“Lily?” Les’s grin had faded, and he was studying me intently. “Should I take the silence as a no?”
I swallowed my hot dog. “No.”
He frowned. “No, it’s not a no, or no, you’re not going to go with me?”
Okay, so I couldn’t help it. It was kind of funny to see Les getting all worked up after I’d been so worried about impressing him that first day. I liked being in control way better. So I grinned at him. “Which do you think it is?”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Are you messing with me?”
“Yep.” I suddenly felt much more cheerful, watching Les squirm. It was amazing the power that my fake boyfriend had given me. I’d have to be sure and thank Rafe the next time I saw him.
Les narrowed his eyes, as if he were trying to figure me out. Which he was, of course. Lily Gardner, woman of mystery. “Messing with me, as in you’re about to say no, or messing with me as in you’re planning to say yes, but you’re torturing me first?”
“Exactly!” I grinned wider at the disgruntled look on his face.
He groaned. “Lily! Are you going with me or not?”
“Yes!”
He started to smile, then frowned. “Yes, you’re going with me, or yes, you’re not?”
I patted his cheek. “I need to check with my boyfriend. Call me Sunday night and I’ll let you know, okay?”
He looked surprised. “Playing hard to get?”
“I am hard to get.” Oh, good one, Lily.
“It seems you are.” He grinned and trailed his fingers over my knee, his eyes bright with interest that hadn’t been there the day we’d met on the field. “I’ll call you. Definitely.” Then he stood up and walked back toward the grill.
I flopped my arms over my head and watched everyone flirting over by the grill. I was the only one not over there. I should feel good, right? I mean, Les was into me. I could quadruple date with my friends. I’d established my social status for my entire high school career.
But I didn’t feel good. Not really. I mean, I felt powerful, and that was good, but I also felt like I had a mound of clay in my chest, making it ache.
Les only liked me because I had a boyfriend, not because he thought there was anything appealing about me personally. I wasn’t an idiot, and I was well aware that he’d started being interested the moment he realized I was taken. What would happen when he found out I was socially unfettered? Would it be like the football field again? Ditching me and running away?
I was cool only because I had a fake boyfriend. A fake boyfriend with a fake MTV audition. A fake boyfriend who had a real girlfriend. A fake boyfriend who I couldn’t stop thinking about.
I was so in over my head.
CHAPTER TEN
From the minute Rafe picked me up on Sunday morning, all he did was talk about the band’s music. It was all about Mass Attack during the whole ride to Mueller-Fordham and once we got into the rehearsal room.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t listening to a word he said.
While Rafe was talking music, all I could do was think about how much cuter he was than Les. How he probably wouldn’t throw me in the pool with all my clothes on, unless he knew I’d be okay with it. How he was such a good guy that he’d made it clear he was with Paige from the first moment, so there could be no misunderstanding. Unlike Les, who had gotten all fired up at the idea of stealing another guy’s girlfriend.
Les was an amoral, boring idiot. Rafe was an incredibly talented musician with a tattoo, mesmerizing eyes, a crazy aunt, screwed up parents, and a great smile. He was wearing a Red Sox hat, a pair of khaki shorts with all sorts of cool pockets on them, and a faded red shirt that looked like bleach had gotten splashed on it. He was so different from Les and the rest of the Inverness guys with their perfect haircuts and poolside barbeques.
Rafe was real.
“Are you listening?” he asked.
I blinked and stared at him. He was sitting at his drums and I was standing at the keyboard. He had an expectant look on his face, as if he’d been waiting for me to answer a question. “Um, I sort of tuned out for a minute.” I studied his tattoo. It was an assortment of bright colors and geometric shapes, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Would he be offended if I asked him?
“I asked if you were ready to play.”
“Play what?” Investigate the body art? Trace designs on his biceps? Teach the piano girl how to kiss? Those all sounded like good games.
He looked at me like I was insane. “Music?”
“Oh, right. Music.” I sighed, dragging myself back to reality. “Um, no. I need to practice on my own for a sec.” I forced myself to look at the sheet music that he’d given me after our last practice. I’d messed around with it a bit, and it wasn’t so hard. I played a few bars, then I looked up at Rafe expectantly. “Good?”