The Romeo Club Read online

Devil was right. Portia ruined everything. I so missed the days when Trey and I could have a conversation that didn’t revolve around her. I pulled my own phone out and texted, “Ken, need help. Call me!”

  A few seconds later, my cell came to life with the sounds of waterfalls.

  “Del, what’s going on?”

  “Trey wants me to help him plan a romantic date for Portia. So he can ask her to prom.” My head rested against the back of the brown leather couch.

  “You’re kidding?”

  “No.”

  “Maybe Captain Nerd needs a smack upside the head so he’ll open his eyes and see what’s in front of him.”

  “Well, I’m kind of at his house right now.”

  “Run out the door and don’t turn back. Maybe throw some plant testicles at him on the way out,” Kenadi said.

  I laughed, in spite of everything. “Wish I had some on me. I mean, not that I had plant testicles, but you know.”

  Kenadi giggled. “Yeah, I gotcha. So where’s Trey now?”

  “Portia called so he left the room to talk to her.”

  “That girl is seriously whacked. You’d think she’d be done with him by now. Who actually likes roses of death?”

  “I’m guessing she’s more morbid than we thought.”

  “Do you think she steals flowers from gravesites too?”

  “Funny,” I said. “May-maybe I should give up. It’s obvious he’s into her.”

  “Or maybe you should come clean with him.”

  “I already told you I can’t do that. Sabotaging them is my last hope.”

  “Okay, we’ll come up with something.”

  “I’m sorry I’m dragging you into this.”

  “Don’t be, I’m your best friend, remember?”

  I laughed. “Yeah. I’m just so miserable. It’s like my stomach knots up every time I see him with Portia. I-I get those nervous flutters when he’s around, whether we’re playing a video game or talking about school. And, I can’t stop thinking about him.”

  “You got it bad.”

  “Yeah, and I have to plan this stupid date now.”

  “Any ideas?”

  “No.” My gaze flitted to a picture on the wall of a beach scene. “Wait, I think I just got an idea.” And boy did I. If this didn’t deter Portia, then nothing would. “Sabotage date, take three,” I said.

  Kenadi chuckled. “Can’t wait to hear the details.”

  So we put our heads together and came up with an epic plan, which I prayed wouldn’t fail. Again.

  Chapter 26

  Trey came back into the room. “Sorry, she wanted to chat about her dance recital coming up.”

  “Well, I think I’ve got an idea of where you can take her,” I said. A devious smile tugged at my lips and it was all I could do not to break out in a villainous laugh. “There’s this great spot over on Lake Michigan, near the Whitehall, Montague area. They’ve got a boardwalk and picnic area. Really romantic. You could pack a lunch for the two of you and watch the waves—maybe take a walk along the shore. She’ll love it.” Except for the part where I forgot to mention the bajillion seagulls that flocked over there.

  Kenadi assured me, we could get them to swarm the picnic.

  “You’re brilliant.” Trey sat down next to me, his hand squeezed my knee.

  Tingles shot up my leg where he touched me. I wriggled away. “No problem. I’ll send you directions later. But I gotta run. See you.”

  ***

  Kenadi carried six loaves of bread to the checkout line, while I grabbed another three. Once I paid for them, we hopped into her car.

  “Start breaking it into pieces so we can toss it off the boardwalk when we get there,” Kenadi said, putting her seatbelt on.

  “I still can’t believe I’m doing this.”

  “You should get an award for your devious plotting,” Kenadi said.

  I put my sunglasses on, clicked my seatbelt into place, and then started breaking the loaves of bread into smaller chunks. Sun blazed through the windows as we drove west and headed to the lake shore. We listened to music and talked about guys and soccer. It was nice to have a girls’ day. When we pulled into our spot, there were only a few cars there. We’d come over early to get into position.

  “Do you think Trey will recognize my car?” Kenadi said.

  “Not if you take the Yellow Jacket Soccer decal off your back window.” I shoved the torn up loaves of bread into my duffel bag, while Ken peeled the sticker off her car and grabbed us a blanket to sit on.

