The Queen B* and the Homecoming King (25 page)
Read The Queen B* and the Homecoming King Online
Authors: Crista McHugh
“I doubt you have glass slippers.”
She laughed and shook her head, but when she gazed at our reflections, she grew thoughtful. “But I think I might have something else you can borrow.”
She left my room and reappeared a couple of minutes later with one of her pageant crowns. It wasn’t the biggest one or the glitziest one in her trophy case. It wasn’t the one she’d worn
when she’d competed in the Miss America pageant. This one was small and dainty, but it still sparkled as though it were made of real diamonds.
She placed it on top of my tangled mop of half-dry curls. “I think this will add a nice touch, don’t you?”
I studied myself in the mirror and had to agree. At least, once we’d tamed my hair into something appropriately formal. “Where did you win this
one?”
“It was from when I was crowned Homecoming Queen.” She placed her hands on my shoulders and gave me a little hug. “I heard Brett was named Homecoming King, and I figured you needed a little bling of your own as his date.”
“Who told you that?”
“I did,” Taylor said with a yawn from my doorway. “In fact, I was the one who suggested you’d want that crown.”
Taylor knew Mom’s trophy case inside
out and loved to prance around in the tiaras when Mom wasn’t around.
“You’re up early,” I said.
“Spa day with Summer and Jolie.” Another yawn split her reply. “Facials, massage, mani-pedis, hair, makeup, etc. Summer’s mom’s paying for it all.”
I wondered how much Taylor knew of Summer’s parents’ divorce. She’d never mentioned it, and I didn’t want to break Brett’s trust and share what he’d
told me. “Sounds…interesting.”
More like a day in hell for me, but I could see where Taylor would enjoy it.
She gave me a smug smile and went back into her room.
“Let me make a few phone calls to see what we can do with your hair.” Mom pulled out her phone and left me alone to admire my reflection one more time.
The silver dress looked great, and the tiara
was
a nice finishing touch. I
started to actually feel ready for the dance.
My phone buzzed, and I checked the screen to find a message from Brett.
Ride and dinner taken care of. Will pick you up at six thirty
.
That was fast
, I typed back.
I never canceled the reservations I made two weeks ago
, he replied.
I found myself laughing. Brett always got what he wanted, even when it came to a silly school dance. Maybe because
he knew he was my only weakness.
What color is your dress?
he asked.
Who said anything about a dress?
I was going to wear jeans and a tee.
Lexi…
I laughed and typed,
Silver
.
On it. See you tonight
.
The fluttering returned to the pit of my stomach. The Queen B* would be going to the dance with the Homecoming King.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Two limos arrived at our house at the same time, and Taylor and I had to wait by the front door while we figured out which one was whose. Brett and Cody each emerged from their respective limos, and they walked up the pathway together, both joking with each other along the way.
Handsome
didn’t do Brett justice. The dark suit gave him a James Bond kind of air and added to
the rich glow of his brown skin and dark eyes. His hair had been slicked back, and somehow, he’d managed to squeeze his cast into his pants leg. He stood back and let Cody collect Taylor first.
And when I stepped out, his breath caught, and I almost did a little victory dance. His eyes never left me as I approached him. “Lexi…wow!”
“I’ll take that as I did okay for last minute.”
Mom had managed
to get me a hair appointment, and although I’d gone in thinking the stylist would pull my unruly curls up into some kind bun, she’d actually done the opposite. For the first time in my life, I had straight hair thanks to a Brazilian blowout. Well, almost straight. She’d left a subtle wave in it. It was sleek and shiny, and I left the salon feeling like a movie star on the red carpet. And when
Mom pinned the tiara in place, I truly looked like a princess.
Brett nodded and seemed to realize his mouth was hanging open. He shook his head and cleared some of the shock from his eyes. “Wow,” he repeated, and I couldn’t help but grin.
The limo was packed with popular kids from our class. Summer. Sanchez. Ren. A few more kids I could barely stand. But once we got in, Brett pulled out a small
box with a pale blue orchid corsage, and they all vanished from my consciousness.
He held it out to me. “Think this will match?”
I nodded and let him pin it to my dress. It was the first time I’d ever gotten flowers from a guy. The first time I’d ridden in a limo. The first time I’d gone to a dance. I was experiencing a lot of things for the first time with Brett, and I only hoped to experience
more with him.
Dinner was at one of those dark and cozy restaurants in Bellevue where we had a private banquet room all to ourselves. Brett placed us at the end of the table as though he worried my patience might snap if we were in the middle of it all, and I gave him an appreciative smile. The food was delicious. I just wish I could’ve said the same for the company. But every time Brett looked
at me or touched me, I forgot about their narcissistic babbling. Maybe if Brett and I were still together for prom, I could convince Morgan and Richard to join us so I could at least enjoy some intelligent conversation, but for now, his presence made his friends bearable.
And whenever I found myself sinking into the depths of misery, I turned to Brett and saw how much fun he was having with
his friends. Tonight wasn’t about me. It was about him.
