Out of His League Read online

  My empty stomach churned so badly I thought I might puke. I looked around frantically for escape from whatever weird high school soap opera I’d just been cast in. But all I saw were stares. Everyone was staring and no one was even pretending otherwise.

  Tina stomped over to us, a red paper cup in one hand and the other planted on her hip. Like Melody, Tina was a short, petite little thing. Cute as a button when she wasn’t pursing her lips like that, but tiny. So right now, as she came within inches of me, where I couldn’t back away thanks to Alex’s arm around my shoulders, I was dimly aware of how ridiculous this must look.

  I mean, I’m tall and have been kicking butt in soccer since I was five. If I wanted to I could probably take one big step and crush her like a bug. Not that I wanted to, but, you know… I could.

  “What are you doing here with her?” she sneered. The question was clearly intended for Alex, but she never stopped glaring at me.

  The venom in her voice stunned me. I found myself blinking rapidly, trying to figure out what exactly I’d done wrong here. A quick glance around confirmed it. I’d been cast as the hussy harlot in the junior class’s production of Days of our Briarwood.

  What the hell?

  “Relax, Tina,” Alex said. His tone was bored but I could practically feel his adrenaline pumping, and not with anger.

  Oh. My. God. I turned my face up to see him and confirmed my worst suspicions.

  He loved this. He loved being the center of attention. He loved being seen as the babe magnet who had two girls fighting over him.

  Anger rushed up so swift and fierce it nearly blinded me. He’d done this to me on purpose. I looked over at Melody and her friends. They’d let this happen on purpose.

  Were they all so freakin’ bored that they got their kicks staging these little dramas and ruining a new girl’s first date?

  No, this would not go down as my first date, I decided right then and there. I had to get out of this situation. I hadn’t signed up for this. I tried to wiggle out of his grip as I turned back to Tina and opened my mouth to say, He’s all yours, I don’t want him. But I was stopped by cold, sticky, flat beer thrown in my face and all over my new, Margo-approved T-shirt.

  I gasped at the shock of it. Seriously, you try having flat beer thrown in your face and tell me you’re not a little stunned. Through it all I heard my gasp echoed by some of the other girls, but those gasps were followed by giggles and whispers and unrestrained glee at my public embarrassment.

  My heart started racing and I could hear the blood rushing to my head as anger, hurt, and humiliation waged a war.

  Anger won out.

  I would crush her like a bug.

  I never got the chance. After what felt like a lifetime of shocked silence, everything happened at once. Just as I made a move to strike, I was stopped. Someone blocked my way.

  Drew Remi was standing front of me, his back to me as he faced down Tina the Tiny.

  “What the hell, Tina,” he said, his low voice filled with disgust.

  I stared at his back, temporarily stunned silent once more at whatever was unfolding in front of me.

  “Get out of my way, Drew.” I heard Tina’s high-pitched whine. I could imagine her self-righteous haughty pose even though I couldn’t see past Drew’s back. “That little slut has to learn who she’s messing with.”

  Oh my God. Seriously? Who wrote the dialogue for this scene and why the hell had they cast me? I was pissed, but more than that, I felt betrayed by these people I’d stupidly thought were my friends.

  Alex stood silent next to me but I was dimly aware that he was shaking his head and making a sound of exasperation. If I could translate his sighs, they would be saying something condescending like, oh silly girls.

  I finally managed to wriggle out from under his arm. I tried to push Drew aside but he was too firmly planted. He didn’t seem to notice that I was trying to get around him so I could punch that stupid, adorable button nose, consequences be damned.

  If this was what it was like to be part of their inner circle of popularity, I wanted no part of it.

  But Drew was all over the situation and I couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

  “Relax, Tina,” he said. His voice still had that tone of lazy amusement, like he couldn’t care less about all of this stupid high school crap. His tone was perfect, really. It made everyone else seem immature and melodramatic without him having to outright call them out on it. “Get your facts straight before you go full-on crazy,”

  I heard Tina’s harsh inhale and knew she was about to retaliate or maybe defend herself. She had to if she wanted to look good for the audience. But Drew didn’t give her a chance. He reached back to put his arm around me.

