He's With Me

by Tamara Summers

would come undone – or, with her luck, Bree would probably untie it while her

  back was turned. But this just slid over her neck, and the back was a hook that

  even Bree couldn’t undo without Lexie catching her.

  The bottom was simple and fit her perfectly, with a cute decorative know

  tied at either hip. And the whole thing was a solid wine red, which, if Lexie had

  had to pick a bikini, was what she would have picked.

  The whistle blew out by the pool. The first game must be over. Panic hit

  Lexie again. Now she had to walk out there like this! She glanced down at her

  stomach and wondered what kind of girl-hating designer had come up with the

  idea of bikinis in the first place.

  Still better than the mustard-yellow ruffles, she reminded herself.

  The whistle blew again. Taking a deep breath, Lexie slipped on her flip-flops

  and ran out of the stall, grabbing a towel on her way to the pool. She had time

  only to glance in the mirror as she went by, but she prayed that nobody would

  even notice her new bathing suit.

  No such luck. As she dropped her towel on the bleachers, Lexie could feel

  Bree glaring at her, as if blunt icicles were jabbing into the back of her neck. She

  was kicking off her flip-flops when Riley popped up beside her.

  “Dude,” he said. “You are so smoking. I love it. Why didn’t you wear this suit every day?”

  “Um,” Lexie stammered, “I –”

  “Oh, awesome,” Sally said, coming up behind her and giving her a giant wet

  hug. “This is exactly the comeuppance Bree deserves. For you to turn around and

  look so amazing. Holy cow.”

  “It’s nothing,” Lexie mumbled.

  “Oh, yeah?” Sally said. “Your boyfriend doesn’t seem to think it’s nothing.”

  She pointed across the pool at Jake, who was staring at Lexie with an unreadable

  expression on his face. It made Lexie nervous. He looked like he’d never seen her

  before in his life.

  “All right, come on, people!” Cynthia yelled. “Enough chitchat! Into the

  pool!”

  She didn’t have to say it twice. Lexie couldn’t wait to get underwater and

  out of sight.

  “I see your sinister plan, you know,” Riley said, leaning over the ladder as

  she scrambled down it. “You’re trying to distract me with your hotness so your

  team will win.” He wagged a reprimanding finger at her.

  She didn’t know what to say to that. Why did he keep flirting with her? He

  knew about Jake. And it sure seemed like Bree would be interested in dating him,

  if he’d just turn his charm on her.

  Luckily, she didn’t have to answer, because Riley slouched off to the other

  side of the net without waiting for a response. Lexie slid into the water and swam

  over to Jake, who was holding the volleyball and looking kind of dazed.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked, taking her position next to him.

  “Uh, yeah,” he said. “Totally okay.” He shoved his wet hair back and

  glanced at her sideways before quickly looking away again.

  She decided it was maybe not the right time to tell him about Bree and the

  bathing suit heist. A moment later, Cynthia blew her whistle, and the game began.

  After ten days of this, Lexie suspected she was actually getting better. Of

  course, Riley and Bree were very good, so she didn’t expect to win. But Jake

  seemed to be playing like a possessed person, slamming the ball across the net

  and spiking it whenever he was close enough. A couple of times he sent the ball

  her way and she managed to get it over, although Riley was always there to

  bounce it back.

  When Bree’s team reached five points, they switched sides. Riley gave Lexie

  a wink as they went by, but Bree stuck her nose in the air and wouldn’t even look

  over. She did stop to run her hand across Jake’s shoulder, though. “You’re doing

  so well, Jakey,” she purred. He nodded, looking distracted, and walked away,

  which made Bree’s eyes get even narrower.

  Finally the score was 9-9. Jake served, and Riley punched it back. Another

  girl bounced it up, Jake hit it over, and Bree slapped it into the air like she was

  batting away a fly. It hung for a moment, suspended, and then fell toward Lexie.

  She jumped up to hit it and felt Jake bump her shoulder as he reached forward to

  knock it up again.

  But it wasn’t far enough. It was going to fall on their side. Lexie dove

  forward, her fists connecting under the ball just before it hit the water. She sank

  below the surface in a spray of bubbles, and when she came back up, her

  teammates were hooting and hollering and the audience was on their feet

  applauding.

  She looked around bewildered, and saw the ball floating on the other side

  of the net. It had gone over! They’d won!

  “We did it!” Jake yelled, splashing over to her. “You did it! Woo-hoo!

  Lexie!” He threw his arm around her and spun her in a circle. She clutched him

  with a shriek, laughing. She felt giddy. She felt victorious. She felt Jake’s warm

  arms circling her bare waist and it made her feel pretty close to fainting.

  “We really won,” she started to say as he put her down, but all of a sudden

  he seemed really close to her, and his eyes were very blue, and then his arms

  pulled her closer and he pressed his lips to hers and –

  He’s kissing me!

  The universe seemed to spiral into the one perfect, central point where his

  lips were touching hers, and for a moment that one spot was the only thing she

  could feel. Then suddenly she felt his hands pressed into her back and her hands

  on his shoulders, and then she remembered that they were in a pool with fifty

  people watching them, and then, like something was exploding in her mind, she

  remembered that this wasn’t real, none of it was real, he was just pretending for

  Bree, and that meant that this, her first kiss, her first real kiss ever, meant nothing at all.

