The Keatyn Chronicles: Books 1-3: (Stalk Me, Kiss Me, and Date Me)

by Jillian Dodd

  “Stop insinuating shit. I hate when people do that. If you wanna know something or say something, just say it.”

  “You seem pretty tight, like, having-sex tight.”

  Jake shakes his head and frowns. “Wait. So, I’m going out with Whitney, can’t hang with other girls, getting zero, and you aren’t going out with Dawes, he can do what he wants, and he’s getting it? Dude, that’s jacked up.”

  “I never said he’s getting it, but, yeah, pretty much. He asked me if we should be going out, but I said no. I mean, I don’t wanna rush things. I want to be sure he’s over her, and even though he says he is, I’m still not sure. Plus, I’m still kind of getting over someone myself.”

  “Heard what your ex did to you. That was pretty low,” Jake says sweetly.

  “Oh my gosh! How do you hear this stuff?”

  “Football practice. We stand in line a lot. We talk.”

  “Dawson told me,” Bryce says.

  Jake studies me closely. “Riley told me. Does he have a crush on you? Because someone said something about you and he came unglued.”

  “What happened?”

  “Well, someone made a remark about you and Dawson and it, um, well, it was sorta derogatory toward you. Riley slammed him up against the locker and told him to shut the fuck up.”

  “What?! When was this?”

  “Yesterday after practice.”

  “Why didn’t he tell me?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Wait. Who said something about me and Dawson?”

  “Uh.”

  “Tell me!”

  “Um, it might have been Peyton’s bro.”

  “Aiden?!”

  “Yeah.”

  “What did he say?!”

  “That Dawson was just using you. Well, actually, he used a different word than using. Sorry.”

  “I told Dawson last week that his reputation sucked. It needed a makeover. Does my image need a makeover? Do you guys think I’m slutty? Do people think that?”

  Bryce says, “Well, I don’t. I think you’re fun. You have kissed three guys already, but you just kissed them, right? That’s what I’ve heard.”

  “Yeah, except for Dawson. We did more than kiss this weekend. And I haven’t kissed anyone since.”

  “Three whole days, huh?”

  “Shut up.”

  “You’re cute and you’re cool. Guys like hanging out with girls that aren’t all high maintenance. Like, at the cave, you just relax. You don’t sit there talking the whole time about how we could get in trouble, about your hair, about whatever it is that most girls babble on about. And this weekend, I heard you got up in the morning, rolled out of bed, and surfed. No hour of getting ready, no insecurities about how you look in a bikini, no complaining that it’s too hot or too cold, or that the guys were hitting on girls.”

  “No way I’d complain about that! That was one of the most entertaining parts of the weekend. Watching Tyrese in action. He’s got that smooth, Baby you sexy, thing. Then Riley. He just throws it out there. You’re hot. Let’s hook up. Dallas is like the boy you think is all sweet and innocent and adorable and, boom, next thing you know he’s kissing you. And Ace. He just lets his body do the talking. Walks around all buff and girls are like, Hey. And then when he can’t talk to them about something intellectual, he dismisses them as boring.

  “Wow, you pegged them all. That’s funny. How am I?”

  “Bryce, I really haven’t seen you in action. And Jake, you seem like a chameleon. You’re whatever you think the girl wants.”

  “Oh, dude. That is you. You change with every girl you date.”

  “Is that good or bad?” Jake asks.

  “I’d rather get to know the real you because I think you’re kinda naughty and have a devious little mind. You size people up quick, figure out what they want, and fulfill their needs in order to get what you want from them. You’re the used car salesman of dating.”

  “Dude, that is so you,” Bryce bursts out laughing. The teacher yells at him, so we go back to staring at our clay.

  Jake whispers, “Tomorrow’s topic of discussion is how long a girl will make you wait and why? Do some research on that, Monroe.”

  You’re my hero.

  Lunch

  I grab my tray and go sit with Riley and Dallas. They’re already sitting at their usual table.

  “Riley!”

  “What-ee?”

  “You shoved Aiden up against the locker yesterday?”

