Her mouth opened willingly, and his tongue plunged deep as his hands moved up her body, his thumbs briefly grazing the sides of her breasts, then sliding up her neck and into that mass of red hair he’d been dying to touch for days. The soft whimpers she made as theirs tongues danced drove him crazy. Damn. They had to get the hell out of here. Go somewhere alone. Her hands were inside his jacket, moving up the back of his T-shirt, clutching him like he was her personal life preserver.
When the bell jangled overhead, they both jumped, but he didn’t let go of her. He stared down into her glazed eyes, taking in her swollen lips and flushed cheeks. “News flash, Disco. That wasn’t fake. For either of us.”
She blinked, refocusing, then tilted her chin to look him in the eye. “I-I disagree.” She reached up to smooth her hair. “That didn’t…do anything for me.”
“What?!” He was dimly aware of Elle still watching them like a creepy voyeur.
Mandy raised her eyebrows like a judgy teacher. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone that you need to work on your technique.” She turned to grab her coffee cup from the windowsill. “It’s the slurping, cutie. You really need to work on that.”
Then she grabbed her bag from the floor and stalked off, tossing a smug look over her shoulder.
…
As soon as Mandy rounded the corner, she stopped to lean against the wall. She was going to be late to class but she didn’t care; she needed to get a grip. She closed her eyes, letting the cold from the tile walls seep through the fabric of her blouse, hoping it would cool her down because she was on fire from that kiss.
She expected to burst into flames any second, and she had no idea how she’d managed to pull off that smart-ass remark to Caleb and walk away from him like it was no big deal. Her mood ring, turning a violet color, clearly thought she’d been into that kiss.
He’d said the kiss wasn’t fake, and it sure hadn’t felt fake, but Elle had been watching the whole time. How much of that steaminess had been Caleb putting on a show to get rid of his stalker?
She had to remember that he had an agenda just like she did, and that she was dealing with two Calebs: fake jackass boyfriend Caleb who liked to mess with her—and kiss her, apparently—and real Caleb who helped her with her essay and told her about his mom and held her hand like it mattered.
“Come on, girl, let’s get to class.”
Mandy’s eyes flew open at the sound of Cammie’s voice. Her friend studied her with appraising eyes, assessing the messy hair and rumpled blouse. Self-consciously Mandy smoothed her mom’s lime-green shirt, then reached up to finger-comb her hair.
Cammie smirked, then gave her a little push down the hall. “Don’t try to hide it. I saw the tail end of that porno you two were about to make.”
“Cammie! We totally weren’t making a—”
Cammie snorted as they hurried down the hall. “Yeah, right. You’re lucky Dr. Hairy didn’t bust you. Again.” She side-eyed her. “So I take it things have moved to a new level with you two? No more pretending?”
Mandy grabbed Cammie’s arm and dragged her into the girls’ bathroom, then checked to make sure they were alone.
“It’s not…we’re still pretending.”
“Right. You weren’t getting into that kiss at all. It was a total act. For him, too.”
Mandy glared at her best friend. “It was an act, all because of stupid Elle. He’s trying to get rid of his stalker.”
Cammie’s eyes narrowed. “Is that what he said?”
Mandy stared at her shoes. Today she’d worn boring flats with her jeans, which had meant she’d had to look up at Caleb, putting her at a disadvantage, though somehow it hadn’t impacted how well their bodies had molded during that kiss.
“What did he say, Mandy? Don’t even try to lie to me.”
Sighing, Mandy met Cammie’s determined gaze. “He said he’d go ahead and fake break up with me if the kiss didn’t, um, do anything for me.”
“So basically he told you he likes you. A lot.” Cammie smirked.
Mandy frowned. “No, I…” Was that true? Was that what he meant, in his backward, cocky Caleb way?
Cammie reached into her purse, pulled out a comb, and handed it to Mandy. “As long as you’re going to class late, you might as well pull yourself together.” Cammie turned to the mirror and applied lip gloss, smacking her lips together.
“I told him the kiss didn’t do anything for me,” Mandy said, combing her hair. “I’ll give him two more days of this fake thing, then I’m dumping him.”
