Is Your Boyfriend On It? by Suzanne Young
I quickly turned back to him, realizing that I hadn’t answered. I shook my ponytail to clear my head. “My notes, right?”
He nodded and his grin widened, revealing a perfect set of teeth. “If you wouldn’t mind.”
“No, of course not. They’re in my locker and I’m going there now, but—”
“Great. I’ll follow you.” He stepped back, motioning his hands for me to go.
Tentatively, I stood. Aiden would be waiting at my locker for me. How would he feel if I had a new pup at my heels when I met him? This felt odd. And I did not like odd.
Ducking my head, I walked forward into the near-empty corridor. This part of the building only had a few classrooms, so it was quiet, other than the squeaks that my sneakers were making on the shiny linoleum tiles. I suddenly felt a little self-conscious, wishing I wasn’t wearing my shorter cheerleading skirt. But Aiden had wrinkled my good one. I smiled to myself, remembering.
“So,” Christian said from behind me. “Cheerleading, huh?”
I straightened my posture and looked politely over my shoulder at him. “Yep.”
His tone was not lost on me. Being a cheerleader meant getting used to airhead jokes and other stereotypes. That was why I felt it was so important for the Smitten Kittens to keep their dignity intact at all times. Stupid skirt.
“I’ll have to admit I’m surprised to get study notes from a person that spends time on the top of a human pyramid. I expected more of the chess club type—”
“I play chess.” I swirled to face him. I was pretty sure my bloomers flashed because his grin became a full-on smile. Was he trying to ruffle my pom-poms?
“Really?” he asked, tilting his head and looking me over carefully.
“Yeah.” My cheeks felt warm. I didn’t like defending my intelligence. Turning slowly, I began to walk forward again. My eyebrows pulled together as I contemplated. Something was off about this boy. Something unusual.
We turned down the busy main hallway, and I immediately spotted Aiden, his head poking out above the rest of the student population. He was resting his forehead against my locker, looking bored. I smiled. Seeing him always made me smile. Forgetting my uncomfortable shadow, I jogged through the crowd and wrapped my arms around my boyfriend’s long body from behind. He jumped but then laughed before turning in my arms.
“Hi, baby,” he whispered, needing to duck way down to kiss me.
“You smell nice,” I said, getting up on my tiptoes to peck him again. He’d just gotten out of phys ed. The boy wore sweat better than any cologne.
“Mm ...” His hand lightly patted my rear. “You know I love this skirt?”
“I do. I wanted to wear—”
Someone cleared their throat behind me. Right. Notes.
Aiden’s smile faltered as he straightened up. Feeling awkward, I pursed my lips and then dropped my arms from around him.
“Aiden. This is Christian,” I said, pointing to him. “Mr. Powell sent him to me to get history notes.”
My boyfriend immediately reached out his hand to Christian. “I’m Aiden Wilder. I haven’t seen you before. Are you new?”
Christian’s smile looked forced as he shook hands. “Yeah. We just moved, and I transferred in today from West Washington.”
“Ah, a Duck,” Aiden said, moving to put his arm around me. “Well, welcome to Wildcats’ territory.” Aiden was being so polite! He’d sure come a long way with his manners. Not that I minded that he was a little rough around the edges—it was pretty steamy.
“Thanks,” Christian said, looking between Aiden and me. “So, the head cheerleader and, I assume, the basketball captain?”
There was that tone again.
“Uh-huh,” Aiden said, happily and without a hint of distaste.
“That’s cute,” Christian replied. I could tell that “cute” wasn’t a normal word for him to use. He seemed to choke on it.
“It is.” I narrowed my eyes. Odd.
Turning back to Aiden, I put my hand at his hip and tried to move him aside so that I could get to my locker. He did move but leaned down to my ear.
“I’ve got to take off. I’ll see you at lunch.” He kissed softly at my lobe and I giggled. I adored his adorableness. “Nice to meet you, Chris,” he called as he backed away.
