Mutual Hatred - Love Game (18 page)

"Just another one of the things you're wrong about."

It turned out that Shelley and Zachary ended up spending a lot of time together, more than Shelley would like to admit. He met her parents; she met his. And although Mrs. Sinclair was polite around Zach, there was an air of tension whenever they were in the same room.

Shelley's last day in Vegas finally came. It was sad to say good bye to Zachary, but as Shelley blinked back tears, Zachary softly said,

"Hey, you might see me again sooner than you think."

Didn't it seem like lately Shelley wasn't able to decode the cryptic messages people kept sending her? Because she had no idea what Zachary meant by that. She merely gave him a quick peck on the lips and said,

"See ya."

On the way home, Shelley got a text message. To her horror it was from none other than Luscious Lloyd.

"Have fun in Vegas?" the text said.

Okay, something majorly creepy was going on, and Shelley didn't like it one bit.

Chapter 15 – We Like to Party

"So I'm getting kind of freaked out. I mean, who the heck is Luscious Lloyd? I'm starting to get the feeling
he knows where I live
!" Shelley said to Kyle.

It was the Monday after Shelley got back from Vegas, and coaching had been the last thing she wanted to do with her morning. The last few days of summer were slipping away, and she just wanted to sleep. Vacations suck. They mess up your whole sense of time! The good thing was that today's practice had just ended. Kyle had stayed behind to chat with Shelley. The two were walking around the field.

"Yeah, that is kind of creepy," Kyle nodded in agreement. "Are you
sure
you don't know him?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be telling you this, would I?"

"Well maybe you can take a break from this 'stalker' and have fun at the bonfire we're having Friday night," suggested Kyle.

"You think it's funny, don't you? The fact that I may have a potential stalker? What if he turns out to be some
serial killer
?" Shelley wailed.

"Kind of far-fetched, don't you think?" said Kyle skeptically.

"Well it better not be anyone I know playing a late April fool's joke. This is serious!"

"But, um, wouldn't be better if it were just a joke?" said Kyle, "Because then you wouldn't have a stalker! And that means nothing to worry about!"

"Well I'll tell you this: if I find out who Luscious Lloyd is, and it's someone I know playing a joke on me, the results will
not
be pretty," said Shelley. She had a fierce look of determination on her face. You know, the kind that says "don't mess."

"What would you, uh, do exactly?" Kyle asked slowly.

"I haven't figured out yet, but the longer he hides himself from me, the more time I have to plot his demise," Shelley said brightly.

"And what if I told you I know who Luscious Lloyd is?"

Shelley stopped dead in her tracks and slowly enunciated, "Then I'd say you
better
fucking tell me, Stanford."

Note to self: Never get on Shelley Sinclair's bad side.

Too bad Kyle realized that too late.

"You have to promise not to get mad at
me
, okay? Because I swear I had nothing to do with it," Kyle said quickly. "Absolutely nothing. Okay, well maybe a little bit. But not really. Promise?"

"I can't promise anything," Shelley shook her head, "Just tell me and I'll try to be nice."

"Uh, well, you met Zachary Fox in Vegas, didn't you?"

Where the hell was he going with this?

Shelley merely nodded, prompting Kyle to go on.

"Well he's ah, a friend of mine." When he saw the look on Shelley's face, Kyle hastily added, "But neither of us are Luscious Lloyd! I swear!"

"Then who is it?"

"Remember when you kissed Brandon as a joke at my party?"

Shelley nodded again.

"Well he sort of made it his life's mission to get you back for that. And he, er, asked for my help."

"Remind me to nominate you for the
best friend of the year
award, will you?" Shelley said sarcastically.

"But Shell, you don't know Brandon! Sometimes he can be
very persuasive
," Kyle cried in defense.

Oh, I'm sure he can be.

"So what does Zach have to do with Luscious Lloyd?" Shelley demanded.

"Well the first time Lloyd talked to you, that was Brandon. The text message was from Brandon too, after Zach called him to say that you just left Vegas. See," Kyle sighed, "I sort of mentioned to Brandon that I had a friend in Vegas, so Brandon told Zach all about you. The day you left, Zach was supposed to call Brandon to let him know you were gone so Brandon could text you. It's kind of confusing, really."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"Okay, okay. I'll make it simple. Luscious Lloyd? All Brandon's idea. He asked me to ask Zachary to talk to you in Vegas, get to know you. And then when you left, Zach was to call me so I could tell Brandon that you were on your way home…" Kyle took a deep breath.

"So that Brandon could text me and creep me out?" finished Shelley.

Kyle meekly nodded his head in response.

Oh, I'm going to kill that bastard!" Shelley said angrily, "Brandon is going
way
down."

"Could you possibly kill him after football season is over? We kind of need him," said Kyle.

"If you value your own life, you will
not
partake in any of Brandon's schemes again. Got that?"

A meek Kyle nodded his head. "So I guess you're mad at me?"

"Not really. But Brandon? Oh, he's gonna get it good."

"It was just a joke, Shell! We just thought it'd be funny!" explained Kyle.

"Your definition of funny and my definition of funny are definitely
not
the same. Thank you for telling me about Lloyd, Kyle."

Shelley turned on him and walked away, leaving Kyle to gape at her retreating figure.

"What have I done?" he muttered.

