Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys (23 page)

A few people giggled.

“She made it all up!” Hailey cried. “You guys don't believe her, do you? Jessica, tell them!”

Jessica went white and looked around the circle. “I . . . uh . . .”

A couple of other players exchanged a look.

“I don't think anyone could have made up that story, Hailey,”
Ria said. “Except maybe you,” she added under her breath.

“I'm sorry I didn't say anything before this, Megan,” Aimee said finally, turning to her. “I didn't know what to do.”

“It's okay,” Megan said with a small smile.

Whatever Hailey had done wrong, she was still Aimee's sister. Megan herself had defended Doug when she knew he had done something wrong. She could only imagine how hard it had been for Aimee to come out with the truth at all.

“I think we should re-vote,” Deena said, breaking a loaded silence.

“What?” Hailey said, whirling on her. “Deena!”

But Deena just stared at Hailey. Hailey let out an indignant breath and looked around the circle. Everyone else averted their eyes. Megan watched Hailey as she realized that she was on her own. There was a panicked look in her eyes. She had just had her entire world yanked out from under her. It wasn't that long ago that Megan had experienced exactly the same sensation.

“You guys, I don't think that this should have anything to do with the captainship,” Megan said.

“Huh?” Ria asked.

“This vote is about leadership of the team,” Megan said. “Not who fooled around with who or who lied about it.”

Everyone just stared at her for a moment.

“Okay, we're re-voting,” Ria said.

“We'd have to anyway,” Pearl told Megan matter-of-factly. “There was a tie.”

“Yeah, because half of you people are clearly insane,” Hailey
snapped. But her expression didn't support her tough words. She looked pale and scared and sick.

Pearl walked around the circle and handed out new slips of paper. Slowly everyone wrote down their choice. Megan's heart skipped around in her chest. She had no idea what to hope for.

Once again Hailey was the first to hand her vote in, and this time she stayed on her feet as Pearl counted the votes. It took half the time it had before. Megan held her breath.

“The final count is three for Hailey, eleven for Megan,” Pearl said. “Megan Meade is our new captain.”

 *  *  *

Megan skidded to a stop right in front of the shed. She pushed open the door of Finn's little studio, grinning like a madwoman.

“Hey! What's going on?” Finn asked, smiling.

“I got captain! I won captain!” Megan said breathlessly. She still couldn't seem to wrap her brain around it herself.

“What? You're kidding!” Finn said, his whole face lighting up. “That's awesome!”

“Oh my God, it was so cool!” Megan said, walking over and pulling him down on the bench by his sleeve. “First we voted, and there was a tie. And then Hailey freaks out saying I'm like this huge liar, so then
Aimee
gets up and she tells everybody that
Hailey's
the liar.”

“Wow. Seriously?” Finn asked.

“Yeah! It was this whole huge deal,” Megan said. “But then we re-voted and I won! I still can't believe it.”

“Well, congratulations,” Finn said.

“Thanks. I couldn't wait to tell you,” Megan said, grinning at him. “You should have seen her face. It was like . . .”

Megan stopped suddenly—Finn's face had gone all weird. He wasn't smiling anymore. It seemed like he had stopped breathing.

“What?” Megan said, her heart skipping a beat. He was studying her. Taking in every line of her face from her jaw to her cheekbone to her flyaway hair.

Finn reached over and ran his hand quickly over her hair, brushing it back. “This,” he said.

And then he leaned forward and kissed her. For an infinitesimal moment, Megan froze. She had no idea what to do with herself. No idea where to put her hands or whether to move her lips or how to even breathe.

Kiss him back, for God's sake!
she told herself.

Then she stifled a surprised, embarrassed, happy laugh and did as she was told. She returned his pressure and reached up to grab awkwardly at his sleeve. Finn's hand cupped the back of her head and his other hand lightly touched her knee. Megan's skin was on fire. Finn was kissing her.
Finn
was kissing her!

He pulled back, out of nowhere, and looked her in the eyes. “Is this okay?” he asked.

