The Romeo Club (19 page)

“Do you think I could talk to you during lunch for a few minutes?” I said, trying hard to ignore Portia. Guilt gnawed at my insides. Maybe I shouldn’t go through with this.

“Is everything okay?” His arm dropped away from her shoulders.

“Um—yeah, I-I’m fine. If you can’t talk, that’s fine. I can always stop by after school or something.”

His gaze met mine. “No, it’s fine. We can meet by the band room before lunch.”

“All right. I’ll see you then.”

For the next few hours, I couldn’t concentrate. My mind reeled with bits of conversation I wanted to have with Trey. I thought about the best case scenarios, where he admitted he loved me too. Then I considered how he’d reject me. By the time fourth period ended, my stomach was tied up in knots. My pulse roared in my ears.

I stopped by my locker and dropped my books off.
You can do this. Just tell him the truth.
I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans. My teeth grazed my bottom lip and I chewed at the dead skin. When I got to the band room, I found Trey waiting outside the door, in a small alcove to the side.

“Hey,” he called when he saw me. “So what’s going on?”

It’s now or never, girl. Go for it.
My heart jumped against my chest like an erratic kangaroo. Any moment now, I expected it to burst through my skin. I raised my eyes until they met his.

“I’ve started this conversation in my head like a million times. And hopefully I don’t sound crazy,” I said. “The thing is—well, I, I … ” Oh God. Come on mind. Don’t fail me now.
You are Delyla Denson. You’re fabulous. And you can do this. Now get it together.
“I like you Trey.” I swallowed hard. “I mean, really like you as in—I love you,” I whispered.

His eyes widened and he stood there a second as if processing what I’d just said. Trey ran a hand through his hair, squeezed his eyes shut and let out a long breath.

“Please. Say something.” My insides coiled as the silence dragged on. I turned my gaze to the lace at the bottom of my cami and I gripped it between my fingers. This wasn’t going quite the way I’d planned.

“Why now? Why do you wait until now to have feelings?”

“It’s not like I chose to be inconvenient,” I said. “I didn’t realize it until after we started the Romeo Club.”

His eyes shot open and he gave a forced, cold laugh. “I have a girlfriend, Delyla.”

“I know. Trust me. I didn’t plan on this to happen. But that night you kissed me, I felt this spark. And it’s all I’ve been able to think about. If I’m being honest though, I started to notice things before then. Like how much we have in common. How you’re always there for me when I need you. The dorky grin you get when you beat a level on Dwarves of Iconia.” I twisted the edge of my sweater in my hand. “How your eyes light up when you’re talking about a math equation, or the excitement in your voice after acing a test. I-I don’t know why it took me so long to see you. But I see you now. And I want to know if you feel the same.”

He frowned. “Damn it, Del. You know how long I crushed on you? Years. I spent years, trying to get your attention. But you never noticed. Not once.”

My head shot up. “Wait. You have a crush on me?”

“
Had.
You know how frustrating it was to be right in front of you and not have you see me?”

“But I didn’t know.”

“How could you not? I offered you rides to school every day before you got your license. I came to all your soccer games, whether Drake or your family went or not. God, I even bought you gifts for your birthday and flowers for Valentine’s Day. Guys don’t do that for girls they want to be just friends with.”

My mouth went dry. “But you never said anything. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I tried. You know how many times I tried to tell you? But you always had somewhere else you wanted to be or someone else you wanted to be around. So I gave up.”

“If I would’ve known … ”

“You would’ve done what? You had a boyfriend. And apparently I wasn’t what you wanted.”

“But I want you now.” My voice cracked. Tears welled in my eyes. “You’re all I’ve thought about. And I’ve tried to tell you that I liked you, but every time I started someone interrupted.”

“But you didn’t want me until I got a girlfriend. Until I wasn’t available anymore.” He paced the alcove. “I can’t believe that you’d do this to me. Put me on the spot like this. You choosing to do this right now is horrible. You asked to talk to me right in front of my girlfriend this morning. Knowing full well you’d be asking me to break up with her.”

My eyes snapped up and I glowered. “I’m being horrible? You’re the one who wanted me to teach you how to kiss when you were dating Portia. Not to mention, you’re the one who paid me to help you get a girlfriend. So if we want to have a discussion about morals, why don’t we start there?”