  Lexie pulled back so fast that she slipped on the bottom of the pool and

  stumbled backward in the water. Jake reached for her hand to help her, but she

  scrambled out of reach, floundering over to the side and pulling herself out as fast

  as she could.

  “Lexie,” he said, “wait.”

  But she had already grabbed her towel and darted into the changing room,

  where he couldn’t follow.

  Chapter 14

  Lexie could hear Sally calling for her through the chaos of everyone changing, but

  she stayed crouched on a bench in a back stall until Sally gave up and left. She

  figured if she hid for long enough, everyone else would leave and then she could

  make her escape without anyone seeing her, anyone staring or pointing.

  The whole thing had been a disaster. She would go home and tell her

  mother she wanted to quit Summerlodge. Or at least she could switch to a new

  afternoon activity now – like Frisbee, far away from the pool and Jake and Bree

  and all this torture. Maybe she would go ahead and date Riley. Even if she didn’t

  feel the same way about hum that she did about Jake, at least he seemed to really

  like her. She could have a real relationship instead of a pretend one and get kissed

  in a way that actually meant something. She hugged her knees to her chest and

  tried not to t
hink about it.

  Finally the changing room went quiet. It seemed like she’d been waiting

  forever. She was about to stand up when suddenly she heard voices drifting over

  the thin walls between the stalls.

  “Now I get it. It’s obvious what’s going on.” It was Bree. Lexie froze. What

  was obvious? The fact that she and Jake were only pretending? “I mean,” Bree

  continued, “he clearly feels sorry for her. That’s why he’s doing this. It’s probably

  a favor for her geek loser brother. But it’s just cruel, because he obviously doesn’t

  really like her that way, and she probably thinks he does.”

  A second voice rumbled something, too low for Lexie to hear.

  “Well – look at her, for one thing,” Bree said. “Guys like Jake don’t date girls like that. Come on, she’s so awkward and quiet, and she dresses like she’s trying

  to repel boys. Plus, did you see how she reacted to that kiss? I told you she was a freak. Like she’s too innocent to kiss her own boyfriend. Poor Jake. It must be like dating a Care Bear.”

  Lexie’s face was burning. She pulled on her clothes over her bathing suit,

  trying to hurry out before she heard any more.

  “That was pretty lame,” agreed the second voice. A guy? Was there a guy in

  the girls’ changing room? “I expected her to be more mature than that.” He

  chuckled, and Lexie realized he sounded familiar.

  “You should have listened to me,” Bree purred. “I told you she wasn’t your

  type, I on the other hand...”

  “You are exactly what guys want,” said the male voice. There was a pause.

  Lexie leaned against the door, wondering if they were gone. She realizes that

  what she was hearing were kissing noises. Who was Bree kissing in the girls’

  changing room?

  “Yes, I am what guys want,” Bree said, sounding satisfied. “Jake is going to

  get sick of the sweet-little-kid act pretty fast. If he doesn’t break up with her this weekend, I’ll – I’ll – I don’t know, I’ll eat a whole ice-cream sundae or something.”

  “Why do you care so much if they break up?” the guy’s voice said. Lexie

  strained to hear. Who was it?

  “I’m just trying to teach that girl a lesson,” Bree said. “A lesson about

  stealing things from Bree McKennis. And if you really want to know the truth...”

  Her voice went from steely to coquettish. “I was pretty angry that you were more

  interested in her than in me, too.”

  Riley!

  “That was dumb of me,” Riley said, sounding repentant. “I didn’t realize

  what a geek she is. If I were Jake, I’d be like, ‘Okay, whatever, loser. I can go kiss some other girl who won’t run away when I do it.’”

  “Exactly,” Bree purred. “Like me.”

  More kissing noises. Lexie wished she could vanish into thin air and never

  reappear again.

  “So – does this mean we’re dating now?” Riley said.

  “I told you,” Bree said. “You can be my boyfriend... after I’m through with

  Jake. I need to show him that nobody says no to Bree, for any reason. Don’t

  worry, it won’t be long. He’ll break up with Lexie soon and I’ll grab him. I’ll show

  him how much better he could have had it, and then I’ll dump him so hard he’ll

  never date in this town again.” She laughed. “It’ll be beautiful.”

  Lexie clutched the edge of the bench, trying not to make a sound. She

  wanted to scream and throw volleyballs at Bree’s head, but even more than that,

  she wanted to escape to escape without them knowing she’d overheard.

  “Poor little Lexie,” Bree said. “She’s lost a bathing suit, she’s lost a necklace,

  and she’s about to lose a boyfriend. Maybe she’ll think twice about taking

  something of mine in the future, don’t you agree?”

  “You’re so cute when you’re evil.” Riley said.

  Their footsteps were getting farther away, and their voices quieter, but

  Lexie wasn’t listening anymore. Her hand flew to her neck, and then she grabbed

  her bag and unzipped the pocket.

