CHAPTER NINE
CASSANDRA WAS LESS THAN THRILLED TO SEE the glossy eight by tens of Marcus and Red Heels. It nearly broke my heart, especially when I considered her recently departed virginity. All of it left me feeling, well, bummed.
I watched from my locker across the busy school hallway as Cassandra unfolded the manila envelope I’d left there. Her face broke, then she recovered and glanced around quickly. Brave soul; she didn’t want anyone to see her cry. My chest ached.
Turning back to swirl the combination of my lock, I tried to decide what sort of flowers to send her. It should either be daffodils or daisies. I always sent flowers after I delivered bad news. It helped with self-esteem.
“Tessa?”
I jumped. When I turned, I was alarmed and certainly dismayed to be looking back into the dark brown eyes of Chloe, Christian’s sister. Hm. There was that forced smile again on her red lips. This couldn’t be good.
“Yes?” I asked, flipping my hair over my shoulder to cover my nervous twitch. Her smile turned into a smirk. She adjusted her stance in her open-toe heels.
“I just wanted to apologize for the other day at lunch. I know I was being a bitch, and I’m sorry.”
I blinked, then nodded. No need to argue with that.
“Anyways,” she said, staring down at her shoes. Her toes had only clear polish on them, and somehow, that set me a little at ease. She continued, “I just wanted to say that I was sorry and that I’m looking forward to hanging out with you this weekend.”
My stomach dropped. She obviously noticed my surprise because her full lips spread into a real smile. Not the fake one I’d gotten to see earlier.
“This weekend?” I tried to sound casual, but there was definitely an absence of perk in my voice. I looked around the hall, feeling my uneasiness beginning to make me shaky. What was going on?
“Oh,” she said, a little too surprised. “Aiden didn’t tell you? He invited me and Christian to his party this weekend.”
Aiden was having a party? I shook my head, trying to remember if he’d told me about it. Maybe he did, but I wasn’t sure. SOS had been so busy and … Wait. Aiden invited them?
“When did you talk to Aiden?” I asked. Was it normal to see little black spots in the corner of my vision? That had never happened before.
“I’m in his chemistry class,” she said. “We’re lab partners. You didn’t know?”
Oh, sweet vanilla sky! I was going to be sick. I put my palm against the cool metal of my locker to steady myself. Was I still ill from last week?
“Well,” Chloe said, licking her teeth as she slowly looked me up and down. “I’ll see you at lunch.”
I was frozen as I stood, watching as she turned and walked away. Her long blond locks swayed from side to side, brushing against her back and her short pleated skirt. My face was numb. There was a violent turn in my stomach, and I clutched at it. I dashed down the hall, barely making it into the girls’ bathroom. After two dry heaves and an unceremonious flush, I straightened, unsure as to why I’d been so sick lately. I was losing my grip. Somehow, Chloe had gotten under my skin. But what was it that made me so unnerved around her?
Stepping out of the stall, I studied my reflection, disappointed to see dark circles under my eyes and my furrowed brow. I twitched my nose and put back my shoulders. I needed to know more about her and her brother. I was the head of the Society of Smitten Kittens. I should know more by now.
The bell rang, and I sighed. I was late for history. This day had certainly not started well. Not well at all.
I debated using the menstruation excuse to get myself out of lunch detention, but in the end, I decided to take the high road. What sort of example would I be if I lied to get out of punishment? Not a very good one. And I had a liar quota. One I had already filled with SOS.
I could see Kira’s admiration as I stood listening to Mr. Powell scold me in front of our class. Her steely blue eyes told me that she wished she were as brave. It made me feel a little better.
After I’d gotten to my seat and recovered from the in-class humiliation, Kira slid a note over to me. I gave her a disapproving look but opened the folded notebook paper anyway.
You just missed it, it said. Christian got lunch detention like five minutes ago!
My pulse sped up. Fantastic. The person I wanted to avoid would now be alone at my side for the entire forty-three-minute captivity. I couldn’t take any more bad news. I needed Aiden.
Only, when I got out of class, Aiden wasn’t waiting at my locker. I stopped, mid-stride, and spun around the crowded hallway. Where was he? After another second, I continued my disconcerted walk to my locker. I twirled my combo with little grace, dropping my notebooks on the linoleum floor as I fumbled with them. Before I could be late again, I scooped them up and slammed my locker shut, trotting off to economics. Alone.