  Between him and Alex I was starting to feel like a stuffed animal. Just tuck me under your arm for a quick cuddle.

  But with Drew, the half embrace felt nice. Reassuring, even. He might not remember me, but out of all these people he was the only one I truly knew.

  And I knew he was a good guy. He’d always stuck up for the underdogs, he’d always taken on the bullies. He was a good guy, whether he’d seen me or not. So I let him pull me up against his side as he stared down Tina. “I asked Alex to pick Veronica up for me because I couldn’t get out of a family dinner in time.”

  Everyone stared at Drew, including me. We were all absorbing this new twist in the soap opera plotline. I’m pretty sure I looked just as confused as everyone else for half a second there before I realized what he was doing and forced myself to look the part he’d just recast me as.

  Drew’s date. The poor, sweet new girl who’d been wrongly accused of harlotry by Tina, queen of the mean girls.

  It worked. I almost laughed at how well it worked. Tina’s haughty expression turned wary. Her glance moved from him to me to Alex. I half expected her to call out “Line!” to someone standing in the wings.

  She had clearly not been prepared for this turn of events. She gathered her wits pretty quickly, to be honest. Whirling around she glared at Alex. “Is this true?”

  Alex was born to be an actor. He eased out from behind me and Drew. “Of course, baby.” He went to her and the next thing you know, the two of them were making out in the middle of the kitchen.

  All that was missing was the swelling music and the rolling credits as the couple everyone was rooting for found their happily ever after.

  Again.

  Something told me this was not the first nor the last time this couple and their passionate love affair were in the spotlight.

  Everyone was happy. The crowd around me went back to talking amongst themselves—about us, no doubt. The key players in an improve scene for the ages.

  Alex and Tina went off into a corner where they seemed content to share whispers and caresses. Melody and her friends were laughing about something.

  The only person who was not happy? Me.

  What the hell was that? Also… I was still wet. And hungry. And angrier than I’d ever been in my entire life.

  All of this combined meant I was also dangerously close to tears.

  Drew’s arm was still around me and he leaned down to talk softly into my ear. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

  I let him lead me out, not bothering to say goodbye. I was a little afraid that if I opened my mouth at all I would burst out in sobs. Or I’d start shrieking and cursing like some kind of crazed psycho.

  There was a very good likelihood that I’d crush Tina like a bug.

  Instead I let him guide me through the crowd, which was no longer paying attention to me. I was back to being invisible and for the first time in my life, I was totally okay with that.

  It wasn’t until we were outside and nearing the street that he spoke. “You okay?”

  I nodded. “I guess.”

  His voice was so close and his arm was still wrapped around me. I should have minded, but I didn’t. He was comforting. Whether he knew who I was or not, he was the closest thing I had to a real f
riend at this party.

  I could still hear Melody’s shocked laughter, mixed in with everyone else’s as I’d been humiliated in her kitchen.

  I stopped walking so abruptly, Drew kept going and nearly knocked me over with his arm. He stopped and looked down at me.

  “No,” I said. “Actually, I’m not all right.” Anger made my stomach queasy and my hands clenched into fists. “I’m cold and I’m wet.” I shook off his arm so I could spin around and storm back into the house. “I am so going to kick some ass.”

  “Whoa, whoa.” He grabbed my shoulders and brought me to a halt before I could go more than a few steps. He leaned down so his mouth was close to my ear, keeping his voice low as some latecomers to the party walked past us, calling out a hello to Drew.

  “You can confront Tina at school on Monday. If you still want to kick her ass, I’ll help hold the others back so you can have at her. All right?”

  I heard the teasing note in his voice and had to fight a smile at the image of him with his arms out, holding back the rest of the school so I could give Tina the ass kicking she deserved.

  “Trust me,” he continued softly. “You need to calm down first. Get your head on straight. Don’t give her or that crowd the satisfaction of any more drama.”

