The Boyfriend Deal(2)

     



 

Tyler took my hand, tugged me into the hall, and then closed the  classroom door. I was pretty sure Mrs. Lundstrom didn't mean for that to  happen, but she didn't exactly stop him either. As I looked around, I  realized we were completely alone and it made my palms sweat a little. I  didn't think Tyler had anything nefarious planned, since there wasn't  an audience, but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what he could  possibly want to say to me that required him to drag me from class. I  could practically feel the stares on the other side of the door as  everyone speculated about what was happening in the hall.

"If you wanted my attention, all you had to do was ask for it." He  smirked at me, but there was laughter in his eyes. I was glad someone  found this amusing.

"I was trying to prove to my ex that I've moved on. You just happened to be handy."

"Who are you trying to convince? Will it make you sleep better if you  tell yourself you didn't mean to kiss me? That I was just in the right  place at the right time?"

My eyes narrowed at him and I pursed my lips, wanting to argue the  point, but what was the use? He was kind of right. I hadn't  intentionally kissed him this morning, but I'd definitely wanted to for  almost my entire life. And something told me he knew about my  infatuation with him. But then, every girl in school was infatuated with  him, so it wasn't a big stretch to come to that conclusion.

"Look, you need me, whether you want to admit it or not." He smiled at me again. "So why don't we make a deal?"

"What kind of deal?"

If he thought I was going to sleep with him just to chase off Hunter, he  was sadly mistaken. Of course, if that was all he wanted, he could get  that anywhere. It was no big secret that was why he dated Alicia. She  gave him everything he could possibly want, so I was a little confused  as to why they kept breaking up.

"You need a boyfriend so Hunter Prescott will stop following you around  like a lost little puppy, and I need a nice, stable girlfriend that I  can take home to meet my parents. Mom is threatening to send me to  military school if I don't change my ways, and as I see it, you're  exactly the type of girl she wishes I would date."

"You mean someone who won't let you get past first base?"

He nodded. "Besides, you have that wholesome girl-next-door quality.  You're the exact opposite of the girls I usually date, and if Mom sees  the two of us spending time together, then she'll forget this insane  idea of sending me away."

"So you want to pretend to be my boyfriend?" I wasn't certain I'd heard  that right. And if I had, while it was very tempting, I could see major  flaws with his plan. For one, my heart was going to get trampled because  I was seriously ga-ga over the boy. For another, Alicia was going to  destroy me if she thought for one moment Tyler was serious about me.

"We each get something we need, and in a few weeks, we can break up.  Dating me will open the door to other guys asking you out and get rid of  your stalker, and my dating you will keep me out of military school."

The boy was seriously crazy. He really thought anyone would believe he  would date me? Like he'd said, I was the exact opposite of the girls he  usually hung out with. No way was anyone going to believe he'd suddenly  fallen for the band geek, not even if they'd seen our kiss this morning  in the hall. The determined set of his jaw told me he was going to make  it work, one way or another. Why couldn't a boy come after me with that  sort of determination for real? Aside from crazy Hunter. I hoped this  didn't come back to bite me in the rear. The last thing I needed was  another psycho stalker on my hands.





Chapter Two



Tyler



Now that I'd had her lips on mine, it was kind of hard to look away. Who  would have thought sweet little Hadley could kiss like that?

"Dude, what was that?" my friend Luke asked in a hushed tone so the  teacher wouldn't hear. "Since when do you have a thing for geeks?"

I shrugged and smirked. "She may be a geek, but that was a pretty hot kiss. I think my lips melted a little."

Luke snorted.

I was being an asshole and I knew it. I'd like to blame my behavior on  some life-altering event, but the truth was my parents had always had a  great relationship, no one had ever beaten me, and I'd never been in  trouble-despite what my mother thought. I drank a little too much,  partied a little too hard, and definitely chased after any girl that  caught my eye, but it was all a front. None of that was who I really  was.

