The Romeo Club Read online

  “I’m sure. Like some stupid mutt is gonna want my designer lingerie.” She yanked the piece of clothing from my hands. “If you ever come in my yard again, I’ll call the cops.” She shook the lacy garment in my face. After one more nasty look, she stormed back to her house and slammed the door.

  Beside me, Kenadi hid her mouth behind her hand as if that’d contain the laughter. At last, she erupted in a fit of giggles. “Oh, my God, you should’ve seen your face.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she clutched her sides.

  “Thanks to Jimbo everyone thinks I’m the perv of the neighborhood. Seriously, do I look like the type of person who spends their time sneaking into people’s yards to steal their undergarments and dirty mags?”

  “Well, you do seem kind of creepy.” Kenadi bumped into me with her hip.

  “You’re not helping here.”

  She wiped her eyes and gave me a hug. “Sorry. I promise I’ll quit laughing in a minute.

  Which was a total lie. More like it took her five minutes to settle down. And when we got inside and she told Drake what happened, she broke out in another fit of giggles. Good grief, nice to know that my misery was someone else’s humor.

  Chapter 18

  With my pack slung over my shoulder, I made my way toward my locker only to find Rex, Portia, and Trey standing in front of it.

  “Hey, what’s up?” I glanced between them.

  “We were just talking about the dinner party this upcoming weekend,” Rex said. “Portia’s dad works with mine, so she’s gotta be there too.”

  Portia flung her silky hair over her shoulder. “And I invited Trey, this morning.” She smiled over at him. “So it’ll be like a double date. Remember, we were just talking about this last weekend.”

  “Sounds fun, I can’t wait,” I said, shooting Trey an amused glance.

  He shrugged.

  “You should see Double-D, when she’s all dressed up. Hottest girl around.” Rex nuzzled my cheek.

  My face warmed. “Thanks, but let’s not get caught making out in the hallway.”

  He sighed, looping an arm over my shoulder. “Aw, you’re ruining my fun.”

  Portia giggled. “Your kind of fun will land both of you in the principal’s office.”

  Rex’s grin widened. “That could be interesting, what do you say, babe?”

  “Let’s not test that out.” My face burned as I wriggled out of his arms and spun the combination on my locker.

  He gave me a fake pout. “Fine. But I’m not making any promises for my behavior on Saturday.”

  Holy balls. Who let the horn dog out of his coop? He was acting friskier than Jimbo with my mom’s bra.

  “I think we better get to class.” My hand caught his before he could do anything else.

  ***

  Rex offered me his arm as we stepped up the wide marble staircase, into a foyer with, at least, sixty foot ceilings. The domed top had paintings of angels and starscapes. At the center of the entrance was a large fountain, made of black and white marble. Water sprayed from a decanter held by a nude statue at the center. This place made Rex’s house look like a shack. His parents knew lots of wealthy people, some of them even celebrities. Everywhere I gazed, I saw artwork, marble, and antique furniture. This so wasn’t my scene.

  I smoothed down my long black gown. Thank God, mom loaned me her diamond earrings and necklace or I would’ve felt out of place in this joint.

  Rex bent his head down beside mine. “Don’t fidget. You’re the most beautiful girl in here.”

  I gave his arm a squeeze. Sometimes he was so sweet. Which made me feel guilty about the hand holding thing with Trey. “Thanks.”

  His mother waved to him across the ballroom. Yes, this place really had a freaking ballroom. Along with a gallery, twenty bedrooms, three living rooms, twenty-six bathrooms, a theatre room, and several other rooms Rex told me about on our way over.

  He ushered me toward his parents. “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”

  “Don’t go running off too far. There are some people Dad wants to introduce you to.” Mrs. Tallac then turned and smiled at me. “Hi, Delyla. Aren’t you lovely tonight?”

  “Thank you, I said. “And I love your dress, by the way.”

  She fingered the beading on her dark blue floor length gown. “Oh, this old thing. I’ve had it for years.”

  “I’m going to take Del over and get some punch,” Rex said, his hand resting at the small of my back.