“You too, but it’s Christian.”
“Right,” Aiden said, snapping his fingers. He winked at me and headed off to English class.
Sigh. School would be so much more fun without the confines of the academic system. I glanced back at Christian once as I swirled the combo of my locker without needing to look at it. He smiled.
I quickly turned around and yanked open the metal, pausing for a moment to glance in the magnetic mirror on the door. Hm. I liked this new lip gloss. It had just a hint of pink. Just enough.
Christian chuckled, and I caught his brown eyes watching me in the mirror, seemingly amused. I straightened up and grabbed my stack of notebooks from the top shelf. Flipping through the assorted colors, I found the purple one. I smiled. Color coordination made everything so easy.
“Here you go,” I said, holding it out.
“Thank you.”
As he took the bound paper, his finger touched mine. He did it on purpose. I could tell by the all-too-innocent expression on his face and the slight reddening of his cheeks.
The bell rang, and I looked up toward the dinging box over the adjacent doorway. Great. As if economics class wasn’t bad enough, now Mrs. Foster would make me sit in the tardy chair at the front—the one attached to her desk. Fantastic.
“Try and get it back to me tomorrow,” I said to Christian, feeling distressed and tossing a look at him as I slammed my locker door shut with a loud bang.
“Sure thing.” With another polite smile, I turned away and jogged toward the end of the hall. I heard a small sound from back by my locker and knew that my skirt was probably flopping up again, showing off my school-colored panties. But whatever, at least they matched.
SOS INTER-SOS MEMO
FROM: Leona
TO: SOS
As the secretary and treasurer, I have some updates and reminders.
First, the self-defense training class has been changed to Thursday night. Master Marco has asked that we wear our uniforms, but I’m not entirely sure why. Either he’s a perv, or he wants us to be prepared in all situations. It begins at seven sharp at the martial arts studio. Make sure to wear bloomers (Kira).
Next up, we just received a large donation in our PO box from Karen McKlusky, mother of Helena. Helena was the unfortunate client involved in that threesome. So gross. Anyway, the money is enough to buy the grappling hook that we were interested in or update our digital recording equipment. We can have a vote after practice on Wednesday.
Also, it has come to my attention that Peter Corning has been soliciting freshmen for dates. Even though he’s not technically cheating anymore, he still loses points for being a creep. Keep your eyes peeled for possible violations.
Finally, since Kara Martin is graduating, we’ll need to induct a new member into the squad and into SOS. If you know a girl with Kitten potential, submit it to me via text, and I can compile a list for us to look over. As Tessa has said, it’s important for the Smitten Kittens to all be on board with SOS to ensure our top-secret status. Please have your nominations in by next Tuesday.
That’s all for now. Let me know if you need any clarification or see Tessa with any questions.
Keep smiling,
Leona
SOS
Text: 555-0101
Exposing Cheaters for Over Two Years
SOS EQUIPMENT ORDER FORM
FROM: Leona
TO: SOS
Our monthly order is ready for Tessa’s approval. If there is any last-minute item you need, please write it in and submit it to me before Wednesday.
The order needs to be placed with spytime.com by Friday or we won’t earn the frequent buyer discount. The donations this month have been sparse, so please onl
y ask for necessary items. No lip gloss!
ITEMS:
° Portable lie detector—$59.99
° High-resolution tactical camera with night vision—$299.99
° Pen audio recorder—$89.99
° Smart card file retriever—$59.00
° Tubular lock pick—$24.99
Encrypted Cell-/ lost mine!
6ít1ppling hook
EPS w/cell assist
Keep smiling,
Leona
SOS
Text: 555-0101
Exposing Cheaters for Over Two Years
CHAPTER FOUR
I WAS NEVER SO GRATEFUL TO SEE CORN DOGS. The loud murmurs in the cafeteria, coupled with the smell of processed meat, were doing a number on me. Economics was miserable. Calculus was worse. All I wanted to do was lay my head on the sticky table and rest my brain. These teachers were seriously impeding my thought process.
