Smile Like You Mean It (Charlotte Reynolds Book 1)

by Willow Hadley

  I try to hold it in since Remy looks even more pissed, but I smile wider and shake in silent laughter. Remy glares at me and breathes angrily out of his nose. He somehow manages to sound calm when he says, “Please tell us what happened.”

  Olivia animatedly describes running into Elliot and Charlotte at a diner downtown, and how Mike and Tim rudely interrupted their conversation. My stomach drops when I hear how Mike insinuated that Charlotte slept with Remy and Elliot. I’m pleasantly surprised to see that Olivia and Ethan seem to be on Charlotte’s side. Remy looks relieved by that too, and he gives them a quick rundown of what happened with Mike and Tim at the arcade the other day.

  “Well if I wasn’t sure before, now I definitely think Mike deserved what he got.” Ethan shakes his head. He grins and chuckles. “I kind of wish Elliot hadn’t held her back earlier, honestly. Is that messed up?”

  Olivia giggles and gives him a quick kiss on the lips. I make a disgusted face even though I don’t care that much, and she flips me off. “Do you think Charlotte would want to join the cheerleading squad? We’ve already had tryouts and started practices, but I’m sure we could make an exception for her coming in late.”

  I stare at my sister like she’s grown an extra head. This is the longest I’ve talked to my twin in at least a year, especially in front of one of her friends or a guy she’s dating. And to hear her sound so genuinely interested in one of my friends is so fucking bizarre.

  Remy laughs lightly and shakes his head. “Nah, I doubt it. She’s pretty shy, and she doesn’t like a lot of attention. I’m surprised she talked to you guys at all because she gets really quiet when she meets new people.”

  Olivia looks so disappointed that she actually pouts. “But she’s so pretty!”

  I can’t picture Charlotte as a cheerleader, and I can’t see her being friends with most of the girls on the squad my sister normally hangs out with. She fits in with our group so much better, and so naturally. I’ll be honest. I love that she can be so quiet, sweet, and girly and turn around and be such a fucking badass. It’s seriously a huge turn on.

  Even though we’re not close, I still feel bad for my sister. “You know you can still be friends with her even if she’s not on the squad, right?”

  Olivia looks embarrassed, but she doesn’t deny wanting to be friends with Charlotte. The four of us sit around talking for a little longer, and Olivia and Ethan surprise me yet again by deciding to stay and watch a movie with Remy and me.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Thank you, Elliot. I really did have so much fun!”

  Elliot smiles and continues swinging our hands back and forth between us as we walk to his truck from the theater. “You’re welcome. I had a lot of fun too!”

  I giggle at his antics and raise my eyebrows teasingly. “Did you like the movie?”

  Elliot shakes his head in amusement and laughs. “It really wasn’t that bad. It felt long and some parts were boring for me, but I liked watching it with you.”

  I’m not surprised he didn’t totally love it, and I’m glad he’s not lying by saying he did. Still, he sat through the entire movie without complaint. There were a few times where he got fidgety and he asked me questions when he was confused, but it really means so much to me that he even made the effort and gave one of my favorite movies a fair chance.

  “I get butterflies in my stomach every time I watch it, especially when Mr. Darcy walks across that field to Elizabeth at the end. Definitely one of my favorite romantic movie moments of all time!” I sigh wistfully and lean against Elliot when he stops swinging our hands.

  “Yeah, I liked that part too.” Elliot smiles shyly, and laughs dismissively a moment later. “Don’t tell the guys I said that.”

  We’ve reached the truck now, and Elliot opens my door for me like always. I flutter my eyelashes up at him and give him a silly grin. “I promise not to say a word.”

  We stand beside his truck smiling at each other for a moment. It’s quiet, and it’s mostly dark save for a few nearby streetlamps. For probably the thousandth time tonight, I wonder what it would be like to kiss Elliot. He’s still holding my hand, gently rubbing his thumb over the tops of my knuckles. He doesn’t move closer, but his gaze is so tender, and I’m pretty sure he’s thinking about kissing me too.