My cell phone was dead from my forgetting to charge it the night before, and I felt cut off from the outside world as I sat miserably in class. I was beginning to perspire. My day had been so awful that I was sweating without actual physical exertion! I was on the verge of tears. It was Leona’s turn with the SOS phone, and she had already informed me in between classes that we’d gotten a new assignment last period.
I felt overwhelmed. And since Aiden sat with us at lunch, the Kittens and I wouldn’t be able to discuss the assignment there. We’d have to wait until after practice. Not to mention, I was wondering where in the stratosphere Aiden was. I hoped Kira would pass along my tale of lunch imprisonment to him. He had to be looking for me. Right?
I signed the journal on Mr. Powell’s desk as I entered detention. I frowned as he smiled at me. I didn’t mind letting him see me pout. I’d been in his class last year too.
“Sorry, Ms. Crimson,” he said, wagging his finger at me. “Rules are rules. Even for the head cheerleader.”
That was sort of nice of him to apologize. I nodded. Feeling dull and wilted, I crossed to my table and flopped in my chair. It figured I’d only finished half of my apples and cinnamon oatmeal this morning. I was starving. There was a shuffle from the hallway.
I looked toward the door as Christian entered, grinning madly as he swiped his hair behind his ear. He avoided my eyes, but I could tell he wasn’t too broken up about sitting in detention with me. Not with that pleased expression on his face.
Christian signed in and then turned to me, pretending to be surprised. “Tessa,” he said, clutching his chest. “I had no idea you were a troublemaker.”
I couldn’t help but smile. His theatrics were sort of cute. “Sorry, Christian. But there is no talking in detention.” I looked down at my purple notebook. Hm. Maybe I’d write a note to Aiden. I was pretty sure that was how things were done before text messaging. I opened to a fresh page.
“Can … I sit with you?” Christian asked.
I glanced up. He was trying to sound casual, but he probably didn’t realize he was biting his bottom lip. I wondered if I made him nervous. He certainly made me feel unsettled.
“Just sit down somewhere, Mr. Ferril,” Mr. Powell announced from the front, sounding annoyed. I giggled.
Despite this being detention, it actually wasn’t very strict, especially in this classroom. Mr. Powell had a tendency to read the newspaper instead of enforcing the law. I liked that about him.
Christian was still standing at the end of the table, so I nodded toward Kira’s chair, and he smiled as he sat down. Wow. His cologne smelled rather good, very natural and earthy.
“So,” he said, drumming his fingers on the table. “How long do we have to stay in here?”
“Until ten minutes before lunch is over.” I looked sideways at him, noticing that his hair had fallen to cover his eyes. I didn’t really like that. It seemed sneaky.
“Good,” he said, leaning back and turning to me. “Because I’m ravenous. I thought I had to miss the entire lunch.”
“I don’t think that’s legal,” I pointed out.
“Right.”
We sat for a minute, silent, but not uncomfortably so. Somehow, being alone with him was easier than being near him with an audience. Go figure. Mr. Powell turned the page of his newspaper loudly and hunched over to read.
Christian leaned toward me. “Would you like to know anything about me?” I looked at him, and he smiled that perfect grin. I couldn’t really think of anything, but … I didn’t want to seem unfriendly.
“Sure. Did you like being a Duck?” I adjusted myself in the chair, folding my hands onto my lap.
“Yep. My turn.”
Wait. I didn’t know this was a give-and-take.
He cleared his throat. “Why are you so proper? Like with the swearing and everything?”
I blinked. It had been a while since I’d needed to explain my perkiness. “It’s not that I’m proper, Christian. This is just how I am. I’m perky. I’m polite. There’s no need to be all gloom and doom. Someone has to make people feel good.”
Christian pressed his lips together, looking impressed, and nodded. “You definitely are not gloom and doom.”
That was nice of him to say. And truth be told, I wasn’t always like this. There was a time when I was just like everyone else. But my parents liked me like this. In fact, everyone did, so it just stuck. It felt natural. I liked making people happy.
“Your turn to ask,” he said, folding his hands behind his neck and leaning back in the chair. I glanced at the clock. We still had twenty minutes together.