“Where were you?” Kira asked, looking at me from across the table with concern. “I thought you’d been Kitten-napped or something.”
“My day was totally blown,” I complained. “I got the tardy chair in economics.”
“Tragic!” Leona said from the other end. “That woman should be stopped. I think Mrs. Foster is inflicting serious emotional damage on the student population with her attendance policies. I’m going to write a strongly worded letter to the school board.” She adjusted her glasses.
That was Leona. She was a great asset to SOS. Smart, prompt, and sassy! Sure, sometimes she was a little judgmental (like the time she called Coach Taylor a dictator for making her take a fitness test), but she was a whiz at both computers and fashion accessories. In fact, if I hadn’t been so melancholy, I would have certainly found out where she’d gotten her headband. It was fab.
“I like the letters you write,” Izzie announced, biting into her corn dog and nodding at Leona. “You have totally great verbiage.” Leona thanked her.
Just then, a hand slid across my shoulders, and I looked up, startled. Aiden dropped down in the seat next to me, a bewildered expression on his face.
“You look surprised to see me,” he said, taking his arm from around me. “Were you expecting someone else?” He grinned.
“Nope. I’m just depressed.” And I was. It was like uneasiness had settled over my uniformed chest. I glanced around the filled cafeteria and wondered how many of the guys in here had been unfaithful in the last two years. Unfortunately, I knew the answer. And it wasn’t good.
Aiden’s mouth dropped open. “That’s not like you. You’re like a little ball of sunshine. Always. And I mean always. What could you be sad about?” Aiden leaned over to kiss my shoulder, making my stomach flutter. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
Indeed, he was here. I had no reason to be sad. After all, I wasn’t the one being cheated on. But Darren had been the third adulterer this week, and his indiscretion had totally messed with our lunchtime seating arrangements. I glanced at the empty seat between Kira and Izzie and sighed.
Darren might not have been the first cheater, but he was the first one that we hadn’t discovered on our own—and that worried me. Because up until now, SOS had been foolproof.
Why were all of these boys going horny? And why did I feel worried when my relationship was healthy?
“We’re okay, aren’t we?” Aiden murmured into the sleeve of my shirt.
My eyes snapped to his. He never asked questions like that! Aiden was pure confidence.
“What? Why wouldn’t we be?” I asked, searching his face when he pulled back. His skin was smooth and tan as he widened his green eyes at me.
“Nothing,” he said quickly, shaking his head and wrapping both arms around my waist to pull me into him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by that.”
“Hey, Tess,” Leona called from the end of the table. “I meant to ask you about the new lollipop in your history class. I heard he is oh, so lickable.”
“Ladies,” Aiden said, letting me go and pushing away his lunch tray, looking nauseous. “Please don’t talk about the men of the school like lollipops. Especially to my girlfriend.”
Leona giggled and winked at me from behind her glasses. “By the way,” she said as she stood up from the table. “The new boy has a sister, and she’s in my algebra class. A real bitch, if you ask me.”
“Language,” I tsked.
“Sorry. But she is.” Leona shrugged, backing up toward the lunch line. “She told Ms. Kellan that she didn’t ‘do’ word problems. Total pout face. And no accessories!”
I adored Leona, but maybe she didn’t understand that being the new kids at school was probably difficult for Christian and his sister, especially if they’d just moved. I mean, sure, using the word do on purpose was sort of tactless, but—
“Psst,” Kira interrupted, touching at the corners of her mouth with a paper napkin. “Hottie alert.” She darted an excited glance over my shoulder. I was glad she was working on her observation skills. They’d come in handy on missions.
Aiden cleared his throat and grabbed his tray back from the middle of the table to pick at the salad. He probably wasn’t interested in hearing about hot guys. Although I knew that no one was cuter than my sweetie. With that blond hair and those lean muscles, he—
“Tessa?” a soft voice asked.