Megan mutely, dumbly, breathlessly nodded. She just wanted his lips on hers. He smiled and kissed her again, and this time Megan slid forward on the bench, leaning her body closer to his. What she couldn't believe was how perfect this felt. How excited and happy and thrilling and safe all at the same time.

And then it hit her: Finn was the one.

The one she'd wanted to share her great news with. The one she could talk to. The one she always thought of when something funny or weird or interesting happened. Finn was smart and hilarious and kind and thoughtful.

Why did I waste my time thinking about Evan?
Megan wondered as Finn lightly trailed a finger down her cheek.
How could I have done that when Finn was right here all along?

All she wanted to do was get as close to him as possible. It was suddenly impossible to believe that she had lasted this long in life without feeling this way.

The door behind Megan let out its telltale squeak and Finn sprang away from her so fast she almost fell forward. It wasn't fast enough, however. Regina stood in the doorway, her arms crossed tightly over her stomach.

Megan gulped in a breath and looked at Finn, who hung his head as low as it could go. Yes, Finn McGowan was a lot of great things. But now he was also a dead man.

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Subject: OMG OMG OMG

I KISSED FINN! I KISSED FINN! OMG I KISSED FINN. WHERE ARE YOU!!!???

Megan sat up straight on a chair in the kitchen, hovering somewhere between ecstasy and dread. Regina and John were in the next room, talking in low tones, trying to figure out what to do with her. Megan knew she should be working out a reason for them not to throw her out of their house, but she couldn't stop thinking about Finn. And every time she did, she shivered happily.

She still felt the sweep of Finn's fingertip on her cheek. His hand running over her hair. Her lips were still tingly from Finn's kiss. The way he had looked at her made her feel so beautiful. She actually felt beautiful and . . . noticed.

Regina and John walked into the room and Megan sat up even taller. She wondered if they could see her lips throbbing. Regina was clearly exhausted and John's face was creased with concern.

“Well, I'll be honest with you, Megan. We don't know what to do here,” John said finally, rubbing the back of his neck. “You knew the rules and we had hoped that last week's grounding would have resonated with you somehow, but obviously it hasn't. So what do we do?”

Megan eyed him uncertainly.

Finn walked into the room behind his parents and Megan's entire being lit up. Both Regina and John glanced around.

“Hey. I know you guys told me to wait in my room, but I have something to say,” Finn said, rubbing his hands on his jeans.

“Okay,” Regina said. She almost looked hopeful, like Finn might have come up with an explanation to erase what she had seen.

Finn cleared his throat. “It wasn't Megan's fault. She shouldn't be punished, because it was me. It was all me. I kissed her, so you should really just do whatever you're going to do . . . to me.”

“Nice try, kiddo, but it takes two to tango,” John said.

“Yeah, I know, technically,” Finn said. “But I mean, Megan didn't even kiss me back . . . right?”

As Finn spoke, his face grew red from the neck up. He looked at Megan, his eyebrows raised, waiting for her to corroborate his story. Megan couldn't believe what she was hearing. Had she actually done it so wrong that Finn really didn't think she had reciprocated? Or was he just being the coolest guy ever and trying to save her butt?

“Right,” she said finally. “It kinda came out of nowhere. . . .”

Megan didn't know what else to say, so she shut her mouth. Regina and John looked at each other, communicating silently. Finally John blew out a sigh. Megan couldn't help but notice that they both looked relieved.

“All right, then. Finn, you knew the rules as well and you ignored them, so you're grounded. Again,” his father said. “You'll go to school and you'll do your homework and that's it. For two weeks.”

“What about the studio?” Finn asked.

“No painting either,” his father said. “Got it?”

For a second, Finn looked like he wanted to argue, but then he glanced at Megan and hung his head. “Yeah, I got it.”

“All right. Go to your room,” John said.

Finn turned and clomped up the stairs. Megan wanted to run after him and thank him, but she didn't think that would look so great.

