“What the hell, man? You have Alicia. Besides, word in the halls is that Hadley doesn’t put out. Hunter said he had a serious case of blue balls after dating her.”
I doubted that very much. Hunter had hooked up with random girls at every party he’d been to without Hadley, which was a lot of them. Every time I’d seen him sneak off with some chick, or watched him paw her out in the open, I’d wanted to beat the shit out of him for cheating on Hadley like that. I’d known it was going to devastate her once she found out, and eventually someone had sent her the proof she needed to break up with the jackass. Just because she’d been beneath me socially didn’t mean I’d wanted to watch some asshole tear her world apart. That little part of me that had always been fascinated by her had wanted to stand up for her and knock the jackass’s teeth down his throat.
“I don’t care about the rumors Hunter is spreading. You and I both know he wasn’t faithful to her. Maybe knowing she has someone that wants her, and only her, will make a difference. Not that I’m trying to get in her pants. I really do like spending time with her. If you got to know her, you’d realize how funny and sweet she is.”
“Who are you and what have you done with Tyler?” Colin asked. “Do you hear yourself?”
Maybe he’d gone a little too far, but if he acted like an asshole with his friends, then they would expect that behavior with Hadley too. And if this plan was going to work, then Tyler really did need to become a different person, a kinder one. Someone who wasn’t a selfish asshole who only thought of himself.
“There’s more to a relationship than hooking up. I can have any girl I want; we both know that, and Alicia is proof that they’ll do whatever I ask. Maybe I like the fact Hadley won’t just fall at my feet and do anything. I liked spending time with her this afternoon, and I even had dinner at her house.”
“You never have dinner with the parents. You’re breaking all your rules with her,” Colin said. “Are you sure she’s worth the ridicule you’re going to face at school? What if your friends decide they can’t hang with you anymore?”
“Then they were never my friends. Is that what you’re saying? That I have to pick Hadley or you?”
Colin sighed. “It’s not like that, but I can’t afford to be seen with her. Besides, you know the girls aren’t going to like having her around. It’s one thing for them to share your attention between them, but adding someone else? That’s not going to fly.”
I really didn’t care what the girls thought, or anyone else for that matter. All right, that wasn’t entirely true. It was still important to me that I was popular, but maybe I didn’t have to rule the school the way I had up to this point. Once I’d become the star quarterback in ninth grade, everything had become brighter. Suddenly, everyone wanted to be my friend.
“Maybe I don’t care what everyone thinks anymore. I’m captain of the football team. Girls want me and guys want to be me. There are countless Alicias in the world, but there is only one Hadley. Maybe I think it’s worth getting to know her.”
“What, like you’re in love with her after one day?” Colin asked snidely. “You are seriously screwed up.”
“No, I’ve been screwed up the last three years. It’s time to make some changes in my life, and one of those is Hadley. If you can’t hang with me because of her, then go find a new best friend. I didn’t realize what we had was so fragile that my falling for a band geek would be enough to destroy it.”
Whoa! Did I just say I was falling for a band geek? What. The. Fuck. I mean, yeah, I liked Hadley and had for a while, but falling for her? Where the hell had that come from?
“Does she know you’ve totally flipped for her?” Colin asked.
“No, and I’m not ready to tell her yet.” Hell, I wasn’t ready to tell myself that. “She knows I’m into her and that I’m serious, but I don’t think she realizes how serious.”
“For the record, I don’t agree with your decision to date beneath you. Out of all the girls in school, why did it have to be that one?”
“I think if you got to know Hadley, you’d be able to answer that yourself. She’s different, Colin. She makes good grades; she’s talented, and she’s probably the sweetest girl I’ve ever met.” Except for when she was puffing up at me with narrowed eyes and a few sharp words. “Hadley is unique. The other girls are all alike.”
“Don’t come crying to me when this blows up in your face.”