Heath shrugged and let his fingers trail down my arm. "We broke up last night."
"You did?"
"Yeah." He gave me one of his smiles. "So . . . sorry about how everything turned out between us. I thought maybe you'd want to give it another try."
What? So he could try to molest me? I peeled his hand off my arm. "Sorry, Heath. I'm not interested."
"Sure you are. How about I meet you out front and I'll give you a ride?"
I lifted my chin. "No."
Heath's gaze flickered. "Blue…"
"Sorry, Heath, but I don't want to date you. Or make out with you."
He narrowed his eyes, and I knew I'd finally blown any chance I had with him. "Your loss."
Heath whirled around and stalked across the stage, flinging his arm around the first girl he passed. And I was fine with it.
"You weren't kidding."
My heart ricocheted into my throat and I spun around. Colin was standing between the curtains, wearing khakis and a collared shirt. He looked unbelievable. "What are you doing here?" I asked.
"Wanted to see if you looked as dumb as you thought you did."
"And?" My heart was beating so loudly, I was quite certain everyone would think there was a buffalo stampede fast approaching.
He smiled, that warm, adorable smile that I'd missed so much. "You looked cute."
"I did?" Colin thought I looked cute? Really?
He pulled his hands out from behind his back to reveal a bouquet of flowers. "Here. For you."
I stared at the flowers. "Why?"
"Don't all the stars usually get flowers after their performances?"
"Maybe. I don't know." Heaven help me, I couldn't even think right now. Leaving the flowers untouched, I looked at Colin. "Why are you doing this?"
Colin suddenly looked a little nervous. "I broke up with my girlfriend."
Oh.
My.
God.
"You did? Why? When? Why?" Oops. I'd asked why twice.
"Two days ago."
He didn't answer the why. My brain might be spinning, but I was at least somewhat aware of what was going on. "Why?"
"Because." He held the flowers out again. "There's this girl I like, and I just found out she's available." He smiled. His special smile. For me. "I thought maybe I'd bring her some flowers and see if she wanted to go out on a date with me sometime."
"You brought me flowers."
"Exactly."
"Oh." I felt all warm and fuzzy inside. "Wow."
"I told myself that if she accepted the flowers, that would mean I had a chance."
Then he waited.
Allie would probably tell me to reject the flowers and put Colin on the Ledge, just to make sure he appreciated me.
I took the flowers. And then he kissed me. For real. My life was perfect.
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Keep reading for a sneak peek of the next Mapleville High romance!
Sneak Peek: How to Date a Bad Boy
When Theo pushed open another door and we walked out into the club, I almost passed out from terror right then…assuming, you know, that I was actually the fainting type. Which I wasn't. But I kind of wished I was. Cracking my head on a table and taking a little nap sounded way better that being here, in this club, with him.
It was dark. Really dark. The music was blasting so loud I could actually feel it vibrating in my chest and thudding in my ears. And there were people everywhere, but no one even close to my age. Everyone was at eighteen or older, which, of course, made sense since that's the kind of club it was, but this was so not my comfort level, thanks so much There was some seriously intense dancing going on, and a lot the girls were showing more skin than clothes.
There wasn't a single female in the place who was wearing jeans, sneakers, a baggy sweater, and no makeup. Not a single one. Except me.
Holy cow.
"Want a drink?" Theo asked.
"No." I pulled my hand out of his and backed against the wall. Oh my God. What kind of place was this? Where had I let him sneak me into this place? It was one thing not to be uptight, but this was something else entirely.
I was way out of my league. All those people on the dance floor! Going crazy. Making out! There was no way I was going out there. No. Way. "You win." He'd wanted to prove I was uptight, and I'd wanted to prove I was cool. If cool meant hanging in this place, he won, and I didn't care. I didn't want to be the type of girl who fit in here. This wasn't me, and I didn't want it to be.
Theo moved in front of me and blocked my view. "Frances? Are you okay?"
"No!" I shoved at his chest, and he caught my wrists. "Let go of me! How could you bring me here?"
"Sorry."
The apology caught my attention, and I stopped freaking out long enough to look at him. Theo, with his dark unruly hair, his leather jacket, and his black tee shirt. All bad boy, all danger, and yet, at the same time, I knew those eyes, that dimple in his cheek. This was Theo, the guy I'd known since I was three. "You're not going to deliver some smug remark, like the fact I can't handle this proves I'm uptight?" I asked him, unable to keep the surprise out of my voice.
Theo shrugged, still holding my wrists in a loose grip. "I didn't mean to scare you."
He sounded like he really meant it. I didn't understand. Where was this Theo coming from? "Why aren't you being a jerk?"
A grimace pulled at the corner of his mouth. "I don't know."
"Oh." Not the best answer. It would have been nice if he'd said it was because I was so amazing that he couldn't bring himself to be anything but a perfect gentleman. That might have helped alleviate the fact I was about to have a full panic attack.
"You want to leave?" He frowned, peering at me like he was worried my head was going to explode from the stress. "We can leave."
"Well..." Now that he was acting like a decent human being, and blocking my view of the raunchy stuff happening on the dance floor, it didn't seem so bad to be there. I did like the beat of the music thudding through me. It made me feel alive and powerful.
