True Love and Magic Tricks (20 page)

He squeezes my knee and puts on the radio. His
way of telling me, I have the car ride to get over it.

We pull up to Skippy Lee’s, burger
joint/arcade/only hangout in a fifty mile radius. Kaylee jumps out
of the car pulling Nate behind her.

“I want a chocolate shake,” she says over her
shoulder. “What do you want?”

“You.” Nate pinches her butt then scoops her
up, her laugh trailing behind them as they disappear into the
crowd.

I want what they have. They’ve been together
for eight months, and in high school that’s like five years! I’m
just beginning to believe there is no rabbit to my hat. Maybe I’m
meant to be the lonely hat left on a train.

“I gave you the car ride here,” Ryan whispers
in my ear.

I squeeze his arm, and he flexes under my
touch. Silly boy. “And I appreciate it.”

Fall is spiraling into winter, and I don’t
have a coat. Don’t even have on long sleeves. Goosebumps cover my
arms, and I run my hands up and down my skin to warm
them.

I don’t even need to ask. Ryan leans in his
car and pulls out his hoodie. He wraps it around my shoulders and I
push my arms through the sleeves. I take a deep breath and smile.
“Let’s go have fun.”

“I’ll race you,” he says just as he takes
off.

“Not fair!” I run after him. He reaches the
door before me, and I jump on his back. “You cheated.” His cologne,
juniper and sandalwood, assault my senses, and I secure my arms
around his neck.

“Never.” He cocks his Ryan grin at me and
opens the door. “Let’s call it a tie.”

We walk in, and I slide off his back. “Only if
you get me a bacon cheeseburger.” His nose crinkles, but I pout.
Not my fault the boy is a vegetarian. “For me?” I stick my lip out
even farther.

“You and that damn lip.” He pushes my lip up
with his finger before he walks away.

I join Kaylee at the far table, and Ryan joins
Nate in line. Kaylee’s big eyes narrow in on me.

“You’re making him get you a bacon
cheeseburger again, aren’t you?”

I try to hide my smile, but my lips tug hard,
and we both crack up. A few moments later the laughter stops, and
Kaylee flips one of her blond braids over her shoulder. “He’d
really do anything for you.”

I wave my hand. “It’s a best friend
thing.”

“You’re my best friend, and there is no way
I’d get you a burger if the smell alone sent me upchucking into the
bathroom.”

“It’s not like I’m asking him to eat the damn
thing.”

“Just saying.” She holds the “ing” part out
and flashes her white teeth before giving me a wink then grabbing
her shake off Nate’s tray.

Ryan sits down across from me, placing his
tray on the table. The bacon cheeseburger steams, his nose crinkles
again, and he pushes the delicious plate of grease toward me. I
cock an eyebrow. “Now was that so hard?”

“As a matter of fact it was.”

With reflexes like a cat, I grab a fry off
Nate’s plate and throw it at Ryan’s head. He doesn’t even attempt
to stop it, and it smacks the bridge of his nose.

“Cute. You done?” He tilts his head in that
bring-it-on gesture. My hand hovers above Nate’s tray. This could
get ugly. Hopefully not as ugly as the time I dumped a milkshake on
his head. Jerk retaliated by hugging me and wiping his head up and
down my cheek and hair. Oh and can’t forget the cherry he stole off
of Kaylee’s sundae to place on top of my head.

I don’t take my eyes off Ryan’s as I take
another fry.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I do want to eat
those.” Nate removes the fry out of my hand and tosses it into his
mouth before turning back to Kaylee.

Ryan smiles his usual half smile, but I don’t
hold back. I let mine stretch far across my face. A Ryan/Lexie fun
day always cures my bad moods.

The bell above the door rings as another group
of people walk in. I take a bite of my bacon cheeseburger, ketchup
dripping down my chin, when my heart plummets to the
floor.

Sean and Sandy walk in, hand in hand. So what
if this is the only hangout in town, why here? Why now? Just when I
forgot about his lips pressed against hers.

I want to look away, but I can’t. My eyes are
drawn to their hands and then to their faces. My stomach twists
when she laughs that ridiculous laugh of hers at something he
says.

Just yesterday in Bio he brushed the hair away
from my ear and whispered a joke. I almost didn’t wash the strand.
Sean Dixon touched me. It was then I finally vowed to make him
mine. And now…well…he’s taken.

My eyes are glued on them. Out of the corner
of my eye I can see Ryan shake his head and rub the back of his
neck. Sandy turns, gaze catching mine. She turns, a cocky grin
meant only for me flashes brightly on her face, as she makes her
way toward our table.

A dry lump forms in my throat, and I brace
myself for the impact that is Sandy Nelson. “What are you looking
at bitch?”

The dry, lump in my throat turns into a
boulder, and I can’t get any words out.

“Get a life,” Ryan says for me.

“I have one thank you. It’s your friend here
who doesn’t.” She puts her hand down on the table and leans toward
me. “Don’t think I don’t know about your little crush. I see the
way you look at Sean like a pathetic, lost puppy.” Her voice rises
and the steady conversations around us begin to dwindle. “Just
accept it, Lexie. You’re a nobody and always will be.”