- - - - -

Beach bonfires are so overrated. The football team hosted one every year at the end of summer, and everyone who was
anyone
was invited.

So naturally,
everyone
came.

Shelley had gone to the past three bonfires, and she had to admit that the football team knew how to party. But the fact that everyone came to get drunk and make out was kind of annoying.

Didn't they have anything better to do?

Apparently not.

So that was how Shelley ended up at the beach Friday evening, surrounded by a sea (no pun intended) of rowdy teenagers. The moment Shelley and Taryn arrived, Taryn had run off with Alex somewhere (probably to make their own fire). Brianna Lawler and the cheer girls weren't there yet. Actually, most people probably wouldn't start showing up for another two hours.

Now why didn't I think of that?
thought Shelley.

Brandon, Morgan, and Destiny showed up together. And surprisingly, Jack 'the ass' was holding hands with Destiny.

Funny, Shelley could have sworn Destiny hated Jack's guts a few weeks ago.

Morgan set her sights on Shelley and immediately ran over to greet her. Destiny let go of Jack's hand and kissed his cheek, making her way over to Morgan and Shelley.

"Had a change of heart?" asked Shelley as Destiny approached.

"Actually, this is revenge," smirked Destiny.

"I thought you already got your revenge."

"I was just getting warmed up."

"So what's he doing with you?"

"You should have seen it," crowed Morgan, "Jack practically
begged
Des to take him back! And I had front row seats for it!"

"Actually, I think he just wanted a ride in Brandon's car. But it works out; I get my revenge and Jack gets his damn ride," Destiny said bitterly.

"You don't sound too happy about it," remarked Shelley.

"Well, I still kind of like the guy. I mean, he was pretty cool, despite the cheating part," Destiny said grimly, a frown gracing her pale face.

"Hey, Shell, it looks like the sun is setting. Let's go watch it over there," suggested Morgan.

"Um, okay," said Shelley.

They made their way down to where the waves crashed against the sand. But Shelley was so deep in thought that she didn't notice Morgan and Destiny hang back. Coincidentally, Shelley found herself next to Brandon, who was intently watching the sun set.

"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" he said quietly.

Shelley hadn't even thought he'd notice her come up beside him. Obviously she'd been wrong about Brandon.

Again.

"Yeah," she agreed.

"What are you doing here anyways?" asked Brandon, still not taking his eyes away from the yellow-orange haze.

"Watching the sun set, genius."

"No, I meant, what are you doing with me. Don't you hate me?"

"I don't exactly know how I ended up next to you. Morgan and Destiny are supposed to-oh!"

Realization struck.

"Why, those conniving little…" muttered Shelley, adding a few obscenities here and there.

"What? I don't get it?" Brandon was clearly confused. What was this girl talking about?

"Humor me and kiss me, Miller."

Okay, now she's just out of her mind,
thought Brandon.

"What the-"

"Just do it. Now!"

Without waiting for an answer, Shelley grabbed Brandon and pressed her lips against his own.

What a pleasant surprise!

Brandon wasn't sure how to react. Incoherent thoughts were flowing rapidly through his head. Shelley's arms had found their way around his waist, but when they started moving up in his shirt, he pulled away, panting. Something was just…not right.

"Are you crazy, Sinclair?" he spat. "That better not have been one of your 'I-was-bored-so-I-decided-to-kiss-you' episodes."

"Destiny and your sister-no, don't look! Otherwise they'll know it was just an act-are watching us in hopes that something will happen. I am
so
on to those two," Shelley said fiercely.

"So you decide to make them think they're the ultimate matchmakers? You've got more brains then I give you credit for, Shell," Brandon said, slightly amused.

"And you've got less than I give
you
credit for," retorted Shelley.

"Thank you for those oh-so-kind words. So you give them what they want to happen? Won't they get suspicious that we kissed
just like that
?" Brandon said skeptically.

"If they ask, we'll tell them we just got caught up in the moment."

"Do you always have an answer to everything?" asked Brandon.

"I wouldn't be Shelley Sinclair if I didn't."

"Are we supposed to carry on this routine?" asked Brandon, "Because if we are, I'd like to say HELL NO. There are plenty girls who want a piece of
this
."

"Nah, because Morgan and Destiny will start getting
real
ideas about us. And by then they'll be too hopeful about it for us to want to burst their bubble."

"So this was just a one-time thing?"

"More like spur of the moment," she clarified. "Thanks for umm…participating. And not making a big deal."

"You're so confusing," grumbled Brandon as Shelley walked back to the party. "And for once I thought I had you right where I wanted you."

- - - - -

The real trouble didn't start until Johnny arrived with two kegs of beer.

Obvious, much?

Everyone started drinking. Except for Shelley, of course. Even Morgan had stumbled past Shelley, muttering something about Kyle. Shelley had just come back from the bathroom when she spied a beach patrol truck coming up to the bonfire.

Uh oh.

A man got out and approached Brandon, Kyle, and James.

"Are you boys aware that this beach prohibits alcohol of any kind?" he asked gruffly.

"Uh," said Kyle, scratching his head, "I am now."

"And I trust that you don't have any," said the officer. "Nor have you had any alcohol. Because there would be serious consequences if I caught you with any. How old are you, son?"

"Eighteen," was all James could muster.