The Romeo Club Read online

  “What are you looking at?” He smiled.

  I chuckled. “The scenery.”

  “Oh, so now I’m just a piece of scenery.” He reached over and tickled my side.

  With a shriek, I attempted to move closer to my door. “No. You’ll make me pee my pants.”

  A car behind us honked, urging Rex to go. Once again, he clutched a hold of the wheel. “You’re so lucky I’m driving right now.”

  Ten minutes later, we parked in my driveway and Rex turned off the vehicle.

  “Thanks for the ride home. You know, I probably owe you like a million dollars in gas money by now.” I hefted up my soccer bag with my gear in it.

  He caught my arm. “You don’t owe me anything. You’re my girl. Besides, I like driving you home.”

  “I know. I just feel bad because I’m kind of out of the way.”

  “You’re never out of my way.” He inched closer, cupping my chin in his hand. “So, I thought maybe I could come in for a while and hang out with you.”

  “Actually, I’ve gotta shower then work on that project with the Nerd Herd.”

  His face fell and he sat back in his seat. Crap. I was the worst girlfriend ever. Problem was, he couldn’t find out about TRC. Rex might be a good boyfriend, but he wasn’t exactly the nicest person when it came to other people outside of our crowd.

  “I guess I’ll see you around then.”

  As I sat there, the guilt sank in. We’d barely spent any time together in the last week or two. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt his feelings. “You know what, never mind. I’ll just tell the guys we can work on it later.”

  We climbed from the vehicle and he snagged me around the waist then dumped me over his shoulder like a sack of basketballs. “I knew you’d see it my way.”

  I swatted his back. “Only because you gave me puppy dog eyes. You know I can’t resist them.”

  When we got inside, he set me down. “I think the game’s on. We might be able to catch the last couple innings.”

  “Sounds good. You can go turn it on, while I run down and let the guys know we’ll be starting our stuff later tonight.”

  His lips brushed my cheek. The scent of his cologne intoxicated me. “If you want, I can help you. I know I’m not in the Science Club, but I’m sure I could do something useful.”

  “No. It’s fine. Really. I’ll be back in two seconds.”

  The Nerd Herd glanced up when I barged into the family. “About time,” C.C. said. “We’ve been here for twenty minutes already.”

  “Sorry. Um—Rex kind of came home with me. I might need a little bit longer.” I chewed my bottom lip.

  “How long are we talking?” Kevin rubbed his face.

  “Not sure. But, if I keep dodging my boyfriend, he’s gonna keep asking questions. I just need to spend a few minutes with him.”

  “It’s fine. I’ve got to work on my Lit paper anyway,” Trey said, pulling his text book from his bag.

  “I swear we’ll still get your lesson in.” With that, I raced back upstairs to find Rex already sprawled out on my couch watching the TV.

  When he saw me standing in the doorway, he patted the spot next to him. “Hey, come sit with me.”

  I kicked off my sandals then ripped off my soccer socks and slid onto the sofa next to him. He wrapped his arm around my hips, tugging me closer so I nestled against his chest. The game was in the eighth inning, Tigers up six to three.

  “Come on,” he shouted as one of our batters struck out.

  We watched several players come and go. My gaze flitted to the clock, wondering how long he’d stay. Not that I wanted to get rid of him, but if I was gonna talk to the Nerd Herd, get my Chemistry and Trig homework done, and eat dinner, I needed him to go pretty soon.

  “So did you finish your lab for science?” I asked.

  “Shh … just a second, let me watch this at bat.” He slid his arms off me and sat up, leaning closer to the TV.

  Er … okay, I just got shushed for a ball game? Seriously? So maybe I shouldn’t complain too much, I mean I acted the same way when I watched soccer. But still. He’d been griping about not spending time with me and now, he ignored me to watch baseball.

  I moved away from him and propped my head up on the arm of the couch. Minutes ticked by. Then his cell rang. With a groan, he grabbed it from his short’s pocket.