There was a twinge of irritation, but I recovered quickly and spun around. Christian. Of course. Only this time, he had company: a small, attractive girl with long, straight blond hair and full lips. Her face, however, was pulled into a scowl. At least it was until she noticed my boyfriend. Then her pretty face perked up. Hm. She was checking him out.
“Hello again, Christian,” I said, bringing my gaze back to him. I felt Aiden turn around in his seat. I looked sideways at him and he was relaxed, lounging against the table and picking at his fingernails.
Christian took another step closer and smiled at me. “I was wondering if we could join you?” His dark eyes were framed perfectly by his lashes, making his stare intense yet ... vulnerable.
My heart sank. He was probably embarrassed that he had to ask to sit with us. I couldn’t stand to see someone looking so lonely. “Sure,” I said politely. “You can sit with us.”
Kira let out an excited squeak as Aiden shifted next to me and turned back to the table, still picking at his nails. I watched as the blond girl stared at my boyfriend’s dropped head and made her way around to the seat across from him, between Kira and Izzie. She didn’t have the same laid-back clothing style as her brother. No, she was more provocative. Or as Leona liked to call it, “slutty”—too-short skirt, low-cut tank top. I swallowed hard. When she finally met my gaze, she smiled-close-mouthed.
“Oh,” Christian said, sitting down on the other side of me. “This is my sister, Chloe.” He motioned toward her, and she rolled her big brown eyes, as if she didn’t like the formal introduction.
Never one to forget my manners, I immediately stretched my hand over the table to her. Just because Leona had a harsh opinion of her didn’t mean ... wait. Chloe looked at me for a second, almost as if the thought of taking my hand repulsed her. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
But then she reached out and took my palm in her cool one. She might have thought I hadn’t noticed her side glance at Aiden. But I had.
I turned to him, and he was still messing with his fingers, not paying attention. What was with him and his nails? I knocked my knee into his, and he looked up at me, surprised.
“What?”
“Nails,” I reminded him. The kid bit his nails to a ridiculous length and then chewed on his cuticles. It was sort of disgusting. I’d tried to give him a manicure, but, well, we never got very far. He always ended up offering to do me instead.
“Sorry, baby,” he said, dropping his hands into his lap. “Maybe you can buff them out for me later.” He looked sideways at me.
I crossed my legs to control the tingling between them. His stare was devious.
“We’ll see.??
? I couldn’t help but smile. I loved the snot out of him.
“It’s so fun meeting new people,” Izzie said happily to Christian as she chewed on the stick of her corn dog. “I think it’s really cultural and stuff.”
She was sweet. The only redhead in the school that wore the uniform. It was good to have diversity.
Kira cleared her throat and smiled until her dimples were deeply set in her cheeks. “I’m Kira.” She reached over the table to Christian, holding out her hand as if she expected him to kiss it.
He chuckled and instead turned it and shook it. Kira’s brilliant expression faded briefly, but then she turned to Chloe and smiled again.
“So you’re a sophomore?” Kira asked her enthusiastically. She was really great at staying perky.
“Yep. And you’re a cheerleader?” There was that tone again. The same one Christian had this morning. Had they been attacked by a roaming band of cheerleaders when they were younger? What was with the hostility?
“I am,” Kira said, not at all concerned. “I’m co-captain.” She straightened her back with pride. She’d been excited to get that title. Leona had threatened to quit, but we’d resolved it. Smitten Kittens didn’t hold animosity toward each other.
“Huh,” Chloe said, then looked over at me. “You the captain?”
I didn’t like her voice. It was low and gravelly, not cute and small like she looked. It made me think she was not at all the way she presented herself. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, if you will. Leona’s theory might have been spot-on.
“I am.”
“And I’m the captain of the basketball team,” Aiden spoke up. I turned to him. He was smiling at her. She smiled back. My stomach felt slightly ill.
