Studying Boys

by Stephanie Rowe

  But I couldn't. I was me, and that's all I could muster up right now. So, I hurried to the top of the stairs and paused. The twins were screaming, my mom was trying to soothe them and I could hear someone else crying. She'd never notice.

  I took a deep breath and crept halfway down the stairs.

  You can still turn back, Frances, and be who you're supposed to be.

  I peered through the railing. Only my little sister Dawn was watching me. She'd benefit from this someday. I'd break my parents in, and by the time she was my age, my parents would be too exhausted to rule the house anymore.

  Either that or they'd be handcuffing the kids to their computers by then.

  I motioned at her to be quiet, and her eyes widened.

  I tiptoed down the rest of the stairs, my heart pounding so loud in my ears I thought for sure my mom would hear it.

  But no one came out of the kitchen.

  Just Dawn, standing there watching me.

  I reached the front door and put my hand on the doorknob. The metal was cold and hard under my hand, giving me chills. What was I doing?

  My mom would figure out I was gone. She'd kill me.

  Kill me.

  And if I stayed upstairs and got my homework done, she'd be mollified and soon forget I wasn't allowed to emerge from the house in the presence of a boy. Next time I'd present it as a study evening, and then she'd let me go. But if I snuck out, then I'd seriously be grounded forever.

  It was much smarter to go upstairs.

  Don't go out, Frances.

  But then I thought of the Homework Club, and how close it was to failing forever, and I knew I couldn't let that happen. I opened the door and slipped outside, closing the door softly behind me.

  * * *

  Theo was leaning against the front gate, his arms folded across his chest. He wore all black as usual. Jeans, leather jacket, boots, gloves and a baseball cap.

  Somehow, that baseball cap took all his toughness away. It was just Theo, even with his hair blowing in the cold wind and too much stubble on his jaw for anything proper.

  "You made it." He gave me a thorough inspection, and it made me wish that I'd put on makeup or a cute outfit.

  But I hadn't. I didn't own either item. It was just me, and a guy who was used to hot chicks who showed more skin than they hid. I lifted my chin. "You sound surprised I came out." I was, so why wouldn't he be?

  As I walked toward him, he levered himself off the gate and pushed it open for me. "After you."

  Okay, so that was sort of sweet that he'd opened the gate for me. I didn't realize Theo knew how to be chivalrous. It was a nice surprise, and it eased a little bit of my nervousness about being out with him. "Thanks." I ducked past him, quickly glancing over my shoulder at the house. Dawn was standing in the window watching me.

  I was going to be so busted when I got home.

  "You want to change your mind?" Theo had stopped and was looking at me.

  Yes. "No."

  "Good." He moved over to his car and opened the passenger door for me. "Hop in."

  I stared at his car. I'd totally spaced on how we would be getting anywhere. Of course he would be driving a car. What kind of things had happened in that car with all his girlfriends? Surely, he wouldn't expect anything of me if I got in there, would he? Suddenly, he didn't seem like Blue's big brother anymore. He seemed like a very edgy seventeen year old guy who was used to crossing boundaries I didn't even know existed. I bit my lip as I peered at the black leather interior. Did the guy own anything that wasn't black? "Where are we going?"

  He gave me a wicked grin that made my toes curl inside my shoes. "A surprise."

  Don't get in the car, Frances. He's some senior who's about to take you somewhere to prove you aren't uptight. I could suddenly imagine, with vivid clarity, what kinds of things Theo would want to show me to prove I was uptight. What good could possibly come of this? I shouldn't get in. It would be so much trouble, no matter what happened. This was my last chance to make the right choice…

  I got in.

  * * *

  Theo tucked my feet inside the door, then shut it gently. As he made his way around the car, I looked again at my house. Dawn was no longer in the window. Had she gone to tell my mom?

  Theo got in, and the car shifted under his weight. He shot me a grin and started the engine. It purred to life, a tribute to the many hours I'd seen Theo immersed in its engine on a Saturday afternoon at the Waller house. I was impressed. Blue had told me it didn't work when he first got it.

  It was working now, and he had clearly figured out how to fix it himself. I slanted a glance at him, wondering if maybe he was a little smarter than I'd given him credit for.

  But instead of a computer printout of his IQ, all I saw when I looked at him was some five o'clock shadow, a strong jaw, and the well-muscled shoulders of a guy who made it a priority to not play by the rules.

  What was I doing? Had I gone insane? Theo was a "bad boy" and I was sneaking out on a Friday night with him? How did I know he wasn't going to drive me off into some graveyard somewhere and try to have his way with me or something? Isn't that what guys like him did?

  I felt faint. My heart started racing again and my hand moved to the door handle to open it and run for safety.

  And then he fastened his seatbelt.

  His seatbelt.

  Mr. Bad Boy wore a seatbelt.

  And that's when I knew I would be safe with him.

  So I put mine on too and grinned. "Where to?"

  He said nothing. Only flashed me an elusive smile and shifted into drive.

