CHAPTER 7
”Hey, Scarlett,” Dad said.
I paused, lowering my bow and violin. ”Yeah, Dad?”
”Not that I don”t love listening to you play, but have you checked the time?If you don”t leave soon, you might be late for school, and I know how much you hate that.”
I did.
I”d just hit snooze on my alarm—again.
But playing violin was my stress relief. It was one of the only things that relaxed me, soothed my soul, and cleared my head, especially when there was a lot on my mind. I”d been at it for hours. Last night, I”d started a new arrangement, and in the morning, I picked it up again.
The piece was looking good.
My head? Not so much.
”Is everything okay?” Dad asked after a moment.
Hearing the worry in his voice, I packed up my violin and opened my door with a smile. ”Sure,” I said, ”everything”s awesome. Why wouldn”t it be?”
”I don”t know. You”ve been playing a lot.”
”Define a lot.”
Dad raised a brow.
”Ah, you know how it is,” I told him while grabbing my backpack. ”Yami Yami and I just needed to spend some quality time together.”
”Hmmm,” he said, ”and you”re not stressed about anything?”
Besides seeing my fake boyfriend again and somehow convincing his ex and the entire school that we”re madly in love? Oh yes, and doing all that without letting my heart get involved?
”Nope,” I said.
He followed me to the front door, not saying a word. But I knew there was more on his mind.
”Are you stressed?” I asked, turning to face him. ”Because that”s the vibe I”m getting. Maybe transferring a little of what you feel onto me. We learned about that in psychology.”
Dad chuckled. ”I”m only worried about you, kid.”
”I love you, Dad,” I said. ”But I”m good.”
”Okay,” he said and gave me a hug. ”I know it”s weird with your sister being out of the house. But just know, I”m here if you need me. For anything.”
I cocked my head. ”Anything? What if I want to talk aboutnormal teenage stuff?”
Dad opened his arms. ”I”m up for hearing all the gossip, who”s hooking up with who, whatever.”
My nose scrunched. ”One, never use the phrase ”hooking up” again in my presence. Two, you hate gossip.”
”I”ll gladly listen for you.”
”What if I wanted to talk about the cute guy in my chemistry class?”
”Fine—but if you decide to date him, you”ll have to invite him over so he and I can have the talk.”
”You and the talk,” I grumbled.
”It”s not so bad,” he said.
”Really? Lotte said Bo was horrified afterward.”
Dad smiled. ”Glad to hear it.”
”What if I want to talk about female issues?”
His smile dropped just like I”d hoped it would.
”My period, heavy flow, stuff like that,” I added, biting back a laugh when he winced.
”Well, I”m not sure,” he said. ”Growing up in a house full of brothers didn”t exactly equip me with the right knowledge. We might want to get your aunts Sally or Lillian on the phone for those. Or maybe Grandma Kent could—”
”Kidding,” I said and walked toward my car. ”I”ll ask Charlotte or the cousins or even Google if I”ve got questions about that. No worries, Dad.”
”Thank God,” he murmured.
I waved goodbye, got in my car, and laughed all the way to school.
Once there, though, I wasn”t laughing anymore. This was it. Time to implement stage one of the plan.
Becoming the new ”It” couple didn”t seem too hard in my mind.
But what did I really know about relationships?I”d never had a boyfriend. Never been on a date. Never been kissed before yesterday.
This could all crash and burn.
But then how would Sam ever get Brisa back?
And how would I complete my list?
These were the doubts that plagued me last night. But it was a new day.
Another thing I”d never been: a quitter.
Sam and I would just need to be on our game to pull this off.
Speaking of which…
I sent Sam a quick text to make sure we were on the same page.
Me:Hey, you ready to unveil our couple status to the world?
His reply came a few seconds later.
Sam:I was born ready.
Me:So cheesy.
Sam:Would we call that cheesy…or adorable?
Me:Annnd now, he”s calling himself adorable.
Sam:You”re right. I prefer your word. Stunning. Let”s go with that.
