The Romeo Club Read online

“Boring isn’t always bad you know.”

  My gaze met his. “I know. Believe it or not, I don’t mind staying in and playing video games.”

  “Speaking of which, we still need to beat that level on Dwarves of Iconia. Maybe we can do that tomorrow.”

  “Sure, but don’t you dare knock on my door before eleven. I need my beauty sleep.”

  “See you, Del.” He climbed to his feet and swaggered back to his house. My eyes followed him until he went inside.

  I realized something huge. Tonight had been a blast. Not because of Rex. But because Trey made it that way. I also discovered something problematic. I. Delyla Denson. Had a huge, massive crush on Trey Garrett.

  Chapter 19

  My cell buzzed in my pocket. I took it out and answered. “Hello?”

  “Delyla, it’s Kevin. I wondered if you might have a second?”

  “What’s going on?”

  “I finally asked Melanie out on a date.”

  “That’s awesome.”

  He sighed. “Well, it would be if I could figure out where to take her, which I’m hoping is where you come in with some advice.”

  “What kinds of things does she like?”

  “Rock music. Art. And she loves horror movies, especially the classic ones.”

  “There’s this freaky wax museum, about two hours from here. A lot of the figures are based off of old horror movies and stuff. I can send you a link to their website if you want to check it out.”

  “That’s perfect. You know, I wouldn’t have gotten the courage to say anything to her if it wasn’t for you. So, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Hope you have fun.” When I hung up, I scrolled through the internet, copied the link for the wax museum, and then sent it to Kevin.

  Once I finished, I decided to go down and grab some lunch with my parents. Mom had a salad and soup sitting on the table.

  “Hey sweetie. Didn’t think you’d be home today,” she said.

  I smiled. “I just finished up some homework. C.C. is supposed to stop by in a little bit for some help on something.”

  “We haven’t seen Rex around much lately.” Dad peeked over the top of his newspaper. “Are you two still together?”

  “Yeah. I’ve just been busy with school stuff.”

  “You’ve been hanging out with Drake’s friends a lot more,” Mom said. “Which, I think is good. They’re a bunch of nice boys. Sometimes I worry about Rex. His parents are gone an awful lot.” She scooped some salad into a bowl for me, then slid it across the table. She glanced at me and frowned. “You didn’t stop hanging out with Rex because he tried pressuring you into something, right?”

  “No. We’ve both been busy with sports and homework.”

  “Are you sure? Because we can talk if you need to.” Mom sat across from me.

  “I’m sure. I promise.” Besides for anything to happen between me and Rex that would entail actually seeing him. And since TRC started, we hadn’t spent much time together. Other than the group-date flag football game, and of course, the fundraiser party where we hung out for like two minutes.

  Mom let it drop and ladled soup into a bowl for Dad. She walked to the cupboard and took out his favorite oyster type crackers. When she gave him his lunch, he caught her hand and kissed it then drew her into a hug.

  “Thanks, honey.”

  Normally watching them together made me want to spew. But for some reason, today it didn’t bother me. My chest tightened when I realized how in love they were, even after all these years. My parents talked all the time, went on dates, cooked for one another, and went out of their way to do small things for each other. Sometimes, Mom would even leave love notes in Dad’s lunch box. I hoped it was like this for me someday.

  With a smile, I woofed down my salad. Right when I finished, the doorbell rang. My two o’clock dance lesson with C.C. was about to begin. This ought to be fun.

  “I’ll get it,” I said. When I opened the door, I found C.C. standing on the porch, holding a boom-box, CDs and wearing a ridiculous looking dance outfit. Spandex running pants, a bulky T-shirt, and a headband. “Uh—come on in.”

  “Thanks for letting me set an appointment on such short notice. I didn’t realize when I got this part I’d have to dance.”

  “It’s fine. Let’s go down into the family room.” We tromped down the stairs, and I flipped on the overhead light. “Why don’t we move the couch and end tables out of the way so we have more room?”

  C.C. set his stuff down and grabbed one end of the sofa while I got the other. “Ah, this is heavy. I know I look built, but it’s deceiving, I have no upper body strength.”