  Riley gets kinda shy-looking. “Yeah, I guess.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me? You want to put a nail in my and Aiden’s love coffin, him saying shit about me would do it.”

  He rolls his eyes. “I just . . . it’s not a big deal. I just kinda reacted.”

  I look him in the eyes. “Riley, it’s a big deal to me. You stood up for me. It’s so sweet.”

  “See, I knew you’d go the whole all It’s so sweet. That’s why I didn’t tell you.”

  “That and he didn’t wanna hurt your feelings,” Dallas tells me.

  I give him my aw-that’s-so-sweet eyes. Like, the eyes you use when you see a newborn, or a floppy-eared puppy, or the boy who just slammed a god into a locker for you. You feel a little love.

  “You’re my hero.”

  “I told you. I feel this strange need to protect you. And for some reason, I think you’re going to need a lot of protecting.” He rolls his eyes at me.

  “Speaking of protecting. I was on this weird kid’s website last night. I was reading that sometimes people don’t know they are a god until they meet their—shit, what was that word? Satyr? Is that even a word? Anyway the S guy is like a god guide. He helps keep you safe until you learn to use your powers properly. Only you are like a satyr in reverse. You’re protecting me from a god.

  “You’re a freak,” Riley says. “And you’re taking this whole God of all Hotties thing way too far.”

  “Did I tell you I figured out his mother must have been the goddess, Aphrodite? And I need to take Greek Mythology because that woman was interesting. She’s the goddess of love, but she, like, tricked this dude into thinking she was just a pretty maiden, and he knew she was way too hot for that, but she seduced him and got herself pregnant, then was a total bitch to him. She is also a slut. And she got out of god jail by promising some other god her body.”

  Parker chimes in. “I wanna take that class too. Damn.”

  But then, for some reason, they start talking about a certain male body part. I try really hard to be cool and unembarrassed. But after hearing them go on and on, I’m pretty sure each one of these boys thinks his own penis is a demigod.

  As we’re throwing away what’s left of lunch, Riley says, “If you like my brother, why are you looking up god stuff on the internet?”

  “He’s using his powers against me. I was looking for ways to ward him off. Like garlic to scare off a vampire, that kind of thing.”

  “You’re so weird.”

  Dawson walks up and slaps Riley on the back. Then he turns to me and says, “Keatie.” And gives me his sexy, you-can’t-resist-me eyes. Plus the way he says Keatie. It’s so cute.

  “How was your lunch?”

  “Sucked without you. What were you talking about over here?”

  “Did you know your brother slammed Aiden up against a locker yesterday for talking shit about us?”

  “Everyone knows that.”

  “I didn’t.”

  “I was going to tell you. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings. Or make you regret it.”

  “People suspect. They don’t know. Speaking of that. Do you want to again? I mean, I thought that would be, like, all you’d want.”

  He kisses my nose. “I don't want us to be about just sex. I like you.”

  “I like you too.”

  “But trust me, I want to. I’m just trying to be good.

  “Good, cuz I do too. Like soon.”

  No response.

  French

 
Dawson walks me to French and kisses me until the bell rings. I’m in a good mood until I walk in and see Aiden’s stupid face and remember what he said about me.

  I turn around and say, “Heard about practice yesterday. Good to know you think so highly of me. Obviously, tutoring you is out of the question.”

  He doesn’t respond.

  A fake ass-kicking.

  5:40pm

  I call Mom.

  I know she probably won’t answer, but I call anyway. At least she’ll see my missed call. I’m surprised when Tommy answers her phone.

  “How’s life, baby?”

  “It’s okay. How come you're not filming right now?”

  He clears his throat. “Well, your mom is. She’s kissing our co-star as we speak. I can’t watch. Good news is, later in the movie, I get to kick his ass.”

  “Yeah, but it’s a fake ass-kicking.”

  “Well, you know, sometimes you forget a step in a choreographed fight scene, and sometimes the punches actually connect. It’s really unfortunate, but it happens.”

  “You’re bad.”

  He laughs.