  “Stay within earshot.” Mrs. Tallac gave him a stern look, her brow furrowed, pale blond hair pulled back too tight, which made her face more severe.

  Please let me survive tonight. I was surrounded by snobs and money. Not exactly how I wanted to spend my evening. My heels clicked against the tiles as we hurried toward the food tables. And there, to my relief, stood Trey and Portia.

  My eyes widened as I took in Trey’s tall frame and messy hair. He wore a black tux, with red bowtie and vest. His face lit up with a smile when he saw me. I swallowed hard, trying not to stare.

  “Hey, you clean up nice,” I said when we made our way over to them.

  He grinned. “Thanks. You too.”

  A small thrill went through me, when I noticed his gaze linger on the slit in my dress. My mind wandered to our almost kiss and I instantly chastised myself. You’re here with Rex. Don’t act like such a slut.

  Portia clung to Trey’s arm and she smiled. Of course, she was gorgeous in her red and black gown. Her dark hair was piled atop her head in an elegant twist, a diamond and ruby bracelet secured on her wrist.

  “Delyla, so good to see you,” she said.

  “You too.” I pasted a fake grin on my face. How long would I have to keep this up?

  “Damn, my mom’s already starting.” Rex stared at Mrs. Tallac, who waved for him to come over. Next to her, I saw Portia’s parents do the same. “Listen, I’ll be right back. If she keeps me too long, feel free to look around.”

  “Sure.”

  He and Portia hurried across the room.

  “Well, this ought to be fun.”

  Trey raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, somehow I don’t think so.” He grabbed a cracker with some weird meat or something on it. “What do you think this is?”

  I giggled. “Um—I have no idea. Could be bologna spread or shrimp paste, or maybe it’s mice scrotum.”

  Trey sputtered, nearly spitting the cracker out of his mouth. “Nice. You’re sick.”

  We wandered around the food tables, admiring the chocolate fondue fountain and fruit cut into intricate shapes of stars and flowers. There were various crackers, cheeses, and spreads. Pastries filled glass dishes, and beside those sat tiny cakes covered in chocolate and strawberry drizzles.

  “Sorry about that.” Rex joined me again. “I swear, my parents think I care about the president of their bank or their new ambassador friend from Cairo.”

  “It’s fine. Besides, it gave me a chance to pig out on the cream puffs,” I teased.

  He rested his head against mine. “You don’t know how bad I want to kidnap you and go back to my house so we can be alone.”

  My stomach knotted. I hoped that wasn’t what he had planned for tonight because I wasn’t ready for his idea of alone, which I’m sure included shedding our clothing and jumping into his bed.

  Rex grabbed a new glass of punch and right when he was ready to take a sip, his mother waved for him again. “Son of bitch. This is gonna be a long night.”

  He pasted a smile on his face and went to join his family again. Portia did the same.

  “So what do you say we explore this place?” Trey put his cup down on a nearby table.

  “Maybe we can figure out where all their bathrooms are,” I said.

  Trey offered me his arm and we moved through the crowd. All around us, I listened to people talk about sports cars, expensive trips to Paris, diamonds, and who was wearing what designer.

  We snuck down the hall, where
we found a ginormous bathroom that had a walk in shower, which could’ve fit my whole soccer team. And don’t get me started on the tub, which was the size of a small wading pool.

  “Holy crap, what do they do, swim laps in here?” I glanced at Trey.

  “Don’t worry, if you decide to take a bath, I’ll be your lifeguard so you don’t drown.”

  We snickered and continued our tour. We found the home theatre. It had enough seats to fit like fifty people in it. “So what kind of movies do you think they watch?”

  “Only ones with subtitles. Or maybe he’s in the porn business and this is where they preview the shows.”

  “Ew, you’re totally sick.” We raced up the aisles and down the hall to a pair of French doors, which led out onto a deck. “Wow, check out the size of this yard.” Down below a pool sparkled under the moonlight. Cool night air licked at my exposed skin and I inhaled deeply.

  “There are so many stars out tonight.” Trey leaned against the railing next to me.