  “Hello? Oh, hey Mom. Yeah. I’m at Del’s. Okay. I’ll be home in a few.” He hung up then turned to face me. “Sorry. Mom wants me home. She has some client who she wants me to meet coming over for dinner. There are times I swear they think I’m like a trophy they can show off.”

  “I’m sure that’s not why they want you there. They’re proud of you.” I squeezed his hand. “And it’s fine if you have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow at school.” I climbed to my feet and hugged him goodbye.

  Once he was out the door, I rushed to the family room. “I’m so sorry guys.”

  “I can’t believe you made us wait for King Douche to leave,” C.C. said.

  I glowered. “Hey, I’m trying to juggle a lot here.”

  “It’s fine,” Trey said. “At least it gave me a chance to get some homework done.”

  I smiled at him. Trey always came to my rescue. Even when I pissed him off. “Okay, so why don’t you guys tell me how your first assignment went?”

  Kevin propped his foot up on his leg and played with his shoe laces. “On Sunday, Melanie got put on the same shift as me. So I offered to clean tables for her.”

  “And?” My eyebrows raised.

  “It led to us chatting about how sucky the weekend shifts are.”

  “That’s awesome. See. You made it through your first conversation. But next time, don’t be scared to ask her some things about herself.”

  Next, I turned to Trey. He grinned. “You guys already know I went up to Portia this morning and chatted with her about the dance show.”

  C.C. snorted. “Yeah, and since when did you turn into such a wuss?”

  “Since I wanted to land the hot girl.” Trey tossed his pencil at him. “And if I’m so lame, let’s hear how you did with Liza today?”

  C.C.’s face grew pink. “I-I knocked her books off her desk … ”

  “On purpose?” I asked.

  He fidgeted in his seat. “No. I got nervous and the next thing I know, my arms were flailing and there went her books. I ended up apologizing, which I guess means I talked to her. Right?”

  The boy needed help in a bad way. “Don’t worry. We’ll work on it. You just need to loosen up around her. Maybe pretend you’re talking to one of us.”

  He chuckled. “You mean call her an asshole and slap her on the back?”

  “Probably not a good idea.” I sat on the edge of the armchair. “If you need extra help, we can run through some more conversations.”

  He shrugged. “Are you available Sunday?”

  “Sure. I’ll put it on my calendar. But seriously, you guys are doing great. Just remember relationships take time to establish.”

  “Drake’s didn’t,” Kevin said. He brushed his bangs off his forehead.

  “He’s a special case.”

  “Yeah, you can’t all be studs like me.” Drake walked into the room and plopped down on the couch. He took a swig of bottled water then set the container on the coffee table.

  “Douche.” Trey lobbed a pillow at him.

  “You know it.” Drake turned on the TV then clicked the power on the game console. The guys’ heads swiveled to face the screen. We watched the familiar dwarf and elf faces pop up, followed by several battle scenes.

  “Well, Mr. Stud here still hasn’t beaten level four.” I laughed, gesturing toward the game.

  Drake flipped me off. “Yeah, but some of us aren’t as obsessive as others.”

  “Whatever, you’re just jealous I’m three levels ahead of you.” I stood to go. “Oh, and I have another assignment for you guys.”


  They tore their gazes from the TV and groaned.

  “I want you each to join a club or group at school. We need to start pulling you out of your comfort zones and force you to try new things.” With a wave, I headed toward the stairs. But before I made my escape, Trey caught up to me.

  “So, I wondered if I can watch the rest of those dance shows tonight.”

  “Sure. Just let me put my stuff away and get cleaned up.” After I threw my things in my bedroom, I took a quick shower then stopped in the kitchen to grab a pop and a cookie. Once I got situated on the couch, I turned on the reality show.

  The first couple came out. Trey leaned back, a sneer on lips. “If this dude’s pants get any tighter, they’ll have to give the show an X rating.”

  I giggled. “Him? Geez, that chick’s shirt might as well be a pair of band aids.”

