So Many Boys (The Naughty List #2)(62)

“Really?” He laughed. “I thought you were avoiding me.” I shifted in my heels, surprised he had noticed.

“I wasn’t avoiding you. I was…busy.”

“Busy avoiding me.”

I twitched my nose, wondering if I’d hurt his feelings by not talking to him. I really didn’t like the idea of that. “I’m sorry,” I said.

“Fine. You’re forgiven. But you owe me a vanilla Frappuccino.”

I smiled, wishing I could just do this tonight—talk with a friend. But that wasn’t part of the deal, and after tonight, Joel might never speak to me again.

I walked over to the wall, my heels clicking. I bent down to sit against it—even in my pale yellow dress. Once on the floor, I exhaled.

“Aiden came to see me today,” I confided, only half acting.

The phone made a rustling sound on Joel’s end. “Again? What did he say? Are you all right?”

“I don’t know,” I murmured. “I don’t know anything anymore.” I almost started crying, but I sniffled and straightened my back, ignoring the slight twitch there.

“He’s being a jerk off,” Joel said, sounding authentic. “He needs to leave you alone now.”

I appreciated the protective tone in his voice. I let it soothe me.

“Is there anything I can do?” he asked softly.

Here it was, my chance. But for a second, I wanted to tell him to meet me somewhere else altogether and maybe go for corn dogs. There was a noise from above me.

I closed my eyes. “Can you meet me?” I asked, trying to focus on the mission. “I’m at the gym.”

“What are you doing there?”

“It’s a long story.” And it certainly was.

“Um…You need me now?”

“Yes. Right now.” I couldn’t believe I was doing this.

Joel was quiet. Then, “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

ASSIGNMENT 5

6:50 P.M., SEPTEMBER 25

The operative bit off the ends of her red nails as she watched from the supply closet. It was a perfect view to where Tessa was standing under the bleachers. She looked nice, dressed up so delicately. It almost was enough to forget the fact that she was a liar.

The operative watched through her night-vision lens as Tessa talked on her phone, walking over to the wall to slide down to the ground. For a minute, the operative felt a small pang of regret, seeing the sadness on Tessa’s face. But she pushed it away. Tessa had brought this upon herself.

Under the bleachers, Tessa clicked off her phone and dropped it to the floor next to her feet, exhaling loudly. She looked nervous.

She should. The operative just needed to get through this, and then she had a revenge planned that would be so much worse than what happened at the party. So much more damaging.

Tessa pushed herself up off the floor. She swiped at her dress with both hands, making sure it was clean.

For a second, the operative froze as Tessa’s gaze touched on the half-open storage closet across from her. But a sound from the hallway made Tessa turn.

Just then, the door pushed open just enough for Tessa to react to who was about to enter.

She smiled.

CHAPTER TWENTY

I STOOD UNDER THE BLEACHERS OF THE HALFlit gymnasium in my homecoming dress waiting for Joel, my heart pounding from both spy anxiety and the knowledge that I was being watched. It definitely bothered me to be on this end of the lens, and it made me wonder about all the subjects I’d investigated in the past.

Kira and the other Smitten Kittens were surely watching from above me in the rafters, but I didn’t dare look up. No. The copy-Kitten was here. I could feel it.

The gym door cracked open, sending in a streak of light. “Tessa?” It was Joel. At the sound of his voice, my heart skipped a beat underneath the flowy material of my dress and I smiled.

“Over here,” I whispered, trying to sound like this was a casual encounter. Joel saw me and nodded, walking inside and then closing the metal gym door quietly. When it clicked shut, he slipped his hands into the pockets of his suit and strolled my way.

I could tell from the grin on his face that he liked my dress. He even sighed when he paused in front of me. “Wow, Tessa.” He shook his head. “You look gorgeous.”

I widened my eyes, wary of Kira, who was hearing all this and almost certainly not liking it. “Thanks,” I said, trying to punch his shoulder playfully. It just came out as awkward. I was a terrible flirt.

“You’re welcome, pal?” He laughed.

He was clueless as to what was going on, and I couldn’t tell him. Instead I tried to pretend like I hadn’t lost my mind. “I needed to talk to someone,” I said, glancing away from him toward the ground. “And you’re really good at listening.” Well, that part was true.

Joel shifted, his loafers scraping the floor. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but…you’re not thinking of taking him back, are you? That would be really stupid.”

My eyes snapped up as I stared at his soft hazel eyes, weighing his comments. “Why shouldn’t I take him back?” My heart began to beat faster under the bodice of my dress. Joel was gazing at me, and I was mesmerized by his compassion, by the way he cared about how I felt. About my future.

“Because there could be someone else out there for you. Someone better.”