  Those last words finally did the trick. I stopped trying to resist him, letting him spin me back around so we were heading away from the house. “Where are we going?”

  His arm rested lightly on my shoulders as he guided me down the street to the right. “My car. I’ll take you home.”

  He helped me into the passenger’s side of his car as if I was sick or elderly. Or maybe he was just worried that I’d try to run back to the house and start throwing punches.

  The thought made me laugh.

  He was buckling his seat belt and glanced over with a hesitant smile. “Feeling better?”

  I shrugged. “Just plotting my revenge.”

  His smile widened and I lost the ability to breathe as one of his dimples appeared. Man, this kid had the best smile ever. It could be his superpower. No villain could resist the power of the dimple.

  “How evil are we talking?” he asked. “Are we talking Carrie levels of retribution?”

  I pretended to mull it over. “More like Kill Bill.”

  He tossed his head back with a laugh and I found myself grinning at him despite everything. He had a great laugh. And that smile… have I mentioned how sexy that smile was?

  Criminally hot.

  He turned to face me again and he wielded that sexy smile like a weapon. I swear I could feel it all the way in my gut.

  “Remind me not to get on your bad side,” he said.

  Too late. I managed to return his smile. Because in this moment, forgetting who I was paled in comparison to what his friends just did.

  “I can’t believe you’re friends with those people,” I said without thinking. Because who was I to know anything about him or his friendships.

  He didn’t seem to mind. He just shrugged. “Yeah, well. I’m friendly with them. I wouldn’t exactly call them friends.”

  I snuck a glance at him. Then who were his friends? Because according to Trent and Margo, my sources back at Atwater, he wasn’t spending time with his old friends either. Or maybe he’d just been friendly with them too.

  Unbelievably I felt a pang of pity for Mr. Popular. But really, for someone so popular he didn’t seem to have friends. I was definitely not popular but at least I had Trent, Margo, and the guys.

  He pulled the car out of the parking spot and it was only then that I realized he didn’t know where I lived. Or, he didn’t know where Veronica lived, at least. I cleared my throat. “Um, if you take a right up here—”

  “I know where you live, Ronnie.” His voice was low and gentle but I jerked back and sucked in air like he’d just slapped me across the face.

  Ronnie. He’d called me Ronnie.

  Oh crap, he remembered me. But even as I thought it, I felt a wave of relief. And complete and utter embarrassment. I was being buffeted by a tsunami of conflicting emotions and it was confusing the hell out of me.

  Drew, meanwhile, looked irritatingly calm, cool, and collected. He even gave me a quick smile. “I played pin the tail on the donkey at your backyard birthday parties enough times that I’m pretty sure I could find it blindfolded.”

  Awesome. Drew was so confident and relaxed he was making corny jokes while I sat there trying not to hyperventilate. But then, he wasn’t the one who’d pretended to be someone he wasn’t.

  No. I shook my head slightly. I wasn’t pretending to be someone else, I was being a more confident, well-rounded me. The best version of me. I was faking it until I made it.

  Somehow all the self-help jargon didn’t make a dent in how ridiculous I felt. In fact, right now they weren’t making much sense to my panicked, frazzled brain. Best version of me… what did that even me? What version of me was I before? And fake it until I made what, exactly?

  I thought back to the party tonight and had to fight a wave of hysterical laughter. Well, I guess I’d made it. I’d certainly become visible. A hot guy had asked me out—only to make his girlfriend jealous, but hey, minor detail. And the popular girls loved me—until they threw their beer on me.

  In my attempt to keep from laughing, I let out a snort-laugh that was so utterly old Ronnie, it made me laugh for real. I caught a glimpse of Drew giving me an uncertain smile. “Are you all right?”

  “Never better,” I said as my laughter faded.

  There was an awkward silence. Maybe he was waiting for me to explain the whole Ronnie-Veronica thing, or maybe he was trying to figure out what question to ask first. Either way, I didn’t want to hear it. “Thanks for the ride,” I said quickly, hoping to fill the silence and divert the conversation. “And thanks for, uh… you know.”

  “Pretending I was your date?” he asked.

