T is for...he's a TOTAL jerk (Grover Beach Team #3)

by Piper Shelly

  Tony took the tissue out of her hand, tilted his head back, and tried to stop the blood flow. “Relax. It’s just a nose bleed. Nothing’s broken.” After a minute, he rose to his feet. “I’ll go wash my face.” He took a few steps in the direction of the school building, then stopped. Stumbling slightly, he pressed a palm to his temple. “Whoa, my head’s spinning.”

  “What? Something finally got past your bonehead?” I taunted him in a wry voice. Only when he slowly directed a surprised gaze at me did I realize what I’d actually let slip. “Sorry,” I mumbled and grimaced. “I didn’t mean to say that.”

  His eyes narrowed briefly at me before he headed off, swaying.

  I sighed, hurried over, and steadied him by his elbow. “Come on. I’ll walk you to the restrooms.” Draping his arm over my shoulder, I felt his reluctance. It didn’t matter. He was in no condition to be on his own. With my arm wrapped around his waist, I steered him toward the entrance of the school building and farther on to the men’s toilets.

  His side pressed so tightly against mine made me remember how he’d escorted me out of the woods last Saturday, and what a good time I’d had with him that weekend. Wishing myself back there, I wondered where we would be now if he hadn’t kissed me on Sunday. Or again on Tuesday.

  Maybe we’d still be the good friends we’d been for a short while.

  We stopped in front of the restrooms, and I searched his face. “Can I let you go in there alone?”

  “Sure, Summers. I’m a big boy,” he mocked me, then went through the doorway.

  Leaning against the wall, I counted the minutes on the big clock hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the hallway. After ten minutes, he still wasn’t back. I started to worry. Cautiously, I opened the door and slipped my head around it.

  “Tony…you all right?”

  “M-hmm.” His moan came from the floor. I found him sitting up against the wall, his long legs stretched out on the white tiles. His head was tilted back, and two pieces of tissue were plugged in his nose and soaked with blood.

  He opened his eyes to slits as I walked closer and squatted beside his legs. “Can I do anything for you?” I asked, unsure how to help him.

  Tony slowly shook his head.

  I felt at a total loss, and since he seemed to just want another minute to recover, I scrunched up my face. “Do you want me to leave you alone?”

  Our gazes locked for an eternity. Then he shook his head again.

  TONY

  Sam just stared at me. I must have looked terrible with the tissue bits in my nose and the blood on my jersey. I wanted to reach out, cup her lovely cheek, and tell her that it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. That she didn’t need to worry. But seeing she actually did worry, I kept my mouth shut and enjoyed her nearness after the awful past week without her.

  “I can wet that paper towel again, if you want,” she offered.

  I took it from my neck and handed it to her. Sam threw it in the bin, then pulled two new ones from the dispenser, held them under the tap, and finally knelt down beside me once more. Carefully, she placed her hand at the back of my head, making me tilt it down so she could place the cold, wet towels on my neck again. I complied.

  When Liza had tried to clean up my face earlier, I’d stopped her because it made me feel weak and sort of like a toddler who couldn’t do those things on his own. But with Sam in here, it was different. Silently, I watched her and enjoyed everything she did to me.

  She pressed her hand to my neck for a few seconds. Cold water drops slid down my back. How could that make me feel so warm? When she released me, I dipped my head back against the wall, pulled the bloodied plugs out of my nose, and tossed them in the bin dead-on. Sniffing once, I swallowed the rest of the blood.

  “Feel better?” Sam asked warily.

  I nodded.

  Her pretty eyes narrowed to slits. “You know you’ll scare me if you don’t say something nasty soon.”

  I let a smile slip.

  What did she expect to hear? That with the plugs gone I could finally smell her vanilla body lotion again and I wanted to drown in that scent? Or that the view of her belly button piercing reminded me of the most sensual kiss I’d ever shared with a girl?

  Neither seemed appropriate.

  When I remained silent, Sam grunted. I liked that sound, even if it meant I’d frustrated her again.

  A second later, the door burst open. Winter and Torres strode in, scanning the room.