  My sandals squeaked as I walked across the sand to the boardwalk. We climbed the stairs and headed down the path that went behind the dunes. There was a bridge back there that overlooked a stream which emptied into Lake Michigan. It was private and where I told Trey to have lunch with Portia.

  “We’ll have to position ourselves either further up the boardwalk or in the dunes so we can toss the bread down,” Kenadi said, slipping her shoes off to walk barefoot.

  “Let’s go up. We’ll have a better view from up there to see when they get here.” My sunglasses slid down my nose, and I pushed them back into place. We trudged up the sand, warm granules pushing between my toes and sandals. The blue sky was cloudless. Trees waved in the wind as a breeze kicked up. When we reached the top, my legs burned.

  “Geez, that was a work out.” I set my stuff on the ground and helped Ken spread a blanket out. Once we finished, we plopped onto it and arranged our stuff.

  “You might have to carry me back down.” Kenadi took a bottle of water out of her bag.

  Down below, I watched the waves roll in. Whitecaps gurgled and sloshed against the shoreline. Seagulls already dotted the beach. They sat on the water, riding the waves or searched the sand for remnants of food.

  I loved it out here. You could look across the lake and see forever. Like the sky and water were one. The waves pounded out a constant rhythm.

  “We haven’t been up here in a while,” I said. “Remember when your mom used to pile us in the van and drive out here?”

  Ken smiled. “Yeah, she’d bring one of her smutty romance books to read, while we swam all day.” She dug her toes into the sand, burying her feet up to her ankles. “And I’ll never forget when you wanted to lay out to get a tan.”

  I groaned. “Don’t bring that up. God, I looked like a lobster and couldn’t bend my legs for like a week, they got burnt so bad.”

  “Incoming.” Kenadi pointed behind us to where two figures emerged from the boardwalk.

  I ducked down, inching closer to the edge of the dune. Even from here, I could tell it was Trey and Portia. Her in a dainty sundress, him in jeans and T-shirt carrying a picnic basket.

  “We have to wait until they get everything situated before bombarding them.” I took the plastic bags with bread out of my duffel. “Do you feel kind of mean for doing this?”

  “A little. But like Mom always told me. All’s fair in love and war. If you want something bad enough, you’ve got to fight for it.”

  “Even if it means sicking a bunch of birds on people?”

  “It’s not our fault he picked such a crappy place for a date.” She smirked.

  “Um—it kind of is.”

  “Details, details.” She put her shoes back on, scooted off the blanket, and folded it back up. “You know, we should come back here when it gets warmer and hang out.”

  Hair came loose from my ponytail and snapped around my face. I pushed it back behind my ears so I could see what Trey and Portia were doing. “Looks like they’re sitting down now. He’s getting food out of the basket.”

  “Here give me a couple of the bread bags. I’ll ball the bread up and toss some down there.”

  I handed over two of them and watched her go to work. She flung several doughy balls down the hill. Slowly the birds descended, flocking closer to Trey’s date.

  “We need more,” I said, opening two more bags. The wind picked up and I tossed
the pieces in the air. They blew down the dune, scattering all over beside them. Like a bugle calling an army to charge, the seagulls went wild. They ran across Trey’s blanket, snatching food from their plates. While others pecked the ground for our bread.

  Portia hopped up, swinging her arms around, as if to scare them off. I giggled. Then one of them pooped right on her head. Trey whipped off his shirt to cover Portia with. Right then, another gull crapped. This time it hit Trey’s chest. It was like a warzone out there. Best. Day. Ever.

  “Quick, let’s use the rest of this and go,” Kenadi said. She ripped open the other sacks, and threw it into the air. Just then, the wind shifted, blowing the bread back at us. White crumbs and pieces stuck in her hair and to her clothes.

  “Oh crap,” I said as I glanced up to see another swarm of birds, this one headed for us.

  Gulls surrounded us, landing on the ground to eat the food. And when they couldn’t find it there, they swooped at Kenadi’s head.

  “Run,” she shouted. We bolted down the dune, heading toward the shoreline and away from Trey and Portia.