“When did your parents get divorced?” I asked softly.
His expression changed. He rubbed roughly at his jaw and then straightened his back. “Officially?”
I nodded. I hoped the question wasn’t too painful.
“Last month.”
“And that’s why you’re here?”
He looked me over. “Don’t feel sorry for me, Tessa. You know, at least half of all marriages end in divorce.” He narrowed his heavily lashed brown eyes. “And like 99 percent of high school romances don’t last.”
My face twitched. Was he trying to say that Aiden and I wouldn’t last? “You really don’t know me all that well, Christian.” And he certainly didn’t know that I was fully aware of the breakup statistics. I did it for a living, for Pete’s sake.
“True,” he said, backing off. He laid his hands on the table in front of him. “And how about you? What’s your family like? Do you live in a gingerbread house somewhere?”
“I, in fact, live in a ranch-style home in Murray Hills. No candy roofs or evil witches.” Well, except for Aiden’s mother.
“And I’m guessing your parents are living happily ever after?”
I dropped my eyes. Even though my parents were happy, it still didn’t mean there weren’t painful memories. “My parents got back together after some time apart.”
Christian made a noise, but I didn’t look up at him. I was fairly done with this conversation. I began to pick at the bottom of my shirt.
“You look cute when you’re sad.”
My eyes snapped up to his.
“Ask me another question.” He tilted his head.
But I wasn’t into games like this. I didn’t flirt with strangers. And even though I was participating reluctantly, I still felt like it was illegal.
Christian stretched his arms over his head and then exhaled. “Fine, I’ll answer the one I’m sure you’re dying to know.”
“And which one is that?”
He widened his eyes as if it was a stupid question. “Whether or not I have a girlfriend. ”
There was an uneasy turn to my stomach. No. Actually, I hadn’t been wondering that, but if he did have a girlfriend, I would be very disappointed. I wasn’t sure Kira could take another heartbreak.
“You look worried, Tessa,” he said, completely misreading my expression. “I don’t have a girlfriend. I don’t even have a psychotic ex. So you’re in the clear.”
Me? Why was I in the clear? Maybe I needed to be more direct.
“Christian,” I said simply, touching his arm. He flexed. “Christian, I’m not sure if this is accidental or not, but it seems like you’re hitting on me.” My face was beginning to redden. This was much easier to say in my head. I dropped my hand.
“It is accidental,” he said smiling, looking embarrassed. I sighed with relief. He leaned closer to me. “I wasn’t supposed to seem like I was. I am hitting on you.”
Shake and bake!
“But … Kira …”
He pursed his lips. “To be honest, I’m not really into blondes. I like you.”
“But … why?” What made him think that he was at all my type? He didn’t even play a sport!
Christian adjusted in his seat and looked thoughtfully at me. “You’re just different. Sweet. Beautiful. You’re … perfect. You’re just perfect.”
I swallowed hard. Was I perfect? Did he believe that? Did I?
There was a low whistle, and I looked toward the doorway out into the hallway. My chest swelled. Aiden. Like a tall drink of lemonade on a hot day, my guy stood there in a tracksuit with his hair a perfect mess. Thank goodness he was here. I knew he’d come for me.
He winked before striding into the classroom, pretending not to look my way. Christian groaned next to me. He might not be as elated as I was.
“Mr. Wilder,” Mr. Powell said, sounding amused. “What can I do you for, son?” My teacher flicked his eyes to mine. I shrugged.
Aiden sounded sweet. “Sorry to bother you, sir, but Tessa has my lunch in her locker and I’m so hungry.” He clutched his stomach. “We have practice after school, and if I don’t get something to eat—”
Powell waved him off. “Just take her,” he said. He looked at me. “Ms. Crimson, I expect you won’t be late again?”
I smiled and shook my head. He motioned for the door. I jumped up, shooting Christian one last glance before walking away. He sucked at his teeth.
“See ya,” he said. He looked up at Aiden. “Thanks for the invite, by the way.”
Aiden raised his chin to him. “No problem, Chris. I’ll see you Saturday.” Then he held his hand out to me. I jogged up to take it, thrilled to finally see him. His fingers squeezed mine, and they were warm, protective. We began walking out.
“Cool,” Christian called to us. “And it’s Christian.”
“Sorry,” Aiden said, not looking back. “See you later, man.” And we left.