  “I bet if you were on here, you’d probably wear some leopard print bikini with a tail.” He nudged me in the ribs. “You could have some jungle themed music and swing from ropes.”

  “You wish.” I took sip of pop then set the can down.

  “Yeah, then I could take pictures and embarrass the hell out of you.”

  “Like you should talk. You’d be the guy in a leather-thong with your ass cheeks hanging out.”

  Trey launched himself at me and caught me in a headlock. He rubbed his fist in my hair.

  “Hey, stop.” I laughed, struggling to get out of his grasp. “You’re missing your show.”

  “And that’s a bad thing?” He released me.

  “Um—maybe.” I nodded toward the new couple wearing matching teal outfits.

  “God. Kill me now.” He fell backward covering his face with the back of his hand. “Too. Much. Spandex.”

  I busted out laughing. We sat admiring the cool and not so cool costumes. After a few minutes, I glanced at him. “So, why Portia? I mean, she doesn’t really seem like your type.”

  Trey shrugged. “She’s nice.”

  “And beautiful.” I bumped him with my shoulder. “But seriously, you have nothing in common. I figured you’d go for someone, I don’t know, less flighty and more down to earth. Someone who can have an intelligent conversation with you.”

  He bit his fingernail then snorted. “Like you should talk. Rex isn’t exactly Mr. Conversation. The only thing he ever talks about is sports. And if he’s not talking about baseball or football or track then he’s trying to give you a tonsillectomy with his tongue.”

  I opened my mouth to protest. Is he right? Did Rex ever really talk to me about anything meaningful?

  “Yeah, but in his defense, sports is what we have in common. I mean, I like them too.”

  “But you’re into other things—like video games, Sci-Fi flicks, gardening, swimming. I know you’ve been dating him for a while, but do you two ever talk about real things? Does he even know you?”

  “Of course.” I folded my knees and drew them to my chest. For the rest of the show, I pondered whether Trey was right. Did Rex know me at all? Heck, did I really know him?

  Chapter 11

  Hot cheese strung out in front of me as I took a bite of pizza. The cafeteria buzzed with conversations and laughter. Rex sat beside me, his hand rubbing my shoulder as he talked to Bart Sandersville.

  “Did you see Klemintz steal home last night?” Rex said. “He should’ve been tagged out.”

  Bart snorted. “You’re just pissed because the Tigers lost again.”

  They bantered back and forth about the game, then switched to talking about the Mets. And after that, they switched to golf.

  Oh God. Trey’s right. My boyfriend had a one track mind. Maybe he was just consumed by it today. My mind wandered back, trying to think of other conversations we’d had recently. Let’s see. We’d talked about spending time together. My soccer practice. His track practice. The Tigers game. His golf outing with his dad. His football scholarship in the fall. Every last thing we’d spoken about had to do with sports.

  I glanced across the crowded room to where Trey sat with the Nerd Herd. They seemed so confident and okay with who they were. They had no problem being the “dorky guys.” For the first time, I wondered if maybe they should be giving me lessons in how not be shallow, or better yet, how to embrace showing off my inner nerd. As if sensing my gaze, Trey looked up and waved. I smiled and waved back.

  “Del, tell Bart about the goal you made against Oakley last week.” Rex tapped my arm. “My girl has mad skills on the field.”

  “And in the room?” Bart winked.

  “Don’t be a perv.” Rex kicked him under the table.

  My face burned. What the heck did Bart mean by that? With a sigh, I pretended to ignore the comment and went on to tell him about my penalty shot.

  ***

  The bus bumped along the road, jarring my knee against the metal side of the vehicle. Kenadi sank down next to me, propping her legs on the seat in front of ours. We had an away game in Cedar today, which lucky for us was only a twenty-five minute ride. Any longer with this bus driver at the wheel and someone would have to peel us off the ceiling. I swear she hit every pothole, curb, and pile of road kill on the street.

  “Hey, Ken, do you think it’s weird that the only things Rex and I talk about or do together are sports related?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Uh—yeah.”

  I groaned. “What do you and Mikah talk about?”