  Just as we were pulling away from the curb, I saw the front door of my house open and my mom came out on the porch.

  There was no turning back now.

  I was a bad girl.

  And I didn't care.

  * * *

  As Theo drove me out of my neighborhood, my homework was sitting in my book bag in my room, undone. My mom was warming up the gallows for when I got home. Chaos and torment were awaiting me at home, and you know what? I didn't care! I was just too excited to be breaking the rules for the first time in my life.

  Theo hopped onto the turnpike, and I knew we were heading into Boston.

  Wow. Boston on a Friday night with a hot guy. And to think I'd seriously considered staying home with my textbooks. Maybe there was something to not always being good. Of course, the minute I thought that, guilt niggled through me, but I tried to ignore it. It was too late now. I might as well enjoy it while I could…right?

  We rode in silence for twenty minutes, during which time I started to feel more and more uncomfortable. I had nothing to say. Why? Because I was boring and uptight and totally out of my element. Who was I kidding? This wasn't me. "Maybe you should just drop me off at your house. I'll go hang with Blue."

  He shot me a look I couldn't read. "She's out with Colin."

  "Oh." I digested that. "How about Allie's house? Or Natalie?"

  "What's wrong with me?"

  He was watching the road, so I couldn't see the expression on his face at all. Was he kidding? Mocking me? "You're a jerk." I finally decided to simply go with the truth and not worry about what he was thinking.

  He grinned and glanced at me. "When did you decide that?"

  "When you screwed up The Homework Club and didn't care."

  "And before that?"

  I frowned. "What do you mean?"

  "Before I did that. Did you still think I was a jerk?"

  No, I had the hugest crush on you. As if I was going to say that. "Your reputation precedes you. You're quite well known as a jerk."

  "Huh."

  Huh? That was all he had to say? What was he thinking? I couldn't tell at all, but he wasn't being the normal Theo. The Theo I knew would be giving me grief, or not taking me seriously. But he was engaging me in regular conversation, as if he actually thought of me as a human being.

  "You didn't put on any makeup tonight," he finally said.

 
"So?" Oh, great. So now he was going to start telling me how young I was because I didn't wear makeup? "That's because I don't care what you think of me." Which was true, and it felt good. Not caring was powerful!

  He shot me a look, and I shot him one back. Then he turned into a parking garage, and didn't say anything until he had parked the car and turned off the ignition. Then he turned toward me, and sort of rested his left arm casually across the steering wheel. "You aren't playing games, are you?"

  "Games?"

  He narrowed his eyes and studied me. "You honestly don't care."

  "About what?"

  "Impressing me."

  He sounded so surprised I almost laughed. "A first for you, huh?" A first for me, but it felt liberating. Yes, I was still aware of Theo as a guy, but he had proven himself not worth my attention. I wanted The Homework Club from him, and that was it.

  "I guess," he admitted. "I've never really thought about it."

  So, this was the way to Theo's heart? Scream at him, ban him from The Homework Club, blackmail him, turn down his invitation for a night out, and generally act like he was a royal pain in the butt?

  Now that I thought about it, ever since I'd blown up at him in the living room, he'd been trying to insert himself into my life.

  Which probably meant that if I did fall victim to his charm, then he'd be back to the old Theo and I'd be another one of his conquests.

  Well, forget that. I was so not going to be another girl used and dumped by Theo. Besides, he was a jerk. Didn't study, wanted every girl on the planet to worship him and encouraged me to engage in deviant and deceptive behavior.

  So I didn't like him. I didn't want to impress him. And I certainly wasn't going to feed his ego. I was here for one reason only: to make the Homework Club work.

  Theo opened my door, and I realized he'd gotten out and walked around his car already. For a jerk, he had pretty good date manners. I had to admit, I was totally liking the way he was opening doors for me.

  Not that this was a date.

  Besides, he was probably just trying to feed his ego by wooing me.

  Well, he could just forget it.

  I was here to prove to him that I wasn't uptight, that my plans for The Homework Club were reasonable and that he was the irresponsible one who was off target. And then when he saw I was actually the balanced one and he was the extreme, then he'd be forced to admit I was right. And then, he'd have to agree to help me run The Homework Club the way I wanted to, so success would be mine.

  "Ready?" he asked.

  I squared my shoulders. "Sure."

  "Good." He grabbed my hand and led the way through the parking garage.

  My hand? He grabbed my hand? What was that all about?

  I knew what it was about. His ego. Couldn't deal with the fact I wasn't drooling over him anymore. Figured with a little bit of attention, I'd fall at his feet, a dramatic return to the old, adoring Frances.

  Well, forget that. I was immune.

  But I suppose it couldn't hurt to let him keep holding my hand. I mean, not for his sake, but why not? I sort of liked it. Not him. It. Having my hand held by some hot guy. In public. It didn't matter at all that it was Theo who was holding my hand.

  Yeah.

  We walked down the sidewalk to a place with a line out front. Looked like a bar or something.

  A bar? I couldn't go to a bar! I was like seven years too young!

