman had smiled at Savannah the other day. To be fair, every guy smiled at Savannah like that. Well, not Flynn, obviously. Or our friend Jackson. But that was different. And besides, Savannah had no interest in Roman and nothing was going to mar the memory of that smile he’d given me after he’d heard me sing.

  Savannah spotted us coming and broke away from the other girls.

  She always did that with us. I wanted to think it wasn’t because she was embarrassed that she hung out with us, but a little niggle of doubt was always there. Like, if I had shown up at April’s party with Maverick, would Savannah have been happy to see me, or would it have made her wince because her two worlds that she tried so hard to keep separate were colliding?

  I didn’t really want to think about it. Especially not when she was giving me this funny little ‘aw yeah, baby’ grin before she gave me a fist bump. “Lindale’s newest rock star, ladies and gentlemen.”

  I laughed. “You heard.”

  “Of course I heard. Roman wouldn’t stop talking about how badass you were at April’s party.”

  I blinked in surprise. “He went to April’s party?”

  She rolled her eyes. “That guy goes to any party. He lives for parties.” She tilted her head to the side. “He doesn’t seem like your type, to be honest.”

  I frowned, more offended than I wanted to let on. It wasn’t the first time she’d made a comment like this, but I never let it get to me because her doubts over my reasons for liking him didn’t stop her from helping me. Today I had a harder time shaking off her negativity. “Why wouldn’t he be my type? Because he goes to parties?”

  Savannah shrugged. “No, he’s just not in your same crowd, that’s all.”

  That was because I didn’t have a crowd. She had a crowd. I had a whole lot of people who liked me and no one who wanted to hang out with me.

  I want you to go to the party with me. I blinked.
Except maybe Maverick.

  “What do you like about Roman?” Willow asked. If it had come from anyone else I might have been insulted, like she was judging him. Or me for liking him. But she just looked curious.

  “Aside from being hot and a talented musician?” I asked.

  She smiled. “Yes. Apart from that.”

  I shifted as all three of them stared at me. “He’s nice.”

  My answer sounded lame, but seriously, why did anyone like anyone?

  I don’t even know you. My own words from the other night came back to me loud and clear.

  You don’t know Roman either.

  He was wrong. I’d been watching Roman for years—okay, that sounded creepier than I’d meant it. But I’d been crushing on him since freshman year, when he was a sophomore. He didn’t care what anyone thought, and he was always so confident. Plus, everything he did was sexy. His smiles and the way he talked...

  I want to kiss you.

  And there it was again. His voice in my head. The memory of the look in Maverick’s eyes when he’d leaned in like he’d actually intended to kiss me.

  “Was Maverick there?” The question kind of tumbled out of my mouth without any warning. “Um, at April’s party, I mean.”

  Savannah’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah. Why?”

  I shrugged, all too aware of Isla and Willow’s eyes on me as well. Oh nothing. He just tried to kiss me, that’s all.

  It had happened. But I had a horrible feeling if I said it aloud, they’d laugh. Or worse, they’d break it to me that he’d been messing with me.

  The worst part was, he could have been. Or he could have been sincere. How was one supposed to know what that guy was thinking when he spoke in grunts and wore a stoic mask all the time?

  Except...

  Well, there had been some moments when I’d thought I’d seen more.

  But not enough.

  And definitely not enough to warrant kissing.

  “Why?” Savannah asked again. “Is something going on with you and Maverick?”

  I feigned surprise and judging by the three suspicious looks I got, I didn’t do it well. “Why would you think that?”