Cammie’s gaze met Mandy’s in the mirror. “Didn’t do anything for you? Honey, no way is he buying that. Nobody who saw you two would believe that.” She shoved her lip gloss back in her purse and held out her hand for her comb. “Please don’t tell me this is because of the Octo-Gus.”
Mandy slapped the comb on Cammie’s upturned palm. “Yes, it’s about Gus. He and Kay broke up, and Kay’s spreading rumors about him.” Cammie scowled. “I don’t know why you believe that stuff instead of trusting Gus, Cam. He’s our friend! We need to be there for him.”
“Mandy, this is ridiculous. You’re trusting the wrong guy. Kay’s not the only one who’s been on the other side of the eight-handed monster.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “And I’ll eat my chem book if that kiss was fake.”
Mandy hated arguing, especially with her friends. Sometimes—lots of times—she kept her feelings inside rather than argue because she hated it so much. But today felt different. Maybe because that kiss had stirred up all sorts of feelings she wasn’t sure about. Maybe because she kept picturing Gus’s worried and embarrassed face when he’d told her about the rumors.
“I thought you hated Caleb,” Mandy said through gritted teeth.
“I never hated him, but I definitely didn’t like him much.”
“What changed your mind?”
Cammie shrugged. “You told me how much he helped with your essay. And I see how you two are with each other, teasing and poking, but also looking like you want to tear each other’s clothes off.”
They didn’t do that, did they? Mandy swallowed and leaned against the sink, confusion swirling through her like beads in a lava lamp. “I wish I’d never started this stupid fake relationship with him.”
Cammie nodded. “It was definitely one of the dumber things you’ve done.”
Mandy’s eyebrows shot up, but before she could argue Cammie continued. “You’re the one always saying things happen for a reason. Maybe there’s a reason for it. Like bringing you two together. For real, not fake.”
“But I don’t belong with someone like Caleb,” Mandy protested. “He’s not the type of guy who’d normally even notice me.” She thought of Elle, who oozed sexiness, like she’d just stepped out of a photo shoot for a motorcycle calendar full of scary-hot models.
“Opposites attract, right? You two are polar opposites…and you definitely attract.”
Stubborn resistance streaked through Mandy. “But it’s supposed to be Gus. It was always supposed to be Gus.” She thought of his puppy dog eyes, his messy brown curls. His shy smile. Completely unlike Mr. Tall, Dark, and Broody.
Cammie rolled her eyes. “You need to look at reality, Mandy, not fantasies about crushes you’ve had forever.”
Mandy stepped away from the sink. “Reality is that Caleb and I are pretending. Reality is Kay and other girls are spreading lies about Gus.” She reached for the door, shooting a glare at Cammie. “Reality is that my best friend is giving me bad advice.”
Then she yanked the door open and stormed down the hall, not even caring that she’d get stuck on the tardy detention list.
…
“Recon update, Blue Ranger checking in,” J.T. said, sliding into the desk next to Caleb in calc class. “Two confirmed Octo-Gus reports.”
Caleb shot him a glare. His day had sucked after this morning’s ridiculously hot kiss with Mandy. He was still reeling after she’d given him that bullshit line about it not doing
anything for her. She’d avoided him all morning, and every time he turned around Elle had been hovering like a shadow.
Maybe Mandy was right and he needed to report Elle for stalking, but somehow that seemed like an overreaction. She was just a girl who couldn’t get over him. He supposed he should be flattered.
“Did you hear me, Red Ranger? Octo-Gus is confirmed as a real threat.”
Caleb shrugged. “Whatever. She’s determined to go to the dance with him.”
J.T. tilted his head, confusion clouding his expression. “Still? Even after this morning’s epic face-sucking?”
Caleb flinched. Was everybody talking about him and Mandy? Probably. They were the school’s least likely couple to hook up, so therefore the whole school was curious. He sighed, staring blankly at the whiteboard full of equations. Maybe there was a reason opposites didn’t usually work out.
Their calc teacher burst into the room, papers falling out of his armload of binders.
“She didn’t think it was epic,” Caleb muttered. He had no idea why he was telling J.T. this.