I swallowed then sent him another text to keep us on track.
Me: Okay, so here”s the plan. When we see each other, we have to make it good. Swoon factor at 100%. Heart-eyes, romance, all that. I don”t know exactly what should happen. But you have to look really happy to see me and vice versa. Got that, Bishop?
Sam:I”m always happy to see you, Kent.
I smiled.
Me: See? That”s the kinda thing you should save for an audience. Very sweet.
Sam:I”m not sweet.
Me:Debatable.
Sam:And hey, I thought we were going to go with the flow.
Me:We will.
Sam:Am I allowed to kiss you?
My heart flipped as I read his last text.
Six little words.
One innocent question.
There was no reason the organ in my chest should respond at all.
But it did.
Despite this, I forced myself to relax.He just wanted clarification, and that was a good thing. I could be nonchalant and cool too.
Me:If you want.
Sam:Ok. And just so you know, you can kiss me.
I swallowed.
Sam:If you want.
Good lord, he was sexy and sweet. A lethal combination.
I sent a thumbs-up in response, then felt like an idiot, and followed it with a heart—which I immediately wondered if I should”ve sent.
Too late now.
Taking a deep breath, I got out of the car and strode toward the main building. So what if I was nervous? That never held me back before, and it wouldn”t now. I was going to approach this like I did everything. Give it one hundred percent, hold nothing back, and hope for the best.
”Hey, Scarlett,” Daphne Gomez said when I walked in the door. We”d known each other since grade school. She was a member of pep squad and also the person you went to if you wanted the latest dirt on anyone. ”I heard you and Sam Bishop are dating. Is that true?”
Fake dating, I mentally amended, then nodded.
”Yeah, it is,” I said.
”Oh, cool.” She smiled. ”A bunch of people are saying you got caught making out yesterday in the music room.”
I startled. ”People are talking about that?”
Daphne nodded. ”But you know, I always like to get confirmation from the source.”
”It was just a kiss,” I said.
”So, that”s true too?” Her eyes went wide. ”Wow, Scarlett, I didn”t think you had it in you. Stealing Brisa”s guy right after they break up? You”re ruthless.”
”Hey, I didn”t steal anyone.”
”Tell that to Brisa. I heard she was pissed.”
”Really?”
Another nod.
Huh. This might be easier than I thought.
As Daphne walked off, Wyatt Ward sauntered up to me and said, ”Hey, Scarlett. Long time no see.”
”Yeah,” I said slowly. The whole interaction confused me, mainly because we”d had classes together nearly every day for the past four years. But this was the first time Wyatt, wide receiver on the Chariot High football team, bothered to talk to me. ”What”s up, Wyatt?”
”You and Bishop. When did that happen?”
”It”s pretty recent. Why?”
”No reason,” he said. ”But hey, you want to go out sometime?”
I turned to face him with a frown. ”I just said I”m with Sam.”
He shot me a grin. ”Yeah, but it”s not like that”s going to last. Right?”
Wyatt shrugged.
”If he dumped Brisa for you, I figured you might be worth getting to know. You know?”
”No,” I said, ”I definitely don”t know. And Sam didn”t dump Brisa because of me. Not sure where you heard that. But it”s false.”
”Whatever you say,” he said then lifted his chin. ”See you around, Scarlett.”
”I hope not,” I mumbled.
Two people blocked my path then, and they looked giddy with excitement. Grayson and Alexandria didn”t waste a second.
”What the what, Scarlett?” Grayson said.
”Don’t even try to throw us off the scent,” Alexandria said next. ”It”s all over school. Scam.”
I tensed. ”What did you just say?”
”Scam,” she repeated.
”Heck yeah, Scam,” Grayson said with a wink. ”You and Sam. It”s all anyone”s talking about.”
My breath released on a long exhale. ”Oh right, our couple name.”
”Your awesome couple name—which means you two are a couple?” Grayson gestured for me to hurry up and answer. ”I can”t wait all day, Scarlett. This is need-to-know info.”