  “Yeah that.”

  I couldn’t bring myself to look at his face so I watched his hands grip the steering wheel and then relax. Grip and relax. It looked like a nervous habit. Why would he be nervous? Maybe because he’s driving home the weirdo who pretended she didn’t know who he was. Or maybe because he’d just announced they were dating to half the junior class.

  That triggered a memory—many memories, actually—of all the girls at Briarwood who’d mentioned how Drew doesn’t date. Ever. Apparently he’d gone to great lengths to make that known. And now tonight, thanks to me, that whole player rep was blown to pieces.

  Oops.

  I shifted in my seat and bit my lip as I tried to come up with the right words. It was a weird thing to apologize for, but then, who was I to judge? I knew what it was to have a reputation—wanted or otherwise—and clearly this was one he wanted, and I’d destroyed that.

  “Sorry,” I said, the word coming out stilted and awkward.

  “For what?” He sounded genuinely confused.

  “For, uh… I’m sorry that people think you date now,” I said. I cast a quick glance and saw him giving me a little smile. One that clearly said “I like you but you’re crazy.”

  “It’s cool,” he said. “It wasn’t like I set out to have a reputation for not dating,” he said. “It just kind of happened.”

  I nibbled on my lip as I took in his profile—his way too gorgeous for life profile. “Because you don’t date,” I clarified.

  He nodded. “Exactly.”

  I shouldn’t ask. I shouldn’t bring up Atwater. I should continue to act like we’re stranger. I should— “But you used to.”

  Damn my stupid mouth and its stupid lack of a filter. Curiosity had gotten the best of me. It was a question that had been nagging at me for a while now, ever since I’d first heard the rumors about the great, undateable Drew Remi.

  He shot me a look before returning his attention to the road, then he shifted in his seat, visibly uncomfortable.

  Way to go, Ronnie. The guy comes to your rescue like some knight in shining armor and in
return you make him feel bad. Nicely done.

  “Never mind,” I said.

  At the same exact time, he said, “I guess you mean April.”

  The silence was back. I could hear my own heartbeat in the awkwardness. Well, wasn’t this pleasant? I fought for a topic that would put us back on even ground. Half turning in my seat, I offered, “You want to hear my diabolical plans for Alex?”

  It had the desired effect. Drew smiled that sexy smile again, glancing over at me. “Alex? I thought you were going to exact your revenge on Tina for, uh…” His eyes dropped down to my wet top, which I now realized was clinging to my body like second skin.

  My cheeks may have caught on fire I was so freakin’ embarrassed. I glanced over and noticed that his face was unusually flushed too.

  Well, at least I wasn’t the only uncomfortable one. Crossing my arms over my body in a futile attempt to hide myself, I explained my reasoning. “Don’t worry, I fully intend to take Tina down, but right now Alex is first on the vengeance hit list.”

  My light tone seemed to help the tension levels in the car fall back to status quo, which was awkward but not humiliating.

  “And why’s that?” His voice turned hard as he cast me a far more serious look. “Did he do something? Ronnie, I swear to God if he came on too strong or—”

  “No!” I said quickly. I knew where he was going with this and needed to cut off his suspicions before they got out of control. “Nothing like that.”

  At his questioning silence, I continued. “He didn’t take me to dinner.”

  I watched Drew blink a couple of times. He pulled up in front of my house before turning to stare at me. “Excuse me?”

  I sighed and then explained the whole embarrassing night because, honestly, at this point I wasn’t sure I could be any more humiliated in front of Drew Remi. Besides, now he knew I was Ronnie, so why not be honest?

  Now it was impossible to pretend I was “the best version of me.” This guy had known me since birth, practically. He knew me just like I knew him. Sure, we might not have been the best of friends but we had a shared history.

  I was humiliated by the night in general and about being caught pretending not to know who he was, but it was a relief. Being around him felt much easier now that I didn’t have to worry about pretending to be someone I’m not or not knowing things about him, like that he’d cried while watching An American Tail that one time in Mrs. Dumfry’s class.