“Everything is going to be fine.”
At least, that’s what I told myself as I hung up the phone, but really I wasn’t one hundred percent sure. There was Alicia to deal with, and Hadley was still being tormented by Hunter. I’d like to think my presence would deter him from bothering her, but for all I knew, it would have the opposite effect and he’d come after her even more now. As for the psycho in my life, I knew it was only a matter of time before she would strike. She’d never come after me, but Hadley would be fair game to her. Talking to Alicia never did any good, but if she caused too much trouble, I’d have to report her to the school. It had been funny when she’d tormented the others, but I wasn’t about to let anyone hurt Hadley in any way.
My phone dinged and I read Robert’s message. The band geek?
Yeah, so Hadley was a band geek. Why was everyone hung up on that? It wasn’t like it determined who she was. She played the flute, and from what I remembered, she did it rather well. Did that somehow make her less of a person than one of the girls on the cheer squad? In my eyes it didn’t, and it never had. No, we hadn’t travelled in the same social circle, not even when she’d dated Hunter, but I would have gladly given up everything in my life for a chance to be with her. Now I had that opportunity, and I wasn’t going to let it pass me by. I just had to find a way to take this fake romance and make it into the real deal.
Me: She’s more than a band geek
Robert: She’s kinda hot
Me: Don’t even think of flirting with my girlfriend
Robert: LOL it’s been one day and she’s your gf already?
Me: Sometimes you just know
Robert: Then she’s okay by me. Alicia is going to be pissed
Me: Help me keep an eye on Hadley?
Robert: You got it. When do I get to meet her?
Me: Tomorrow morning at her locker
I didn’t hear from Robert again, but I assumed we’d see him in the morning. It was nice to have the support of at least one of my friends. Who knew the guys I hung out with were such jerks? I shouldn’t have been surprised by Colin’s comments, but I was hurt he thought so little of our friendship that he wouldn’t even give Hadley a chance. I’d been friends with Colin and Robert since grade school, but it seemed that didn’t mean very much to Colin.
I set my phone aside and stripped down to my boxers. There was an essay I should probably have worked on, but I still had a few days. The same assignment had been given to Hadley’s class, so maybe she’d want to study together one night this week, and we could write them together. I’d never done homework with a girl before. Not really. I’d said I was doing homework, but we’d ended up making out the entire time. If Hadley really didn’t plan to let me get past first base, I had a feeling I’d get lots of homework done over the next few weeks, if not longer. And I was okay with her wanting to hold out. I didn’t want her to do something that made her uncomfortable or didn’t feel right. A lot of girls gave it up because they were lost in the moment, but if something ever happened between Hadley and me, I wanted it to be for the right reasons, and not just because she felt good right then. If I wanted easy, I’d stay with Alicia, despite what Mom had said.
I was turning into a sap. If the guys knew how worried I was about Hadley’s feelings, then they would revoke my man card. Not to mention all of the teasing I’d endure. Although, if Colin was right, I was probably facing quite a bit of teasing anyway just for wanting to be with Hadley. And I was okay with that. To me, she was worth it. Of course, I had to make her believe I wanted to be with her when things got bad at school. Normally, I’d say a few more kisses and she’d be eating out of my hand, but not with Hadley. She was different, and different was good. Very good.
Morning couldn’t come soon enough. I couldn’t wait to see what she’d wear in the morning, and I was definitely looking forward to breakfast.
Chapter Five
Hadley
I tugged on my denim skirt as I looked in the mirror. The three-quarter sleeve aqua top was cute, but I’d shoved this skirt to the back of my closet for a reason. It had been a gift and was the shortest skirt I owned, barely passing school regulation. I’d only pulled it out that morning because I thought Tyler might like it. Even when I’d dated Hunter, I had never dressed to please him, and I wasn’t sure I liked the fact I was doing it now. It shouldn’t matter if Tyler liked my outfit. It should only matter that I liked my outfit.
My hair was washed and straightened so it hung long and sleek down my back and a little past my waist. When it dried naturally, there was a bit of wave to it that made it shrink up. It wasn’t often that I took the time to straighten my hair, but Tyler had said we were going out for breakfast this morning, and I wanted to look nice for our date. Or was it a date? He hadn’t called it a date, but… I shook my head. I was overthinking things again.