So Many Boys (The Naughty List #2)(61)

I took a steadying breath, glancing toward my phone where it sat on my side table. It was convenient that this year the dance would be held in the cafeteria. Not nearly as glamorous as a restaurant or even the gym, but it suited our situation well.

“Have you figured out what you’re going to say yet?” Kira asked, trying to look disinterested.

“Sort of. I’m thinking of telling him something happened with Aiden and me? I don’t know. Do you think that’ll work?”

“Just be hot,” Leona said, not looking up. “All guys care about is hot.”

“Excuse me,” Kira scoffed. “That’s my boyfriend you’re talking about.”

“Right,” Leona responded. “Then play dumb, Tessa. That seems to work.”

I was about to scold her when the doorbell rang, startling me. I looked toward the door, my dress shifting with an adorable whooshing sound.

“Were you expecting someone?” Kira asked, maybe a little suspicious.

“No.” And I really wasn’t. With my eyebrows pulled together, I walked through my house and crossed the kitchen to the front door. I swung it open and gasped.

“Hi.”

It was Aiden. He was standing there, unshaven, disheveled. Wait, was he wearing pajamas? I shook my head, as if to ask him what he was doing here.

“I know you don’t want to talk to me right now,” he said, his voice scratchy. “I know…you probably hate me. But I just wanted to see you before you went to the dance. You look beautiful.”

I felt my cheeks blush, but I quickly pushed any affection I had away. I was about to start a mission. I couldn’t let Aiden distract me.

“I can’t talk to you right now,” I said, folding my arms across my chest.

“Will you ever?” he asked back quickly. “Will you ever talk to me again?” He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I’m going crazy, Tess.”

I stared at him then, looked at him for a long moment before responding. I closed my eyes. “No. I don’t think I will.”

I couldn’t see him, but I heard him let out a soft cry. There was a stabbing pain in my chest and I opened my eyes to look down at the fabric of my dress, wishing I could just spin around to watch it flow around me, forgetting about Aiden and Mary.

When I finally got up enough courage to look at him, his head was hanging, his hand was over his mouth. I saw tears drip from his cheeks to the ground. It was too much—watching this was too much right now. I needed to get back inside and call Joel.

“I’m sorry, I have to go,” I said quickly, swiping under my eyes to make sure my makeup was safe. “Thanks for coming by, Aiden. But tonight’s homecoming and…” I had started to go back inside when he reached out to take my arm.

“Tessa…”

“Have a good night,” I said, pulling my arm out of his hand and not looking at him. “Goodbye, Aiden.” My voice cracked on his name, but I swished my way through my door.

“I still love you, Tessa,” Aiden called after me before I shut the door.

By the time I got back to my bedroom, my makeup was a lost cause. Once my ex-boyfriend set foot on my property, I was a goner. But the minute I walked in my room, I grabbed the box of tissues off my desk and began blowing.

“Who was it?” Kira asked, sounding annoyed.

“Aiden,” I answered, my voice thick with tears.

“I still can’t believe he went all the way with Mary,” Izzie squeaked, getting up to come over to the bed and sitting next to Leona. She patted it for me for sit down too. I nodded, unable to talk as I blew my nose into the tissue.

“Well, Mary is pretty,” Kira said from across the room. I looked up at her, blurry eyed.

“But in a skanky way,” Leona added, smiling for support. “Like some other cheerleaders we know.” Kira narrowed her eyes but didn’t respond.

After another minute of feeling sorry for myself, I felt Leona’s hand on my shoulder. “I know you’re sad, Tess,” she said. “But it’s after seven. You have to pull yourself together. Let’s finish this assignment and then we’ll all set out on a new mission. To get boyfriends.”

“Um, hello,” Kira called. “I still have one.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Leona climbed off the bed and stood in front of me as I sat on the edge of my bed, tissue still covering my nose. “Sharpen up,” Leona said, bending down to get close to my face. “Mission starts now.”

With the Smitten Kittens’ help, I managed to look halfway decent and lose my blotchy crying skin. We tweaked the plan, and I decided to call Joel once I got to the gym, making it a little easier for the copy-Kitten to intercept. Chances were, they were already following me.

I walked into the gymnasium, my heels clicking on the wood floors and echoing in the air. It was creepy. I knew that the girls were already here, arriving twenty minutes before me, but I didn’t dare look toward them. In case the copy-Kitten was here, I didn’t want to give up our position.

I sorted through my purse and pulled out my pink phone, dialing Joel’s preprogrammed house number. He answered on the first ring, and I smiled. I loved promptness.

“Hello?” He sounded confused.

“Hi, Joel. It’s Tessa.”