  I snorted. “Trust me, the only muscle in your body that might be big is your mouth.”

  “I’ll have you know, I’ve got biceps.” He held up his arm and flexed.

  “Are they invisible?” I squinted.

  “Funny.”

  Once we got everything moved aside, C.C. set his ginormous radio on one of the tables, then took out a CD. “Okay, this is the disc the drama teacher gave me with the music on it.”

  “Did she say what kind of dancing you needed to know?”

  “Here, she wrote down the steps. I think it’s a waltz or something.” He sat on the floor and started to stretch his legs out. “Gotta make sure I don’t pull my groin, I might need that pretty soon.” He winked.

  “And if you keep talking about your groin, I might kick you in it then you won’t need to worry about using it.”

  “Touché. You must be on your period today. My mom said women get moody when their monthly cycle comes up.”

  “I am not on my period. I just don’t want to talk about your groin. For shit sake. Do you want to learn to waltz or not?”

  He grinned. “One more stretch.”

  I rubbed my forehead. Why in the hell did I agree to help him? With a groan, I grabbed his CD from the table and slid it into the player. Classical music came on, with his teacher’s voice in the background, counting out steps. One, two, three—one, two, three. Yeah, this was gonna get annoying real quick.

  At last, he stood and I started the disk over. “First thing you need to do, is put your left hand on my waist.”

  He set it on my hip and it slid down. “Right here?”

  My eyes narrowed. “Move that hand any further down and I’m gonna tear it off and shove it in your mouth.”

  His fingers slid back up to my waist. “Geez, you’re no fun.”

  “Do you want to learn how to do this or not?”

  “I do. Sorry.”

  “Now, put your right hand in my hand. That’s it. We’re going to start by simply moving in box formation. You step forward with your right foot, I’ll step back. Then we’ll move to the left, then you’ll step back, then right. Does that make sense?”

  “Um—not really.” C.C. chewed his bottom lip. “I’ve got to get the hang of this or I’ll look like a dill-hole in front of Liza and the audience.”

  “You’ll be fine. How about I’ll lead and you can follow until you get the hang of it. Ready?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ll count it out. One. Two. Three.” I stepped back, pulling him with me, then went to my right, and forward, then left. He tripped along after me. “Relax. See what direction we went in?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “Okay, so let’s do it again.” I went through the same movements again. “How’s that?”

  “I think I get what you’re saying now. Can we try a few more times?”

  “Of course.” So we continued this pattern for several more tries until C.C. was able to take over and lead me. After we mastered that one, I glanced at his instruction sheet and taught him a few more. Each time, he stumbled along, but eventually got the hang of it.

  Two hours later, C.C. turned off the music. “All right, I think I might be able to blunder through this tomorrow without making a total ass out of myself. Oh, and before I f
orget, here’s an extra twenty-five for helping me today. I appreciate it.”

  He slid the money into my hand. “C.C. you don’t have to give me this. You already paid fifty this week.”

  He held up his hands. “No. Take it. You deserve it for all you do for us. I know we annoy the hell out of you sometimes and that you give up all your free time to help us.”

  “C.C.”

  “Nope. I won’t take it back.” He grabbed his stuff and headed upstairs. When he pulled the front door open, we found Trey ready to knock.

  “Hey, I didn’t know you were stopping by,” I said.

  Trey waved to C.C. and quirked an eyebrow at me. “Do I want to know why he’s wearing spandex?”

  “Um—no. And I’m not gonna tell you the conversation we had about his groin either.”

  Trey chuckled. “Glad I decided to wait to come by. I—is anyone else here?’

  “Just my parents, but today is their ‘couple’s day’ so they’re hanging out watching movies and whatever else it is they do.”

  He ran a hand through his hair. “Do you think you might have time to give me a hand with some Romeo Club stuff?”

  “Sure, come on in. We can go downstairs, but you’ll have to help me put the furniture back.”

  He shook his head laughing. “Let me guess, C.C.?”