  Our phones go off at the same moment, making us jump at the sudden buzzing noise. Elliot laughs and lets go of my hand to dig around in his pocket. I take a shaky breath as soon as he takes his eyes off of me, and I busy myself by searching for my phone in my purse.

  Elliot barks out a more genuine laugh the moment I open the group text that Liam sent to me and the boys. “Olivia and Ethan just told me that Charlotte broke Mike’s nose and gave him two black eyes when she punched him the other day!”

  Sebastian and Grayson reply almost instantly, and I can practically feel their excitement through my phone screen. I feel my cheeks warm up, but instead of feeling ashamed or embarrassed like I normally would, I feel proud. The boys are congratulating me and praising me, and Mike is such a jerk that it’s difficult to feel guilty. Especially after learning he’s been blaming Remy for his injuries.

  Elliot texts the guys, letting them know he’s taking me home. Elliot and I smile at each other, and I finally hop into the truck and let him close my door for me. During the drive, Elliot and I laugh at the guys’ reactions while I read off everyone’s incoming messages aloud for him. I find out that Remy is sleeping over at Liam’s house where they’ve been hanging out with Olivia and her boyfriend, and Sebastian and Grayson have been hanging out together.

  While I’m laughing with Elliot and texting the boys, I can’t help glancing at him every chance I get. He’s so handsome, sweet, and funny. I feel so much closer to him after tonight than I did before. A big part of me still wants to kiss Elliot, but I feel guilty when I picture the other boys’ faces. I can’t even begin to imagine what sort of disaster that would stir up within our group, and my newly formed friendships with all of them would be ruined.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Elliot lightly touches my arm, pulling me from my thoughts. He smiles, appearing concerned. “You got quiet, that’s all.”

  “I’m fine.” I try to smile back, but Elliot doesn’t look any less concerned. He doesn’t push the subject, and he squeezes my hand gently before he turns his attention to the road. I feel bad for making him worry over something so silly. Before I can fully think it through, I whisper, “Elliot?”

  He squeezes my hand and asks, “Yeah?”

  I look down at his larger hand holding mine. I feel so conflicted about my feelings. I don’t want to like him, or the other boys for that matter, but I can only deny it or lie to myself for so long. Even though my stomach is filled with nervous butterflies, I somehow find the courage to ask, “Do you think guys and girls can really be friends with each other? Like, without liking each other as more than friends?”

  Elliot’s silent for several seconds. I know my voice came out super quiet, but I’m fairly certain he heard me. I hold my breath while I wait for him to answer, mentally berating myself for being so stupid. Why did I have to say anything?

  Eventually, he turns his head enough to smile at me and chuckles softly. “Sure, of course. We’re friends, right? And the other guys consider you their best friend too.”

  My face is burning and I’m really glad that it’s too dark for him to see me blushing. But now that I’ve asked one stupid question, it’s like I can’t stop my dumb ass from making things more awkward and the words fall out of my mouth before I fully know what I’m saying. “Yeah, but what if they’re attracted to each other? Do you think a guy and a girl can still be friends then?”

  Elliot giggles, which would normally be adorable, but it makes me think I’ve embarrassed him. All he says is, “Well, um...”

  I turn my head to look out the window and quietly mumble, “Please just pretend I never said anything. I’m sorry.”

  “Hey, don’t be sorry!” He sounds desperate
enough that I force myself to look at him. His eyes are wide and apologetic, and I have a feeling he’s blushing as much as I am. He clears his throat and looks away from me, focusing intently on the road instead.

  He doesn’t say anything right away, but I have a feeling he’s still mulling over his words. I stay quiet, praying I haven’t freaked him out too much after such a lovely evening together.

  Eventually, he smiles, still not looking at me. He speaks quietly in a deep voice. “I think you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in my life. And if tonight had been a real date, that would have been the absolute greatest date ever. But...” He takes a breath and stumbles over his words. I’m holding my breath too, stuck somewhere between feeling terrified and completely elated. “I would much rather be your best friend than be your boyfriend. And god, I really hope that doesn’t offend you because I swear I mean it as a compliment!”