  She didn’t have to tell me twice. My feet slid in the sand as I fought to keep my balance. I dragged my duffle bag behind me, screeching.

  I peered over my shoulder to see a seagull grab hold of one of Ken’s braids. “Let go.” She swung at it. When it didn’t stop, she grabbed hold of the other end of the braid and tugged back. “Damn birds. Ow.”

  Somehow, the seagull managed to rip the extension from her hair, and we gawked as it flew off with it. “Quick, before more come.”

  Our feet pounded the sand. Dang, it was a good thing we were in shape. As we rounded the corner, we raced onto the boardwalk, still being pursued by birds. There, posted next to the walkway was a sign that said, ‘Don’t feed the birds.’ And now I knew why, they turned into savages.

  At last, we made it to the parking lot and we dove into Ken’s car.

  “Those were attack birds,” Kenadi said, shoving her key into the ignition. “Shit. My mom is gonna kill me. She just paid to get my hair done and now look at it.”

  I glanced at her, bird crap splattered in her hair. Her braids stuck up like Medusa’s snakes. I busted up laughing. Not that I fared much better. I had scratches on my arm from where the birds swooped down trying to grab bread. Besides that, I think I had sand in every orifice of my body.

  “Sorry,” I said.

  But when she looked at me, she giggled too as she pulled a feather off my shirt. “You smell like bird ass.”

  From the corner of my eye, I spotted Trey and Portia running down the boardwalk. “We need to go.”

  She glanced up, put the car in drive, and drove out of the lot. “This sabotaging business is hard stuff. I think we should stop and get a milkshake on the way home.”

  “I’m in.”

  ***

  “Delyla, Trey’s here,” Mom hollered upstairs.

  “Coming.” I dried my hair and hurried down to the living room to find him sitting on the couch. He must’ve stopped home to change before he came over because he had on clean clothes and was no longer covered in gull feces.

  When he saw me, he smiled. “Hey. Thought I’d drop by for a few minutes.” He glanced at the scratches on my arms. “What’ve you been doing all day?”

  Scrubbing bird crap off my sandals. “Laundry.”

  He eyed me like he knew I lied. Had he seen me there? Did Portia finally get sick of him?

  “Did the laundry have claws?”

  “No. These are from Mom’s rose bushes,” I lied. “Jimbo was messing around in them and I had to get him out.”

  “Ah, no further explanation needed.” He ran a hand through his dark hair. His gaze rested on me. “So, I’ve got some good news. Portia said yes about prom.”

  My fingers dug into the chair cushion. I composed my face and shifted my eyes to the floor. Okay. Keep it together. Don’t let him see how much this bothers you. “Th-that’s great,” I said.

  “I know. And it’s all because of you, Del.” He stood and came over to me. “Anyway, I wanted to drop by and give you the news and also pay you for all your help. Hopefully you’ll have enough to get your dress now.”

  “Thanks.” I took the folded bills. “Kenadi and I picked it up already, but I’m sure I can get some awesome shoes to go with it now.”

  “So, I wondered if you might be able to go to the tux shop this week to help me pick something out. Portia’s gonna wear a pink dress. I thought it might be cool to try to get a bowtie and vest to match.”

  He might as well stab me in the face. Geez. I sucked in a deep breath. “Sounds fun. When did you want to go?”

  I better get lots of brownie points for the good deeds I was doing lately. Although, I suppose the sabotaging might set me back a few, but still it worked in Trey’s favor. And that made me way miserable. The only consolation was that at least I got to spend more time with Trey. And any time was better than no time, right?

  Chapter 27

  “I think you should tell Trey you can’t go help him pick out a tux,” Kenadi said as we waited for The Jekyll to take attendance in Trig. “Besides, isn’t that what his girlfriend’s for?”

  “Apparently, she’s busy and I’m his only hope.” Kind of like what Princess Leia said about Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars.

  “That girl is getting on my last nerve. Because of her, my braids got ruined.”

  Actually, it was probably more my fault, but I decided not to mention that. “What did your mom say when you asked to get your hair fixed?”