“John, I'd like to speak to Megan alone, if you don't mind,” Regina said, causing Megan to stiffen. She hadn't seen Regina since walking out on her that morning. In all the kissing and chaos, she had nearly forgotten about it.

“Sure,” John said. He hesitated a moment and tried to meet Megan's eye, but it took some effort. “I'm not really sure how to put this, so I'm just gonna say it. I'm sorry for my boys' behavior. If anyone ever makes you feel uncomfortable—”

“Oh my gosh, no. I'm fine,” Megan said. The last thing she wanted was for John and Regina to think that Finn had somehow taken advantage of her.

“You sure?” John said. “Because I have no problem cracking some skulls if I need to.”

“John, she's fine,” Regina said with a laugh, putting her hands on his back. “Go watch the game.”

“Right. Okay,” John said. Then he smiled sheepishly and was gone.

“Don't mind him. It's a testosterone thing,” Regina said. “But I guess you're getting a crash course in that.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Megan said. “Anyway, I'm really sorry about this morning, Regina.” Her shoulders finally collapsed as
she leaned forward. “I shouldn't have walked out on you like that. It was rude and disrespectful and I'm really sorry.”

“You don't have to apologize, Megan,” Regina said, sinking into the chair across from hers. “I never asked you if you were interested in the spa before I made the appointments and I should have. So
I'm
sorry.”

“You were just trying to be nice,” Megan said, a lump of guilt forming in her chest. She knew her parents would be sorely disappointed if they knew how she had treated Regina that morning. “I guess primping and relaxing and all that isn't really my thing,” she added, trying to explain.

“And I should have realized that,” Regina said, her eyes soft. “I think I was just so excited to have another girl around here—”

“And you got another boy instead,” Megan said quietly, staring down at the table.

“No! That's not true,” Regina said. She reached out and pulled Megan's hand toward her across the table, forcing Megan to look her in the eye. Regina cupped her fingers over Megan's and held them there. “I got a girl who knows who she is and is really good at being that person.”

Slowly Megan smiled, speechless.

“Well,” Regina said finally, releasing Megan and standing up. “In this house when someone achieves something like captain of the soccer team, they get to pick dessert.”

“How did you know?” Megan asked.

“I bumped into Pearl Porcaro and her mom in the supermarket right after your practice,” Regina said with a smile. “So what'll it be?”

Megan thought of her mother. She wasn't a prolific cook, but there were a few things she made incredibly well, and there was one thing Megan loved more than anything else.

“I would kill for some apple pie,” Megan said.

“Done,” Regina replied.

“I think I'll go call my parents and tell them, if that's okay,” Megan said, standing.

“Go ahead,” Regina answered. “I'm sure they'll love to hear it.”

Megan raced upstairs, bursting with newfound energy. Between the captainship, Finn, the non-grounding, and the Regina moment, she was more than ready to share a little glee. Of course, her parents would only hear about one of the four, but now Megan would sound ten times more excited about it.

 *  *  *

As soon as Megan hung up the phone with her parents, there was a knock on her bedroom door.

“It's Finn. Can I come in?” he asked.

Megan's heart started to pound and she slid to the end of her bed. “Yeah. Come in.” She smoothed her hair back and wished she had opted for a shower instead of a phone call.

Finn opened the door wide and stood in the doorway.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

He was so, so beautiful. Those clear blue-gray eyes, that floppy blond hair. She could still smell him—that mix of freshly washed cotton and tangy paint. Her skin was still warm where his arms and hands had touched her. All she wanted to do was jump him and kiss him again. Was he feeling it too?

“I just wanted to make sure everything was okay,” he said.

“Yeah, it's fine,” Megan said. “Thank you for . . . what you did down there. You didn't have to.”

“Yeah, well. I have some reading to catch up on anyway,” Finn said with a small smirk.

Megan looked down at his feet. He was toeing the line between the darker wood floor of the hallway and the light wood floor of her room.

“Do you want to
actually
come in?” she asked.

Finn looked down the hallway to his right. “Um . . . I don't think that's the best idea.”