Chloe’s stare came back to me. I felt pale and not at all cute. She started talking again. “Well, I was surprised when Christian said he wanted to eat lunch with a cheerleader, but I guess I can see why. You’re prettier than the ones at our old school.”
He nodded and his grin widened, revealing a perfect set of teeth. “If you wouldn’t mind.”
“No, of course not. They’re in my locker and I’m going there now, but—”
“Great. I’ll follow you.” He stepped back, motioning his hands for me to go.
Tentatively, I stood. Aiden would be waiting at my locker for me. How would he feel if I had a new pup at my heels when I met him? This felt odd. And I did not like odd.
Ducking my head, I walked forward into the near-empty corridor. This part of the building only had a few classrooms, so it was quiet, other than the squeaks that my sneakers were making on the shiny linoleum tiles. I suddenly felt a little self-conscious, wishing I wasn’t wearing my shorter cheerleading skirt. But Aiden had wrinkled my good one. I smiled to myself, remembering.
“So,” Christian said from behind me. “Cheerleading, huh?”
I straightened my posture and looked politely over my shoulder at him. “Yep.”
His tone was not lost on me. Being a cheerleader meant getting used to airhead jokes and other stereotypes. That was why I felt it was so important for the Smitten Kittens to keep their dignity intact at all times. Stupid skirt.
“I’ll have to admit I’m surprised to get study notes from a person that spends time on the top of a human pyramid. I expected more of the chess club type—”
“I play chess.” I swirled to face him. I was pretty sure my bloomers flashed because his grin became a full-on smile. Was he trying to ruffle my pom-poms?
“Really?” he asked, tilting his head and looking me over carefully.
“Yeah.” My cheeks felt warm. I didn’t like defending my intelligence. Turning slowly, I began to walk forward again. My eyebrows pulled together as I contemplated. Something was off about this boy. Something unusual.
We turned down the busy main hallway, and I immediately spotted Aiden, his head poking out above the rest of the student population. He was resting his forehead against my locker, looking bored. I smiled. Seeing him always made me smile. Forgetting my uncomfortable shadow, I jogged through the crowd and wrapped my arms around my boyfriend’s long body from behind. He jumped but then laughed before turning in my arms.
“Hi, baby,” he whispered, needing to duck way down to kiss me.
“You smell nice,” I said, getting up on my tiptoes to peck him again. He’d just gotten out of phys ed. The boy wore sweat better than any cologne.
“Mm ...” His hand lightly patted my rear. “You know I love this skirt?”
“I do. I wanted to wear—”
Someone cleared their throat behind me. Right. Notes.
Aiden’s smile faltered as he straightened up. Feeling awkward, I pursed my lips and then dropped my arms from around him.
“Aiden. This is Christian,” I said, pointing to him. “Mr. Powell sent him to me to get history notes.”
My boyfriend immediately reached out his hand to Christian. “I’m Aiden Wilder. I haven’t seen you before. Are you new?”
Christian’s smile looked forced as he shook hands. “Yeah. We just moved, and I transferred in today from West Washington.”
“Ah, a Duck,” Aiden said, moving to put his arm around me. “Well, welcome to Wildcats’ territory.” Aiden was being so polite! He’d sure come a long way with his manners. Not that I minded that he was a little rough around the edges—it was pretty steamy.
“Thanks,” Christian said, looking between Aiden and me. “So, the head cheerleader and, I assume, the basketball captain?”
There was that tone again.
“Uh-huh,” Aiden said, happily and without a hint of distaste.
“That’s cute,” Christian replied. I could tell that “cute” wasn’t a normal word for him to use. He seemed to choke on it.
“It is.” I narrowed my eyes. Odd.
Turning back to Aiden, I put my hand at his hip and tried to move him aside so that I could get to my locker. He did move but leaned down to my ear.
“I’ve got to take off. I’ll see you at lunch.” He kissed softly at my lobe and I giggled. I adored his adorableness. “Nice to meet you, Chris,” he called as he backed away.
“You too, but it’s Christian.”
