The Romeo Club (12 page)

“It’s okay, he’s gone now,” Trey said.

“Phew, that was close.” I attempted to sit up. “Oh crap.” My earring was caught on the bottom of his shirt. “My earring is stuck.”

He attempted to lift my head, but it pulled on my earlobe. “Hold on, let me see if I can get it.” He shoved my head down, almost into his lap, then brought it back up again. “I can’t see to get it unhooked.”

Just then a flashlight turned on and a movie theatre usher pushed down our row. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to leave. We can’t have inappropriate behavior going on in here.”

“Wait, it’s not what it looks like,” I said. “I snagged my earring.”

The attendant snorted. “Yeah right lady, I’ve heard that before. Now leave.”

Trey stood, my earring still attached to his shirt. He helped me stand as well. He wrapped his arm around me to guide me out. Let me just say, walking down the aisle, attached to Trey was probably one of the most embarrassing things I’d ever do. People hooted and hollered. My face burned.

When we got into the lobby, Trey led us into a corner, where he finally freed me from his shirt. “Let’s get out of here,” he said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and ushering me outside.

When we got into his truck, Trey burst out laughing.

“Hey, it’s not funny. This had to have been my worst first date ever.” But even I erupted into a fit of giggles.

“At least it was a memorable first date.” Trey offered me one of his sweatshirts that hung on the back of the seat. “S-so how did I do, I mean before the earring thing?”

I raised my gaze until I met his. “You’re perfect.”

And he was. If I didn’t watch myself, I might end up falling for him.

Chapter 17

Sunday morning, I woke up more confused than ever. And the Trey laced dreams hadn’t helped matters. With my cell in hand, I sat in the backyard, wondering what to do. It was after eleven, so Kenadi should be up by now.

I picked up my phone and dialed her number. As soon as she answered I blurted, “Oh my God, I need help. Like right now.”

“That doesn’t sound good. Want me to come over?” Kenadi said.

“Please. And hurry.”

“Be there soon.”

I went back inside to change out of my pajamas. When I went through the dining room, I heard my mom lecturing Drake. “You came in after curfew last night, young man. Do you know what the teenage pregnancy rate is?”

Whoa, Mr. Responsible was getting into trouble.

“Chloe and I haven’t done it, geesh,” he said.

Finally, I wasn’t the one getting all the sex talks. I smirked and rushed up to my room. When I finished putting on a pair of jogging pants and a sweatshirt, I went back downstairs, right as the doorbell rang.

“Hey,” I said, ushering Kenadi into the backyard. We plopped on top of our picnic table. “So, something kind of happened last night.”

She glanced at me, eyebrows raised. “As in … ”

“As in Trey and I held hands. And we almost kissed.” I spilled the details of our ‘date’ and how we got kicked out.

When I finished, Kenadi let out a low whistle. “You got it bad.”

“But I can’t. I mean, I have a boyfriend. Not to mention Trey’s one of my best friends and he’s head over heels in love with Portia.”

“Or is he?” She gave my ponytail a tug.

“Trust me, if you heard the way he talks about her, you’d know.”

“Yeah, but he spent the entire night hanging out with you.”

“But that’s what we always do. Well minus the hand holding and stuff.”

Just then, Jimbo burst into our yard, dragging a black lacy nightie. He headed for my mom’s stone fairy figurines and dropped the piece of clothing.

“What’s that dog doing?” Kenadi leapt to her feet.

We watched in disgust as he humped the stone figure.

“Shoo—get out of here.” I chased after him. His tongue hung out of his mouth as he loped back into his own yard. Grossed out, I went over to retrieve the lingerie.

“What are you doing with that?” Kenadi snickered.

“Putting it in the garbage.” I grabbed the nightgown by its strap and carried it around to the front of the house, where our trash can was.

“Hey, you. Put that down,” our neighbor from across the street yelled.

I glanced over my shoulder, then turned back to face her, realizing she was talking to me. The red haired woman stalked over to our yard.

“Why did you take my nightgown?” Her eyes narrowed.

“Wait, it wasn’t me. The neighbor’s dog grabbed it.”

“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?”