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.
"Hey, Natalie."
My head whipped up so fast I thought my neck was going to snap. Zach was standing at the end of the table, between Tad and Matt. OMG. "Hi."
Matt twisted around to check out Zach, then he shot me a questioning look.
Great. So he remembered that I had a crush on Zach. I wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a horrible thing. I couldn't really think, my heart was beating so fast. Zach looked totally cute in a pair of ripped jeans and a loose T-shirt. I could see his biceps peeking out from under his sleeves—those wiry, ripped muscles that runners had.
Matt snorted under his breath and put his arm across the back of my chair. Now he decided to finally go along with his fake-boyfriend-role? Did he think he was helping my cause or something? Or maybe he just wanted me to die miserable and alone since he was agonizing about his girlfriend being in London and leaving him alone.
Zach's eyes flickered over Matt's arm, then up to his face. "So, you're the boyfriend?" he asked Matt.
Matt, the king of uber-reluctant fake boyfriends, didn't hesitate. "Yep."
Interesting.
One of Zach's eyebrows arched. "How long have you guys been dating?"
"Long enough," Matt said. His arm slipped off the back of my chair and rested on my shoulders.
Long enough for what? Was Matt sending some sort of secret guy code message to Zach that I didn't know about? Long enough to fall madly in love? Long enough to be getting tired of me? Long enough to what?
Zach looked at me. "Doesn't sound like it to me. Nat and I had fun at the party last night."
OMG. He'd totally made it sound like we'd been up to something. He was trying to mess with my relationship with Matt! What was that all about?
Matt's arm tightened around my shoulders. "You mean the team party?"
Zach winked at me. "Yeah, the team party." His emphasis on the word team made it totally clear that it hadn't been a team thing at all.
Matt's fingers were digging into my shoulder so hard it almost hurt. Yes, he wasn't my boyfriend in real life, but if he was, this would be a horrible thing to do to him. To me. To both of us. And seeing as how the world thought we were dating, I wasn't going to let Zach do this to him. "Matt, we didn't, I mean, nothing happened. It really was just a team thing," I stuttered, not liking all the hostile looks from my friends. "I didn't do anything, I swear—"
"We have an extra seat at our table, Natalie," Zach interrupted. "It would be nice to do some team bonding before the race. Talk strategy. It'll be good for you."
He wanted me to join him for dinner with the rest of our team? Wow. That was everything I'd been wanting…but I looked at Matt's tight face, and I felt terrible. I couldn't do that to him, but the thought of turning down Zach's invite was awful. What if I never got another one?
"She's fine here." Allie's voice was like ice. Frigid. "We're perfectly capable of prepping her for the race. Her boyfriend is her best inspiration."
Zach shrugged and smiled at me again. "If you change your mind, we're right over there." He pointed to a big booth in the corner, filled with a few other kids from the team. All seniors.
"Um ... okay," I said. "Thanks for the invite. Maybe another time," I added hopefully.
"Good-bye," Allie said pointedly.
Zach gave me a final smile that curled my toes, then he glided away from the table. Was he cool or what?
"What a complete scumbag," Allie spat out.
Tad nodded. "No kidding." He nodded at Matt. "I think you better plan on showing up at Natalie's meet tomorrow. He's making a move on Nat."
He was? Really?
Allie must have read the expression on my face. "Of course he was! He was hitting on you in front of your boyfriend! As if Matt wasn't even there." She shook her head. "Disgusting. I hope he breaks an ankle in the race tomorrow. "
"Allie!" Okay, I could admit that Zach had been kind of a jerk, but he was our best runner. His ankles were off limits to evil thoughts.
Tad was looking at me. "What team party last night?" He shot Matt a look of sympathy.
"Nothing happened with him," I blurted out. "He just made it sound that way." I looked at Matt. "I swear, Matt. He told me it was for team people only and then when I showed up all these other people were there...." My voice faded as I recalled Zach had told me that no one else was allowed so I wouldn't bring my boyfriend. "I didn't realize it was a party, and I swear nothing happened. A bunch of us watched a movie, and that was it." Sure, we weren't actually dating, but I didn't want Matt or anyone else at the table to think I'd cheat on him.
I wasn't like that, but more importantly, Matt deserved better than that.
Matt stared at me for a long time. "I don't enjoy being jerked around."
"I know that! I didn't do anything! I swear it!"
His gaze flicked toward Zach, who was watching us with a smug look on his face while Val leaned against him. "I don't like him enough to let him think he's better than me."
"He already does," Tad said. "Look at that expression on his face. He gives runners a bad name."
Matt locked his gaze on mine. "I have my pride."
I swallowed at the intense look on his face. Matt might be a brainiac, but there was nothing wimpy about the look on his face right now. He was pissed, and he was insulted. In fact, he looked completely tough and sexy, and I suddenly would have bet on him instead of Zach, if they were to meet for a duel at dawn with pistols.
"Is Zach still watching?" Matt asked, not taking his gaze off me.
I glanced at the table. "Yeah." Still sporting that smug look on his face too. Even though he was totally cute, it really did make him look like a jerk.