  Her necklace was gone.

  She felt tears pushing at the back of her eyes. She had to get home before

  she cried. She didn’t want to cry there, where Bree might find her.

  Lexie hurried out of the stall and snuck a look around the door. There was

  no sign of Riley and Bree. Pressing her fingers to her eyes, she ran out of the

  changing room and down the path to her bike.

  She was already at the Summerlodge entrance when she looked up and

  saw Jake leaning against the bike rack. It was too late to run; he’d definitely seen

  her. But she tried anyway, turning to flee back up the path.

  “Wait!” he called.

  She made it as far as the check-in booth before he caught up. He grabbed

  her elbow and pulled her to a stop facing him.

  “I have to go home,” Lexie said, looking down at her feet. I have to find a

  closet I can hide in for the rest of my life. One with cable TV and a never-ending supply of ice cream. That’d be perfect.

  “Lexie, I’m sorry,” he said, and the guilt in his voice brought her

  dangerously close to crying. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I – I just –”

  “I know,” she said, “you just wanted Bree to really believe we were dating.

  Because why would she believe it? You would never date me. I’m weird and shy

  and I like hanging out with my brother and watching TV and playing with my dogs,

  and – and I’ve never dated anyone but you’re perfect and gorgeous and funny

  and smart, so it – it doesn’t make sense and of course she’s suspicious and of

  course the only way to prove it is by kissing me, but I –” To her horror, Lexie felt

  tears spilling down her cheeks, She covered her face with her hands.

  “I just wanted our first kiss to be real,” she whispered.

  “Lexie,” he said, and then his hands were on her shoulders and he pulled

  her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her. She kept her hands pressed to

  her face, trying not to sob. “Lexie,” he said again, his mouth pressed against her

  hair so she could feel his lips moving. “You have no idea....”

  “And she stole my bathing suit,” Lexie said, everything spilling out of her

  with her tears. “And she took the necklace you gave me and I love that necklace and – and I heard her talking to Riley about what a geek I am and she’s still

  planning to date you and dump you to teach you a lesson because she figures

  you’ll break up with me now that you know what an immature loser I am but –”

  “Wait, wait, slow down,” Jake said, taking her shoulders and moving her

  back so he could see her face. She wiped her eyes and looked down at the ground

  again. “Did you say she stole your necklace?”

  Lexie nodded, her breathing coming less raggedly now.

  “That’s terrible,” Jake said, getting angry. “And you’re not a geek or a loser

  – did Riley really agree with her?”

  Lexie nodded again. “They were kissing. I guess her plan to snare him finally

  worked.”

  “I thought he liked you,” Jake said. “But listen, only a real loser would fall

  for Bree’s act. You know he’s a loser now, right? I mean, even though – I thought

  maybe you liked him.”

  Lexie looked up and saw his blue-grey eyes only a few inches from hers. He

  was still holding on to he
r elbows. A terrific close-up view of my red, splotchy face, she thought, ducking her head again.

  “No,” she said softly. “There’s only one person I like.” There. Now he knows.

  She took Jake’s hands off her elbows and pushed them back toward him. “I don’t

  want to be your pretend girlfriend anymore, Jake.”

  She turned and ran back to the bikes. He didn’t follow her, and she was

  able to unlock her bike and escape.

  Chapter 15

  There was a knock on the bathroom door. It wasn’t Mom’s chipper knock-

  knock-knock, her knuckles bouncing rapidly off the wood. And it wasn’t Dad’s

  serious, thoughtful knock-knock, either. It was more of a tappity-tap-tap, don’t-mean-to-intrude kind of knock.

  “Go away, Colin,” Lexue called.

  The door creaked open half an inch and a small snout appeared a few

  inches off the floor.

  “I know Thorn isn’t opening that door by himself!” Lexie hollered.

  The snout nudged the door a bit and soon her pug’s entire squashed face

  was wedged in the gap. Thorn blinked, panted, and snorted, his tongue hanging

  nearly to the floor.

  “Thorn,” Lexie said seriously, “I am not in the mood for a face-licking,

  whatever Colin may have told you.”

  The pug grinned wider when she said his name, and as she finished her

  sentence, he trotted over to where she was lying on the bathroom rug and

  proceeded to do exactly what he had been told not to do. She squealed and

  pushed him away, which as far as he was concerned was the beginning of the

  greatest game of all time: try to get to Lexie’s face while she shoves you off.

  “Colin!” she yelled, covering her face with her arms. Thorn stuck his nose

  between her arms and neck and went slurrrrrrrrp along her chin. “I’m busy!”

  “You don’t look busy,” her brother said from the doorway. “You look like

  you’re staring at the ceiling.”

  “I am staring at the ceiling,” she protested. “It’s called moping. Nobody is

  supposed to lick your face while you’re moping. It’s very distracting.”

  “Exactly,” he said, perching on the edge of the bathtub. “So what are you

  moping about?”

  Thorn climbed on Lexie’s chest, making her go, “Oof,” and burrowed into

  her neck.

  “You don’t want to know,” she said. “And what made you suddenly so