Rumor Has It (Rumor Has It #1)(2)

I read the screen and shoot Matt an annoyed look. I'm about to tell him when my phone chirps again.

UNKNOWN: Why didn’t u do the assignment? It’s five chapters long. There’s no way you can do that in one night





Wait, what? It's the wrong number, but it's still a student at Woodbridge? How crazy is that? Or maybe it is Carlos, messing with me. I don't really know him, so perhaps he's joking around.

ME: If this isn’t Carlos, then how do u know about the assignment?





I stare at my phone. Whoever it is has an iPhone like me, because I can see that they’re typing a response.

“Did you get it?” Matt asks, glancing over at me.

“Yeah,” I answer, still staring at my phone.

UNKNOWN: Only seniors take Mr. Hilton. Woodbridge has a senior class of over 400.





I give my phone an irked grin.

ME: Fine, thank u for the statistics. Do you know what the assignment is?

UNKNOWN: I do

ME: Well…





And then nothing. I stare at the screen, waiting for a reply, but there’s no activity. No message popping up saying they’re typing. Finally, growing tired of waiting, I snap my head back over to Matt.

“Dude, that wasn’t—” My phone chirps.

UNKNOWN: Chapters 33-35, 38 and 39.





I let out a sigh of relief as I type my response.

ME: Thanks





Before I can look over at Matt, the water in the hot tub moves around, making me lift my arms up to keep my phone out of the water. Sarah Donovan’s tanned skin comes into my peripheral, as she slides next to me in the hot tube.

"Hey, Carter." She breathes out the words, in a blatant attempt to be flirty.

Sarah is a knockout, no doubt about it. Light auburn hair, gray eyes that flicker blue in the sunlight. Captain of the cheerleading team. She has the valley girl accent going on, and she's smart. And, as I found out at the beginning of the year, super interested in me. A little too much. I know, what red-blooded guy wouldn't want a hot girl, with legs that went for days, and a great rack that she's brazenly pressing against my arm right now? And it's not that I'm not interested because I was for a little while.

But she's like a yapping chihuahua, always barking to get attention. Actually, no, more like a rottweiler. Sarah can be demanding. She wants what she wants and when she wants it.

Maybe part of it is my fault because I did take her to homecoming. Unlike the rest of my friends though, we didn't go to any after-parties. We'd made a detour into the women's bathroom that night and messed around. If someone hadn't walked in on us, we probably would've had sex in there. Not my proudest moment, especially since I've never considered myself an exhibitionist. The girl who walked in on us quickly excused herself, but Sarah was still ready to go. I had to practically drag her out of the bathroom, to get back to the dance. And by the time it was over, I was over it.

I hooked up with a girl last year, which is what initially started the rumor mill and my ascension in the popularity ranks. So, at homecoming, even though I knew exactly how far we'd gone, I knew the rumors that were out there. Matt's the only one I told the truth to, letting everyone else believe what they wanted. Because believing what they wanted only helped my reputation.

It might sound crazy, but sometimes you don’t want the girl throwing herself at you. At least, I didn’t. A little mystery went a long way. A little pursuit. With Sarah, the only thing I’d be pursuing was how fast she’d stick her hand down my pants.

Matt looks over at me, as I catch her hand sliding up my board shorts.

“What’s up, Sarah?”

“We got here late,” she said, faking a pouty face, “but I’m glad I found you.”

“Oh yeah?” I say, trying to sound uninterested as Matt wiggles his eyebrows at me.

“Yeah.” She pulls her hand free from mine and places it on my chest. “Jeremy said his parents weren’t coming back until tomorrow night.”

“I know.”

Her lips find my ear. “He said he’d let us use his bedroom.” She nibbles on my ear, as her hand slid down from my chest into the water, over my stomach.

"Well, isn't he just a super friend." I look past her, over at Jeremy. He's looking back at me, giving me a salute with a cup, no doubt filled with more beer.

Her hand slides lower, her fingers sliding under the waistband of my board shorts. The hot tub has bubbles going, but it isn't like you can't see what she's doing. I push her hand away and stand up.

“Sorry, I actually have a homework assignment I gotta make up before tomorrow.” I step out, grabbing my towel, as she looks up at me with her fake pouty lips again. “Matt?”

“Huh,” he mumbles.

“Come on, time to go.”

Another reason I'm not drinking is I'm our DD. His eyes dart from me back to Sarah, and I know exactly what he's thinking. "You sure?"

“Yeah.” I nod as I dry my hair.

Grabbing our shirt and shoes, we walk past Jeremy and Lucas, into the house. A slight tinge of remorse hits me, feeling bad for how abrupt I was with Sarah. Turning around, my sorrow vanishes as I see Sarah already flirting with another guy, but her eyes meet mine and she mouths ‘call me’. I let out an incredulous scoff, as I roll my eyes and head to my car.