  “Hey, off the wall question, but why is your hair always long?”

  “Hiding my horns, probably.” He laughs a full-on belly laugh.

  “So you are a satyr.”

  “Hell, no. I played Zeus. I was a god. So, what’s going on with the god and Gorgeous?”

  “They’re not going anywhere with the god. He told the guys that Gorgeous is just using me. I hate him, and I will not be tutoring him. Gorgeous kinda asked me to go out with him. I told him it was too soon. That we shouldn’t have to label our relationship. Wonder where I heard that from? Speaking of that, are you and Mom ever going to get married?”

  “Are you sure you didn’t say no to a relationship because you are in love with the god?”

  “I can’t love a jerk, so clearly I cannot be in love with him.”

  “And to answer your question, yes. I do want to marry your mother. Hopefully sometime in the next year.”

  “Really? That’s so exciting. Okay, so I have to go.”

  “Break a leg, baby.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Good luck with your boy issues.”

  “Oh. Thanks.”

  Oh, shit. My bad.

  7:30pm

  Dawson is lying on top of me kissing me. One of the perks of being a senior is having your own room. Still don’t get your own bathroom though. His room and Jake’s connect through a shared one. Dawson has his door locked, but just about the time he has my red Cougar polo pulled up and his hand up my skirt, Jake walks in through the bathroom door, saying, “Hey Dawes.” Then, “Oh, shit. My bad.”

  And it sorta breaks the mood.

  Well, my mood. Dawson is still in full horndog mode.

  He’s kissing my neck. Running his hands up my sides.

  Finally I say, “Um, Dawes?”

  And he’s like, “What, Keatie?”

  “Can we just talk for a minute. Start over maybe? Sorry, that kinda embarrassed me.”

  “Really? Oh. I’m sorry.”

  He gets off the bed, sits in his desk chair, and pulls on his shirt.

  “Okay, so shoot. Whatcha wanna talk about?”

  “Tell me about your parents, your family.” Shit. Why did I say that? He’ll ask me about mine next to be polite.

  “Boring,” he laughs. “Well, okay, so there’s me and Riles, and I told you about Camden. He’s a freshman at Columbia. Then we have a younger brother, Braxton. He’s in eighth grade and can’t wait to come here next year. Dad is a bond trader. Mom used to be a doctor, but she finally gave it up after she had Brax. We’re pretty close. We live in Manhattan, have the place in the Hamptons. That’s about it. What about you?”

  I’m really impressed that even though he didn’t want to stop messing around, he did, just because I asked. He didn’t even give me a hard time about it.

  And that makes me adore him.

  It also makes me want him.

  I smile at him, unzip his shorts, straddle him, and make him forget any questions he might have.

  A little bit later, he’s lazily kissing my check. “That was amazing. You always surprise me. It’s so freaking hot. I thought we were gonna just sit here and talk. Well, until you attacked me.”

  “I guess I couldn’t resist you any longer. Plus, it’s been a couple days, and you’ve been good. Like, you haven't been all sex, sex.”

  “What’s wrong with sex, sex?”

  “Nothing. I just don’t want it to be all about sex.”

  “Yeah,” he says, running his fingers through my hair. “You smell so good.”

  “You feel so good.” I kiss him, rake my fingers hard through his hair, and lean my chest into his face.

  “You’re gonna make me hard again.” He laughs.

  “Promises, promises,” I flirt.

  And, well . . . he’s apparently good at keeping promises.

  I heart math homework.

  10:15pm

  Jake: Monroe. Don’t forget to do your ceramics homework :)

  Katie, Maggie, Annie, and I are lying on the pale green flokati rug on the floor of Katie’s and my room. There are pillows thrown all over and we’re finishing up our homework.

  Well, sort of.

  Maggie is actually painting her toenails. She’s also texting both Logan and Parker, two of her exes. Katie is practicing a tricky dance combination that she can’t seem to get right. Annie is on Facebook, creeping on Ace’s profile and yelling out people’s statuses.

  I just got back a few minutes ago, and I’m finishing up some math problems. Dawson was supposed to help me with them, but, well, you know.

