The Perfect Score (Kissing the Enemy Book 3) Page 3

  Who would have known those arms could be so gentle?

  I blinked and straightened. And who would’ve known I could get all sappy and sentimental over arms?

  Get it together, Maddie. I was on a mission to put our friendship back on track, and this was the perfect time to do it. I even had the perfect reason to go talk to him. Oddly enough, it had everything to do with those giant arms and his mad skills on the football field and there was nothing weird or awkward about it. I needed his help and normal me wouldn’t think twice about asking him for it.

  With that thought I crossed the short distance between us and stopped at his side.

  He looked over at me and blinked. That blink was the only show of surprise. This was one of the reasons I loved hanging out with this guy. His ability to go with the flow was unrivaled. He was pretty much always cool as a cucumber and didn’t feel the need to fill the silence just to hear himself talk. Of course, by “cool as a cucumber” I meant he was always unalterably grumpy. But in a nice, predictable, teddy bear-with-a-thorn-in-his-paw kind of way.

  He and Kate were somewhat similar in their quiet reserved natures. For a half a second there I thought maybe they’d be a good fit, but Kate needed someone to push her out of her shell, not into it.

  Ox needed the same thing. He just didn’t know it yet. Luckily he had me to help. Focusing on the fact that Ox needed my help made it so much easier to keep my smile firmly in place. “I need you.”

  I clamped my mouth shut as he stared down at me. Nope. That was not at all what I’d intended to say. That weird hot feeling was taking over my face again. What was happening to me? I don’t blush!

  You also don’t cry, but try telling Ox that.

  His warm brown eyes were staring down at me with that strange intensity that was solely Ox. It had never bothered me before—I’d always found his undivided attention kind of endearing, actually. When Ox looked at me I felt like the only person on the planet. Or at least, the only one who mattered. His intensity was normally flattering, in a weird sort of way.

  Today it was just unnerving.

  I shook my head quickly, warning my brain not to think about how I’d buried my face against his neck, or how he’d felt so safe and warm when he held me. And there it went—my brain was off and running with flashback images so vivid we might as well have been right back in his truck.

  Ox was still waiting for me to continue, presumably expecting me to explain that lame “I need you” comment that had sounded far more pathetic than intended.

  “I need you to play football.” Oh heck, I was making a mess of this. “Er…” I shifted my bag on my shoulder and took a deep breath. “I’m organizing the yearly flag football tournament to raise money for the town’s youth athletics program.”

  His stare was biting into me and my voice was getting higher and higher thanks to nerves.

  What was I nervous about? This was just Ox. My friend, Ox.

  He saw you cry.

  I cleared my throat. “It’s open to all high school and college students and we practice during the four weekend mornings leading up to Thanksgiving, with the final weekend culminating in a massive tournament.” Why was I talking so fast? The words were spilling out so quickly even I wasn’t quite sure what I was saying. I licked my lips and got to the point. “I need some football players to help out. It won’t interfere with your practice schedule, I checked. So I thought maybe—”

  “Maddie!” One of the other guys from the football team stopped beside me and Ox with a huge grin.

  “Hey Trent,” I said. I found myself smiling back, all fakeness forgotten in the face of Trent’s easy charm.

  He laid a hand on Ox’s shoulder. “Don’t tell me. Maddie is trying to sweet talk you into another one of her charity projects, am I right?”

  I slapped his arm playfully. “You know you love me…and my charity projects.”

  His smile was outrageously flirty. Everything about Trent was outrageously flirtatious. That was why we got along so well. We were both flirts. I’d dated a couple of his friends and he’d dated a couple of mine so we’d firmly established ourselves in the friends’ territory.

  That made flirting with him that much more fun. No misunderstandings, no hurt feelings. He, like me, understood that it was all fun and games. I liked guys, he liked girls. Neither of us was ashamed of it. No harm, no foul.

  He was already turning his attention to Ox. “Give in now, man. The girl won’t stop until you’re volunteering every free minute just like the rest of us schmucks.”

  He gave me a wink that didn’t make me blush. See? I told you, I wasn’t a blusher.

  I looked at Ox. He was still staring at me and my stomach did a somersault.

  I forced a big smile. “See? Even Trent agrees that you should join in on the football fun.”

  Ox frowned at me and my fake smile threatened to falter.

  “Yeah, man, I’ll be there.” Trent aimed this at me, not Ox. Then he stepped forward, partially blocking Ox from my view as he pulled me in for an affectionate side hug. “Who could say no to this girl?”

  I laughed and batted my eyelashes. “Exactly. Who could say no to this?” I was teasing, anyone could see that.

  Trent knew it. He wasn’t staring at me like…like…oh, I didn’t know what Ox’s stare meant. Normally I could read his glares, but now?

  I had no idea what he was thinking. That insistent little voice in the back of my mind was quick to fill in his blankness with the worst possible conclusion.

  “I’ll see you around, babe,” Trent said as he walked away from us.

  I stiffened at the term of endearment. He’d called me that before, I was sure. Trent called everyone babe or bro or dude or sweetie. He was that kind of guy. It had never bothered me before but today it made me stiffen.

  It made me remember.