  Winter came forward, reaching down for my hand. “Hey, pal. How’s that nose? Any fractures?”

  “I don’t think so,” I answered as he pulled me up from the floor.

  Sam rose to her feet with me, planting her fists on her waist. “Oh, now he can talk…” She rolled her eyes, then looked up at my face, her frustration easing. “I believe you don’t need me any longer.”

  She had no idea how much I wanted her to stay. But with the freezing atmosphere between us over the past few days, I didn’t intend to tell her that. I shook my head.

  Sam pressed her lips together, her eyes turning sad. She spun on her heel and walked to the door.

  Okay, that was shit of me. Fuck. I hated it when I behaved like a caveman. “Sam?” I said over the noise getting louder in the restroom with Winter and Torres fooling around on a victory high. As she turned around, I held her gaze in the wide mirror over the sink. “Thanks.”

  This time, she was the one who was silent. She only nodded once, then walked out the door.

  At the same time, Hunter came in. He stepped aside to let her pass. “Hey, Sam,” he acknowledged her with slight surprise in his voice.

  “Ryan,” she replied. Then she was gone and the door was shut.

  Hunter came forward. “Mitchell, how’s your head doing? You’re not backing out of the after-match party tonight?”

  Tearing the wet towels from my neck, I arched my brows at him. “You kiddin’?” Cold water from the faucet cooled my cheeks and washed away the rest of the blood. I wiped my face dry, using the front of my shirt. “When have I ever missed a party at your house?”

  Ryan narrowed his eyes, deliberating. “When your gran was in town a couple of years ago.”

  I cast him a wry look. “My gran isn’t in town this weekend.”

  “And Sam?”

  “What about her?”

  “She’ll be at my house tonight, too.”

  “And…”

  “You cool with that?”

  I shrugged. “Sure.”

  Hunter went to the rear to pee, then he came back and washed his hands, casually asking, “Sam looked a little frustrated when she walked out of here. How are things going between you and her?”

  Winter and Torres, who wanted to leave this minute, fell silent and stopped in their tracks, apparently awaiting my answer, too.

  “She’s speaking to me again.”

  “Is that all?” Hunter dug deeper.

  “Seems so.”

  Alex cut a bored glance at the ceiling before he shoved Torres out the door. When we were alone, Hunter turned around, leaned against the sink, and folded his arms over his chest. “All right. The guys are gone. You can be honest.”

  I turned my annoyed gaze at him. “Why do you always have to second-guess my answers?”

  “Because, Mitchell… I. Know. You.”

  A sigh escaped me that made me feel an uncomfortable lot like a girl. I gritted my teeth and frowned. “No offence, Hunter, but you don’t know jack.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Obviously.”

  “Okay, just a random guess then…You finally figured out who you really want—and just for the record, I’m more than glad that it’s not Liza.” Hunter let go of a relieved breath. “But now Sam’s pissed because you kissed her at a time when she wasn’t the one.”

  Fuck. Did he read the woman’s journal when he was bored, or what?

  “She probably thinks you’re still in love with Liza.”

  “When did you become such an
expert, Hunter?” I muttered.

  “Last summer. Because the same thing happened to me, idiot. Can you imagine how I felt when Liza couldn’t make up her mind for so long? I’ve been there—and I don’t want to go back ever again.”

  Wow. I’d never looked at it that way. He did know what he was talking about. And I’d found out many times in my life that I couldn’t hide anything from Hunter. After Liza, he’d always been my best friend. The ranking had even switched after they’d become a couple.

  I knew I should be happy to have a friend like him. Someone who knew me from the inside out. But frankly, sometimes it sucked.

  “Tonight is your best chance to win her heart. A party is always a good place to hook up.”

  “I’m not going to hook up with Sam. I tried to explain my feelings to her, but she’s a stubborn little troll who won’t listen.” Her dismissal in school and, later, her flirting with Frederickson had opened my eyes. Not to the fact that I was in love with her, but to the fact that for Sam I was easy to replace.

