Except… She studied him. Kyle looked anything but trouble right now, in dirty shorts with a stripe of mud across his forehead. He looked normal, like someone she could trust. Maybe even…nice.
And why the hell couldn’t she keep her eyes on his face? Who cared if he was built like the statue of David? Then her eyes drifted to his arms. He played baseball, she remembered, and worked outside. From those muscles, she bet he could carry her and a load of firewood at the same time. Cameron had been more stringy—a running back, lean and quick. Kyle was lean, but packed with muscle. What would it be like to run a hand over those biceps?
Damn it. Focus.
Finally, he said, “Cameron and his friends treated me like shit in middle school, and he still treats some friends of mine that way. But I especially don’t like assholes who treat girls badly. For all my…faults, I like girls.” His smirk turned into a secretive smile. “Guys like Cameron should get hit on the nose every once in a while, just for existing and making people miserable.”
She let out the breath she was holding. “Does that mean you’ll do it?”
“Sure, why not?” he said. “I don’t know why you’d pick me for this experiment, but I’m not seeing anyone right now, so I’m in. Anything to make Cameron look like an idiot.”
Faith couldn’t believe it. Could. Not. Believe. It. He was really going to do this. “Thank you! So…if we’re really going to do this, we’ll need to be seen together some. Both at school and other places. Is that okay?”
“Fine by me.” He looked around her backyard. “And I’m going to be over here a lot, working. If you invite me inside when your parents aren’t here, and you have nosy neighbors, that could get stories started.” He paused. “Are you sure you really want to do this? I mean, no big deal to me, but are you sure you want to, uh, tarnish your reputation by hanging out with me?”
Determination welled up inside her. “Yes. As long as my parents don’t get sucked in—they’re pretty protective—I’m totally fine with this.”
“Okay, then.” He blew out a breath. “I better get back to work. We can talk more tomorrow.”
She had to force herself to be still and not dance around the yard in triumph. “Tomorrow it is. And Kyle? Thank you. This is going to be the best trick ever pulled at Suttonville High.”
As she drifted inside, she thought she heard him say, “If you say so, princess.”
Chapter Nine
Kyle
After Faith went back inside—wearing this smile that would make an ax murderer run—Kyle started cleaning out the brush in the backyard, all thoughts of lunch forgotten. In fact, it kind of felt like a train wreck was in progress in his stomach. He’d tried to play it cool, to act like he was only kind of interested, no strings attached, but his rage against Cameron had almost gotten the better of him. The real problem, though, was Faith. How close would he have to let her get?
How far would he have to go to keep up the story? Would they have to be caught making out to spread the rumors faster?
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and it had nothing to do with the midafternoon heat. God, what had he gotten himself into? Was he really going to risk his peace at school by taking on Cameron and his friends? He’d finally found a comfortable place, free of those bastards, and now he was hitting them head-on by “seducing” Cameron’s ex.
Just chill. It wasn’t like he actually had to sleep with her. Convincing people wouldn’t be hard, even without much evidence. Tell a few guys on the team when they had practice that he’d hooked up with Faith during the break, and it would be out. He wouldn’t have to do anything much to keep it going.
But still.
It was one thing to create a persona for himself—if things went wrong it was his own damn fault. Faith, though? He didn’t know her well enough to tell what she was really like, but she seemed like one of those nice girls who would move to the other side of the hall if he headed her way. A shiny dancer girl with a clean image. It seemed a shame that she’d throw all that away on a little revenge, but guys like Cameron brought the worst out in people for damn sure.
Kyle tidied up the pile of broken branches, then went for a spade and a crowbar. He needed to work off his anxiety, and there were a few large photinias along the fence that needed to go. Why the hell did anyone plant these? They took over yards, spread fungus, and they weren’t all that much to look at. They also were a pain to dig out, and that’s exactly what he needed right now. Hard labor and a vendetta. Well, that, and time to imagine the look on Cameron’s face when he heard the news.
He hacked at those photinias like they’d done him personal harm. Just thinking about that asshole made some horrible memories surface. His first run-in with Cameron’s pack at school had been in seventh grade. The memory still stung.
They’d swaggered into the bathroom, following him inside. Then, they’d all been bigger than him.
“Who’s the shrimp?” Cameron had asked, voice cracking on the last word.