The Boyfriend Deal(3)

Hadley wasn't at her locker, and I cursed myself for not pressing her  harder to wait for me. Of course, there was no guarantee she'd have  listened even if I'd been firmer. Just because I'd told her we should  make a deal, I now realized she hadn't exactly agreed to it. Here I was  fantasizing about what the upcoming weeks would be like, and our  possible distant future, and for all I knew, she was hiding from me and  had no interest in claiming me as her pretend boyfriend.         

     



 

The cafeteria was crowded, but I easily spotted her in line. The guy  standing behind her was checking her out a little more than I liked and I  shoved him aside, moving into his spot. Hadley jumped and squeaked as  my arms snaked around her waist, and I pulled her back against me.

"It doesn't sound like you're too excited to see me," I whispered in her ear. "Whatever will people think?"

She scowled up at me. "That we aren't together. That's what they'll think."

"Come on, Red. You know you're intrigued. What could you possibly have to lose?"

Her cheeks flushed a rather charming shade of pink, and I wondered just  what naughty idea had crossed her mind. With a smirk, I placed my lips  by her ear again.

"Careful there, Red. I might get the idea you like me far more than  you're letting on. It's looking to me like you're far more interested in  my offer than your lips are saying."

She huffed and elbowed me in the ribs. All I did was laugh, give her a  squeeze, and then I let her go so she could get her food. When we  reached the register, I stuck my hand over her shoulder and paid for her  meal and mine, earning me another glare. When I'd come up with this  plan, I hadn't realized how much fun it would be. She prickled so easily  around me, and I couldn't wait to tear down those walls and show her  what she'd been missing all these years.

When she took her usual seat with the other geeks, I slid into the spot  next to her, making sure our arms brushed. The look she cast my way was  confused, irritated, and hopeful all at the same time. That one look  told me a lot. It seemed she wasn't as unaffected by my charm as I had  thought, which was good if this plan was going to work, but the  irritation told me I would have to work for it. I had a feeling that  nothing about Hadley was easy. By her own admission, the rumors that  she'd never let Hunter get past first base were true. That actually  pleased me  …  a lot. It meant she could experience those firsts with me,  when she was ready of course. I might chase anything in a skirt, but I'd  never taken what wasn't offered freely.

"What are you doing here?" she asked through clenched teeth.

I smiled the kind of smile that had made girls melt at my feet since I  was big enough to walk. If anything, she scowled even more, but the  pulse in her neck, which was beating wildly out of control, told me she  liked me more than she was admitting.

"Where else would I sit? I mean, you are my girlfriend."

She gasped and opened and shut her mouth several times, her eyes wide as  if she couldn't believe I'd just said that, especially in front of her  friends. The girls around us giggled and watched the show with avid  interest. At least someone was eating out of the palm of my hand, even  if it wasn't my supposed girlfriend. I'd take what I could get. If I won  over her friends, then it wouldn't be long before those walls she'd put  up started to crumble.

"I'm not your girlfriend," she hissed.

I reached out, wrapped a long lock of her hair around my finger and gave  it a gentle tug. The move seemed to freeze her in place, and I watched  her chest rise and fall rapidly. She wanted to be my girlfriend, even if  she didn't admit it. This wasn't as easy as I had thought it would be.  With stalker-boy dogging her every step, I'd thought it would be a piece  of cake to get her to agree. Why was she being so stubborn?

"I thought we discussed this, Red. I asked you out, and while I'm still  waiting on your reply, I'm fairly certain it's going to be yes. We can  start simple. Ice cream after school. You know you're tempted."

Hadley opened her mouth to respond, probably to put me in my place, but she yelped and glared at her friend across the table.

"She'd be happy to go with you," the friend said.

I should have known her name. It wasn't like our school was very big,  but I had to admit that I didn't keep up with the geeks. Not unless they  were named Hadley Ryan. I still flashed her a smile of appreciation,  since it seemed she was on my side.

"Thanks, Jenny," Hadley hissed.