  “Yeah. Apparently he has to waltz in his play and doesn’t know how to dance.”

  “Ah, glad that’s all it was.”

  Trey and I moved everything back in its place then sat down on the sofa. “So, what do you need?”

  “Well, first of all I have to tell you that I held Portia’s hand last night. Even though we weren’t at the movies, I looked for the signs to see if she wanted me to.”

  “That’s great. See. I told you, you’re a natural.” I punched him in the arm, but was glad he didn’t go into details.

  He wiped his palms on his jeans then turned to face me. “The thing is, I, well—I still haven’t kissed Portia.”

  I glanced at him. “You’ve got to take control. Don’t be scared. If she let you hold her hand, then chances are she’s not gonna punch you in the face if you try to kiss her. Trust me, if she isn’t into you, you’ll know it or she’ll tell you, she’s not ready.”

  “This is gonna sound weird. But I don’t know who else to ask.” His gaze met mine. “Can you teach me how to kiss? I-I can give you extra money.” Red spots painted Trey’s cheeks.

  My breath caught in my throat. Oh God. “I don’t want to get paid for it, that’d make me feel like a whore.”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just, I want to know what I’m doing and you’re the only girl I feel comfortable asking.”

  That wasn’t what I expected him to say. But was I really gonna agree to this? I have a boyfriend. But Trey needs help. This is cheating. I’m not a cheater. Who else is gonna show him? You’ve known Trey way longer than Rex. And he needs you.

  “Okay, I’ll do it. But you better not tell the other guys about this. I mean it. No way in hell am I gonna make this a real Romeo Club.”

  “I swear. My lips are sealed. So, what do I do?”

  “First thing you want to do is scoot closer.” I gestured at the space between us.

  He closed the distance so that his hip touched mine. “Like this?”

  Oh boy. My palms grew sweaty. I licked my dry lips. Please don’t let my breath smell like salad dressing. Maybe I should see if he’ll let me brush my teeth first.

  “Yes. Now, you can cup a girl’s face. Either her cheek or maybe her chin. At least for your first kiss, that way it’ll help with the ‘who’s gonna turn their head which way’ thing.”

  Trey raised his palm until his hand cupped the side of my face. His thumb stroked my cheek. My heart jumped against my ribs like a spring loaded weapon. “How’s this?”

  “Per-perfect.” My voice cracked. The scent of his cologne wafted in the air between us. He smelled so good. My eyes met his. We sat, staring at one another for long moments. The only sound I heard was the roar of my pulse in my ears. “Next, you’ll want to tilt your head, then move in for the kiss. Start with brushing your lips against hers. Then if she seems okay with that, you can go further.”

  Trey bent forward, his breath fanned against my face. His warm lips brushed lightly against mine. When I didn’t back up, he took my bottom lip between his, deepening the kiss. Heat erupted inside; my pulse soared into the clouds. I clutched him tight, my fingers trailing up his neck and into his hair.

  He drew me closer, pressing me to his chest. His mouth captured mine, more urgent this time. My lips parted and his tongue darted in, tracing my teeth, then brushing against my own tongue. His hands moved down my hips, and back up to my waist. Everywhere he touched, my skin smoldered. Any moment now, I expected my clothing to ignite and burn off. I couldn’t get enough of him. My mouth moved against his as I returned the kiss. No matter how closely we pressed against one another, it didn’t seem close enough.

  “Trey,” I murmured against his lips.

  “Do you want me to stop,” he whispered.

  “No.”

  You need to get it together, girl. You have to stop. But I’ve never felt like this. Not with Rex. Not with anyone. Oh God. Rex. Shit.

  “Hey, Delyla?” Drake hollered downstairs.

  Trey and I leapt apart. My heart thudded so hard, it felt like I might burst. My breath came in gasps.

  “I-I’m downstairs,” I said.

  Trey’s eyes were dark with emotion. Did he feel the same things I had? “Did I do okay?” he said at last. “Is there something I need to work on?”

  “I don’t think you need to worry about anything,” I said. “It was perfect.”

  “So, I’m ready for Portia?” His gaze kept mine.