  Ox was glaring down at me but this time I could read his glare. Either the Ox facial translator portion of my brain was functioning again or he couldn’t hide what he was thinking.

  “You okay?”

  It was exactly what he’d said in the truck. That memory had my jaw clenching. “Of course I’m okay.” I’d been striving for bright and chipper, it rang false. I sounded shrill and scared. I winced a bit but he didn’t so much as blink.

  “You were ignoring me.”

  I met his gaze evenly. “But now I’m not.”

  He studied me, his gaze moving over my face and then back to my eyes, boring into me like he could see inside my skull. He made a sort of grunting sound that I took to be acknowledgement of my very true statement.

  I had been avoiding him, but now I wasn’t. Simple as that. No need to delve any deeper, was there?

  I decided to change the topic just in case he had an idea that we needed to talk about that disaster of a night.

  “So?” I said, pasting on a smile. “What do you think? Will you join the flag football charity league?”

  He didn’t pause to think. “No.”

  I pressed my lips together to hold back a smile. For the first time since the party this thing between us felt almost normal. Trent’s earlier words came back to me. Who could say no to this girl?

  Ox.

  Ox could say no to me, and he frequently did. I rarely let that stop me.

  “Hmm,” I said, turning to head toward my classroom. “We’ll see.”

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw him shake his head as he grunted in irritation at my inability to take no for an answer. But just before I turned away I saw it—

  My favorite grumpy giant was trying not to smile.

  Chapter Two

  Ox

  I stared down at my little friend who’d cornered me by my locker. Here we were again. Three days had passed since Maddie had decided we were friends again, and yet again she was trying to get me on board with one of her plans.

  But this one was so much more insane. I mean, maybe it sort of made sense to try and recruit me for a flag football charity thing. Whatev
er. But this? Asking me to help her plan a party for Kate and Levi?

  Clearly the girl had lost her mind.

  “So?” Maddie batted those long lashes of hers as she waited impatiently for a response. “Are you game?”

  I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or groan because the whole idea of throwing those two a party was just that ridiculous. If this were anyone else, I would have been sure she was kidding. Who threw a party for their friends to celebrate them becoming a couple? Wasn’t the fact that they were happily in love and making the rest of us nauseous with their hallway PDAs celebration enough?

  “A party,” I repeated, just to be sure I hadn’t misunderstood.

  She nodded so enthusiastically her brown curls bobbed around her pixie face.

  Pixie was the perfect way to describe this girl. Short, petite, and filled with more energy and enthusiasm than I’d ever been able to muster up for anything, let alone a party.

  “Come on,” she said. “Don’t you think they deserve it?”

  I stared at her some more. A long time ago I’d realized that speaking was overrated. Most people did too much of it and my attempts rarely went over well. Me and words? We weren’t friends.

  Maddie let out a little sigh. “If anyone deserves a party it’s Kate and Levi.”

  I stared at her, this time because I was actually trying to understand her logic. This party Maddie wanted to throw for her friends was one of the strangest suggestions she’d thrown at me, and that was saying something.

  I slammed my locker door shut but she didn’t so much as blink. Those big brown eyes were fixed on me and there was no escaping this situation without agreeing to her demands, as crazy as they might be.

  Maddie might’ve been small, but she was mighty. Still, this was such a bad idea. Really, one of her worst. For so many reasons.

  “Kate would hate it,” I said. This was the truth. Maddie’s friend Kate was shy. Really shy. She’d hate being the center of attention even more than I would.

  Maddie’s lips pulled down in a frown and I instantly felt like an ogre. “Maybe you’re right,” she said, leaning against the locker as if we had all the time in the world to stand here and chat.

  Other students hurried by around us, slamming lockers shut and calling out to one another as they hurried to their last class of the day, and the last class of the week.

  “Well, maybe we could keep it small,” she said, her features lighting up again because there was really no keeping this girl down.

  I should know.

  If you’d asked me two weeks ago if this girl was even capable of feeling anything other than joy and excitement I would have told you what a moron you were. But then it happened.

  She’d cried.

  On me.

  My hand on the locker bit into the metal. I had the overwhelming urge to rip the locker door off its hinges, but I took a deep breath instead, focusing on Maddie’s light, carefree voice. On the way she practically hummed with energy.

  Focusing on that helped me to relax.

  She gave me a funny look, tilting her head to the side. “Are you okay?”

  I ignored that, staring past her toward the exit until I could get my anger fully under control.

  I hadn’t liked seeing her hurt, but I knew she wouldn’t want to talk about it. It had become instantly clear that she was just as unhappy as I was that I’d witnessed her crying.

  Having her ignore me for a couple days that followed had been almost as bad as that helpless feeling I’d had while holding her.

  I should have been glad to be ignored. I mean, up until that point I’d groaned when I’d seen her coming after me in the halls. A freakin’ elf. A relentless, chirpy, giggly elf. That’s what she reminded me of, and that was what I’d called her—in my head, obviously. Like I’d said, I wasn’t one for words.

  But then she’d avoided me.

  No, she’d ignored me.

