The Fake Boyfriend Experiment (11 page)

He rested the grocery sack on his hip. “Adults have their own baggage and they take it out on us. The only thing to do is blow them off. They aren’t worth crying over, Lily, trust me.”

A smile pulled at the corner of my mouth at his flippant attitude. Like it was that easy to just ignore them. “How am I supposed to blow her off? She’s in there giving me the evil eye.”

“So what? You can ignore it. Don’t let her bug you.”

I raised my eyebrows. “If you’re so tough, how come she was able to bully you into letting me in the band?”

He shrugged. “I decided it was easier to go along with her than fight it, which is not the same thing as allowing her to ruin my life. Besides, I owe her. She got us free practice space at the school.” His eyes narrowed and he averted his gaze from me. “Plus, I gotta keep her happy enough so she doesn’t ditch me. Next step foster care, right?”

I couldn’t stop my mouth from dropping open. “Seriously? Your parents would let you go to foster care?”

He turned away and started walking back toward the building. “Let’s go.”

“Hey!” I tried to catch up to him, but there was no way I could run with my bag of drinks. It was way too heavy. So I sort of hobbled across the lawn, trying to catch up to him. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m sorry.”

He didn’t turn around, walking even faster. “You got plans for Sunday morning?”

I blinked at the change in subject. “Um, I usually practice the piano then, so I guess I’m free.”

“Meet me here at nine. I’ll get you up to speed on the new material.” He was getting even further away from me, apparently not hampered by the weight of the bag he was carrying Clearly, he was carrying cotton balls in his bag and he’d given me the bag of cement blocks.

I wrinkled my nose at his back. “You’re more of a slave driver than Crusty is.”

He shrugged and tossed me a careless glance over his shoulder. “Or you can learn it in front of the band.”

Ah, no thanks. “Fine. I’ll see if my mom can drive me.”

“I’ll pick you up,” he said as he turned to face me. “It’s on my way.”

Yes! I should have Erin spend the night so she could see him pick me up. “I guess that would be okay.” My arms felt like they were going to fall off from carrying the bag.

“Good.” He stopped to let me catch up. As soon as I reached him, he grabbed my bag, his arm brushing against my stomach as he scooped it off me. My skin tingled where he’d touched me and I sucked in my breath. Ack! What was my problem? So he accidentally touched me? I had to get over that and fast.

Private lessons with Rafe meant nothing. Nothing!

They were all laughing and shouting, and having a great time. Water was splashing everywhere. Val and Erin were getting shoulder rides from two of the guys as they raced around the pool trying to avoid Delilah, who was screaming “Marco” as she floundered around in the water with her hands outstretched. As I watched, Val tumbled off some guy’s shoulders, shrieking as they disappeared beneath the surface.

They looked like they were having so much fun. I wanted to be out there with them. I wanted to be part of the group. I wanted that to be me so badly I could feel it burning through my stomach. But how could I march out there? I didn’t know those guys. I couldn’t even remember which guy was which, or even what their names were. I felt like I didn’t even know my friends. They were having fun that didn’t include me. I couldn’t do this. I didn’t know how to be that kind of person.

I turned to go—

“Lily!”

My heart stuttered, and I spun around. Erin was waving at me from her perch. “Lily! Come on in! The water’s great!” She was wearing her new bikini, and she looked awesome. Tan and everything.

The guys were all in bathing suits too. Everyone was in bathing suits. Well, duh. It was a pool party, right? Cautiously, I stepped onto the patio, still hugging my towel to my chest. “Hey, guys.” Yikes. How shaky was my voice?

Erin shrieked suddenly and went flying straight up in the air before landing with a splash three feet away. The guy whose shoulders she’d been on grinned. “Got you!”

She spluttered to the surface. “Keith! You’re such a jerk!” But she was smiling as she checked the coverage of her top.

“Great!” Val exclaimed. “Now that Lily’s here, we have enough to do chicken fights.”

“I get Val as a partner.” A guy I assumed was Hugh disappeared under the water and then came up again with Val on his shoulders. He was the same guy who’d been carrying her before, and Val patted his head affectionately.

She laughed and hooked her feet behind his back. “I guess I’m partners with Hugh,” she announced, looking completely pleased with the fact she’d been forced into teaming up with him.

Oh, God. Was I going to have to sit on Les’s shoulders? I couldn’t do it.

“Coming, Lily?”

I looked down to see Les standing in the pool, looking up at me. He was muscular and his hair was sticking up from where he’d flipped the water out of it. He was actually pretty cute. Not as cute as Rafe, but decent. And he was looking at me as though he might actually like me. I peered at him. “Do you have a girlfriend?” I asked. Time to get certain things established before going any further.

His eyes widened. “No.”

Point for him. He was available. But I hugged my towel even tighter.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked, cocking his head curiously, as if he were trying to figure out why I’d asked the question.

“Uh...” I quickly surveyed the pool and noticed that Val was eavesdropping, waiting to hear my answer. Well, gee, this wasn’t an awkward moment, was it? I could save my reputation with my friends and say yes, which would then result in the asinine move of announcing I was taken to the guy I wanted to go to the dance with. I could say no, and show him I was available, and expose my full loser status to my friends. Um…

“You’re not answering me?” His eyes got even wider. “That means you do have a boyfriend?”

Crud. This wasn’t going to help me get a date to the semi, was it?