"Want to just hang here, against the wall, for a few minutes while you decide?" he suggested.
I nodded. "Fine."
He gave me a slight nod, then dropped my hands and moved to the wall beside me, leaning against it, his arm pressing against my shoulder. Like he was being supportive, but not trying to invade my space.
It worked for me, and I let him stay there. We stood like that for a while. I watched the people, thought about Theo still leaning against me, not saying anything obnoxious or anything. Just hanging.
No one came up and bothered us. No one pointed me, shouting that I was the only fourteen-year-old in the place and I should be arrested. It was almost as if I were in a safe little invisible box, watching everything without actually being involved. I kinda liked it that way.
"How are you feeling?" Theo asked.
I shrugged. "Okay." That was a total lie. I was actually kind of pumped. I liked the music and the flashing lights. There were some amazing dancers on the floor, and I was in awe of their talent. I felt sort of evil and rebellious for the first time in pretty much my entire life, and it felt good.
"Want to dance?" he asked.
I froze, my relaxed mood vanishing. Dance with him? It was a slow song. As in, his arms around me, and his body up close and personal. Yes, yes, yes, I wanted to slow dance with him… and at the same time, there was no way I was going out there. Not with Theo. Not with anyone. I liked my wall. "No."
"Why not?" He moved to stand in front of me again, but he didn't take my hands or anything, shooting me a grin that was so innocent I didn't buy it for a second. "I won't try anything."
"I just don't want to," I muttered, but
my heart was racing, and I was having trouble breathing.
He raised his eyebrows, studying me thoughtfully. "You ever slow danced with a guy before, Frances?"
Seriously with that question? As if I was going to answer it. I lifted my chin. "None of your business."
He shrugged, but there was that challenge thing blazing in his eyes again. "One dance."
"Why?" Why did he want to dance with me so much? Why was he being so annoying? Why did I care so much about dancing with him? Why did he still make my stomach do flip-flops when he grinned at me? Why???
"Education." He didn't even crack a smile.
I, on the other hand, burst out laughing at his blatantly pathetic line. "Education? Really? What kind of a line is that? You use that on all your dates?" Not that we were on a date, or anything. But we did have a boy-girl-at-a-dance-place thing going on, and that was close enough.
"The Homework Club." He didn't address the date remark.
I narrowed my eyes. He had my attention now. The Homework Club mattered to me. A lot. "What about it?"
"You can't run it the way you want to."
"Again with that?" I rolled my eyes, my annoyance with him flooding back. Who wanted to dance with a boy who was trying to ruin my dreams and goals? "I can run it however I want."
He shook his head. "I brought you here so you can see what it's like to have fun. So you can see why your approach is too hardcore. My friends know how much fun a coed environment can really be. You need to play on that, instead of trying to crush the spirit of everyone who walks in there. It won't work. They need to be able to be who they are."
I raised my brows in surprise. "Since when did you become a philosopher?"
"Since you threatened to get me kicked off the lacrosse team." Irritation flashed across his face. "No way am I going to let that happen. If the only way I'm going to get to play lacrosse is to get this club of yours to work, then that's what I'm going to do."
"Oh." That's all tonight was about. His desire to keep playing lacrosse. Which was fine. The only reason I was here was for The Homework Club. So why did I feel so disappointed? I didn't even like him anymore, remember? Yeah, that.
"So..." He took my left hand, his face determined. "In order for you to understand what changes need to be made to The Homework Club, you have to see how the other side lives." He winked. "The side that likes to actually enjoy life."
I eyed him, not moving from my spot against the wall. "Sounds like another line to me."
He snorted. "I wouldn't waste a line on you."
"What does that mean?" That I wasn't worth it? That he had so little interest in me that he wouldn't want to risk me to succumbing to his charms?
He grinned. "Because you'd probably kick me in the nuts if I tried a cheap line on you.
I burst out laughing, and suddenly my tension dissolved. This was the Theo I knew. He would never hurt me. I might be sort of terrorizing his life right now, but I was also his little sister's best friend, and that made me safe. "Probably," I teased. "You're a womanizing jerk."
"See? I knew you'd give me grief at the first opportunity." He grabbed my other hand and started walking backward, pulling me with him. "One dance. For research's sake."
One dance. For The Homework Club. I took a deep breath. "Fine."
"Awesome." A smile lit up his face, and he turned to lead me out on the dance floor.
Where his arms would soon be around me.
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Sneak Peek: Pedicures Don’t Like Dirt
Swimming at midnight with Tad wasn't what I'd planned when I'd agreed to go on the camping trip with his family, but I'm not going to lie, sliding into that pitch black water with only a full moon to show me the way was amazing. When he stuck his head in my tent to invite me, my first thought was that a midnight swim with bedhead and no makeup wasn't exactly top on my list of things I'd been dreaming of lately. But, it was Tad, and he'd already knew exactly how bad I could look, right? Plus, my bee stings were killing me, and he was pretty convincing that the lake would feel good on them.
So I went.
And he was right.
It was pretty cool.