”Don”t be nice to her, Gray.” Alexandria sniffed. ”She obviously doesn”t consider us friends, or she wouldn”t have kept this from us yesterday.”
”I didn”t keep it from you,” I said. ”Sam and I weren”t even together then.”
”But you”re together now?” Grayson put in.
”If you can”t tell your locker neighbors, who can you tell?” Alexandria added. ”Is Scam real or not?
”It”s real,” I said, rationalizing that Scam was indeed a real thing—even if that thing was an agreement between two people to pretend.
While Grayson whooped and danced around, Alexandria gave me a small smile.
”Good for you,” she said.
”Good for Sam,” Grayson added. ”Oh, I”m so glad he won”t be sad anymore. And I love Brisa—who doesn”t?—but I love you just as much. Yay for Scam.”
”Thanks, guys,” I said.
Alexandria cocked her head in thought. ”We”re your best friends, Scarlett. You can tell us things, you know.”
”Especially when they have to do with hot soccer players,” Grayson put in then turned to Alexandria. ”But best friends? That”s a bit of a stretch.”
”You think?”
”We never hang out, never talk outside of school.”
”Well, we”re at least friendly,” she said.
”Maybe hallway pals?”
”That”s dumb.”
”Friendly acquaintances?” I tried.
”We”re more than that,” Grayson said with a scoff. ”We”ve gone to school together for four years. How about…casual friends?”
Alexandria sniffed. ”Sounds like the three of us are in an openrelationship, and we”re you”re wives.”
I laughed at the look on Grayson”s face. ”It does kind of sound like that,” I said.
”Ew,” he said.
”I second that ew.”
”Neither one of you are my type either,” Alexandria said.
”How about just friends?” I said.
Grayson gave me a nod. ”That sounds good.”
”Much better,” Alexandria agreed then glanced at something past my shoulder. ”Oh look, here”s your boyfriend now.”
”Hey, Kent,” a voice said behind me.
My ”just friends” backed away, but they didn”t go far. Alexandria and Grayson weren”t the only people watching either. I could see several students and a few teachers had paused to watch the interaction between Sam and me.
This was it.
Phase one of the plan.
When I turned, I was ready, in the zone, the fake romance zone that is.
But then I got a look at Sam. He was smiling extra wide, and his eyes were round too, like a cartoon. My own expression nearly faltered, but I shook it off and stayed in character, as I rushed to close the gap between us. Keeping my smile, I lowered my voice so only he could hear.
”What”s wrong with your face?” I whispered.
”What do you mean?” Sam said, still smiling way too big.
”You look crazy. Stop that.”
”Do I?”
”Your teeth are blinding everyone in a mile radius,” I gritted out. ”For goodness sake, Bishop, tone it down a notch.”
”But I”m really happy to see you,” he said.
With a sigh, I shook my head. ”Too much, far too many teeth.”
Sam”s face went back to normal in the next breath. ”This better?”
”Yes, much,” I said.
”Hey, it was your idea to bust out the heart eyes,” he said.
I lifted a brow. ”I believe I said to look happy.”
”Really happy.”
”Okay, but the goal is to convince people we”re in love,” I said, ”not scare small children.”
Sam laughed, but movement behind him caught my attention. Brisa was walking arm-and-arm with Cooper down the hall. They were coming this way. My eyes widened, and I looked back at Sam with urgency.
”Pick me up and spin me around,” I said.
”Huh?” Sam said.
I put my hands on his shoulders and tried not to shiver as his hands went around my waist in response.
Confession: The attempt failed.
”Brisa and Cooper at 12 o”clock,” I whispered as pleasurable shivers raced up and down my spine. ”Pick me up and spin me. Like we”re reuniting after a long time apart.”
”You think that”s realistic?”
”I think it”s romantic.”
Sam looked unconvinced.
”Come on, Bishop,” I said quickly. ”Spin me. They”re almost here. You”re supposed to be my boyfriend. Right?”