  “School, sports, TV shows, music, movies, pretty much everything. He even plans crazy dates for us.” She laughed. “Remember when he took me to that wax museum last month?” Kenadi took out her earrings and slid them into her soccer bag then shifted her gaze to me. “Uh-oh, is there trouble in paradise?”

  I squirmed under her scrutiny. “No. Rex and I are great.”

  Then why didn’t things feel great? The airbrakes hissed as the big yellow banana came to a stop. I tugged my headband on, then reached down to retrieve my gear from the floor. We filed off the bus and followed Coach to the locker rooms, where we changed into our uniforms. I put on my shin-guards then pulled my purple socks over them. When I finished, I shoved my feet into my purple and gold cleats and tied them up.

  “Denson, let’s see some more goals this week,” Hillary Marker hollered.

  The other girls whooped.

  When everyone was dressed, we lined up and headed onto the field. A warm breeze tugged at my ponytail. The crowd clapped as we came into the stadium. I loved the sight of the field, the feel of the turf beneath my shoes. Fans cheering us on. My pulse quickened. Nothing else mattered while I was out here. It was just me. The defenders. And the ball.

  “Hey, Del,” Drake hollered from beside the fence, near the bleachers. Trey and Chloe stood beside him, wearing Greenville’s purple and gold colors.

  I jogged over, hoping Coach didn’t yell at me.

  “You guys made it.” I smiled.

  “We wouldn’t miss a chance to see you lay some girl out on the field.” Trey chuckled.

  “I told you, after my last game, it was an accident. The girl stepped in front of me at the last second. I couldn’t stop.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  Drake’s fingers laced through Chloe’s and she grinned up at him then turned her attention to me. “Good luck today. I hope you score some goals.”

  “Don’t worry, she will. My sister’s a machine out there.”

  “Listen, I better go before Rafferty has a kitten.” With a final wave, I joined Kenadi.

  “I see Trey came to watch you play.” Her mouth turned up at the corners.

  “I know that look. Before you say anything, I’m going to point out that he always comes to my games,” I said as we ran to the nearest goal and began warm-ups.

  “Yeah, he does. Hmmm … wonder why that is?”

  “Because we’re friends.”

  “Or, he has a thing for you.”

  She was wrong. I mean, Trey always tagged along with my brother. He ca
me to my games to hang out with Drake, nothing more. Right?

  Coach had us do a few drills and stretches before the refs blew their whistles and made us form a line to check our cleats and shin-guards.

  “Let’s have a clean game, ladies,” one of the ref’s said. “Watch the elbows and pushing, we’ll be keeping an eye on you.” His eyes settled on me and Kenadi.

  Okay, so the two of us had a bit of a reputation on the field, but we played hard and sometimes that meant other people got knocked down.

  Once they finished, we went to our sidelines and waited for the National Anthem to play. I watched the flag whip in the wind, my hand over my heart. Then the announcer came on to introduce the players.

  At last, Coach circled us up. “Okay, Denson, right forward. Green, Midfield. Sharp left defender.” And on she went until she gave out all the positions. “We won the coin toss, so we’ll start with the ball ladies. Let’s get out there and show ’em what the Lady Jackets are made of.” She put her hand in. “Team on three.”

  “One. Two. Three. Team,” we shouted.

  We found our places on the field and waited for the whistle. As soon as the game started, Carter passed the ball to me. I dribbled forward, cutting to the left around the defender. I smiled as I eased past. Not to sound cocky, but I knew I was faster than any of these girls. Two more players stepped in front of me, I nudged the ball with the outside of my foot and burned past them too. Their mids dropped back, trying to catch me, while the defenders from the other side of the field made their way toward the goal to block me.

  But it was too late. By the time they got close enough to take the ball, I’d already sent it flying, into the net.

  “Goooal, Jackets,” the announcer said.

  My teammates rushed me, giving me high-fives and pats on the back.

  The rest of the game, pretty much went like that. I scored two more goals, Kenadi had one, and Ferrera had one.