My dad had been a geek in school, and I'd heard horror stories of him  being shoved into lockers, laughed at during gym, and called names  because of his braces and glasses. Mom had been the popular girl he'd  always wanted and thought he'd never have. But then he'd had a  transformation during high school. He'd gotten contacts and the braces  had come off  …  he'd filled out a little and suddenly he had Mom's  attention.         

     



 

I guess, I'd decided long ago I'd never be like Dad because I was  determined not to go through the things he had endured. I had probably  taken things a bit too far over the years, but even so, I wasn't ready  to give up my popularity, even for a girl like Hadley. I knew she was  something special, a once in a lifetime kind of girl, but I wasn't ready  to make that leap yet. If I wasn't the super popular captain of the  football team, Tyler Robbins, I wasn't anyone. And I refused to be a  nobody my senior year.

As I slumped in my desk, not paying the least bit of attention to my  History teacher, something landed on my desk. I glanced at Mr. Williams,  then pulled the note under my desk to open it. The curling handwriting  with little hearts above the I's told me it was from a girl, but I had  no idea which one.

Take me to the dance?

Who was brave enough to ask me to the dance next week? I looked around  the room and caught Bethany Andrews giving me what I'm sure she thought  was a seductive smile. It looked cold and calculating, and just like a  hundred other smiles I'd seen since becoming captain of the football  team. At one point in my life, I'd have jumped at the chance to hook up  with a girl like her. Easy. They were all easy and falling at my feet,  practically begging me to take advantage of them. The old me would have  smiled back, given her a wink, and not only taken her to the dance, but  put a blanket in the back of my truck for afterward.

I wasn't going to be that guy anymore though. Not only would my mother  not put up with it any longer, but I didn't want to be like that. I  wanted to be someone who deserved a girl like Hadley. This was senior  year, and while it was supposed to be full of parties and getting laid, I  was ready to set the foundation for my future. It was time to ditch the  Alicias in my life, also known as my psycho ex, and start making better  decisions. Preferably ones that wouldn't land me in military school.

I shook my head, dashing Bethany's hopes. Her eyes narrowed and her lips  thinned, but I wasn't too worried about her being pissed. I'd only  dated her once, and that had been weeks ago, so there was no reason she  should expect me to take her out again, much less to a dance. As I faced  forward, my brow furrowed. I didn't remember seeing Hadley at too many  dances. Maybe one or two with Hunter, but  …  if she hadn't gone with her  real boyfriend, what were the chances she'd go with me?

"You know Alicia will have heard about the kiss," Luke whispered.

I nearly groaned. "Let's just hope she doesn't go psycho on Hadley like she has every other girl I've shown an interest in."

Hadley. That kiss was still replaying in my mind.

I'd have to convince her the dance was an important part of my plan. If  she didn't go to the dance with me, then Mom would never believe I was  seriously dating Hadley. I wasn't entirely sure Mom was going to believe  it anyway. I'd mentioned Hadley off and on over the years-yes, I'd  noticed her even though I'd never asked her out-but Mom knew her to be  my unattainable girl. What were the chances she'd believe I'd caught the  girl of my dreams on my first try? Especially a girl like Hadley.

The bell rang, dismissing us to an early lunch, and I immediately went  to Hadley's last class, only to find her missing. I moved along to  Hadley's locker. I knew she usually sat with the band geeks on the far  side of the cafeteria, but that was about to change today. Either that,  or I'd have to sit with the band geeks. Talk about social suicide! Of  course, dating Hadley was going to screw up my image anyway. The guys  would probably think I was attempting to go where no boy had been  before, and the girls would wonder what sort of blackmail she had over  me.

Little did they all realize I would do anything to be allowed the  pleasure of worshipping at the feet of Hadley Ryan. Her hair, a  beautiful red, shined like a new copper penny when the sun hit it just  right. The green of her eyes reminded me of a smooth piece of jade.  While she didn't have the curves of most of the girls I had dated, I  thought her petite, willowy frame was far sexier. She fit perfectly in  my arms, and I couldn't wait to hold her again.