When we got to the venue, we stood in line for pictures in front of a cheesy city skyline backdrop before making our way into the actual dance. The room looked like something from one of the 1980s movies my mom loved starring the girl with red hair. Balloons. Swags of stuff hanging from the ceiling. A corny DJ. Half-filled tables and chairs
surrounded by a line of girls on one side and a line of guys on the other, each side seeming to work up the courage to ask someone to dance.
While the rest of his friends moved onto the dance floor, Brett settled at one of the closest tables and immediately propped his foot up on a chair. “Sorry, but I’m not going to be much of a dancer, anyway.”
“Fine with me.” I sat down with a sigh and wondered
where I could get some spiked punch.
“I know this isn’t the most fun for you, Lexi, but I appreciate you hanging out with my friends and not…”
I arched a brow and gave him my best Queen B* “Don’t even go there” expression, which earned a laugh from Brett.
“Well, not being all hard on them,” he finished.
“I came
this
close a few times.”
“I saw, but you seemed to rein it in.”
“Only for you.”
I snuggled closer to him and savored the warmth of his arm around my shoulders and the steady drum of his heart next to my ears. “My mom once told me that when you really care about someone, you’re willing to make compromises, and I knew how much you wanted to go to this dance.”
“So you gave up on rule number three for me?”
I grinned up at him. “I pretty much gave up on the rules after you showed
me you had no intention of following them.”
“Can you blame me?” He tilted my chin up with his finger, his eyes full of admiration, and placed a soft kiss on my lips.
“Look at how cute you two are,” a familiar voice said behind me. “I knew you would make the ultimate power couple.”
I pulled away to see Richard standing a few feet away with his date. Brett extended his hand to shake theirs. “Good
to see you, Richard. And who’s this?”
Richard wrapped his arm around his date’s waist and stared up at him with adoring eyes. “This is Sean.”
Sean gave us a nervous smile as he shook Brett’s hand, then mine. He was every bit as cute in person as he’d been in photographs, but the way he glanced around the room told me he was as unsettled at the school dance as I was.
Not that Richard would
allow him to feel that way for long. “Come on and shake that cute little ass of yours,” he said as he pulled Sean onto the dance floor.
Brett chuckled after they left. “I have a feeling Richard’s going to be the talk of the dance.”
“Because he brought a guy?”
“No, because of his dance skills. Look at him.”
In less than a minute, Richard had managed to carve out a place on the dance floor in
the middle of the popular kids and was showing everyone what he’d learned from watching too many episodes of
So You Think You Can Dance
. Sean hung out on the periphery, but Richard’s infectious enthusiasm soon wore off on him, and he joined in the fun.
As the night wore on, people stopped by our table to chat with Brett, and when they left, we talked alone. As the night wound down, I was surprisingly
glad I’d come to the dance.
When the DJ announced the final song of the night, Brett stood up on his crutches and held out his hand. “Think you can manage one slow dance with me?”
“Think your ankle can handle it?”
“As long as you don’t purposely try to stomp on my foot every ten seconds.”
I gave him a devilish grin when I took his hand and followed him out onto the dance floor. Brett wrapped
his arms around my waist and pulled me against him as the first notes of the banana pancake song played over the speakers.
“I had Richard deliver a special request for me,” he murmured.
“I couldn’t think of a better song.” Because it was
our
song.
Because of his broken leg, we couldn’t do much except sway to the music. But I pressed my cheek against his and committed each perfect moment to
memory. The hard muscles that rippled under his suit. The possessive firmness of his hand against the curve of my back. The sexy clean yet spicy scent that always seemed to surround him. The soft murmur of his voice as he sang the lyrics of the song to me.
The utter realization that things couldn’t be more perfect than they were now.
I’d been hard.
I’d been cruel.
I’d been and maybe still
was the Queen B*.
But thanks to my very own Prince Charming, I’d been pushed into becoming something more than the stereotypical mean girl. I discovered that sometimes compassion takes more strength than justice and that I could still earn respect while being soft. I learned to see things from the perspective of others and think about the consequences before acting.
And in the end, I lost my
heart to the most wonderful guy imaginable.
Of course, once the song ended, I opened my eyes to find Sanchez checking out Summer’s enhanced cleavage. “Maybe I should tell him they’re fake.”
I took a step toward them, but Brett pulled me back and held me close. “I thought you were going to be nice to my friends.”
“I said
try
.”
“Let me help you try harder,” he murmured before kissing me one
more time and putting my Queen B* thoughts on hold.
For now.
Letter to Readers
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for coming along on this journey with Alexis and Brett. I hope you enjoyed it. I hope to visit Eastline High again in the future, but right now, I’m focusing on some new projects.
Sign up for my newsletter
to stay in touch and find out what I’ll be working on next, and keep an eye on
my Facebook page
for any announcements.
If you’ve enjoyed
this book, please leave a review so other readers can find out about it.
Thanks,
Crista
Books by Crista McHugh
The Queen B* Series
The Queen B* and the Homecoming King
The Soulbearer Series
The Kelly Brothers
The Sweetest Seduction
, Book 1
Breakaway Hearts
, Book 2
Falling for the Wingman
, Book 3
The Heart’s Game
, Book 4
A Seductive Melody
, Book 5
In the Red Zone
, Book 6