"Then let's give him something to watch." He curved his fingers around the back of my neck and applied gentle pressure. "Come here."
It took me a split second before I realized what he was going to do. He was going to kiss me, and he was going to make it count. This wasn't going to be like the kiss at the field the other day. This was going to be the real thing.
My heart started pounding and I couldn't catch my breath. And I didn't pull away. I wanted Matt to kiss me. I wanted it more than anything I'd ever wanted in my life.
When Matt lips touched mine, I was sure I was going to faint. They were so soft and warm and begging me to join them. So I kissed him back. I mean, I tried. I wasn't exactly the expert, but I tried to copy what he was doing. Well, I tried for a little bit; after that, I couldn't think. All I could do was taste his lips and feel his breath and try not to fall off my chair.
He finally pulled away, but not very far. His eyes were all smoky and made me all warm. "Apparently, running isn't the only thing you're good at." His voice was husky and gravelly and it m
ade my skin pop up in goose bumps. He brushed his thumb over my lips, and I thought for sure I was going to die right on the spot.
"You, too." Was that my voice? Sounded awfully breathless.
The corner of his mouth curved up. "I'm not good at running."
"Well, you're good at kissing."
He broke into a full grin. "Thanks." He rubbed his thumb over my cheeks, and I melted a little bit more.
"I think that did it," Allie's voice broke into our magic bubble. "Zach's looking pissed, not smug."
Zach. I'd totally forgotten the kiss had been for him. Matt dropped his hand and turned away.
I didn't want him to turn away. I wanted him back. I wanted him to kiss me like that again. And again. And again. At the very least, I wanted him to kiss me until I actually did fall off my chair. Not that it would take much.
"Your hands are shaking." Allie pointed at my water glass, which I'd picked up in an attempt to distract myself. "That must have been some kiss."
Matt and I both looked at my hand, which was very clearly trembling. The water was shivering, and the ice was clinking. I felt my cheeks heat up, and I couldn't look at him.
How totally embarrassing!
Matt said nothing, but he put his arm over the back of my chair and left it there until the food arrived.
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Sneak Peek: The Fake Boyfriend Experiment
The door to the practice room opened, and I sat up so quickly I almost fell off the piano bench. I grabbed the edge of my seat for balance as the hottie from the parking lot walked into my practice room.
Holy cow. My piano lesson had just become my best one ever.
Up close, he looked even better. His dark hair flopped over his left eye, his black jeans had a hole in the right knee, his long-sleeved tee shirt had a sweet cartoon of the band JamieX on the front of it. JamieX! That was my favorite band ever, and I knew every single song by heart. I had three JamieX tee shirts, but I wore them only to bed because my mom thought they were too radical for a classical pianist. But he was wearing one!
A flash of bright colors peeked out from the cuff of his right shirt sleeve, and I blinked at the show of red, blue, green and black. Tattoo? For real? It looked like it wrapped all the way around his forearm down to his wrist. How far up his arm did it go? So freaking cool.
The uptight Mueller-Fordham School of Music was not the kind of place where well-muscled guys with tattoos hung out, but here he was. Barging in on my piano lesson.
He strode unapologetically into the room, his gait easy and confident as he took over my practice room like he owned it. This rocked. As he walked across the room, I stopped playing and leaned to the left so I could see past Miss Jespersen (also known as "Crusty" due to her lovely personality) and get a really good look at him. I mean, why not? This one second of eye candy was going to be the best moment of my entire summer vacation, so I needed to make it count.
His jeans were just the right looseness over his butt, and there were a set of car keys hanging out of his back pocket, like he'd shoved them in there without bothering to make sure they were going to stay put. He was a guy who didn't bother to make sure things were right, because he just assumed that he could handle whatever happened.
I wanted to be him.
Crusty gave an annoyed sniff. "We're in the middle of a lesson."
"I know." He tossed a cocky smile in our direction. "Sorry to interrupt, but I need to grab a few chairs." He didn't sound at all sorry, and his apology was so breezy that I realized he wasn't at all afraid of Miss Jespersen.
I sat up straighter and checked him out more closely. Who was he?
Crusty drummed her fingers on the piano top. "Just be quick, Rafe."
Rafe? Totally hot name. I bet he'd never worn a tie in his life. I sighed and leaned on the piano as he hoisted four chairs like they weighed nothing. Cute and strong. He had to be at least sixteen because of the car keys. Plus, of course, I couldn’t forget the tattoo. This guy was at my music school? How was that possible? Why had I never seen him before? I was there all the time. My hot guy radar should definitely have picked him up before now.
"Rafe? Are you coming or what?" A girl strode into my practice room. Her chest was huge, her shirt was twenty sizes too small, her hair was long and highlighted. Her white shorts showed off tanned legs, and her wedge sandals were about two inches higher than I'd ever been allowed to wear. She was wearing gold dangling earrings that reached her shoulders, and her nails were neon green with black stripes. She was beautiful, she was sexy, and she walked the same way Rafe did: oozing confidence and not caring at all what anyone thought about her.
