The Queen B* and the Homecoming King (5 page)

“I had a phone call from a coach.”

Which I suspected Sanchez knew about. Hence why he thought he might be able to get away with his behavior today.

“And they pulled you out of class for that?” Richard’s eyes were full of stars. My best friend loved football, and Brett was becoming more and more of a celebrity with every game he played and every record he shattered.

“Yeah,” Brett replied with an indifferent shrug. “It was another
SEC school. Not interested, but I still had to listen to his spiel to get my dad off my case. He’s still pressuring me to make a decision, and yet he tells me to listen to every offer I get.”

He looked to me like he wanted to say more, but when his gaze flicked to Richard, he remembered we had an audience. “I’ll call you tonight.”

Once he walked away, Richard wilted against the lockers. “He’s
so hot.”

I merely grinned. He was hot, and he was all mine.

***

Despite his earlier panic, Richard managed once again to wow me with his debate skills. I just hoped the judges were as equally wowed. Everyone had stepped up their game on the second day, but I believed Richard’s arguments were strong enough for him to survive the first cut.

I’d managed to finish my homework while sitting through
the debate team tryouts, so when I got home, I had nothing to do other than whip something up for dinner and find a new book to read. Mom texted me to say she was staying late at work (which I translated to mean she was hooking up with Pete), and Taylor grabbed her food after cheerleading practice and carried it up to her room. In other words, it was a typical night in the Wyndham home.

It was
almost eight by the time Brett called me. Fatigue laced his voice, and a twinge of guilt curled inside my chest for keeping him on the phone when he had so much on his plate right now. But the moment he said, “Hey, Lexi,” those familiar butterflies fluttered in my stomach.

“Long day?” I asked.

“And it’s not over. But I wanted to let you know I had a long talk with Sanchez, Ren, and Austin,
and they’ve promised to be on their best behavior this week.”

This week was fine, but what about next week? Or the week after? Would Brett’s conversation with his friends be enough to keep them in line, or would I have to run yet another blog post on their antics? I opened my mouth to mention that, but the sound of a yawn filled the line. Brett sounded exhausted, and I could bring it up after
the big game on Friday. “Practice go well today?”

“Yep.”

“Any more calls from coaches?”

That drew a tired chuckle from him. “Ugh! That guy wouldn’t shut up today. He even said some things I think would qualify as recruiting violations.”

“It must be nice to be that much in demand.”

“Maybe, but I’m looking forward to scouting out some of the California schools with my dad next week.”

Now it
was my turn to wilt, but for something other than his hotness. I didn’t realize how much I’d miss him until he brought up the trip. But I did manage to find a bright side to him being gone next week. “So I guess with you checking out those colleges, you won’t be back in time for Homecoming.”

“Guess again. Dad and I will be leaving Sunday and coming back Tuesday night. I have too many obligations
that week.”

My heart was too busy doing a little happy dance that he wouldn’t be gone all week that I almost missed his next question.

“And since you’re so interested in Homecoming, any chance you changed your mind about going to the dance with me?”

“Nope.”

“Some of the guys were talking about getting a limo.”

I shook my head. “Can you imagine me squished in a limo with your friends and
their cheerleader dates? I doubt I could squeeze in past Summer’s fake boobs.”

He sighed. “Why are you being so difficult about this?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” But I already knew the answer. He wanted me to become a part of his circle of friends almost as much as I wanted to avoid them. “Remember, I’m trying to ease into this whole relationship thing, and don’t tell me you didn’t catch
some flak from Sanchez this afternoon for defending me and Richard.”

His initial silence spoke volumes. But after a few seconds, he said, “They’re not all bad. I wish you could see that, just like I wish they could see you the way I see you.”

A warm glow started in the center of my chest and spread through me. Brett was one of the few people to see me as something other than the Queen B*, to
make me feel like I was something more than just a biting retort and an exposer of secrets. “Then give us time and don’t try to force the issue. I’ll try to be nicer—within reason, that is.”

After all, I’d worked too hard over the last three years to earn my reputation, and it still evoked a mixture of fear and respect among most of the student body at Eastline.

“I’ll try, too.” He mumbled
something about tons of homework, so I let him go so he could get started on it.

But his plea lingered in my mind the rest of the night. He wanted them to see me as he did—the real me, not the hard outer shell I portrayed at school. Just as I was always ready to see the worst in people, Brett always saw the good. Why else would he be friends with assholes like Summer and Sanchez?

But I wasn’t
ready to make myself that vulnerable, especially to the likes of them. It had been hard enough to open myself up to him. I couldn’t afford to lose the protective walls I’d built up by being “nice” to them. It was why I’d given him my rules, and why I needed to enforce them.

Even if it meant disappointing him over a silly dance.

Chapter Five

I arrived at school the next morning to find Richard pacing outside the main entrance, his hands behind his back and his mouth drawn tight with worry. He rushed toward me as soon as he saw me. “Alexis, I need your support.”

“I’ve been giving it to you all week.”

“Then hold my hand while I look at the list of those who made the first cut.” Before I could say anything, he grabbed
my hand and pulled me toward Ms. Rothstein’s classroom.

A printed sheet of white paper hung on her door, announcing the people who’d made it to the next round of the debate team tryouts.

Richard’s grip on my hand tightened until my fingers went numb. “I can’t look.”

“Fine, I will.” I shook my hand free, thankful to have the blood flowing back into my fingers, and peered at the list of ten
names. At the very bottom, I found his name and pointed to it. “There you are.”