I debated telling Aiden about Christian’s failed attempt to woo me but decided it would only cause more friction. And friction was not something I needed. Not when I was overflowing with assignments.
The minute we got in the empty hall, I tugged on Aiden’s hand. He looked down at me and batted his eyelashes dramatically. Wow. He looked fantastic, and my anxiety began to ease as I stared back at him.
“You missed me, didn’t you?” he asked expectantly.
“Madly. Where were you?”
He let go of my hand and placed his arm over my shoulders as we headed down the empty hall to the cafeteria. We didn’t need to go to my locker—Aiden never brought his lunch to school. That was just a lie to get me out of detention fifteen minutes early. He knew Mr. Powell would let me go because he was a huge supporter of the Wildcats. That man had spirit.
Aiden exhaled. “I got to school late because my mother was bitching me out about some stupid phone call she got last night.”
“Phone call?”
“Yeah. Some a*shole called her last night and said that I was f*cking around after practice or something—”
I slapped him in the stomach. His language was atrocious today. “Sorry.” He shook his head. “Well, anyway, they told her I was drinking and driving. So she took my car. She wouldn’t even let me use the phone to call you.”
I stopped walking, letting his arm fall off of me. “What in heaven’s name? Who would do that?”
“Seriously,” he agreed. “I wouldn’t drink after practice, and I definitely wouldn’t drive if I did.”
As I stared up at Aiden, my heart was racing. Nobody messed with him like that. Aiden was very well liked. Ping-Pong and pogo sticks! This was weird.
“Do you think …” I paused. I didn’t want to say it.
“Christian?” he asked for me.
I twitched my nose, sort of embarrassed for accusing without evidence. That was not the SOS way.
“Already thought of that,” Aiden said, reaching out to put his arms around my waist to pull me to him. “But my mom said it was a girl.”
My mouth fell open. Oh, I did not like that. Not at all. “A girl?” It came out as a squeak. My fur prickled. Aiden’s mother probably loved that. Someone other than me calling the house.
“Aw, baby,” he said, and chuckled. “They were throwing me under the bus, not asking me out.” He bent down and kissed my forehead. “Retract the claws.”
I swatted him and backed up. “Well, I still don’t like it,” I said.
“Yeah, me either. I’m not allowed to have the car for a week.”
Jeez Louise! That was harsh. “I’ll drive you,” I said, taking his hand and tugging him down the stairs to the cafeteria. I was still starving.
“Thank God she’s gone this weekend,” Aiden said, lifting my fingers to his mouth to kiss them.
Right, I had a question about that. “Why did you invite Chloe?” I asked, not turning around. I didn’t want to tell him I’d forgotten about his party, even though I wasn’t entirely sure he’d told me about it.
“Who’s Chloe?”
“Christian’s sister.” I smiled a little. I was happy to hear that he didn’t recognize her name. Even though she was clearly hunting him.
“Oh, her,” he said, pausing for a minute. “I just invited both of them to be nice.”
I twirled to face him as we entered the cafeteria doors. “To be nice?”
“Yeah, baby. I wanted to be polite. I knew you’d like it.” He made a face like that was the only obvious answer, even though I was sure my Wildcat wasn’t that polite.
“Wow,” I said, pretending to take the bait. “That sure is sweet of you.”
“I know.” He widened his eyes, mocking our conversation, and puckered his lips like he wanted a kiss. I had narrowed my eyes, ready to argue, when I caught sight of Chloe over his shoulder, sitting at our lunch table. She glanced up at us, and I felt a rush of possessiveness.
“Come here,” I purred at Aiden, taking a fistful of his shirt and pulling him toward me. Aiden looked down at me knowingly.
“Mm … my kitty’s feeling frisky.”
I laughed, letting my anger melt away.
Aiden leaned all the way down to pause his lips just above mine. “You’re going to stay this weekend, right?”
I met his green gaze, and my insides began to liquefy like they always did when Aiden looked at me like that. I nodded. He grinned and then pressed his warm mouth to mine, squeezing me tight. When we parted, he winked at me.
“Now let’s get you fed,” he said. “You need to store up some energy.”
He was so steamy.
