The Stand-In Boyfriend (Grove Valley High #1)(23)

“I flunked McCarthy’s test.” That’s what he greets me with.

“What? Oh no.”

He sighs. “Yeah, sucks. He’s going to give me another paper to do so I can make up some credit or else I’m failing his class.”

“Well that’s good,” I tell him.

“I guess,” he replies. Jessie’s smart, but he’s lazy. He doesn’t focus in class, and then when it comes to tests, he usually has some gaps in his knowledge. “You can help me study, right?”

I nod immediately. “Of course. We can look at it this weekend.”

He grins, relief crossing his face, and I relax too. This is how we should be, back to normal in our relationship without all the strangeness of the last couple of weeks. “I owe you big time. I’ll buy us a pizza.”

I grin. This is sounding even better. I don’t mind helping Jessie at all, but with the added bonus of pizza, I can almost convince myself it’s a date.

We make our way down the hall and enter the cafeteria. Predictably, it’s already crazy busy as I make my way over to our table as Jessie goes and grabs his food. Sophie’s already waiting and when I get there, she picks up a plate of lasagna and green beans and passes it over to me.

“I didn’t want them to sell out before you got here,” she tells me as I gratefully accept it. Lasagna day doesn’t happen often enough in my opinion, and when it does, they go pretty fast. Jessie returns with his own tray and I see he picked lasagna too. Sophie lets out the least subtle cough I’ve ever heard and I just about resist the urge to flip her the finger. She’s trying to point out that Jessie didn’t bother to pick me up a lasagna even though he knows it’s my favorite, but she’s just being petty. Jessie would definitely get me one if I asked, he just wouldn’t have thought about it.

Another tray is placed on our table and I look up in surprise as Courtney sits down on the other side of Jessie. Sophie just looks at me, raising one perfectly drawn-on eyebrow. We’ve only ever eaten lunch just the three of us. Other people might come and go at different parts of the lunch period, but it’s usually just us. I don’t sit with the soccer team to be here, Soph doesn’t bring any of her millions of friends to lunch, and even when she’s dating someone, she doesn’t ditch us for them. It’s not like we’re cliquey or unwelcoming—it’s just how it is. Courtney hasn’t joined us for more than a passing few minutes before.

“Hey, baby,” Courtney says, shifting in closer to Jessie, and it’s like a slap to my face. She hasn’t been around over the last week or so, and Jessie hasn’t mentioned her once. I assumed they were officially done, assumed their breakup status remained the same and them hooking up at Aaron’s party was just a one-time thing that wasn’t about to be repeated. Jessie glances over at her and smiles before turning back to me.

“So, Saturday—we on?”

I nod my head.

“What’s happening on Saturday?” Courtney asks immediately, her eyes narrowed on me.

“Livy’s gonna help me study for the extra paper I have to do for McCarthy,” Jessie tells her, glancing over. “Or else I’m failing.”

Courtney pouts. “I could help you study.”

Sophie snorts. “Aren’t you in remedial math?”

Courtney’s pout turns to a glare but she doesn’t say anything back. I think she’s secretly in awe of Sophie and knows better than to take her on. “Well,” she says after a minute, raising her right arm and dropping it around Jessie. “I bet I could make it more fun when we finish studying,” she tells him, the innuendo clear for all to hear.

I stare down at my plate, my appetite suddenly gone. This does not sound like a couple that’s over, and Jessie is certainly not giving that impression either. He’s not shifting away from her or asking her not to touch him.

“You know, Livy,” Courtney begins, and I raise my head to face her. “I’ve been meaning to tell you how awesome you looked at Aaron’s party.”

“Um…thanks?”

“I really think you should consider wearing more makeup on a day-to-day basis. It’d stop you looking so washed out all the time.”

I actually hate her.

“Shut the hell up,” Sophie snaps. “Livy doesn’t have to wear any makeup. She has this thing called natural beauty that you weren’t blessed with.”

“Sophie—”

“Hey!” Jessie suddenly chimes in, interrupting me. “Don’t talk to Court like that,” he says, glaring at Sophie. “She didn’t mean anything by it, did you, Court?” He glances at me while at the same time reaching for Courtney’s hand. “She was just giving you some friendly advice.”

Courtney preens next to him and dismisses me from her view, instead turning and gazing into his eyes. “Yep, just some friendly advice.”

Sophie snorts and mutters something under her breath about her being an Abigail Baker wannabe. I’m trying really hard to keep my face neutral and pretend like this isn’t bothering me, but I can tell Soph knows I’m mad.

Really? Courtney sits here and insults me at my table—a table she shouldn’t even be sitting at?

I’m not even mad at Courtney; I don’t expect anything from her, but I do expect better of Jessie.