  I laugh in surprise and relief. I hadn’t expected him to say that. It’s really sweet, and so close to how I feel about him and the other boys that I can hardly believe it. Elliot glances at me with a shy, hopeful smile on his face, and I give him a bright, genuine grin in return.

  “I’ll definitely take that as a compliment. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, gorgeous!” Elliot gives me an exaggerated and obnoxiously flirtatious smile. I burst into giggles, happy to see that he’s back to being himself again.

  We spend the rest of the drive talking about things that are much more light-hearted. Just a few minutes later, Elliot parks in front of my house.

  Grayson

  I’m still grinning at my phone and texting Charlotte when Sebastian exclaims, “Let’s go outside to wait. Charlotte will probably be home any minute.”

  I raise my eyebrows at him. “Dude, come on. That’s weird. Let’s wait until she actually gets inside, and then we can all hang out.”

  I came over after dinner to find Sebastian sitting on his couch sulking and glowering. I knew he was pissed off earlier at the gym when he found out Elliot and Charlotte were going to the movies together. I think all of us were caught off guard because Elliot didn’t tell us. I can’t say I was pissed at him, but I was definitely pissed at myself for not having the balls to ask her to hang out with me one-on-one.

  “Yeah, well, I don’t want to give him the opportunity to walk her to the door so he can kiss her goodnight or some shit.” Sebastian grumbles quietly while he glares down at the Xbox controller in his hands.

  We’ve been playing video games in his room the past couple of hours, but he refused to talk about Charlotte and Elliot when I first brought them up. I roll my eyes and set my phone and controller aside. “Seb...”

  “I know I sound insane, okay?” He lowers his voice and tugs his hands through his hair. “I just don’t know what to do, because I already like her so much.”

  I’d already assumed that, but I’m still surprised to hear him admit it out loud. Part of me wants to excitedly confess that I like Charlotte too, that I’ve been thinking about her constantly since the first day I met her. That the first time I called her Princess, it had been a joke, but now I feel like the nickname fits her so well and I love thinking of her as my Princess.

  But I don’t think Sebastian would feel the same weird pleasure I do over us being into the same girl. Judging by the way he’s freaking out about Elliot, I’m pretty sure he’d punch me. So, I keep my feelings to myself and instead say, “Dude, it doesn’t matter if he does kiss her. She can kiss whoever she wants, and you know Arthur already said you can’t date her.”

  Sebastian glares at me and snarls, “If I can’t date her, none of you should be allowed to either.”

  I raise my eyes to the ceiling and let out a long breath while I desperately try to find some patience. “Okay, then you need to say that to all of us. Calmly. And you’re still coming across as a fucking psycho. Charlotte’s going to think you’re a stalker if you keep this shit up. Elliot is your best friend. You can’t be a dick to him just because you’re jealous.”

  “Maybe.” Sebastian’s still glowering, but he looks more ashamed than angry.

  I punch his arm and smile. “Let’s go outside and wait, like you said. But please just try to be cool. Ask them how the movie was and stuff like that.”

  He nods and sighs. “I’m still mad at him, but I probably owe Elliot an apology.”

  I laugh loudly, which makes him crack a smile. None of us have ever been in a real fight with each other before. Usually, we just beat the shit out of each other when we’re pissed, and everything goes back to normal.

  We make our way downstairs. Arthur’s sitting on the couch watching TV, but he stops us before we make it to the front door. “Hey, where are you going?”

  Sebastian pauses with his hand reaching for the door and turns to look at his step-dad. “Charlotte’s on her way back with Elliot, so we’re gonna wait outside for them.”

  Arthur glances down at his watch and smiles. “Oh, good. She’s getting home before curfew.” He chuckles and looks up at Sebastian with a grin. “You guys make this parenting thing so easy for me!”

  Sebastian rolls his eyes and snorts in amusement, and I can’t help snickering. I know in the past, Seb definitely didn’t make things easy on Arthur. The other guys and I hadn’t helped either. Arthur has been there for all of us, in one way or another.

  We step outside, and we sit on the front steps talking and joking around together. When I hear a vehicle getting closer, I look up with an idiotic smile. I catch myself almost immediately, and luckily, I manage to relax before Sebastian notices my reaction. Still, I can’t entirely hide my excitement when Elliot parks his truck on the street in front of us.