Richard threw his hands up in a huge victory cheer before tackling me with a hug. “Thank you so much.”

“Don’t thank me. You did it all on your own.”

“But I couldn’t have done it without you being there.” He checked the list one more time. “You have no idea how relieved I am.”

“You’re only halfway there,” I reminded
him. “You have one more day of tryouts tomorrow.”

He grew serious and nodded. “Which means I need to get my A-game in gear. Lots of reading to do tonight. Lots of thinking about pros and cons of the possible topics they might throw at me.”

I waited until we turned away from the list before asking, “Have you had a chance to speak to Morgan?”

He stopped short and shot me an apologetic glance.
“I’m so sorry, Alexis. I’ve been so busy with this debate team stuff—”

“It’s fine.” I shifted my backpack to my other shoulder. “I left her a voice mail the other night. I’ve done all I can short of banging on her door and barging into her home.”

“And we both know she’s never there.”

Morgan’s parents were corporate lawyers who lived for their careers and expected their daughter to be as perfect
as they were. Morgan, in turn, rebelled against them as much as possible, which probably explained her goth appearance and sometimes unemotional approach to sex. She enjoyed sex and had no problem hooking up with a hot guy who caught her interest. It was her
up-yours
attitude that had first struck a chord with me, and for five years, she’d been one of my best friends.

But now, it was that same
behavior that had me worried.

Richard placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “I’ll try and talk to her this afternoon. After all, I owe you one.”

I just hoped he could talk some sense into her and at least get her to listen to my version of events.

Richard stopped at his locker and opened it to change out his books. A sheet of white paper drifted to the floor, and I picked it up, thinking
it was part of an assignment or perhaps notes from a class. However, when I read the words printed in bold type, my blood boiled.

Go to hell, fag.

I tried to hide it from him, but I was too slow. Richard read the message and swallowed hard. “Well, it’s not the first time I’ve heard that,” he said with false indifference.

As one of the few openly gay students in our school, he was probably
telling the truth. But I also knew he kept his sexuality a secret from his grandmother, explaining she wouldn’t understand.

I looked up and noticed Sanchez standing twenty feet away, his attention focused on Richard. It left no doubt in my mind who was behind the message.

I held up the paper. “I can’t believe someone sacrificed a tree for this.”

“It can always be recycled.” He took the message
from me, crumpled it into a ball, and tossed it into a blue trashcan. “Besides, we have much more pleasant things to think about.”

But as he led me away, I cast one more glance over my shoulder at Sanchez. If I had any way to confirm he’d written the note, I’d have no problem calling him out on my blog again and making sure he was benched for the biggest game of the year.

I just wished retaliating
against Sanchez wouldn’t hurt Brett in the process. It was the only thing that kept me from initiating the hunt for evidence right then and there.

***

Brett gave me a tired smile as he slid into his seat in fourth period. The dark stubble on his cheeks contrasted with the bright gleam in his eyes. He looked exhausted, and yet, ready to tackle the day. It was a strangely attractive combination,
and I couldn’t look away from him.

“What? Do I have something stuck in my teeth?” he asked.

I shook my head. “You just look…different.” But in a yummy way.

He rubbed the side of his face, his five-o’clock shadow bristling under his palm, before reaching up to smooth an errant strand of hair that wouldn’t lie flat. “I overslept and barely got to school on time. I probably look like shit.”

“No, you don’t.” I leaned forward and caught a whiff of his scent. Even when he was running late, he still smelled good.

He tugged on one of my unruly curls and grinned.

The bell rang, interrupting our conversation for the time being until Brett got the contraband IM program up and running.

Got plans after class?
he messaged.

Not today. Richard doesn’t need any hand holding this afternoon.

I could’ve sworn he laughed when he read it, even though no sound came out. The corners of his eyes crinkled.
I saw he made it through the first round of the debate team tryouts.

And he should make the team
if he keeps doing what he’s been doing
, I typed back. If he didn’t, I’d know who to blame.

Want to get lunch and maybe tackle some homework before practice?

I twitched in my chair from
excitement that was tempered by a touch of caution. What if he wanted me to join him and his friends for lunch? What if Summer was there? Would he expect me to ditch my friends to hang out with his?

I hid my anxiety by redirecting the conversation.
What about prepping for the game?

I need to catch up on school. Besides, I’ve reviewed enough film to know what to do against Skylake
.

Time to tease
out some more details before I agreed.
Where do you want to meet?

What do you say to me grabbing a pizza and bringing it to your place?

My excitement tripled, chasing away the last of my reservations. It was a study date, but at least I’d get to spend some time alone with my new boyfriend.
Sounds great
.

An hour later, Brett stood at my front door with a delicious-smelling box of steaming hot
pizza. But when it came to the steam factor, he was right up there. I couldn’t stop myself from pulling him closer and placing a kiss on his lips.

He made a sound of contentment most people made when they bit into their favorite dish. “What about rule number two?”

“We’re not in public.” I flashed a grin at him that said I wouldn’t mind a few more kisses before taking the pizza box from him.
“Did you get any sleep last night?”

“A few hours. You’d think the teachers would lighten up on the tests and assignments during the week of the Skylake game, not pile them on all at once.” The second I set the pizza on the dining room table, he wrapped his arms around me from behind and nuzzled my neck. “You have no idea how much I was looking forward to this afternoon.”