  He walked past the place, and I relaxed.

  "Afraid of going in there?" he asked.

  Jerk. How dare he notice I'd gotten nervous? "Not at all."

  "Good. Because that's where we're going."

  OMG. "But I'm fourteen."

  He stopped and grabbed me by the shoulders. "Don't say that again, okay? If someone overhears you, you'll blow our cover."

  "But I look like I'm fourteen," I whispered fiercely. "I could get arrested for going in there!"

  "This club is for eighteen and over. You can pass for eighteen if you're with me." He reached up and brushed my hair forward, so it sort of fell over my face. "There. You look sultry and gorgeous. Your dark coloring is really exotic. Just look snobby and bored to be here and no one will question your age."

  Sultry?

  Exotic?

  Gorgeous?

  And he'd touched my hair!

  Okay, Theo was obviously better than I thought at making girls succumb to his charm. Time to think again how miserable that Homework Club was, and how he totally blew off everything that was important to me.

  Yeah.

  Yeah!

  He grabbed my hand again and pulled me down an alley.

  I was too busy practicing my annoyed and sultry look to worry that we were going to be mugged by some psycho jumping out from behind a Dumpster. Besides, Theo was over six feet tall. Who was going to mess with him?

  We stopped outside a black door. Theo fixed my hair again, my knees got a little trembly, and then he smiled at me. "Just go along with what I say."

  "Right."

  He put his arm over my shoulder and pulled me against him. Hard against him. Like, I could feel his whole body against me, even through our coats. Wow. Talk about zings going through my stomach.

  Theo banged on the door. Then he fixed my hair again. "Keep it draped over your face," he said.

  Or not. If I kept pushing it back, then he'd have to fix it again.

  This was turning into some kind of interesting night.

  The door opened to reveal a really big guy who looked vaguely familiar.

  He nodded at Theo, then glanced at me. "Who's this?"

  "My girlfriend."

  The dude sort of smirked, a look that said, "Yeah, you have a lot of those."

  Nothing like a reminder that you're out with a player.

  Boys. Total nightmares.

  Theo handed him what looked like two or three twenties, and then the guy stepped aside. "Come on in."

  Unbelievable. We were going to sneak into a club, both of us underage, through bribery. Where was my brain? There was no way I was going in there.

  Then Theo tightened his arm around my shoulders, and we walked inside.

  Okay, I was inside, but no way was I going to stay.

  Theo grabbed my hand and held it out. Big Guy stamped the back of it, and then did Theo's. And then he thumped Theo on the shoulder and walked away.

  Leaving us in the back hall of some over-eighteen club.

  "What was that about?" I asked. "Bribery?"

  "He was captain of the football team my freshman year at Mapleville. We've stayed in touch."

  Oh, great. That male athlete bonding thing. Gotta love that.

  That did explain why he looked vaguely familiar though....

  Theo unzipped his jacket.

  "You aren't seriously thinking of staying?" I asked.

  Theo lifted a brow at me, then shrugged off his coat. "Yep."

  "But..."

  He grinned and unbuttoned my jacket and tugged it off my shoulders. "Leave your stuff here. We'll come get it before we leave. They'll get stolen for sure if we take them off out there."

  Theo had undressed me. Granted, it was just my coat, but come on! No guy had every taken anything off me before. Ever!

  Then he grabbed my hand again and led the way down the dark hallway, as if he knew exactly where he was going. "You've done this before."

  He grinned at me. "Yep."

  "Always with a different girl?"

  "Not always. Occasionally, there's a repeat." He lifted his brow. "Jealous?"

  "Not a chance."

  Something flashed across his face, and he didn't look quite so amused anymore.

  But he also didn't let go of my hand.

  * * *

  When Theo pushed open another door and we walked out into the club, I almost passed out from terror right then.

  It was dark. Really dark. And loud. Music was blasting so loud I could actually feel it vibrating in my chest and thudding in my ears. And there were people ev
erywhere. Not boys and girls. Men and women. Dancing. Wearing black and silk and some of the women weren't wearing all that much at all. No one even looked close to my age, and there sure wasn't any woman there without makeup, wearing jeans, sneakers and a baggy cotton sweater.

  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 take me? 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!

  Then Theo moved in front of me and blocked my view. "Frances? Are you okay?"

  "No!" I shoved at his chest, and he caught my hands. "Let go of me! How could you bring me here?"

  "Sorry."

  The simple comment caught my attention, and I stopped railing long enough to look at him. "No smug remark that it proves I'm uptight?"

  He shrugged, still holding my hands. "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 a jerk to me. That might have helped alleviate the fact I was about to have a full panic attack.

  "You want to leave?" He frowned. "We can leave."

  "Well..." Now that he was being all nice, and blocking my view of the raunchy stuff happening on the dance floor, it didn't seem so bad to be there.

  "Want to just hang here, against the wall, for a few minutes while you decide?"

  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.

  We stood like that for a while. I watched the people, thought about Theo still leaning against me, not saying anything jerky or anything. Just hanging.