  No math got done.

  Annie screeches out, “Ohmigawd! Listen to the status Dawson just posted. It says I heart math homework, then there’s a winky face. What does that mean?”

  “It means we were supposed to do my math homework.”

  “Supposed to?” She raises her eyebrows at me.

  Katie says, “You’re doing your math homework now.”

  “Yeah, that’s why he hearts it. No homework was done.”

  Maggie moves over closer to me and is like, “Oh, what did you do? People are all speculating on if you guys have had sex. You would tell us if you have, right?”

  “I don’t know. I think that’s kinda private.”

  Annie isn’t satisfied. “So what did you do then?”

  “Just messed around, you know. It was fun. We have fun.”

  Maggie is like, “Must have been, but speaking of that, here’s a question.”

  “Hang on. Jake just texted me again.”

  “Jake? Whitney’s Jake? Why is he texting you?” Annie screeches.

  “We have class together. We’re getting to be friends, I think. And he gave me some homework.”

  Maggie is confused. “Homework for ceramics? Wait. What?”

  Annie yells. “Oh my gosh! Jake just commented on Dawson’s status. He said Dude, your math homework is hot and then a smiley face. Oh boy, that’ll piss Whitney off.” She looks at me seriously. “You don’t want to piss Whitney off.”

  Katie grins. “What does Jake mean?”

  “He kinda walked in on us making out. Well, my shirt was partially unbuttoned, and my skirt was maybe slightly askew, but we were dressed. I guess, Dawson’s shirt was off, but it was when I got there. He had just showered. He smelled so good. So, anyway, Jake and Bryce want to know how a girl decides when the right time to sleep with a guy is. Like, do you have to be going out? If so, for how long? Maggie, what do you do?”

  “Well, freshman year, I dated a guy all year. He wanted to, but we never did. Summer before my sophomore year, I dated Matty. We waited a month, then did it all the time. It was a really good summer. We broke up when I had to come back to school. I had a couple different boyfriends here last year. I did it with Logan and Parker. I forget how long we’d been going out. Probably a month or so. T
his summer, I met a guy my first day back home. We dated for a week, then did it. Then quit seeing each other like two weeks later. So I guess it just depends on my mood.” She laughs. “Or how drunk I am.”

  “I went out with my boyfriend for six months before we did,” Katie tells us. “He’s the only person I’ve ever been with.”

  Annie says, “And I’m waiting to do it with someone I’m really in love with.”

  “Yeah, but if you’re in love with him, how long would you make him wait?”

  “How long you going to make Dawson wait?” she fires back.

  “No, it’s not about me. I’m supposed to get a general consensus.”

  “I’m going down the hall to ask people,” Maggie says. “I’m bored with history. This sounds way more fun.” She takes off with a pencil and a notebook.

  Annie says, “Dawson just replied to Jake’s comment. Isn’t it funny that they’re commenting each other. Aren’t they suitemates?”

  “Yeah, that is kinda funny. What’d he say?”

  “He said Effing hot. Wow.”

  “Wow, what?”

  “I think you’re stealing some of Whitney’s thunder. She just posted My Jakey is the best bf ever. Thanks for a great night, baby.”

  “Did he comment on it?”

  “Not yet.”

  “But Ace just commented on Dawson’s status. He said Let me know if you can’t handle the math homework by yourself. Oh, I don’t like that. Oh, and Dawson didn’t like that either. He said Not cool, Ace. And then Ace said Jkjk. This is exciting! Oh, wait, Jake just said Dawes looked like he was handling things just fine. Dawson replied Hell yeah. Jake said back, You’re a lucky man.”

  I text Jake.

  Me: So what’d you do with Whitney that made her night so great?

  Jake: Honestly, I have no fucking idea. We got some sushi, made out a little, she rubbed her hand on the outside of my pants. What? Are we in freaking seventh grade? I’m not even commenting on her stupid status.

  Me: I’m pretty sure she hates me.

  Jake: I’m pretty sure she does too. You were all we talked about.