“Right,” Aiden said, snapping his fingers. He winked at me and headed off to English class.
Sigh. School would be so much more fun without the confines of the academic system. I glanced back at Christian once as I swirled the combo of my locker without needing to look at it. He smiled.
I quickly turned around and yanked open the metal, pausing for a moment to glance in the magnetic mirror on the door. Hm. I liked this new lip gloss. It had just a hint of pink. Just enough.
Christian chuckled, and I caught his brown eyes watching me in the mirror, seemingly amused. I straightened up and grabbed my stack of notebooks from the top shelf. Flipping through the assorted colors, I found the purple one. I smiled. Color coordination made everything so easy.
“Here you go,” I said, holding it out.
“Thank you.”
As he took the bound paper, his finger touched mine. He did it on purpose. I could tell by the all-too-innocent expression on his face and the slight reddening of his cheeks.
The bell rang, and I looked up toward the dinging box over the adjacent doorway. Great. As if economics class wasn’t bad enough, now Mrs. Foster would make me sit in the tardy chair at the front—the one attached to her desk. Fantastic.
“Try and get it back to me tomorrow,” I said to Christian, feeling distressed and tossing a look at him as I slammed my locker door shut with a loud bang.
“Sure thing.” With another polite smile, I turned away and jogged toward the end of the hall. I heard a small sound from back by my locker and knew that my skirt was probably flopping up again, showing off my school-colored panties. But whatever, at least they matched.
SOS INTER-SOS MEMO
FROM: Leona
TO: SOS
As the secretary and treasurer, I have some updates and reminders.
First, the self-defense training class has been changed to Thursday night. Master Marco has asked that we wear our uniforms, but I’m not entirely sure why. Either he’s a perv, or he wants us to be prepared in all situations. It begins at seven sharp at the martial arts studio. Make sure to wear bloomers (Kira).
Next up, we just received a large donation in our PO box from Karen McKlusky, mother of Helena. Helena was the unfortunate client involved in that threesome. So gross. Anyway, the money is enough to buy the grappling hook that we were interested in or update our digital recording equipment. We can have a vote after practice on Wednesday.
Also, it has come to my attention that Peter Corning has been soliciting freshmen for dates. Even though he’s not technically cheating anymore, he still loses points for being a creep. Keep your eyes peeled for possible violations.
Finally, since Kara Martin is graduating, we’ll need to induct a new member into the squad and into SOS. If you know a girl with Kitten potential, submit it to me via text, and I can compile a list for us to look over. As Tessa has said, it’s important for the Smitten Kittens to all be on board with SOS to ensure our top-secret status. Please have your nominations in by next Tuesday.
That’s all for now. Let me know if you need any clarification or see Tessa with any questions.
Keep smiling,
Leona
SOS
Text: 555-0101
Exposing Cheaters for Over Two Years
SOS EQUIPMENT ORDER FORM
FROM: Leona
TO: SOS
Our monthly order is ready for Tessa’s approval. If there is any last-minute item you need, please write it in and submit it to me before Wednesday.
The order needs to be placed with spytime.com by Friday or we won’t earn the frequent buyer discount. The donations this month have been sparse, so please onl
ITEMS:
° Portable lie detector—$59.99
° High-resolution tactical camera with night vision—$299.99
° Pen audio recorder—$89.99
° Smart card file retriever—$59.00
° Tubular lock pick—$24.99
Encrypted Cell-/ lost mine!
6ít1ppling hook
EPS w/cell assist
Keep smiling,
Leona
SOS
Text: 555-0101
Exposing Cheaters for Over Two Years
CHAPTER FOUR
I WAS NEVER SO GRATEFUL TO SEE CORN DOGS. The loud murmurs in the cafeteria, coupled with the smell of processed meat, were doing a number on me. Economics was miserable. Calculus was worse. All I wanted to do was lay my head on the sticky table and rest my brain. These teachers were seriously impeding my thought process.
