Alexis the Icing on the Cupcake (12 page)

The party was a huge success. It turned out to be pretty casual, so I was glad I hadn't gotten superdressed up. After my trip to the beach, it wasn't a mistake I was eager to repeat. The Drehers had a pool, so it was only a matter of time before people went in. Mrs. Dreher had hired two lifeguards for the party, and lunch wasn't even over before George Martinez came out in his suit and jumped in.

“Are you coming in, Alexis?” asked Matt. It felt so formal to hear him call me that, I kind of winced.

“Yeah, sure,” I said.

“Atta girl!” He laughed. “I knew I could count on you!”

I changed into my new suit, which was so much more comfortable than the old one because it actually fit.

The pool was pretty crowded and big, so it took a few seconds to find Matt and George. They were in the shallow end, tossing a Waboba ball around and didn't see me. They looked so cute splashing around. I whipped out my cell phone to snap a photo of them. They both suddenly looked my way, and I was nervous for a second, thinking they were going to be annoyed I was taking a photo. But instead they starting goofing around, really hamming it up for the camera. I could barely take the
photo, I was laughing so hard. Suddenly, Matt said, “Hey, wait a minute!” He climbed out of the pool, soaking wet but as cute as ever. He gently took my phone out of my hands and put his arm around me.

“Let's take a selfie!” he said. “Say ‘cheese'!” We both grinned, and he snapped the picture. He stared at it for a moment before handing the camera back to me. “Check it out. You're almost as tall as me now,” he said. “We look good together.” It took me a moment to find my voice, I was that shocked.

“Yeah, we do,” I croaked.

Matt jumped back into the pool and yelled, “I want copies of all those photos!”

I walked away in a daze, without even going in for a swim. I had a photo of Matt with his arm around me. He liked me. He liked that I was tall, and freckled. And now I had proof.

I went to find the Cupcakers and to say good-bye to the Drehers. Mrs. Dreher handed me an envelope, and I thanked her. The cupcakes had been a huge hit, and three moms had asked for our contact info. (I don't put out business cards at private events, though I always wish I could. But I just think it's a little too pushy, you know? And sometimes our clients might like to pretend they made the cupcakes themselves.)

As we were leaving, Olivia Allen was just arriving.

“A little late, aren't you?” said Emma.

Olivia looked like she'd been crying. Her dress was way too dressy for daytime. “Are Bella and the other girls here?” she asked, craning her neck to see over our shoulders.

I shrugged. “I don't know. They were here earlier.”

She looked at me like she was just noticing me. “Cute romper,” she said. “Is it Chanel?”

I had to laugh at the idea of me affording an outfit from a designer like Chanel, let alone wearing it to a barbecue. “No,” I said. “But thanks for the compliment.” Our eyes met for a moment, and Olivia smiled.

“You're welcome. Bye.” And she walked into the party alone.

The Cupcakers and I raised our eyebrows meaningfully at one another, and then we turned to go.

“Hey!” called a voice from behind us as we reached the gate. It was Matt.

We turned, and he jogged up, kind of out of breath. “I was looking for you guys everywhere.”

“Well, here we are,” said Emma, stating the obvious.

“Uh . . .” We all waited, and Matt grinned like an idiot. “Are you getting a ride home with Mom and Dad right now?”

“No, we're going to get Alexis's kitten, remember?” Emma said patiently.

“Oh,” said Matt. He looked at me with a funny look on his face.

Before I knew what I was doing, I said, “Wanna come?”

“Sure! Thanks, Lexi!” He grinned like a maniac. “Let me tell George!” And he ran off without thinking twice about it.

“OMG, do you guys mind?” I said, suddenly ashamed of myself.

But my friends were all smiling at me.

“It's fine,” said Emma. “It's not like he's a stranger. I mean, he calls you ‘Lexi,' after all.” She grinned, and I grinned back.

Puff was waiting for me when we got to the shelter that afternoon. Turns out my mom had called Dr. Palmer and caught him just as he was leaving yesterday, asking him to put a hold on Puff for twenty-four hours. Puff seemed to recognize me, I swear, and when I sat down with my legs crossed, he climbed right into the crook of my leg again
and snuggled in and fell asleep, just like yesterday.

Everyone played with the other kittens while my dad did the paperwork with Dr. Palmer, and he got a cardboard carrier to bring Puff home in.

Driving home, Puff made peeping noises in the carrier that were so cute, I had to take him out. Then he got loose and climbed around the car, still mewing, until Matt caught him and snuggled him into his arms.

“He likes you,” I said to Matt with a smile.

Matt looked down at Puff, and smiled too. “You think?”

I nodded. “For sure.”

That night, I lay in my bed with Puff snuggled up against my long legs, purring in his sleep, and I could not have been happier. It had been a crazy couple of weeks with my body kind of going haywire. And my brain too, for that matter. I'd been scatterbrained, disorganized, messy, and cranky. My legs had ached as they'd grown, and I'd developed freckles on top of freckles. Besides, I'd failed a test, shopped at a thrift store, and been teen angsty with my mom. All out of character for me.

But I'd also found I had some of the best friends and the greatest family any girl could ever
hope for. And I had an adorable new kitten that liked me, and maybe a boy who felt the same way. Who knows what was going to happen next? But everything was perfect right now. . . . Anything else would just be the icing on the cake—or the cupcake!

W
ant another sweet cupcake?

Here's a sneak peek of the next book in the

Cupcake
Diaries

series:

Katie

starting from scratch

S
o, Emily, what's new with you? How are things going at school?” my mom asked the girl sitting next to me.

“It's okay,” Emily replied. “Everyone's been really nice, and I like all my teachers so far. But it's only been two days, so it's hard to tell.”

Emily's dad, who was sitting next to my mom, smiled at her. “I think you're doing great.”

I should probably remind you that Emily's dad, Jeff, is also a math teacher at the middle school that I go to. There I call him “Mr. Green,” but I guess Emily just calls him “Dad.” And Jeff, or Mr. Green or whatever you want to call him, happens to be dating my mom. It gets a little awkward sometimes to have your mom dating a
teacher at school, but I'm dealing with it.

“Are you having trouble with the lock on your locker?” Mom asked Emily. Mom nodded toward me. “Katie had a hard time getting the hang of it. Once she even called me at work because she couldn't get it open.”

I looked at my mom in disbelief. “Really, Mom? Did you have to tell everybody that?”