He met my eyes and gave me a soft, genuine smile so unlike the one he”d been wearing before. ”Anything for my girlfriend,” he said.
Then I was flying.
Or at least it felt that way.
I gasped as Sam lifted and turned with me in his arms.This wasn”t on my list, but for the life of me, I couldn”t figure out why. It was wonderful. Sam”s hands were warm on my waist, and butterflies danced in my stomach as I clung to his neck.
”Oh yeah,” he said into my ear, ”this is much more believable.”
”Whatever, Bishop,” I said unable to hold back a breathless laugh.
Round and round, we went, and when he finally set me down, I felt unsteady.
”I think you should leave the romantic gestures to me,” he said.
”Not a chance,” I replied. Looking around, I didn”t see Brisa anywhere. The crowd of onlookers began to disperse, and there weren”t as many people left in the hall. But she had to have walked by us. ”Did Brisa see?”
”Don”t know,” he said. ”Your hair was in my face.”
”Sorry.”
”Don”t be. It was nice.”
Brow furrowed, I gave him a look.
Sam just shrugged. ”You have nice hair.”
”You still say the most random things,” I said, thinking back to when we were younger.
”You”re random,” he replied.
”And come up with the lamest insults.”
”You”re the lamest.”
”Thank you for proving my point.”
Residual dizziness hit me then. All those circles had apparently gotten to me.My hand went to my forehead—but a second later, Sam pulled it away, holding my palm between his own and examining it with a frown.
”What happened?” he said, sounding suddenly serious.
”What do you mean?” I asked.
”To your hand.”
I followed his gaze down and tried to see what he saw. Rough callouses, a few cuts, fingertips reddened.
”Who did this?” he said.
I shook my head, startled by the intensity in his voice. ”No one,” I said. ”I just played my violin for hours last night and this morning.”
My breath caught as his touch slowly glided across my palm and along my fingers.
”My left hand always looks like that after I practice too long.”
”Looks terrible,” he said.
Embarrassed, I went to tug my hand away, but before I could Sam brought my hand to his lips. Slowly, one by one, he placed a soft kiss on each of my fingertips. It was like he had all the time in the world. Like we weren”t in public. Like it was just him and me. Each time his mouth touched my skin, it became harder to breathe. And at the same time, every kiss fed my soul in a way I couldn”t explain. When he was done, Sam stood back up and met my gaze.
”What was that?” I murmured.
”Just trying to make you feel better,” he said.
”Mission accomplished.” He grinned, but I just shook my head. Before I could think better of it, I said, ”I missed you.”
Sam”s expression sobered. ”I”ve been right here, Kent.”
I nodded. ”Yeah, but…never mind.”
He waited, but I waved all my confusing feelings away. This wasn”t about the past. We had goals to accomplish.
”Anyway, that was a smooth move,” I said, sticking my left hand into my pocket. ”Too bad Brisa wasn”t here to see it.”
”She wouldn”t care,” he said.
”Oh, she definitely would.”
”No worries, Kent. I”m sure word will get back to her.”
For some reason, his answer didn”t make me happy. My first alarm sounded, and I turned it off.
”I better go,” I said. ”Still have to stop by my locker.”
”Okay,” he said.
”And seriously, kissing the fingertips? That should”ve been on my list.”
”Like I said, you should leave the romance to me.”
”Hmmm. I”ll see you, Bishop.”
”Later, Kent.”
I knew he was right. I should probably let him take the romance reigns so to speak. But I was scared to do that—because he was far too good at it.
Sam Bishop had hidden talents.
And like an idiot, I”d already blurted the very real fact that I”d missed him.
I had to take care, remember why we were doing all this, or I might just fall.
And that would be disastrous for so many reasons, the biggest being he was already in love with someone—and that someone definitely wasn”t me.
I took a deep breath and re-centered.
Get Brisa and Sam back together. Complete my list of firsts. Keep heart in one piece.
The end.
Just stick to the plan and all shall be well.
Feeling the tingles in my left hand, I thought it might already be too late.