The Queen B* Strikes Back (20 page)

“Then we have a moment to talk.” He closed the space between us until he was less than a foot away, invading my personal space in a most uncomfortable yet exhilarating way. “What’s come over you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, we had a great time Saturday, and then—
bam
—you’re back to being a bitch.”

“You never called back Sunday.”

He shifted his weight and lowered his head. “Sorry about that. Something came up.”

“It’s fine. It gave me time to figure out a few things. And the rest of this week just confirmed what I thought was true.”

“And what is that?”

I could’ve backed away or turned away from him, but I needed to show him I wasn’t weak. I took a half step toward him, our faces inches from each other. “You’re one of them.”

“Don’t start with that.”

“But it’s true. You stood back while Sanchez and your teammates picked on Ajay, and then you stood by his side when he suffered the fallout. You’re at Summer’s beck and call, and you’re probably more pissed off at me right now because my blog caused your favorite wide receiver to get benched and therefore possibly screw up your stats and your chances of getting a scholarship at the school of your choice.”

Something flickered across his face. Shame? Surprise? Guilt? I couldn’t be sure. He took a step back. “Alexis—”

“No, let me continue.” I was on a roll, and I didn’t want to lose my momentum. I needed to say these things to him, to release the doubts that had been stirring in my chest and eating away at me from the moment he’d expressed interest in me. “You claim that we could be a couple because you don’t care what your friends think, but you’re lying. You
do
care. And you’ve proved it to me with your actions this week. You’re a coward, and you’re afraid to do anything that would jeopardize your standing, so stop wasting my time with all these ‘not-dates’ because I know when push comes to shove, you’ll choose them. You’ll protect bullies so long as you keep winning your precious football games and get a full ride to the college of your choice.”

My breaths came hard and quick as though I’d been physically punching him with each word instead of standing still, but they had the same effect on both of us.

Brett stumbled back another couple of steps, his face pinched from pain or confusion. “Is that how you feel?”

Oh God, the helplessness in his voice wrapped around my heart and tugged at it until I wanted to double over. I still had feelings for him, as much as I hated to admit it.

So instead of slamming the door on any possibility of “us,” I gave him one challenge to prove himself. “If every day was like Saturday, then life would be perfect because I do have a good time when I’m around you, when I’m around the
real
Brett Pederson and not Johnny Football Hero Popular Guy Brett. If you can prove to me that you can be the nice guy all the time, in every setting, then I’d be willing to give this relationship thing a try. Until then, it’s better if we go our separate ways.”

His jaw tightened until the muscle rippled along his cheek. “You know, it’s a two-way street, Alexis. I know you’re not always the cold, hard person you pretend to be at school.”

Ouch! That was a little below the belt, but I managed to hide behind the façade I knew all too well. “Maybe so, but for now, I need to be cruel and hard. I need to be Queen B, if only to show you that you could be someone worthy of my respect. You know the way out.”

I turned and headed for the stairs, having said all I dared to say. If I kept at it, I’d be in danger of admitting how much I liked him, or worse, falling victim to another one of his kisses. I made my stand, and I needed to leave now so my challenge had time to sink in.

Once I got to my room, I prepared for him to make one final, desperate plea, but he didn’t. Instead, I heard the garage door open, followed by the roar of his truck’s engine. A peek out my window confirmed that he was driving away and leaving me behind.

My mind congratulated me on taking the hard stance, but it couldn’t keep the tumble of emotions from bleeding out of my wounded heart. I’d given him a chance, and he’d proved that he was one of them.

I pulled out my phone and dialed the one number I could turn to in times of need. “Morgan?”

My voice quivered with unshed tears, but Morgan picked up on it within a half-second. “I’ll be right over.”

The great thing about best friends was that they knew what I needed without even asking.

I was sitting on my bed and still trying to choke back my tears when she arrived fifteen minutes later.

“I swung by the store and grabbed some ice cream. It’s not your usual fro-yo, but I figured mocha fudge ripple was close enough.” She pulled out the pint, gave me a spoon, and wrapped her arms around me in a fierce hug. “Have a few bites and tell me what happened.”

A hiccup interrupted my reply. “I basically told him to piss off.”

“Brett?” She waited until I nodded before hugging me again. “Then good riddance. He can go back to banging Summer.”

I took a bite of ice cream and let the cold seep into my veins. “I called him a coward for going along with the in-crowd and told him I couldn’t hang out with someone like that.”

“Good for you.”

“Yeah, but it still hurts,” I admitted. “I really fell for him.”

“I can see why, but in the end, you have to respect yourself. You’re the one who taught me that.” She brushed one of my flyaway curls out of my face. “Want to get a ‘Screw you, Brett Pederson’ piercing? I think a cartilage ring here,” she continued, touching the top of my left ear, “would be perfect.”

I laughed and shook my head, already starting to feel better. “He’s not worth the price of a piercing.”

“Ouch!” Morgan laughed and bounced back on the bed. “But I’m really proud of you, Alexis. Most girls wouldn’t be able to resist someone like him, especially knowing he was interested in them.”

Her praise soothed my raw and aching heart, and by the time we finished the pint of ice cream, I’d begun to think I could get past Brett and move on.

Only eight more months of this hell known as high school left to survive. And then, I’d be free from Summer and Brett and everything they stood for.

Chapter Seventeen

I thought that after yesterday’s encounter, I’d never speak to Brett Pederson again.