  “It’s beautiful.” I sighed. “Hey, do you want to go into the yard? Maybe we can find something to do.”

  He clutched my hand and we went down the stairs. When we reached the bottom, I slid my heels off letting the grass squish between my toes.

  “There’s an outdoor building right there.” Trey pointed to the shed next to the pool house.

  I ran across the yard and tugged open the door. Inside, I found every type of sporting equipment imaginable. Footballs, basketballs, tennis rackets, Frisbees, lawn darts, croquet mallets, and a soccer ball. Without hesitating, I grabbed the soccer ball.

  “How about a game?” I said.

  “Can you play in that dress?”

  “Don’t worry about me.” I snorted. “More like can you play in that suit?”

  “Those are fighting words.” He stripped off his jacket and dress shoes. “Let’s do this.”

  I tossed the ball up in the air and did a header, which flew over Trey. We raced after it. I cut in front of him and got the ball between my feet and dribbled. “Where are our goals?”

  “The shed can be yours, mine will be the gate for the pool,” Trey said as he caught up to me.

  But I easily burned around him and tapped the ball into the side of the shed. “Score one for Delyla Denson. The crowd goes wild.”

  “I let you get that one, had to warm up you know.” He gave me a crooked grin.

  “Then let’s see what you got.” I backed up giving him some room.

  He attempted to dribble the ball, but I bumped into him and stole it. Hefting my dress up, I flipped the ball into the air with my feet, and juggled it on my knees.

  “Show off.” He lunged for me, but was too late as I dribbled down the yard again.

  I sent another ball into the shed. “Woot-woot, that’s right. Another score. Hey, Trey,” I called over my shoulder.

  “Yeah?”

  “You’re not a very good keeper.”

  “Oh, is that so?” He rushed at me and caught me around the waist, knocking me to the ground. We rolled around in a flurry of limbs, bodies, and grass. “Not too quick now are you?”

  I laughed as he pinned me down and tickled my side. “You’re a cheater.”

  He held my wrists above my head, his eyes sparkled as he stared at me. My belly did a somersault. He was so close. His grip loosened, but still he hovered over me. Neither of us moved. In that moment, my heart sped up, racing as if it was a car on a track.

  “Trey,” I whispered.

  “Yeah?”

  “I … ”

  All of a sudden we heard several hisses, before cold water rained down on us. “Oh crap, the sprinklers are on.” He leapt up, dragging me after him.

  Giggling, I let him lead me across the yard. We slipped in the wet grass. Wet dirt, sprayed my legs and dress. My hair dripped into my face. We raced toward the deck door, only to find that it was now locked.

  “Great, we’re stuck out here,” I said, wringing my hair out.

  His white dress shirt clung to his chest, while droplets ran down his face and head. “We can’t go back inside like this.”

  “What are we supposed to do?” My teeth chattered as I reached down to grab my shoes I’d kicked off.

  “Look for a different way out.” Trey grinned. “What’s wrong, I thought you liked playing in sprinklers?”

  My face burned. “Oh. My. Gosh. I can’t believe you brought that up.” I covered my face. “We were like two years old when that happened.”

  He laughed. “My mom still has pictures of me, you and Drake running through the sprinkler naked.”

  “Remind me to take the photos and burn them when we get out of here.” I peered around the yard for another exit or entrance. My gaze landed on the fence. “We could try to jump the fence. Then we can call Rex or Portia to let them know what happened.”

  “Okay, I’m game.” We ran through the sprinklers again, until we got to the gate. “How about, I give you a leg up, then I’ll jump over after you?”

  “All right, are you sure I won’t weigh too much?”

  “You’re fine.” He put his hands on my waist. “Step on my knee, then hike your leg over the fence.”

  Heat coursed through me where his fingers splayed across me. “Don’t you dare look up my dress or I’ll so kick your ass.”

  He chuckled. “Why? Are you wearing the Jimbo torn thong?”

  I blushed, turned to face him, and slugged him in the arm. “Funny—that thong ain’t going anywhere near my lady parts. Besides, how come you’re so interested in my underpants?”