"Oh, please," Jenny scoffed. "Like you weren't eventually going to say  yes. I know you like to torture boys before you agree to go out with  them, but Tyler seems like a nice guy. I think you should give him a  chance."

I tipped my head toward Jenny as I smiled at Hadley. "What she said."

Hadley folded her arms over her chest. "Fine. One date."

"One date is all it will take for you to fall completely under my spell."

She rolled her eyes and focused on her lunch, but I caught the side-eye  from her several times and knew she was thinking it over. Now that I'd  won my first date with her, I had to find a way to get her to agree to a  second one. For some reason, my charm and stellar personality didn't  seem to be working on Hadley. Which meant I needed to up my game. She'd  liked that kiss in the hall. Maybe if I found another reason to kiss  her, then I'd get her to agree to date number two.         

     



 

Before she could disappear at the end of lunch, I wrapped an arm around  her waist, hauled her against me, and kissed her cheek. She seemed  flustered and her cheeks flushed a beautiful pink. I liked that look on  her, and it just became my mission to do it again and again. After all, a  flushing, babbling, blushing Hadley couldn't keep shooting me down.





Chapter Three



Hadley



How did I end up at the ice cream shop with Tyler? I lapped my tongue  against my double scoop of Very Berry Strawberry and watched Tyler like a  hawk. I didn't trust him, especially with that easy, flirtatious smile  on his face. If he thought for one moment I was going to fall for the  same lines he fed every other girl, he'd better think again. I wasn't  one of those cheerleaders who hung on his every word, or any of the  girls on the swim team who giggled every time he was near.

Oh, who was I kidding? The boy could recite words out of the dictionary,  and I'd think it was sexy. I had it bad, and no matter how much I  pushed him away, that wouldn't change the way my heart thumped wildly in  my chest every time he was near. And I had to admit, the way his eyes  smoldered at me, as he licked that vanilla cone, made me shiver in the  best of ways.

"You know, if you're cold, Red, we could go sit outside."

The smirk on his lips told me he knew exactly why I'd shivered, and it  had nothing to do with the air conditioning being cranked to fifty  below, and everything to do with his sexy self. Gah! The guy was good;  I'd give him that. Here I was, ready to resist, and all I could do was  stare like some lovesick calf, no better than any other girl he'd ever  dated.

Not that we were dating!

"I'm fine," I lied.

His lips twitched and he went back to molesting his ice cream cone. Some  juniors walked in and noticed us sitting together. I felt like I should  get up and move before I ruined his reputation. He seemed to read my  mind though, reached across the table, and locked our fingers together. A  gentle tug proved he wasn't letting go and I narrowed my eyes.

The girls paused by our table, giggling like crazy, and I focused on  them for a moment. Brittany? Bridget? Heck, I couldn't even remember the  blonde's name, but I knew it was something with a B. She hadn't even  looked my way, her eyes fastened solely on Tyler. And could I blame her?  Mr. Sexy was eating ice cream in a way that was guaranteed to fuel the  dreams of every female under the age of fifty.

"Becca, right?" Tyler asked, finally looking up at her.

She giggled again. "I can't believe you remembered my name."

Gag!

"You're on the cheer squad with Bethany, right?"

She nodded eagerly, obviously thinking she was getting somewhere with  him. If she'd noticed he was holding hands with me, she didn't let on.  Or maybe she only saw and heard what she wanted to see and hear. Becca  had been standing by our table for at least two minutes now, and she  still hadn't even acknowledged my presence. Talk about rude!

"I can't wait for Friday's game," she gushed. "I bet you score the winning touchdown."

"If I do, it will be because my good luck charm is sitting in the  stands." He fastened that molten gaze on me again. "You will be there,  won't you, baby?"

Baby?

"I'm sorry. Are you two … " Becca trailed off, her eyes wide as if she couldn't believe what she'd just heard.

Something inside of me snapped. I was tired of being seen as inferior,  of lacking the female wiles to attract a guy like Tyler. Sure, I was a  band geek, but I was every bit as pretty as Becca and her gang of  giggling idiots, wasn't I? If anything Tyler had said or done today was  to be believed, then I was attractive to the male population.