J.T.’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “But Cammie said it was like watching a porno.”
Caleb almost smiled. It sure had felt like that to him, but not to her, apparently, even though he would’ve sworn she was as into it as he was.
“You can’t give up,” J.T. said. “You can’t let Octo-Gus win.”
Caleb shrugged again. Maybe he was better off with a stalker than a fake girlfriend, especially if he was the only one who wanted to move things from fake to real. He fingered the notebook in his jacket pocket, his thumb brushing the Pop Rocks candy Mandy had given him.
He knew this would happen if he was dumb enough to let someone in. He’d confided in Mandy, and what had she done? Thrown it back in his face, saying their connection wasn’t real.
“Dude,” J.T. whispered. “I have more recon data.”
Caleb ignored J.T. and focused on his droning calc teacher, because he didn’t want to bomb this class and get on his dad’s radar again. And he didn’t want to hear more recon data.
People sucked and couldn’t be trusted. He needed to remember that the next time he was tempted by a crazy redhead who made him laugh and pushed his buttons and smelled amazing and…
Shit.
He couldn’t give up. Red Rangers never walked away from a battle. He tore a page out of his notebook and scribbled on it, then passed it to J.T.
You sure about the recon?
J.T. unfolded the paper, wrote quickly, then handed it back.
Positive. Tim on lax team said G made a bet he can hook up with 3 girls by winter break. Starting with homecoming. Told Tim he’s got an easy target.
Caleb glared at the paper, wishing he could set it on fire with his fingers. Since he didn’t have that superpower, he crumpled it into a ball. He’d set it on fire later, in the parking lot.
Right before he beat the crap out of Gus.
Chapter Fifteen
Save It for Later
Tuesday, September 27
Caleb avoided Mandy the rest of the day because he wasn’t sure what he’d say if he saw her. His gut churned, thinking about J.T.’s intel about Gus, and about the way Mandy had sashayed away from him after their kiss like he hadn’t just rocked her world.
Whatever. So maybe she’d been faking the kissing. He still didn’t want her ending up with Gus on homecoming. Mandy was the perfect “easy target” for Gus because of her stupid crush, and her Pollyanna worldview that blinded her to big-time douchiness masquerading as dorkiness.
He stalked down the hall, debating whether or not to confront Gus, when Elle emerged from the shadows, blocking his path.
“Caleb, we need to talk.” Her voice sounded anxious as her gaze darted nervously up and down the hall.
He didn’t have time for this. “Uh, sorry. Can’t right now.”
She put a hand on his jacket, and he flinched. “Please Caleb. It’s important. It won’t take long.”
He huffed out a sigh, but tilted his head toward the parking lot. “Talk fast,” he said, jerking his arm out of her grip and pushing through the door.
“Fine, make it difficult,” she muttered, stalking next to him in her thigh-high boots that were, yeah, smoking hot, but he didn’t care about that. Not anymore.
He surveyed the parking lot, hoping like hell Mandy wasn’t around to see this.
“So, it’s like this,” Elle said, keeping pace with him as he moved toward his car. “I wanted to apologize. For, um, stalking you.”
He stopped, turning sharply to face her. “What?”
She lowered her eyes, and he was shocked to see she was embarrassed. “Stalking you,” she muttered. “I was being a total freak.” She glanced up. “But I’m, um, seeing someone. Working on getting closure.”
Holy shit. Wait ’til he told Mandy…but damn, he couldn’t tell Mandy! This couldn’t happen.
“That’s…good. I mean, really good. But, uh…” He ran a hand through his hair, not believing what he was about to say. “Do you think you could, uh, keep doing it? Just for a couple more days?”
Her mouth dropped open, and she took a step back. “Are you kidding me, Caleb? Do you have any idea how hard I’ve had to work at getting over you?”
He frowned. They’d dated for like, three weeks. She clearly needed help if she wasn’t over him already. And it was good she was getting help, but damn it, he wished she’d waited another week.