A whisper comes from my left, a laugh from my
right and beside me a hand shoots up, finger pointing in my
direction. More whispers echo through the air until they hit me
from every angle, flooding my ears till it’s all I hear.

Heat surges through my veins, shooting through
my ears and cheeks. I look down at my pinky ring too afraid to look
anyone in the face.

Call me a glutton for punishment or whatever
the saying is, but I glance up and watch as Sandy struts away and
tucks herself under Sean’s arm. Stupid tears sting my eyes. He
turns around, blue irises catching mine. The cold spot on my heart
warms when I see the apology on his face. The way he shrugs and
offers up a sincere smile.

I might not be good enough for Sean right now,
but I can be. And will be. He will love me. One more year before I
leave this town behind. One more year before I’m not defined by
things I can’t control.

One more year.

About the Authors

and

Acknowledgements

Becca’s
Acknowledgements

Thank you, reader, for reading all the way
to this page. (Squishy hugs.)

Thank you, Kaylee, for being so easy to
write.

Thank you, Theresa, for calling me “Bestie,”
for letting me call you “Bestie,” for taking this journey with me,
for forcing me to write when I didn’t want to, for reminding me of
that mysterious smell whenever I’m feeling blue, and for calling me
a “talented bitch” when I had to rewrite that one part I lost when
my computer restarted in the middle of drafting. (Darn computer.) I
couldn’t write these books without you (obviously) but I can’t
write ANYTHING without your support and friendship and butt kicking
IMs. So thank you for keeping me in the game. Love your face.

Thank you, my AWESOME NERDS, for posting
lots of pictures of hot guys in glasses, for not being afraid to be
who you are, and for talking nerdy to me. *Live long and
prosper*

Thank you, Lenore, Carol, Rachel, Suzi,
Jessica, Abby, and Ashley for critiquing this book in lightning
speed, for telling me how cute the headers are (thank you! I worked
hard on those ;)), and for yelling at us for killing Mr. Pippi.

Thank you, Katie, my friend way back when
who lost her dear hamster to an exhaust pipe. Apparently it
traumatized me enough to write about it even 15 years later.

Thank you, The Carbonaro Effect and Mind
Games, for providing very entertaining magic and illusion
research.

Thank you, Beta Girls, for being my closest
friends in the world. I secretly dedicate every word I write to
you.

Thank you, Jenny and Shellie, for reading
every book I write without too much blushing.

Thank you, Mom and Becki, for letting me
talk about every book I write without too much eye-rolling.

Thank you, children, for squishy hugs and
loves when I need them most.

And thank you to my hubby, for never killing
one of my pets.

Tessa’s
Acknowledgements

This book may be shorter than the rest of
The Beds series, but that doesn’t mean the help and support has
been any less.

A huge thank you to Kelley Lynn, Jenny
Morris, Jennie Bennett, Hope Roberson, and Lizzy Charles. The Beta
Group is the best thing that ever happened to me.

Lenore Kosinski, Rachel Schieffelbein, Leigh
Covington, Ashley Bodette, and Jessica Salyer, thank you for your
help with bringing Nate and Kaylee’s story to life and loving them
from the very beginning.

Ashley Blevins and the rest of the Paolo
Pretties, thank you for being awesome!

Suzi Retzlaff, thanks for continuing to add
all my missing commas and not hating me afterwards. You are the
best! And I promise to send you that email I owe you ;)

Mom, your ongoing encouragement, support,
and input means the world to me. I am darn lucky to have you. Then
again, you’re pretty lucky to have me too!

Dad, thanks for everything!

Eric, out of all my characters Nate and
Kaylee remind me most of us. They are awkward and dorky and have
their quirks, but they are perfect for each other. You are the hat
to my rabbit.

Cassie, my co-writer, critique partner,
cheerleader, therapist, best friend, you are Superwoman, and I
couldn’t have done any of this without you. Thank you for making me
take risks. For believing in me when I’m ready to throw in the
towel and for making me laugh harder than I have in years. Most of
all, thank you for sitting beside me on this crazy journey. I
wouldn’t want to be next to anyone else.

Our readers, you make this more than I ever
imagined. Your love of this series has filled my heart to the very
brim and I can’t thank you enough. True Love and Magic Tricks
exists because of you. High fives and hugs to you all!

Cassie Mae (who dawns the
name Becca Ann on occasion) is the author of a few hundred… okay,
maybe not
that
many… books. Some of which became popular for their quirky
titles, characters, and stories. She likes writing about nerds,
geeks, the awkward, the fluffy, the short, the shy, the loud, the
fun.

Since publishing her
bestselling debut,
Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat
Friend
, she has published and
sold books to Random House, Swoon Romance, and Spencer Hill Press.
She has a favorite of all her book babies, but no, she won’t tell
you what it is. (Mainly because it changes depending on the
day.)

Along with writing, Cassie likes to
binge watch Teen Wolf and The Big Bang Theory. She can quote Harry
Potter lines quick as a whip. And she likes kissing her hubby, but
only if his facial hair is trimmed. She also likes cheesecake to a
very obsessive degree.