  He stared at me. “I’m not, just wanted to make sure you weren’t going to moon me on the way over.” This time, he hefted me up and I grabbed hold of the gate.

  Rip. Oh god, the slit in my dress tore. As soon as I landed on the ground on the other side, I investigated the damage. Holy crap. The slit now went to my bikini line, revealing a pair of black lacy panties.

  A second later, Trey jumped down beside me.

  “Um—do you think I could borrow your jacket?”

  Trey noticed the tear. “Yeah, here.” He threw his suit coat around my waist, tying the arms so it looked like a skirt. He rested a hand at the small of my back. The warmth of his touch sent electric shocks from my toes to the tips of my hair.

  What was happening to us? The more time I spent with him, the crazier about him I felt. Not that I was about to admit that to anyone. But I felt the connection, just below the surface.

  “Do you have your phone on you?” I said as we came around the front of the house.

  “No, it’s in my car.” He caught my hand in his. “C’mon, we’re parked over here.” When we got to his vehicle, he opened the door and fumbled for his cell. First he attempted to text Portia. When she didn’t answer, I gave him Rex’s number. After several tries, we couldn’t reach either of them.

  “I guess we can just leave and explain things to them later,” I said. “I doubt they want to have us rush back into the fundraiser, wet and covered in mud.”

  “Then your chariot awaits, my lady.” Trey opened the truck door and helped me into the passenger side seat.

  Once we had our seatbelts on, we drove down toward the security gate. When we got down there, a guard gestured for us to stop.

  “I’m sorry, I’ll have to ask you two to step out of the vehicle,” the guard said.

  “Wait, what’s going on?” I said.

  “We caught you on our surveillance cameras jumping a fence. Trespassers aren’t tolerated in this neighborhood. We’ve already got a call into the cops.”

  Cops? Holy balls. My parents would flip. “Wait, we were at the Phellston Fundraiser. We got locked in the yard and the sprinklers came on … If-if you call the house and ask for either Rex Tallac or Portia Rickard they can confirm we were their dates tonight.”

  “Stay here, let me ring the house,” the guard said.

  “Do you get in trouble on all your
dates?” Trey’s lip turned up at the corner.

  “Only when I’m with you,” I said.

  The guard returned a moment later. “Mr. Tallac and Ms. Rickard confirmed you were guests. Please accept my apology. They asked that you wait here for them.”

  A few minutes later, Rex’s jeep came into view and him and Portia hopped out. Rex took one look at me and Trey and frowned. “Ready to go home?”

  “Yeah, I think I’ve had enough fun for tonight.”

  When I got to his vehicle, he asked what happened and I explained Trey and me deciding to explore the grounds after him and Portia disappeared. Then I had to tell him how we got locked out.

  He chuckled. “I’m sorry, but that’s pretty funny. And I have to admit, I’m thankful it happened, otherwise, I’d be stuck at the damn party all night.”

  When we pulled into my driveway, Rex leaned over and planted his mouth on mine. His tongue grazed my teeth. He tasted like a mixture of punch and mint. Not a good combo at the moment.

  “You know, I could probably come in if you want? Or better yet, maybe you can get changed and come back to my house. At least there we could be alone.”

  “Actually, I think I’m gonna take a shower. I’m wearing half the Phellston’s yard on my legs.”

  “Are you sure? We could watch a movie or something. Maybe go in the hot tub or pool. Clothing optional.” He grinned.

  My hands clenched hold of the door handle. “Sorry. I really just want to get cleaned up. I’ll see you later.” I gave him a quick hug and another peck on the lips then hopped out of the vehicle.

  I stood on the porch and watched him pull out. Right as he left, I noticed Trey drive up in his truck next door.

  Trey saw me and sauntered over. “Well, that was an eventful night.”

  “I’m sure we made great impressions on Rex and Portia’s families.” I plopped down on the top stair.

  “If you count almost having the cops show up as impressive, then yeah.” He sat beside me. “So what are we gonna do next weekend? Maybe break into a prison? Rob a bank?”

  I rammed my shoulder into his. “Admit it, before me your life was boring.”