He fists clenched at his side as he moved closer to me. “I like Portia.”

I snorted. “The only thing you knew about her when we started this was that she’s pretty. You didn’t know her favorite color. You didn’t know her favorite flower. Hell, you didn’t even know who her best friend is. Or let’s talk about the fact that any information you found out about her was because I told you. How can you “love” someone you don’t even know? If it wasn’t for my help you wouldn’t have even had a chance with her. You. Paid. Me. To help you land her.”

A gasp sounded behind us. Oh shit. I spun to find Portia standing there.

“You paid her?” Her lip quivered as she stared at Trey.

“It’s not what you think.”

“I-I can’t believe you did that.” She turned and rushed down the hall.

Trey glared at me. “See what you’ve done? You ruined everything.” He raced after Portia.

My biggest fear just came true. I’d screwed up everything. It felt like I’d swallowed a boulder. I leaned against the wall and slid to the floor, tears streaming down my cheeks. Why hadn’t I opened my eyes sooner? Why didn’t I realize how much Trey meant to me until it was too late?

I rubbed my eyes with the backs of my hands. My stomach churned.
This isn’t how things are supposed to be.
I’d lost Trey. Not just a potential boyfriend, but one of my best friends. I should’ve kept my mouth shut. I should’ve—well, done things different. Too late for that now.

The halls emptied for lunch. But I sat there for long minutes before deciding to go to the office. When I got there, the secretary looked up.

“Delyla, can I help you?”

“Can I use the phone to call my mom? I’m not feeling so well.”

She nodded at the large, black archaic phone sitting on the counter. “Dial nine to get an outside line.”

When Mom picked up, it was all I could do not to break down crying. “Hey, Mom, I’m sick. Could you come and get me?”

“Are you okay?” she said.

“My-my stomach hurts.”
And so does my head. But most of all, my heart.

“I’ll be right there.”

Once she signed me out at school, we headed home. We didn’t talk on the car ride, but Mom kept glancing at me out of the corner of her eye. When we got to the house, I went right to my room and flopped down on my bed. My shoulders shook as I sobbed.

I never should’ve opened my mouth. Trey would probably never talk to me again. Not only that, but I’d hurt Portia’s feelings too. Things were so screwed up. I squished my teddy bear against my chest and buried my face in its fur.

Mom knocked on my door and I wiped my eyes on my stuffed animal. “I brought you some tea.”

She sat down on the edge of my bed, handing me the cup of steaming liquid. I took it from her and she brushed strands of hair from my face. “Do you want to talk?”

I took a sip of tea then set the cup on my nightstand. “Boys are stupid.”

“Yeah, they can be.” She chuckled. “I’ve got years of knowledge in this department.”

“Are you calling Dad stupid?”

“Sometimes.” She smirked. “But mostly, the guys who came before him.”

“I hurt so bad,” I whispered.

Mom lifted my comforter and climbed into bed next to me. She tugged me into her arms, then rubbed my hair. “I know.”

I curled up against her and told her about Rex and Trey and Portia. And I even broke my promise and talked about the Romeo Club. “Now, Trey will probably hate me forever.”

“Oh, honey.” She kissed my head. “He’ll come around. This is a big shock for him. But he’s a nice boy. And if he decides not to be your friend, then he’s not the person you thought he was. You’re so beautiful and talented. Someday the right boy will come along. Maybe it’ll be Trey, maybe it won’t. But don’t be in such a hurry to settle down or grow up. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you. You’ve got soccer and school, not to mention after next year, you’ll be picking a college.”

“But it’s hard.”

“Yes, it is. But you’re strong. And you’ve got great friends. You’ll get through this. I promise.”

I hiccupped, and laid my head on her shoulder. The familiar scent of her perfume wrapped around me like a warm hug. It comforted me. Maybe she was right. But right, now, I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

***

Sometime later, I woke up to the sound of my cell buzzing on the back of my headboard. I must’ve dozed off. My eyes were crusty from crying earlier. My throat raw. With a sigh, I scooted up and grabbed my phone.

“Hello?”

“Del? What’s going on? I went to find you after lunch, but you weren’t there,” Kenadi said.

My eyes welled again. “Trey doesn’t like me back.”