Okay, that was a selfish wish. But damn…if she stopped stalking them, and Gus kept moving in on Mandy…
“It’s not just you,” she snapped. “I’m having trouble with a lot of…closure stuff.” She sniffed and he panicked, because now she was about to cry. “My therapist says it’s because my parents are divorcing. My sister’s away at college. And my dog ran away. I mean, he came back after a day, but still, why would he leave in the first place?” She sighed dramatically. “So I guess I have, like…abandonment issues or whatever.”
What he should really do is put Mandy and Elle in a room together. They’d be BFFs once they bonded over all this stuff. Plus Mandy would have a closure mantra for her. And they’d probably both decide he was a jerk and vow never to speak to him again.
“So for you to…to”—she was ramping up to a full-on meltdown now—“even suggest that I pretend to stalk you? Force myself to watch you and that weird hippie girl have eye sex in the caf every day and…” Her voice trailed away as tears spilled out of her eyes.
Eye sex? Were he and Mandy doing that? Hmm…maybe she hadn’t been faking that kiss, after all. He sighed and looked around the parking lot. He needed a wingman to save the day, but since he basically had no friends he was stuck with dealing with this on his own.
He stared into her mascara-smeared eyes. “I’m really sorry, Elle. I didn’t mean for our breakup to be so, uh, hard on you.” He was baffled. They’d only gone out maybe three or four times. No sex. Not even eye sex.
She wiped her eyes and hiccupped. “I know. It’s just that, I really give so much of myself, you know? To everyone.” She sighed heavily. “I’m a total giver, but no one cares.” She fluttered her smeared eyelashes at him. “I made a scrapbook about us, did you know that?”
Okay—that was creepy. He took a step back.
“I kept the movie tickets and even the candy wrappers you threw in the trash.”
He swallowed, desperately regretting that he’d suggested she fake stalk him.
“I was going to get your name tattooed on my thigh. In a heart, with a thorn stake for the l in Caleb.”
He took another step back, looking around frantically for help. “I…uh…wow. Look, I’ve gotta go—”
“Torrs!”
They both turned to see J.T. heading toward them, a weird smirk on his face. “Where’d you go, man?” J.T. said. “We were supposed to meet at your car.” He glanced at Elle. “Hi.”
Relief zoomed through him. Maybe he did have a wingman, after all.
&nbs
p; Elle nodded dismissively and wiped her nose. “Anyway. As for your request? No. I refuse.”
J.T. shot him a suspicious glare.
“It’s not what you think,” Caleb said to J.T.
“Caleb wants me to keep stalking him,” Elle announced. “Even though my therapist tells me I need to move on.”
J.T. cocked an eyebrow.
“All because of that redhead he’s trying to hook up with.”
“You mean Mandy,” J.T. said. “She has a name.”
Elle tossed her raggedly cut black hair over her shoulder. “Whatever.”
“Not whatever,” Caleb said. “Her name is Mandy.”
Elle bit her lip, looking ready to cry again.
“Look, I’m sorry, Elle, but uh, I’ve…moved on. You should, too.”
“He sucks at this,” J.T. said. “I can see why you broke up with him.”
Elle nodded furiously. “He totally sucks.”
“Train wreck,” J.T. mouthed to Caleb, wide-eyed, then he turned back to Elle, who was staring at her black boots. “You’re better off without him,” J.T. said. “Really. Plus I hear he’s a lousy kisser.” J.T. shot Caleb a smirk, and Caleb couldn’t decide if he wanted to laugh or slug him.
Elle raised her head. “Oh, that’s not true,” she protested. “His kisses are so hot.” She glared at him. “Or they were. Until he lost interest.”
Guilty as charged. Once he’d figured out Elle was crazy, Caleb had lost interest in the physical stuff. Though he hadn’t realized just how crazy she was until today.
J.T. took a step back, and Caleb shot him a questioning look.
“We’ve gotta go,” J.T. said, staring hard at him. “Caleb’s giving me a ride…and I can’t be late.”
“Yeah,” Caleb agreed, stepping backward with J.T. “Forget about what I asked. It was crappy of me. You just…keep on doing that closure thing. And the therapy—definitely keep doing that.”
He spun around and headed for his car, J.T. keeping pace. As soon as they got in his car, they collapsed into laughter.
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