A sudden grin lit up his face, and interest flashed in his eyes. “Lily of many surprises. I like that.”

I blinked. He liked the fact I had a boyfriend?

Then I felt like smacking my head. Of course he would. If some other guy liked me, then there must be something good about me, right? Guys were such pains in the butt.

“Coming in?” he asked, splashing water over my toes.

I kicked off my hot pink flip-flops. “I just have to find a place to stash my stuff.” I held up my towel. “I don’t want it to get wet.”

“Just toss it on a chair.” His eyes were glittering now with anticipation. What? To see me in a bikini? Hah. As if he’d get the chance.

“No, I’ll just...”

Les pulled himself up on the edge of the pool. Water streamed down his shoulders, and I noticed the muscles in his arms flexing as he easily hoisted himself out of the water. His arms were almost as strong as Rafe’s, but he didn’t have a tattoo. “Come here. I have to ask you something.”

I got even more nervous. Was he going to ask me right now? To the semi? I bit my lip and leaned toward him. “What?”

“This!” He grabbed my wrist and yanked me off balance.

I shrieked, but I had no chance as I flew over his head and crashed into the water. Oh, I was mad now. What a jerk! I stood up and wiped the water out of my eyes. “Les!”

But I couldn’t see him anywhere. Where was he? I turned around quickly, but again, he was nowhere. Val and Erin were cheering him, and Delilah was climbing onto another guy’s shoulders, preparing for the chicken fight. “Where he’d go?” I asked my friends.

Erin giggled and pointed behind me.

I whirled around, but he wasn’t behind me. “Where—” I felt something brush against my legs. I yelped and jumped backwards, shrieking as Les swam between my calves. I tried to back up, but he grabbed my legs and stood up under me, lifting me out of the water on his shoulders.

I grabbed his head for balance, and he grinned as he flipped the water out of his face. “We’re ready,” he announced.

“No, no, no, I’m not doing chicken fights.” I could feel his bare shoulders against my legs. His skin was wet and warm and I was completely freaking out! I didn’t want to be on his shoulders! I didn’t want his hands on my legs! “Put me down!”

“No way. We’re going to win.” He sloshed through the water toward Val. “I’ll try to take out Hugh and you go for Val’s top.”

“You want me to rip off her bikini? Are you kidding?” I was so glad I still had my shirt on! Was this what my friends had been doing all summer? I had no experience with this kind of thing. I was in way over my head right now.

“She’ll let go of Hugh to keep it on, and then they’ll go down.” Les’s fingers tightened around my shins, and I wanted to kick him.

“My boyfriend would be completely ticked if he saw you grabbing me like this,” I hissed as he advanced on Val and Hugh. Erin and Delilah and the two other guys were already going at it with their own chicken fight, laughing so hard my head hurt.

“Well, then, it’s a good thing your boyfriend isn’t here, right?” Les said cheerfully as we reached Val and began circling them.

I shot Val a pleading look. “Let’s do something else. I don’t want to--” She grabbed my arm and yanked me sideways. “Hey!”

Les cursed and jumped to the left to stay under me. “Come on, Lily! Don’t take that! Fight back.”

I glared at Val. “Cut it out!”

“No!” She laughed and lunged for me again. I ducked and grabbed her wrist. Les hooked his foot around one of Hugh’s legs, I pulled on Val, and suddenly they were going over. Les held up his arms in victory as Val and Hugh disappeared under the water in a splash, and I clung to Les’s head to keep from falling off.

“We rule!” he crowed. He held up his hand for a high five, and I reluctantly smacked his palm.

Okay, so that had been sort of fun to see Val and Hugh go down, I had to admit. But I still wished Rafe was here. I wished it was Rafe whose shoulders I was on.

Too bad for me, right?

* * *

An hour and a half later, I was lying on a lounge chair next to Erin, catching some rays for the first time all summer. The guys were cooking burgers and hotdogs on the grill and not paying us any attention, which was a relief.

Since they were at the other end of the pool, I’d finally given in to Erin’s pressure to take off my shirt. I’d kept my clothes on the whole time I was in the pool—getting thrown in while dressed had been the perfect excuse. But there was no way to justify tanning in my shirt, so off it had come.

I was keeping my shorts on, though. I’d noticed that Erin had put hers back on too, so I didn’t feel so self-conscious about wearing them.

Val and Delilah were helping the boys with the grill, wearing their bikinis and nothing else. Didn’t they feel naked? No way could I do that. Well, maybe if Rafe was here... Argh! I had to stop thinking about Rafe!

“So, has Les asked you yet?” Erin asked.

“No.” At least I hadn’t had to make conversation with him. Getting tossed in the water repeatedly had taken care of any awkward silences. I had to admit, it had been kinda fun though. Definitely way better than sitting at home practicing the piano. Was this what my friends had been doing all summer? No wonder they were tight. “Did Keith ask you?”

“Yes!” Erin beamed at me as she smoothed some sunscreen over her arms. “Isn’t that awesome?”

“Great.” I stared across the pool at Les. He was laughing with Val and looked like he was having a great time. They all looked like they were having so much fun, but now that we were out of the pool, I felt awkward again.

What was I supposed to say to him? I wasn’t feeling so keen on going to the dance with Les. I didn’t really want to go with him, but I couldn’t stand the thought of staying home by myself. I wanted to feel comfortable and included, not hide at the other end of the pool because I didn’t know how to flirt while the guys were grilling.