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.