  She smiled. “I kind of didn’t tell her. Latasha got me in for a hair appointment, and I paid for it myself.” Ken held up her new, longer braids. “Good as new.”

  The Jekyll glanced up as Walt McBride walked into class late. He dropped a note on her desk. She read it and said, “See me after class. The rest of you, get your homework out.”

  Ken scooted closer to me, the scent of her apple lotion hanging in the air. “So, are you really gonna go with him?”

  “Yeah. I can’t say no to him.”

  “Even after all this?”

  I chewed on the end of my pen. “I’m not gonna stop being his friend just because he has crappy taste in girls.”

  In other words, I’d sacrifice my happiness for his. Talk about being a complete moron.

  “Kenadi and Delyla, unless you’re talking about trigonometry, which I’m pretty sure you’re not, you’ll keep your mouths shut and look at the board.” Jekyll lowered her glasses to stare at us. Her eighties hair stood tall like a hairspray enforced helmet. She’d definitely be protected from any head injuries if something ever fell on her.

  “Gonna be a long hour.” Ken wrote on a piece of paper.

  “No kidding.” I scribbled back.

  ***

  Trey and I moved through the store, looking at tuxes.

  He shoved his hands in his pockets as I held up another one. “What about this one?”

  “Honestly, they all look the same to me.” He smirked.

  “Men.” I rolled my eyes. “Here try these two while I hunt down shoes, a vest, and bowtie.”

  The sales lady glanced up from the counter and smiled. “Hi, can I help you?”

  “I wondered if you had any vests and ties in this color?” I held up a sample of the material used to make Portia’s dress. Yes. She is that particular. Totally annoying. Gah.

  She smiled. “Come on back here with me, we can see what we have.”

  We went into a back area where they had more colors and sizes hanging up. She took down several vests to compare them.

  “This rose blush shade is the closest.” She held up the material in comparison.

  “I think that’ll work. Let me have him try it on.” My fingers closed around the silky fabric of the vest and matching tie.

  The sales lady followed me as I went to the changing area. I knocked on the door. “Trey, we’ve got some things for y
ou to try on.”

  He opened the door a crack and grabbed them from me. A few minutes later, he stepped out. My eyes widened. My breath caught in my throat. Oh God. I swallowed hard as my gaze swept over him. The tux was perfect. It made his chest and shoulders broader, his hips narrower. His dark hair was disheveled from changing and although I hated the color pink, it actually looked good on him. Okay not good. Hot. His naturally tan skin tone brought out his smile even more. How had I not seen him before? I mean, really seen him?

  “Wow,” I said at last. “You look amazing.”

  The sales lady grinned at us. “You two will be quite the pair on prom night. And that pink, it works for you.”

  “Wait, we’re not … ”

  “I’ll take it,” Trey interrupted.

  “Great. Why don’t you change, then bring everything to the counter and I’ll ring you up.”

  When she left us, he turned to me. “So, be honest. Do you like it?”

  What’s not to like? “It’s perfect. Trust me. Portia will probably want to jump your bones when she sees you.”

  He grinned. “You’re as bad as the guys.”

  “Because the Nerd Herd corrupted me.”

  “Yeah, right.” He went back into the changing room. “So,” he called through the door. “I thought I’d treat you to pizza for helping me today.”

  Pizza meant spending more time with him. Which also meant we’d be alone. No Portia. No Nerd Herd. Just us. “Sure. I’m starving.”

  Once he paid for the tux, we walked back to his car to drop off the purchase, and then went into the restaurant. The scent of bread sticks and pizza made my mouth water as we sat waiting for our order. We chatted about Dwarves of Iconia for several minutes and discussed possible ways to take out the ice dragon on the final level.

  Sitting across from him in the booth, I fumbled with my napkin. Every minute I spent with him, I realized how much I liked him. How much we had in common. Trey might be one of my best friends, but I imagined we could be so much more than that. If he’d give me the chance.

  You have to come clean. And now is as good a time as any. Please don’t let this be a mistake.