We said nothing as we swam out into the water, going farther than I thought we would. We were pretty far from shore, but Tad was such a camping geek that I felt safe with him. Safe with Tad! How funny was that?
He finally stopped when we were about thirty yards from shore. He turned toward me, treading water easily. "Can you float on your back?"
"Of course I can." Did I really look that pathetic? Just because I was hopelessly inept at farming (gah! Farming!) didn't mean I was incapable of any physical activity whatsoever. Okay, I was moderately incapable, but not completely, and that was a significant difference. "Why?"
He pointed upward. "Do it, and look at the sky."
I glanced up and realized the black sky was dotted with more stars than I'd ever seen in my entire life. I immediately rolled onto my back and puffed up my chest so I didn't sink. The dark night stretched endlessly above my head, a blackness illuminated with glittering diamonds as far as I could see. Millions and millions of dots of light. It was incredible, daunting, and the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life. I felt tiny, but at the same time, I felt drawn into the magnificence of the sky, as if it were a part of me, and I was a part of it. "It's incredible," I whispered.
"I know. I could stay out for hours," Tad said, floating so close that his shoulder brushed into mine. "Did you see that?" Tad asked.
"See what?" I was too busy thinking about the tingling in my arm from touching Tad to be paying attention to anything else.
He pointed off to the right, his hand coming across my field of vision. The rope bracelet on his wrist brushed against my nose, but he didn't seem to notice. Weirdly, I did, and it didn't bother me. "The shooting star," he said. "Off toward shore."
"A shooting star? Really? I didn't see it! Where is it?" I turned so I could study the sky over the land.
"It's gone now, but there will be more. Keep watching."
I nodded, anticipation rolling through me. "What am I looking for?"
"A streak of light." Tad bumped against my leg. "Sorry."
"No problem." Really. It was no problem. Sometime between having him tackling me into the water to save me from the killer bees earlier in the day, and his incredible patience in helping me hold ice on various parts of my swollen and stinging body, it had become okay to have him touch me. More than okay. I liked it. Idly, I wondered what it would be like if he held my hand, just to hold it, and not to enact some heroic rescue—
I saw a streak of light and shrieked. "Was that one?"
"Yeah. Cool, huh?"
"Incredible." The most mind-blowing thing I'd ever seen. It was like the universe was lighting up just for us.
We stayed floating forever, and I saw eight shooting stars. It was, quite possibly, the coolest thing I'd ever experienced in my life. Maybe nature wasn't so bad after all? Or maybe it was just Tad that wasn't so bad. Hmmm…
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Sneak Peek: Geeks Can Be Hot
Matt might be my fake boyfriend, and a little annoying at that, but there was no way I was going to leave him hanging in front of my friends. They thought we were going out, and we'd both look like idiots if they found out the truth. I owed Matt bigtime, and that meant I was going to play the role that I'd trapped him in…even though I had no clue how to actually be a girlfriend, especially out on double date night with my friends.
Matt was already uncomfortable with the fake boyfriend thing, and I'd made it worse by making him come out with my friends and fake it in front of everyone. So, yeah, it was my job to make it easier for him. I took a deep breath, then leaned over and rested my chin on Matt's shoulder, trying to act uber cool and casual.
Matt glanced at me, which meant his face was about a quarter of an inch from mine, seeing as how I was still using his shoulder for a pillow. I'd meant it as an expression of so
lidarity, but now I was sort of enjoying it. It felt good. I don't know why, but it did. So I smiled at him.
He smiled back. Nice teeth. Hadn't realized how white and straight they were. "Did you have braces?" I asked. Random question, I know, but I was curious. I'd never noticed how nice his smile was, probably because I was usually so annoyed I had to spend time with him that I'd never bothered to actually look at him as a human being, or even a guy.
"Nope."
"Lucky dog." I'd just gotten my braces off about six months ago. It was so great not to be carrying around a wad of wax anymore.
"I agree," Tad said, joining in our discussion, startling me. For a brief second, I'd completely forgotten that there was anyone else at the table.
Matt and I both looked at Tad. Had Matt also forgotten there were others at the table? Probably not. He was used to the girlfriend thing, seeing as he had one in real life. I, on the other hand, had never put my chin on any guy's shoulder, and I was a little distracted by how much I liked it.
Tad was nodding, and rubbing Allie's shoulder. "I like that Allie and I have stuff to talk about besides running." He smiled at her, that kind of private smile that really should be saved for when they were alone. "I'm glad you come to my track meets, though."
She grinned back, beaming at him. "I know enough to realize that when you win it's a good thing."
He smiled at her "You've figured out a lot more than that. I appreciate it."
Ugh. Sickening.
I tried to catch Matt's gaze to trade vomit expressions, but he was staring at Tad and Allie with a wistful look on his face that caught my gut and wrenched it. Was he thinking of his real girlfriend? Missing her? Wishing she was around so he could whisper sweet little things into her ear?
Suddenly, seeing Tad being so sweet with Allie didn't make me nauseous. It made me sad. I wanted that, too. I really did. And being with Matt, who was dating someone else (even if she did live in London), made me realize exactly how alone I was really was.
The Truth About Thongs (Mapleville High #1) Page 13