“I’m so sorry. Listen, I’ll be right there.”

“What about soccer practice?”

“Screw it. My girl needs me,” Ken said. “Be there soon.”

Fifteen minutes later Kenadi showed up armed with ice cream, chick flicks, and her overnight bag.

“Hi,” I said.

She set her stuff down and hugged me. “This totally sucks.”

“S’okay.”

She released me, grabbed the half gallon of double chocolate fudge ice cream from my desk, along with two spoons. She popped the top open and handed me one of the utensils.

“So, what happened?”

I shoved a spoonful of ice cream in my mouth. Holy cold. I waved my hands around my face as brain freeze set in. Once I swallowed the chocolate dessert, I went on to tell her what transpired in the alcove. Every. Last. Embarrassing. Moment.

“I feel so stupid,” I said.

“Don’t. It’s his fault. If he would’ve come clean years ago, you wouldn’t be in this predicament.”

I laughed. “Nice. Way to redirect the blame.”

“You know, we could TP his house or something. Oh, I got it. We can feed his underwear to Jimbo.”

“How in the world would we get his underwear?”

“Well, it’d have to be a covert operation. We’d have to go in all stealth like. Or you could just wait for him to leave and tell his mom you left your Trig book in his room.”

“You’re awesome, you know that?” I nudged her shoulder.

“Yeah. But seriously, give it some time. He’ll come around.”

My teeth scraped against my spoon as I stared at the soccer calendar on my wall. “Oh. My. God. You realize I won’t have a date for prom? An-and C.C., Kevin, Drake, and Trey do? It’s like I’m in some horrible alternate reality.”

My life was over.

“I told you, we can hook you up with Deandre.” Ken wiped her mouth with a napkin.

“He’s too young for me.”

“Or you can go stag. You don’t need a guy to go to prom.”

But I wanted one. Day one of life suckage underway.

Chapter 29

My car glided into the student lot, and I found a spot a few rows from the entrance. Mom had given me gas money this morning, so I actually got to drive. Although, I think it’s just because she felt bad for me. But hey, I’d take it. I took a deep breath.
Yesterday’s behind you now, just go in and act like nothing ever happened.
With a sigh, I grabbed my backpack and headed inside. The main lobby was already filled with students. My gaze darted to the trophy cases then to the hallway in front of me.

“There she is. I can’t believe she has the courage to show her face,” some girl said.

“At least we know why she’s so popular with the guys.” Another chick giggled.

What the hell’s going on?

Patrick Clayburn smirked as he fell in beside me. “So, Delyla, what will you do for me if I give you money?”

My eyes narrowed. “Get lost, Patrick.”

He chuckled as he rejoined his buddies.

Geez, why’s everyone staring at me? Self-conscious, I hurried to my locker. When I got there my mouth dropped open. My fingers trembled as I took a poster with my face on it off the door.
Pay me—I’ll make your dreams come true. Join the Romeo Club now
, it read.

Oh, God. Who told everyone?

I looked down the hall and saw the same posters on C.C.’s, Kevin’s, and Trey’s lockers.

“So that’s how you landed Liza,” Martin Stevens said to C.C.

The guys glanced at me, eyes wide. I shook my head no. At that moment, Trey came down the hall. When he got to his locker, he ripped the poster from it and tossed it on the floor. But, he wouldn’t look at me.

From behind me, I heard more giggles then Jasmine, Portia’s BFF said, “I can’t believe her. No wonder she and Rex broke up. I mean, would you want to touch her after they did?”

My head snapped around and I glared at her. Like she should talk. Her boyfriend was only with her because she put out.

A shadow fell over me and I glanced up to see Rex standing there, his arms crossed. “Portia told me about the Romeo Club. That you let guys pay you to help them with dates, so you could get a prom dress. You could’ve told me you needed one, I would’ve got it for you.”

“It’s none of your business,” I said.

He leaned closer. “You ditched me to hang out with them.” He nodded toward the Nerd Herd. “It was never about Science Club, was it?”

“No. Now will you let it go?” I slammed my locker door shut.

Rex stepped in front of me, blocking my way. “What else did you do for their money?”

How dare he. My hand connected with his face. My palm stung from the impact. “And you wonder why I broke up with you? It’s because you’re an asshole with a one track mind. Yourself.”