“Where were you?” Kira asked, looking at me from across the table with concern. “I thought you’d been Kitten-napped or something.”
“My day was totally blown,” I complained. “I got the tardy chair in economics.”
“Tragic!” Leona said from the other end. “That woman should be stopped. I think Mrs. Foster is inflicting serious emotional damage on the student population with her attendance policies. I’m going to write a strongly worded letter to the school board.” She adjusted her glasses.
That was Leona. She was a great asset to SOS. Smart, prompt, and sassy! Sure, sometimes she was a little judgmental (like the time she called Coach Taylor a dictator for making her take a fitness test), but she was a whiz at both computers and fashion accessories. In fact, if I hadn’t been so melancholy, I would have certainly found out where she’d gotten her headband. It was fab.
“I like the letters you write,” Izzie announced, biting into her corn dog and nodding at Leona. “You have totally great verbiage.” Leona thanked her.
Just then, a hand slid across my shoulders, and I looked up, startled. Aiden dropped down in the seat next to me, a bewildered expression on his face.
“You look surprised to see me,” he said, taking his arm from around me. “Were you expecting someone else?” He grinned.
“Nope. I’m just depressed.” And I was. It was like uneasiness had settled over my uniformed chest. I glanced around the filled cafeteria and wondered how many of the guys in here had been unfaithful in the last two years. Unfortunately, I knew the answer. And it wasn’t good.
Aiden’s mouth dropped open. “That’s not like you. You’re like a little ball of sunshine. Always. And I mean always. What could you be sad about?” Aiden leaned over to kiss my shoulder, making my stomach flutter. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
Indeed, he was here. I had no reason to be sad. After all, I wasn’t the one being cheated on. But Darren had been the third adulterer this week, and his indiscretion had totally messed with our lunchtime seating arrangements. I glanced at the empty seat between Kira and Izzie and sighed.
Darren might not have been the first cheater, but he was the first one that we hadn’t discovered on our own—and that worried me. Because up until now, SOS had been foolproof.
Why were all of these boys going horny? And why did I feel worried when my relationship was healthy?
“We’re okay, aren’t we?” Aiden murmured into the sleeve of my shirt.
My eyes snapped to his. He never asked questions like that! Aiden was pure confidence.
“What? Why wouldn’t we be?” I asked, searching his face when he pulled back. His skin was smooth and tan as he widened his green eyes at me.
“Nothing,” he said quickly, shaking his head and wrapping both arms around my waist to pull me into him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by that.”
“Hey, Tess,” Leona called from the end of the table. “I meant to ask you about the new lollipop in your history class. I heard he is oh, so lickable.”
“Ladies,” Aiden said, letting me go and pushing away his lunch tray, looking nauseous. “Please don’t talk about the men of the school like lollipops. Especially to my girlfriend.”
Leona giggled and winked at me from behind her glasses. “By the way,” she said as she stood up from the table. “The new boy has a sister, and she’s in my algebra class. A real bitch, if you ask me.”
“Language,” I tsked.
“Sorry. But she is.” Leona shrugged, backing up toward the lunch line. “She told Ms. Kellan that she didn’t ‘do’ word problems. Total pout face. And no accessories!”
I adored Leona, but maybe she didn’t understand that being the new kids at school was probably difficult for Christian and his sister, especially if they’d just moved. I mean, sure, using the word do on purpose was sort of tactless, but—
“Psst,” Kira interrupted, touching at the corners of her mouth with a paper napkin. “Hottie alert.” She darted an excited glance over my shoulder. I was glad she was working on her observation skills. They’d come in handy on missions.
Aiden cleared his throat and grabbed his tray back from the middle of the table to pick at the salad. He probably wasn’t interested in hearing about hot guys. Although I knew that no one was cuter than my sweetie. With that blond hair and those lean muscles, he—
“Tessa?” a soft voice asked.