  Sebastian and I stand up at the same time, and Charlotte steps out of the truck. I can hear her laughing at something Elliot says, but she notices us almost right away. She calls across the lawn to us, “Hey! What are you guys doing?”

  Sebastian answers as we walk across the yard to meet her. “Waiting for you, of course!”

  Elliot’s walking beside Charlotte with his hand on her back, and he’s looking at Sebastian like he’s nervous. I ignore their drama for a second and smile down at the beautiful girl I’ve been missing all night. There’s enough light out here from the porch and street lamps to see her expression, and she looks happy. When she smiles back at me, I don’t hesitate to wrap my arms around her and pick her up in a hug.

  She giggles quietly as she wraps her arms around my neck to hug me back, and I feel like the luckiest guy in the world. “Hey, Princess, did you have fun?”

  She pulls away and tilts her head back enough to meet my eyes, but I don’t put her down yet. “Yes, so much fun! You probably guessed from his text already, but I met Liam’s sister!”

  Olivia’s always been a bitch to me and Seb, but Charlotte sounds genuinely thrilled to have met her. I smile and nod. “I figured as much.”

  I meet Sebastian’s eyes over her head, and set her down. He’s messing with his hair again, glancing back and forth between me, Charlotte, and Elliot. Elliot is standing completely still and silent with his hands in his pockets, which is so unlike him.

  After a slightly awkward moment of silence between us, Sebastian lets out a breath and blurts, “I’m sorry for being a dick earlier.”

  Elliot visibly relaxes and smiles widely. “It’s cool, bro.”

  Sebastian reacts much the same way, and I can practically see the tension leaving his face and shoulders. Charlotte glances at me sideways with a small, secretive smile, so I roll my eyes and smirk at her. These idiots probably thought she was oblivious to their petty ass fight earlier.

  “So, what movie did you guys end up seeing?” Sebastian asks. He still seems nervous, and he’s probably freaking out wondering if Elliot made a move on Charlotte or not. At least he doesn’t seem angry, and he’s trying his best to be cool.

  Elliot nudges Charlotte playfully and snickers. “Pride and Prejudice.”

  Sebastian bursts out
laughing. I snort and shake my head at Charlotte, but she looks pretty smug. We tease Elliot, but he doesn’t seem too bothered. We talk about their run-in with Olivia and some of the guys on the football team. Man, I would give anything to have seen her take down Mike again!

  Eventually, Charlotte yawns and Elliot shuffles his feet as he glances at his truck. I raise my eyebrows and ask him, “You heading home now?”

  Elliot hesitates for a split second before he shakes his head. “Nah, I told Victoria I wouldn’t be back tonight. I figured I’d crash at Liam’s, since Remy’s already staying over.”

  Sebastian widens his eyes and sounds genuinely confused. “Why don’t you just stay here? Grayson’s sleeping over, and you know Arthur won’t care.”

  “You sure?” Elliot asks hopefully.

  After Sebastian nods and reassures him, Elliot runs to his truck to grab the overnight bag he usually keeps on hand. When Charlotte walks by me to go inside the house, her hand brushes against mine. I thread my fingers through hers and tug her closer to me, making sure to keep her by my side while we walk together. She smiles without looking at me, and I’m pretty sure I’m smiling like an idiot.

  In the back of my mind, I do wonder if she might have kissed Elliot tonight. The thought doesn’t make me feel jealous, just curious. I’m pretty certain he likes her, probably as much as Sebastian and I do. I don’t know how to ask him without being weird because I’m pretty sure it’s not normal to want to have a crush on the same girl your friends do.

  “You gonna stay up and hang out with us? We can watch a movie.” I keep my voice low so only Charlotte can hear me.

  She shrugs and mumbles, “Maybe for a little while. I have to get up early because I have my appointment with Dr. Collins in the morning.”

  I can’t tell if she’s upset or embarrassed, but she definitely sounds distressed, at the very least. I stop Charlotte from walking through the door, and ignore Sebastian and Elliot when they ask what I’m doing. I focus all of my attention on her, frowning slightly.