  “Yeah.” The problem was I didn’t want him to be ready for her. In fact, I wished it was me he was ready for.

  “Thanks, Del. I think I learned a lot today. See you at school.” He gave me a quick smile then dashed out of the room.

  I’d learned a lot today too. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I sat on the couch. I brought my knees to my chest. For starters, I was in love with Trey Garrett. Second, I was gonna have to break up with Rex because regardless of whether or not Trey ever wanted me, I knew Rex and I weren’t going to work out. Third. Well, I was kind of screwed, because the guy I loved was in love with someone else.

  Chapter 20

  I tossed and turned all night. Thoughts of the kiss consumed me. I could still feel where Trey’s lips had touched mine. Did he feel anything? Better yet, did I want him to? But the biggest question I had was how the heck was I supposed to act around him now? Gah, I was so confused.

  On top of that, I needed to figure out what to do on the Rex front. A part of me felt as if I should invite him over and just get it done with. But another part of me, the coward part, wanted to wait. With a sigh, I kicked my blankets off and paced my room. Drizzle splattered down my window like tiny teardrops. I pressed my head against the glass and peered outside, where I saw Trey climbing into his truck.

  He’s probably going to see Portia. I glanced at my phone on my desk. It was time to call in reinforcements. Kenadi would kill me for not calling last night. But it took me so much time to come to terms with what happened.

  At last, I grabbed my cell, plopped on my bed, and dialed her number. She picked up on the second ring.

  “Hey, girl,” she said.

  I swallowed hard, not wanting to have a meltdown on the phone. “I have a mondo emergency. And I really need to get out of here for a while. Can you come pick me up?”

  “What’s going on?”

  “I-I’d rather not say until you get here.”

  “Okay, why don’t you get dressed and we can drive out to the mall. That way we have the car ride over to talk without being interrupted,” Kenadi said.

  “Sounds good. I’ll see you in a few.”


  I hung up and rummaged through my closet for a clean pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Once I had them on, I pulled my hair up in a ponytail, then tugged on a pair of flip-flops. I grabbed my purse and headed downstairs.

  “Mom, Kenadi’s picking me up in a few. We’re gonna go to the mall.”

  She poked her head out from the kitchen. “That’s fine. Don’t be too late though, I wanted us to have a nice sit down dinner.”

  On second thought, maybe Ken and I should take our time. I could only guess what type of concoction Mom had in store for us tonight. Maybe roast, with beets in it. Or her infamous chili-meatball-green bean surprise. I wrinkled my nose at the thought and went out to wait for Ken to show up.

  A few minutes later, she pulled into the drive in her mom’s sedan. She climbed out to greet me.

  “You ready?”

  “Yeah.”

  As I walked to her car, I noticed Mrs. Foster, Jimbo’s owner, standing on her porch, wearing only a housecoat. Her face looked paler than normal. Dark circles made her face more gaunt.

  “Hi, Delyla.” She gave a small wave, as if it was too much effort to raise her fingers. “You haven’t seen Jimbo, have you?” her voice sounded raspy, like she’d swallowed sandpaper.

  “Not today.” I glanced down the road, wondering whose lawn ornaments he was breaking in.

  She sighed. “He’s been so naughty lately—with me being si … gone so much, he’s not getting as much attention.” She swiped an absent hand at her dirty hair, which stuck to her forehead. Frail arms moved to tighten the belt on her house coat. She’d lost a lot of weight.

  “Do you want me to look for him real quick?” My gaze met hers.

  “If you could, that’d be great.” She broke out into a fit of coughing.

  “Why don’t you wait inside? I’ll bring him back if I find him,” I said.

  “She looks rough,” Kenadi said. “I wonder what’s wrong with her.”

  “I’m not sure. My mom hasn’t said anything. But she’s normally smiling and perky. Not like this.” I racked my brain for the last time I’d even seen her. It’d been a few months.

  Kenadi and I walked down the sidewalk, hollering Jimbo’s name. We went up our side of the street for two blocks, then circled back, taking the other side of the road.