There was a twinge of irritation, but I recovered quickly and spun around. Christian. Of course. Only this time, he had company: a small, attractive girl with long, straight blond hair and full lips. Her face, however, was pulled into a scowl. At least it was until she noticed my boyfriend. Then her pretty face perked up. Hm. She was checking him out.
“Hello again, Christian,” I said, bringing my gaze back to him. I felt Aiden turn around in his seat. I looked sideways at him and he was relaxed, lounging against the table and picking at his fingernails.
Christian took another step closer and smiled at me. “I was wondering if we could join you?” His dark eyes were framed perfectly by his lashes, making his stare intense yet ... vulnerable.
My heart sank. He was probably embarrassed that he had to ask to sit with us. I couldn’t stand to see someone looking so lonely. “Sure,” I said politely. “You can sit with us.”
Kira let out an excited squeak as Aiden shifted next to me and turned back to the table, still picking at his nails. I watched as the blond girl stared at my boyfriend’s dropped head and made her way around to the seat across from him, between Kira and Izzie. She didn’t have the same laid-back clothing style as her brother. No, she was more provocative. Or as Leona liked to call it, “slutty”—too-short skirt, low-cut tank top. I swallowed hard. When she finally met my gaze, she smiled-close-mouthed.
“Oh,” Christian said, sitting down on the other side of me. “This is my sister, Chloe.” He motioned toward her, and she rolled her big brown eyes, as if she didn’t like the formal introduction.
Never one to forget my manners, I immediately stretched my hand over the table to her. Just because Leona had a harsh opinion of her didn’t mean ... wait. Chloe looked at me for a second, almost as if the thought of taking my hand repulsed her. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
But then she reached out and took my palm in her cool one. She might have thought I hadn’t noticed her side glance at Aiden. But I had.
I turned to him, and he was still messing with his fingers, not paying attention. What was with him and his nails? I knocked my knee into his, and he looked up at me, surprised.
“What?”
“Nails,” I reminded him. The kid bit his nails to a ridiculous length and then chewed on his cuticles. It was sort of disgusting. I’d tried to give him a manicure, but, well, we never got very far. He always ended up offering to do me instead.
“Sorry, baby,” he said, dropping his hands into his lap. “Maybe you can buff them out for me later.” He looked sideways at me.
I crossed my legs to control the tingling between them. His stare was devious.
“We’ll see.??
“It’s so fun meeting new people,” Izzie said happily to Christian as she chewed on the stick of her corn dog. “I think it’s really cultural and stuff.”
She was sweet. The only redhead in the school that wore the uniform. It was good to have diversity.
Kira cleared her throat and smiled until her dimples were deeply set in her cheeks. “I’m Kira.” She reached over the table to Christian, holding out her hand as if she expected him to kiss it.
He chuckled and instead turned it and shook it. Kira’s brilliant expression faded briefly, but then she turned to Chloe and smiled again.
“So you’re a sophomore?” Kira asked her enthusiastically. She was really great at staying perky.
“Yep. And you’re a cheerleader?” There was that tone again. The same one Christian had this morning. Had they been attacked by a roaming band of cheerleaders when they were younger? What was with the hostility?
“I am,” Kira said, not at all concerned. “I’m co-captain.” She straightened her back with pride. She’d been excited to get that title. Leona had threatened to quit, but we’d resolved it. Smitten Kittens didn’t hold animosity toward each other.
“Huh,” Chloe said, then looked over at me. “You the captain?”
I didn’t like her voice. It was low and gravelly, not cute and small like she looked. It made me think she was not at all the way she presented herself. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, if you will. Leona’s theory might have been spot-on.
“I am.”
“And I’m the captain of the basketball team,” Aiden spoke up. I turned to him. He was smiling at her. She smiled back. My stomach felt slightly ill.
Chloe’s stare came back to me. I felt pale and not at all cute. She started talking again. “Well, I was surprised when Christian said he wanted to eat lunch with a cheerleader, but I guess I can see why. You’re prettier than the ones at our old school.”