My elation from getting up close and personal with Rafe withered away in the sea of insignificance that suddenly sucked me down. I grabbed my ugly-girl photo off the piano and shoved it under my hip. Suddenly the purple toe nail polish hidden inside my shoes didn't seem quite so rebellious. It felt a little pathetic, actually.
Rafe grinned at the girl. It wasn't the careless smile we'd gotten, but a real smile, one that made his green eyes crinkle. He even had a dimple on his right cheek. "Can you grab two music stands, Angel? I've got the rest of the stuff."
Angel? As in, that was her name, or as in, that was his cute little pet name for her? I decided maybe I didn't like her. I hunched over, trying to shrink behind the piano so neither of them would notice my pleated black shorts and my crisp white shirt.
"Keep it quiet, please, Rafe and Angel." Crusty tapped the sheet music in front of me. "Ignore them, Lily. Go ahead and play."
"You want me to play now?" I gaped at her as Rafe and Angel clanged stands together, making Angel giggle and whisper to Rafe to be quiet. As if I was going to play boring classical music in front of them. They practically radiated attitude, and I was so not going to humiliate myself. I mean, it was bad enough that I was wearing Crusty-approved attire and had a horrific photo of me shoved under my butt. Playing Chopin would be a kiss of death I'd never recover from. "Please let me wait until they leave," I whispered, giving Miss Jespersen my most pathetic look that I reserved for critical situation. If she had any mercy, she would understand—
"Lily. Play." Crusty pinned me with an evil glare, and I knew I was outranked in a major way.
Oh, God. This was too embarrassing. Please let him suddenly go deaf. I felt my cheeks heat up, and I ducked my head as I started to play. Of course, I couldn’t help peeking over at them, just to make sure they weren't watching.
A little part of me died when I saw Rafe look over at me. My fingers stuttered over the keys, and the chords clanged like I'd just killed them. Rafe lifted his eyebrows at me, and heat burned my cheeks.
My fingers forgot to play, and my hands dropped to my lap as I stared at him.
Crusty cleared her throat, and Rafe's lips twitched in a smile. "Go ahead, Lily," he said.
"You...know me?" Oh, no. Had he seen my photo in the paper today?
"Miss Jespersen just said your name."
"Oh, right. I forgot." Relief rushed through me and I almost felt dizzy. He hadn't seen the picture in the Globe. Life could go on another day.
Rafe readjusted one of the chairs that was resting on his shoulder. "Don't let us stop you."
There was something slightly mocking in his tone, but there was something else, too. Something that made me think that he'd noticed I was a girl. My belly got warm, and goose bumps popped up on my arms as we looked at each other.
He didn't look away, and chills bumped down my arms. His eyes were such a deep green, matching some of the colors in his tattoo. Intense, especially the way his dark eyelashes framed the green. I'd been wrong about him. He wasn't just some arrogant guy. There was something deeper lurking there, something that reached inside me and grabbed hold.
"Come on, Rafe." Angel brushed past him, her shoulder intentionally knocking against his, like she wanted me to know that he was hers to touch. "Let's go."
Rafe and I both jumped at the interruption, and he nodde
d. "Right behind you, Angel." He gave me a final, speculative look that had my fingers tingling, then he turned and walked out, yanking the door shut behind him with his foot.
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Young Adult Novels By Stephanie Rowe
Mapleville High Series
The Truth About Thongs
How to Date a Bad Boy
Pedicures Don’t Like Dirt
Geeks Can Be Hot
The Fake Boyfriend Experiment
Ice Cream, Jealousy & Other Dating Tips
For a complete list of Stephanie’s books, click here.
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Stephanie Rowe is the author of more than forty-five novels, and she's a four-time nominee for the RITA® award, the highest award in romance fiction. As an award-winning author, Stephanie has been touching readers' hearts and keeping them spellbound for more than a decade with her contemporary romances, romantic suspense, paranormal romances, and YA contemporary romances.
For the latest info on Stephanie and her books, connect with her on the web at:
www.stephanierowe.com
[email protected]
To all the girls out there who understand how cool it is to care about school.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to my beta readers and the Rockstars. You guys are the best! There are so many to thank by name, more than I could count, but here are those who I want to called out specially for all they did to help this book come to life: Malinda Davis Diehl, Leslie Barnes, Kayla Bartley, Alencia Bates Salters, Alyssa Bird, Donna Bossert, Jean Bowden, Shell Bryce, Kelley Daley Curry, Ashley Cuesta, Denise Fluhr, Valerie Glass, Heidi Hoffman, Jeanne Stone, Dottie Jones, Janet Juengling-Snell, Deb Julienne, Bridget Koan, Felicia Low, Phyllis Marshall, Suzanne Mayer, Jodi Moore, Ashlee Murphy, Elizabeth Neal, Judi Pflughoeft, Carol Pretorius, Kasey Richardson, Caryn Santee, Amber Ellison Shriver, Summer Steelman, Regina Thomas, and Linda Watson. Special thanks to my family, who I love with every fiber of my heart and soul. And to AER, who is my world. Love you so much, baby girl!
How to Date a Bad Boy (Mapleville High #2) Page 14