The Queen B* Strikes Back (26 page)

I hopped out of the truck as soon as he parked and met him at the start of a trail. The sky was clear, and the sun warmed what would otherwise be a crisp early October day. I matched his stride and waited for him to say what he wanted to say, but after several minutes of silence, my nerves got the better of me.

“Listen, I know I’ve been acting like a complete bitch lately, but—”

He stopped and hushed me by placing his finger on my lips. “Do you ever stop talking?”

“You’re the one who wanted to straighten things out.”

“Yeah, about that.” He shoved his hands into his letterman jacket and kicked at a rock on the trail.

“Would it be too late to apologize?” I asked with uncharacteristic meekness. I knew I was in the doghouse, and after what he did for me last night, I at least owed him that.

“Depends.”

And I thought I was guilty of holding a grudge. “What do you want? A public apology? Groveling? ’I’m an idiot‘ spray painted on the side of the school?”

I added the last bit for shock value, and it worked. Brett coughed, and the tips of his ear grew red. “That’s a little extreme, don’t you think?”

“At least I know where you draw the line.” I started walking toward an empty bench with a nice view of the windmill and waited for him to join me. We arrived at the same time and sat down.

He looked straight ahead, not at me, his hands still in his jacket. “Last night was eye-opening for me.”

“How so?”

“Well, for starters, Summer. I mean, I really believed her story, especially after reading your blog for the last two years and how you reveal other people’s secrets.”

A defensive streak overthrew my prior meekness, and I sat up straighter. “There’s a difference between calling out people when they’re doing something wrong like cheating and revealing someone’s personal secrets.”

“Calm down, Lexi.” He turned to me and placed his hand over mine. “I get it. And after Taylor gave me more than enough evidence to confirm your story—”

“Time out. My little sister—the one who has her lips permanently glued to Summer’s ass—
provided
evidence to confirm my version of events?”

Brett nodded and stared at me as though I was a puzzle he was just starting to figure out. “She showed me pictures of you two as kids. I didn’t realize you’d been so close.”

“She was my best friend. At least, until she decided I wasn’t popular enough for her.”

“And that was a shitty thing to do, what she did. It opened my eyes to the real person she is, and I was pissed. So I went over to her house last night and confronted her.”

“So I heard.” When Brett drew his brows together in confusion, I added, “Taylor told me. And just so you know, she has her own motives for her involvement in all this, so be careful around her, too.”

“Noted.” He turned back to the windmill. “But everything last night got me thinking about you and me and what I wanted.”

And here was where he’d politely tell me I was too much a drama queen and that he just wanted to be friends.

Only the words that came out of his mouth were, “You drive me crazy, Lexi. Do you know that? And I mean that in both a good way and a bad way.”

Not what I was expecting, but enough to earn my silence.

Brett jumped to his feet and moved in front of me, his body jittery with nervous energy. “You’re a stubborn know-it-all who has a tendency to fly off the handle at the slightest thing and jump to the wrong conclusions.”

“Gee, do I have any redeeming qualities?”

“A few,” he replied with a laugh. “You’re genuine, even with all your faults. You’re honest, even if it’s brutally so. You’re intimidating, but you choose to use your rep to help out those who need it. You’re fun, even though you’re terrified to reveal that side of yourself to others.”

I stood and closed the space between us. “So I’m not a total bitch?”

“No, not a total one.”

His words caressed my wounded pride, followed by his hands caressing my face.

“You’re the one person who didn’t pretend to be my friend because of my popularity or my football stats. Instead, you’re the one person who saw me for who I truly am and challenged me to be a better person.”

“Hey, what goes around, comes around.” After all, he was the one who convinced me to have some compassion.

“Exactly. We’re good for each other, which is why I’m going to ask you one more time to give
us
a chance.”

He held my gaze, silently pleading with me to say yes. Fear froze my tongue. I knew what I wanted to say, what I
needed
to say. But the words wouldn’t come.

So I had to rely on actions.

I came closer until our bodies touched. Then I wound my hands around his neck and lowered his face until our lips met. And finally, I kissed him in a way I hoped conveyed what I couldn’t come out and say.

I’d fallen for Brett Pederson.

And I was finally ready to give our relationship a chance.

Brett tightened his arms around me and kissed me back in a way that told me he’d understood.

I’m sure we only kissed for a few seconds—maybe a minute, tops—but it felt like time had slowed down so I could savor everything about that moment. The warmth of his embrace. The pressure of his lips moving against mine. The sounds of shaky breaths and frantic pulses. The taste of lemon and raspberries that lingered from breakfast.

When the kiss ended, he grinned at me. “So, should I take that as a yes?”

“Or it could just be my way of letting you know I think you’re hot and I really enjoy kissing you,” I answered with a hint of my usual sarcasm.

“You’re admitting that you’re attracted to me?”

I rolled my eyes and worked my arms under his jacket. “As if there was any doubt. Every girl in school thinks you’re hot.”

“But only one girl would give me a hard time about that.” He placed a quick kiss on my lips. “And she’s the only girl I want to be with.”

I had another sarcastic reply poised on the tip of my tongue, but when I saw the way he was looking at me, it faded away. Brett had seen me at my worst, and yet, there was nothing but admiration in his eyes. He wanted me for me.

And that gave me the courage to finally trust my heart to him. “But to answer your question, yeah, I’d like to give us a try.”

“Can I go out on a limb and suggest a first real date?”

“What about the concert or the football game?”

He shook his head. “If I remember correctly, you were very adamant that those were
not
dates.”

“Okay, fine.” I backed away, but not before he laced his fingers through mine. “I’ll go out on a date with you, but only under one condition.”

“What?”

“You tell me how you did on the SATs yesterday.”

“I kicked that essay’s ass.” He beamed at me and started back toward his truck, still holding my hand as we walked. “As for our first official date, how does canoeing through the arboretum sound?”

The thought of lazily paddling through the water lilies with Brett seemed both relaxing and a bit romantic. “It sounds lovely.”

“Great. Then let’s get your car and meet at the canoe rental place and go from there. I might have even packed a little picnic lunch just in case you said yes.”

“That confident?”

“No. After all, you’ve turned me down how many times?”

I gave him a playful shove. “You’re the one who said I was stubborn.”

“True, but I like being prepared for the possibility. I’m glad you finally came to your senses, too, because it’s a great picnic.”

This time, he answered my shove with one of his own and we ended up racing back to his truck, both breathless with laughter when we got there.

He pulled me into his arms again and said, “I look forward to seeing how many more ways you can drive me crazy, Lexi.”

I looked up at him and wondered how I’d ended up with a great guy like him. But one thing was certain—I wasn’t going to waste any more time wondering how or if or when this would blow up in my face. I couldn’t erase the past, and I couldn’t predict the future. I could only control the present and my place in it.

I grinned at him and replied, “Same here.”

Somehow, I’d found the perfect guy for me in the person I’d least expected. I’d lowered my walls. I’d shown him that I wasn’t as strong and resilient as I wanted everyone to believe. I’d made myself vulnerable, and now, I had to trust him with my heart and see where things went from there.

Want to know what happens next?

The Queen B* and the Homecoming King

Coming December 1, 2015

The Queen B* Strikes Back

Copyright 2015 by Crista McHugh

Edited by Karen Dale Harris

Copyedited by Elizabeth MS Flynn

Cover Art by Sweet N’ Spicy Designs

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author or publisher except for the use of brief quotations in critical articles or reviews.

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

ISBN-13:
978-1-940559-43-8