  That…that had not been okay. I’d missed her upbeat chatter and her impromptu talks in the hall. Not that I’d ever admit it. I’d gone years without friends, so it wasn’t like I needed her or anything, but I’d just…gotten used to it.

  After a few days of radio silence she’d swung the opposite direction. She’d gone from ignoring me to being too friendly. It had felt forced. She was trying to pretend that nothing had happened.

  I didn’t like that either.

  But then she’d slowly but surely gotten back to normal so I had to as well. Otherwise I’d risk losing the only good thing about this school. Maddie and football were the only reasons to come here in the mornings.

  I turned to join the throng of people headed toward the south wing and Maddie fell into step beside me. We both had calculus for the next class and she latched onto my arm as I parted the way for us.

  I normally didn’t do the whole touchy-feely thing but Maddie did so I went with it. She didn’t mean anything by it, that much was obvious. She was affectionate with everyone.

  “Okay, fine,” she said with a sigh as we turned down a less crowded hallway and neared the classroom door.

  I glanced down at her. I didn’t buy her capitulation for one second. She never gave up so easily. Sure enough…

  “We can circle back to the Kate and Levi party,” she said.

  I let out a short laugh that sounded like a grunt. Sometimes it felt like it had been so long since I’d laughed—or talked, for that matter—that now when I did it came out rusty and creaky.

  Maddie didn’t seem to notice. She was already on to her next big idea. I took a seat near the back and rather than go up front and sit next to Kate like she usually did, she grabbed the seat next to me and pulled it closer so we were side by side.

  “What about Halloween?” she said.

  I frowned. What about it?

  “Don’t you think we should plan a party?”

  I stared at her. More specifically, I stared at her use of “we” in that sentence.

  When our teacher walked in the door I thought that might put this conversation to bed. But then he turned to us with a frazzled look and informed us that we’d be watching a documentary on some mathematician genius so he could work on grading our last test.

  Everyone around me settled in to take a nap but Maddie pulled out her cellphone and waved it at me with a smile. A not-so-subtle sign that she wanted to keep this conversation going via text.

  I sighed. But then I pulled out my phone.

  Maddie: Want to help me throw a Halloween party?

  Me: No.

  Maddie: It’ll be for a good cause.

  I didn’t respond. Everything Maddie did was for a good cause. The girl was a one-woman nonprofit. Every time I turned around she was there organizing a bake sale for one of the school’s organizations or volunteering at the food bank or collecting winter coats for the homeless…befriending me. The list went on and on. So, the fact that this Halloween party would be to benefit a cause? Not a shocker. But it also wasn’t an effective sales pitch when every one of her pet projects was in the name of charity.

  In fact, the mention of her do-gooder tendencies had me shifting uncomfortably in my seat. I wasn’t kidding about me being one of her pet projects. Kate knew it, and so did all the others. The only reason she’d tried so hard to be my friend was because she felt sorry for me.

  Maddie was the befriender of the friendless. Or, as Kate put it, the mayor of the Island of Misfit Toys. Either way, I knew where I stood in Maddie’s eyes. She might consider me a friend, but only because she’s too nice for her own good.

  I turned my attention to the documentary but a second later saw my phone light up on my desk.

  Maddie: You can be the Cowardly Lion.

  I stared at my phone. I should let it go. Seriously. I should just drop it. There was no point in encouraging her.

  Me: What?

  I heard Maddie snicker beside me before her fingers moved rapidly over the phone.

  Maddie: How fun would it be if we all got dressed up as charac
ters from The Wizard of Oz? Kate would make the perfect Dorothy, and Callie could be Glenda the Good Witch. Noah would be the Tin Man (because I’m pretty sure Coach Grim didn’t have a heart until Callie came along) and don’t even try to tell me Levi wouldn’t make the perfect Scarecrow.

  I read the text, fully aware that her eager gaze was watching me, waiting for a response. I shook my head at the phone, unable to respond because what was there to say to that? The girl was nuts. But I couldn’t deny that a little part of me was just a little bit…well, touched sounded lame. I should’ve been used to Maddie’s easy insistence that I was part of her inner circle of friends.

  I should be used to it, but I wasn’t. Not by a long shot. It had been years since I’d had friends, and even then those friendships had been fraught with tension. The last close friend I’d had was Eve, and that…well, that had ended badly. My fault, I supposed. I ought to have learned my lesson long before Eve turned her back on me. She wasn’t the first friend to turn on me when it came down to either being my friend or fitting in with the popular crowd.

  She wasn’t the first, but she was the last. After Eve, I’d finally learned my lesson—school was a battleground, but only if you played the game.

  I’d been mocked and bullied my entire life, right up until I started weight lifting and training for football. By the time I transferred to Fairfield High I wasn’t that fat, stuttering kid anymore. No one in his right mind would bully me these days, I’d made sure of it.

  But by the time I got to Fairfield I’d learned the hard way that staying out of other peoples’ business worked best for me. I was a loner. I liked it that way.

  And then Maddie had come along. A midget with a giant smile and a heart of gold who hadn’t seemed to notice that I’d wanted nothing to do with her or her friends.

  Maddie: You’d make the most adorable Cowardly Lion.

  Me: You’re insane.