Much to my surprise, however, I came to school to find him standing at my locker, holding a cup of coffee, just like the first time I’d found him there waiting for me three weeks ago.

He held out to me. “Vanilla hazelnut nonfat latte?”

“I thought you didn’t drink coffee.”

“It’s for you.” He waved it in front of me so the aroma wafted up my nose.

But I knew a bribe when I saw it. “What do you want?”

“One more study session before the SATs on Saturday.”

“You already have a solid essay for your college applications. You can take what you’ve learned from it and apply it to the SATs.” I opened my locker and prayed he’d go away.

He didn’t.

“Just a quick refresher.” He waved the cup in front of me again. “Please?”

It was all academic. It had nothing to do with “us.” He just wanted to use me to do well on his SATs.

I kept repeating that to myself as I weighed my options, and finally came up with a plan. “Fine. Meet me in the library after fourth period.”

He balked. “You mean you’re willing to be seen with me in public on school grounds?”

“Yep.” If everything went according to plan, I’d only have to be in his presence for a few minutes.

I took the coffee before walking away. No reason to let a yummy vanilla hazelnut latte go to waste.

***

In fourth period, Brett sat up front next to the seat that had been temporarily vacated by his friend Sanchez during his suspension. When the bell rang, I dashed out the door toward the library to set my plan into action before he stalled me. By the time he found me, I’d already found what I needed.

I held out the library copy of
SAT for Dummies
. “Here you go.”

A wrinkle appeared between his brows. “Uh, thanks.”

“And if that doesn’t help,” I pulled the copy of
How to Write a Killer SAT Essay
down from the shelf, “try this.”

“Alexis—”

“And don’t forget
The Elements of Style
. It’s a classic.” I moved to the shelf where the school’s copy was located and placed it on top of the pile of books in his hands. “That should be all the prep you need for Saturday. Good luck.”

I made a beeline for the door, not bothering to look back when he called out my name. He almost caught me at the door, but the stern
um-hum
from the librarian reminded him he had books that he hadn’t checked out in his hand. It was just the distraction I needed to make a break for it.

I reached the parking lot, thinking I was home free. I unlocked my car, opened the door.

Only to have someone from behind slam it shut.

Brett leaned on my car, struggling to catch his breath in the same way he’d done Saturday night. “What the hell was that about?”

“That was a library, Brett. They have thousands of books, some of which might be very useful when it comes to preparing for the SATs.” I tugged on my door again, but he’d pressed his entire weight against it.

“That’s not what I’m talking about, Lexi.”

“Fine. Then it’s my way of telling you to be a little more self-motivated and stop waiting for people to spoon-feed you stuff because you’re a football star.”

Anger flashed in his eyes. “You know I’m not like that.”

“Could’ve fooled me.” I tried to open my door again, but he refused to budge.

Worse, he shifted his position so I ended up wedged between him and the car, my face inches from him. “Talk to me,” he whispered.

“I’ve said all I intend to say.”

“You never let me get a word in edgewise.”

“Would it have mattered?”

His expression sobered, and he threaded his fingers through the hair along the back of my neck. “Do you really want to know why I didn’t call back on Sunday? I was taking your advice and talking things out with my dad, letting him know where I stood and why I didn’t appreciate his interference. It took most of the day, but I’m proud to say we’ve reached some common ground and are even planning on visiting some colleges in California after the Skylake game.”

And now I felt like a complete shit.

“So that’s why I never called you back.” He added that sexy raw edge to his voice as he added, “I wanted to, though. I was thinking about you.”

My internal alarm blared
Danger
, but the combination of the things he was saying and the way he played with my hair and massaged the back of my scalp threatened to turn me into goo. I had to hold myself together. “It still doesn’t change the other stuff.”

He froze, and frustration flickered across his face. “What do I have to do to change your mind?”

“Step up. You shouldn’t be defending bullies, no matter how close you are to them. You should be condemning them.” My body grew resistant to his seduction, and I was able to push him away. “And learn to tell Summer no.”

“I know you and Summer have this
thing
between you, but can’t you learn to let go? I mean, she’s my friend.”

“She was my friend, too, once upon a time, before she showed her true colors.” I finally was able to open my door and throw my backpack into the passenger seat. “She’s manipulative, conniving, and not opposed to stepping on people to make herself look better.”

“I know what’s really going on with her,” he countered. “I respect her privacy enough not to go into details, but right now, she could really use a friend.”

“There’s being a friend, and then there’s acting like her boyfriend and spending all your time with her. Like my dad says, you can’t have your cake and your ice cream.”

He went back to leaning on my car. “What does that mean?”

“It means that if you ever want to have something with me, you need to set some boundaries with Summer. You can’t be at her beck and call.”

“I’m not.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than his phone rang.

I peeked at the screen when he checked to see who the call was from.

Summer.

He held up a finger, indicating I should give him a moment. “Hold on. I’ll prove it to you.”

He answered the phone with “Hey, Summer—” but she immediately cut him off.

I crossed my arms and watched the call play out, already suspecting how it would end.

“I’m in the parking lot,” he said. “No, I’m kind of busy at the moment.”

She was checking in on him and wanting him to come to her. Typical.

“But—” He paused, sucked in a breath, and shook his head as he released it. “Fine, I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Point proven. I didn’t need to say anything more as I got into my car.