  “Maybe you didn’t try hard enough to make her listen. Know what, Mitchell? I think at our age we can’t afford to be lazy and just wait for them to throw themselves at us. If I learned one thing from Liza, it’s this: There’ll always be another guy if you’re not fast enough and seize your chance.”

  I sighed again. “She’s just so…” I growled, frustrated, dragging my hands through my hair. “You should have seen her and Frederickson at Charlie’s this week.”

  Hunter pursed his lips. “There’s nothing going on between them, believe me. Frederickson knows about your feelings for her.”

  “You weren’t there. You didn’t see them.”

  “I didn’t have to be there. Someone else was.” He smirked. “Someone very close to me.”

  The hairs on the back of my neck bristled. “What did Liza tell you?” I demanded.

  “Can’t say.”

  “Why not?”

  “Promised.”

  “Fuck.”

  I tipped back against the wall, crossing my arms over my chest. What was he holding back? And why? Frederickson knew that I’d enjoyed kissing Sam. But he liked her as well. Maybe not as much as I did, but a lot. He sure would hook up with her if she was interested. And sometimes she just seemed to be, dammit.

  “If you really like her,” Hunter said, “give it one more shot at least. Can’t hurt tough guys like us, can it?”

  I knew he meant that in a taunting way, because he’d told me how much he’d suffered after Liza had sent him off that night after our fight in her room.

  “There’s just something about her,” I confessed. “Something that pulls me in like a fucking magnet. I can’t resist touching her whenever I get a chance, or just sniffing her hair.”

  “Or just kissing her?”

  Exactly. “Why do girls always have to smell so good?” I whined.

  Hunter slapped my shoulder. “Because they’re made of candy.” Laughing, he walked out the door.

  CHAPTER 20

  I didn’t want to go home after the game. I hadn’t forgotten what had happened there at noon. But I wanted to change clothes and get out of Tony’s jersey. As long I was wearing it, I thought about him far too much. And that was the last thing I wanted to do right now.

  I managed to get into the house without being seen by anyone. Hastily, I changed into my army pants, the black belly top that laced in the back, and a dark gray hoodie, leaving the zip open. I pulled on my Doc Martens and left the laces untied. Then I grabbed Tony’s shirt and sneaked down the stairs to avoid being seen by my cousin or her parents. As a member of the soccer team, Cloey would be at the party later—no getting around that fact. But later was soon enough. No need to meet her until then.

  Fortunately, Liza and Ryan had agreed that I should come early and help with the party preparations. Keeping myself busy was my brilliant plan for today.

  I arrived at Ryan’s house just as he and his parents were moving some of the furniture aside. Liza had opened the door and dragged me inside, a happy grin on her face. She certainly was excited, because today was their three-month anniversary and Ryan had taunted her with a surprise for later. I wondered if it was maybe a necklace. I knew Liza would love to get one from him.

  When Mr. Hunter saw me, he came over and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Samantha. How is your leg doing?”

  “It’s fine, Mr. Hunter,” I replied and playfully hopped from one foot to the other. “No troubles at all.”

  “Perfect, perfect.”

  “Are you going to party with us?” I asked him.

  The doc grimaced. “I don’t think so. Jessie and I prefer to go out on party nights. More fun for you and less headaches for us.” He whispered the last part and winked at me.

  Mr. and Mrs. Hunter left the house a short while later.

  Liza and I went into the kitchen and prepared some snacks and plates of candy to place around the party zone. All the while, I carried Tony’s jersey draped over my shoulder. I just didn’t know where to put it so it wouldn’t get lost.

  “You can leave that in my room,” Ryan told me after some time. “I’ll give it back to Tony later.” He gave me directions to his bedroom, and I hurried upstairs.

  I refused to snoop around in his room, but from the first glimpse, I liked it. There was a wide cappuccino-colored desk placed in front of a wall. To the right, near the window, was a nightstand and a bed, and to the left was a huge wardrobe. A boyish room, cool, but cozy.

  Tossing the jersey on his bed, I headed back downstairs to help Liza in the kitchen some more. She was still wearing Ryan’s shirt, and I could tell by his expression each time he looked at her that he liked it.