When we got to our table, Chloe was gone. Her much-needed absence totally released the tension I’d been holding in my shoulders all day. Aiden went up to the line and grabbed me a lunch tray filled with hot sliced turkey. Then he excused himself to go over some plays with his team. It was perfect timing. It left me alone with my squad. The minute he walked away, we all leaned into the Formica table in unison.
“What’s the double scoop?” I asked, setting down my spork and looking between their faces.
Leona adjusted her glasses. “Three assignments. Two cheater requests and a background check. And since two of our Kittens, Melody and Frances, went out of town this week, I’m not sure we have the cheer power to complete them.”
Hm. Leona had a good point. We were down four pom-poms.
“I miss them,” Izzie said, wiping her nose. “I hope they come back soon.”
Leona shook her head. “Get focused, girls. We’re not going to let these cheaters get the best of us. We may be outnumbered, but they’re outsmarted. Tess, you have a plan, right?”
Her question caught me off guard. Although I knew my squad would be short a few members, I hadn’t made a plan B. I wasn’t even sure I had a plan A.
“Of course Tessa has a plan,” Kira said, annoyed with Leona’s question.
I looked between all of their trusting eyes and began to feel something. Panic. But I cleared my throat and channeled the SOS ways. “Kira,” I said in my captain voice, “you and Izzie focus on the first cheater request. Stake out with visual only.”
She smiled. “On it, Tess.”
“Leona, you and Kara map out the second request, and we’ll set it up for Wednesday night.” I snapped my fingers. “Oh, and Leona, I need you to update the Naughty List and return some of those texts. Sound good?” Phew.
Leona stared at me. “What about the background check?”
Oh. I’d forgotten one. How did I … “Um … I’ll do that one. Just forward me the information.” I was confused.
Leona twisted her adorable necklace around her finger. “Tessa, it’s your night with the SOS phone. You know that, right?”
I didn’t.
“I’m going to use it tonight,” Kira interrupted. “I already cleared it with Tess.” She looked across the table and smiled encouragingly at me. She’d just saved my rep. That girl rocked.
“Great,” Leona mumbled, resting her chin on her upturned palm. “Another night of texts from Kira. Just don’t send me any more pictures of guys’ butts, okay?”
Kira grinned. “If I can help it. But you did see Maxwell, right?”
“I know.” Izzie giggled next to her. “It was nice. How about Jonathon Stuart…”
The girls began to talk among themselves about the best backsides in the junior class. I would have loved to listen to the conversation, but I was too busy staring at Aiden across the lunchroom.
He was laughing, joking with Darren and the guys. Then suddenly, he looked up and saw me watching. He smiled and winked. It made me uneasy, seeing how well my boyfriend fit in with a table of cheaters. I pushed the thought away.
Still, it made me think of Chloe and the fact that she was going after my boyfriend so obviously. And I certainly didn’t like the way she searched me, looking for my cracks. In fact, I wished the little blond temptress would transfer to another school altogether.
But I didn’t get my wish.
Chloe joined us for lunch the next day, clad in a super-tight pair of jeans and a baby tee. The Smitten Kittens had put aside their dislike for her earlier comments toward me once she’d apologized. They were such good sports. But I wasn’t going to be so forgiving. At least not on the inside.
But I was surprised and delighted to see that Christian looked like he was taking a shine to Kira. He’d even started sitting next to her. I mean, it was directly across from me but also next to Kira. And even though they didn’t talk to each other, they both talked to me, which was also something they had in common.
A happy thought struck me. Aiden’s party was this weekend, and it was only natural for new couples to form at a party. Even Romeo and Juliet met at a party. I could get Kira and Christian together. Maybe then he’d focus his attention elsewhere.
SOS CHEATER INCIDENT REPORT
CASE: 004
CLIENT: Madeline Haskel
SUBJECT: Roger Stanvick
Dear Ms. Haskel,
SOS is happy to honor your Potential Boyfriend Background Check voucher. And although it’s tragic that we’ve had to deliver bad news to you on three separate occasions, we hope that by providing you with this service, you can make an informed decision on your next choice of companionship.
Mr. Stanvick will be observed within 48 hours of this notification. Please remember that this voucher is only valid for one background check per semester.
Thank you for your referrals, and SOS truly hopes that your dating needs are met. If you need to cancel this assignment, please text the stop order form within 24 hours. Have a great day.