  At seven thirty, Susan called me, asking if one of us could pick her up from home. She’d just come back from the hospital. No serious damage to her leg, but she wasn’t allowed to drive a car for a couple of weeks.

  As I talked to Susan on the phone, Ryan got a call from Tony. Ryan didn’t hesitate to dump the job of picking up Susan on him because we weren’t done yet. About twenty people had already shown up by then, and more were filing through the door as we spoke. I wasn’t sure what to expect from tonight, but I stopped counting people as the crowd grew.

  Music blasted from various speakers placed about the big entrance hall. There were high, round tables like in a bistro, bearing crackers and drinks. Those who didn’t gather around them or in the corners of the room started dancing on the tiled floor in the dim party light.

  I rushed from the Hunter’s kitchen to the hall, refilling some of the cracker bowls, then I danced my way back through the crowd.

  Nick was leaning on the wide arch in the wall leading to the kitchen and dining area of the house. The orange shirt he wore today clashed terribly with his red hair, but it looked extremely cool combined with his dark gray slacks. For the first time I wondered why he didn’t have a girlfriend.

  Nick had braced himself with one hand against the wall, blocking the entrance and my way, but he didn’t seem aware of it as he spoke with Ryan and a few guys.

  The party mood was infectious. I didn’t bother to ask Nick to move but just limbo-danced through under his arm.

  “Hey, Finn Girl, having fun?” he asked me when I straightened again.

  I smiled at him over my shoulder. “Absolutely.” Light-footed, I danced over to Liza, grabbed the can of lemonade she offered me, and took a swig. “I had no idea how big this was going to be. There must be over a hundred people out there already.”

  “Yeah…and that’s not even half the expected number,” Liza replied.

  My eyes turned wide as I gaped at Ryan. “Do you know all these people?”

  Ryan sipped from his root beer, then he draped his arm around Liza’s shoulders with the bottle in his hand. “Not all of them but most. Sometimes they just bring friends or their siblings. I don’t mind. You know, the more, the merrier.” He grinned and planted a kiss on Liza’s brow. She turned in his arms and met his lips,
grabbing him by the collar of the black shirt he’d changed into.

  Yeah…that was my cue to leave the kitchen. Nick followed me, making gagging sounds. “They’ll never get tired of it, will they?”

  I glanced at him sideways, then playfully rolled my eyes. “Not for a long time, I believe.”

  “Speaking of making out, Finn Girl—” He reached out for my hand and twirled me under his arm. “How’s your plan with Mitchell working out?”

  My smile faded. “It’s not my plan. And nothing’s working out either.”

  “Aw. Why’s that?” He pushed me away from him, not releasing my hand, and then pulled me back to him and caught me in a light embrace. “He seemed thoroughly pissed on Wednesday. Doesn’t that mean your friends’ plan worked?”

  “Seriously, Nick, I don’t want Tony to be pissed. And more, I don’t want to talk about him.” His intense gaze in the restroom this afternoon was hard enough to forget, even without a reminder. Two weeks had passed since our first meeting, and I still didn’t know what to make of Anthony Mitchell. He hadn’t gone to Liza’s place on Wednesday, but he couldn’t make up his mind either. If I was wise, I’d just pull my heart out of this game once and for all. “He shouldn’t have kissed me. So now I’m just trying to forget about it.”

  Nick pulled me tighter against him, our dance turning a shade sexier. “Oh, if you need help with that,” he drawled, “let me know.” By the playful gleam in his eyes and the bantering tone of his voice, I knew he wasn’t serious. It was just his way of trying to cheer me up.

  I tilted my head back and laughed. Then I lifted my leg and wrapped it around his, rubbing my front against him, down and up, just briefly. “Was that an offer, big guy?”

  “My offer’s always up, Finn Girl.” He twirled me around once more.

  In the middle of the twist, I stopped dead.

  Susan had just arrived and was standing right in front of me. And next to her was Tony.

  My heart stuttered into shock mode. The saying “at the wrong place at the wrong time” took on a whole new meaning right now, even though I couldn’t explain to myself why I even cared. I released Nick’s hand.