Northanger Alibi

  “Okay.” Tony looked a little scared. “So, uh, you’re going to make me do something?”

  Darlene laughed. “Yep. Stand right next to me.” Tony took a few steps forward and stopped about three feet from her. “Nope. A little closer than that.” She motioned forward again, and Roger snorted with laughter.

  We all looked over at his outburst. Darlene dug him in the ribs with her elbow and pasted a smile on her face. “Come here, Tony. Stand right here.”

  With a wary glance in my direction, Tony took another step toward her and stopped. “Is this good?”

  What in the heck did my mom tell her to do?

  All at once, Darlene’s hand snaked out and grabbed Tony by the ear. She pulled him right up to her mouth and whispered loudly enough for all of us to hear, “Claire was a virgin when she left this house, and by golly she’ll be a virgin when she comes home. You got that?”

  WHAT? “No!” I squeaked before covering my mouth and turning every color on the palette. Why me? Why me? Why me?

  Roger burst into large guffaws, and Darlene giggled girlishly. I’d never seen anyone look as truly shocked or as mortified as Tony, but of course, I didn’t have a mirror. He stammered and nodded while trying to disengage himself from Darlene’s grasp. “Y–y–yes, Mrs. Hadley! I promise not to touch her!”

  I hate my family. I hate my family’s friends. Seriously, life is not meant to be this hard. Poor Tony, too. He’d never even kissed a girl. Now, Jaden I could understand, but Tony?

  Roger laughed all the louder. Darlene smothered a small chuckle herself and finally released Tony, saying simply, “Okay then, you two run along and have a great time. Let us know who wins.” She waved a happy little hand at us.

  Tony wasted no time. He refused to even look at me as he turned around, his face bright red. He grabbed my hand and maneuvered us out the door and down the steps in two seconds flat.

  The car ride was a bit uncomfortable as well. I could tell he was still mortified, especially when he asked, “So, um, does that mean your mom thinks—I mean, did she make Darlene do that because they all think I’d—?”

  “No! Honestly.” Oh my gosh. I turned around and faced him. “Um, I’m sorry. I had no idea what they were going to do. They do randomly weird, embarrassing things to all the guys. You have to believe me—I’m just as freaked out as you are. Except, I mean, I did know my family was crazy, so maybe you are more freaked out than I am.”

  “I can believe your family is crazy.” Tony glanced over at me. I could see he was trying not to laugh.

  I smiled. “Actually, you may have gotten off easier than what my mom and dad would have done to you. Darlene’s not quite as good as my mom. She would’ve probably scared the living daylights—”

  “Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m scared. Really scared. Believe me, that . . . uh . . . is a very effective Dating Ritual thingy. At least, I don’t think you’ll have any problems with, uh . . .” His face grew bright red, and so did mine. He jerked his attention back to the road.

  I decided to change the subject, but my mind went blank. All I could think about was that stupid virgin threat. Okay, think of something. Anything. I cleared my throat. “So, your game. How old are the kids on the team?”

  Tony smiled, looking relieved. “They’re mostly six and seven.”

  “Six and seven? Oh my gosh. How cute is that? You coach first graders?”

  Tony nodded his head and chuckled. “They’re really cool, too. Some of those little guys can run almost as fast as me.”

  Aw. I could just picture him running on the field with them. From his expression, I could tell he really loved coaching them. “So, what’s your team’s name?”

  Tony glanced down and shook his head. “I didn’t come up with it, believe me. The whole team had a say, and I got outvoted.” He laughed. “We’re the Bumble Bees.”

  Fourteen

  A Perfect Day

  “The Bumble Bees? As in bzzz bzzz?”

  “Yeah.” He snorted and then imitated a little kid’s voice. “‘It’s cuz we have gots a stinger, and stingers hurts.’”

  “Didn’t you tell them that once a bee stings someone, it dies?”

  “Ah, man. I should’ve thought of that. Where were you when I needed you?”

  I chuckled. “So, what team are you playing against?”

  “Uh, today that would be the Fighting Ninja Warriors.”

  I burst into laughter.

  “Yeah, I’m totally expecting to get our butts kicked.” He laughed with me. “Something tells me Fighting Ninja Warriors aren’t afraid of little Bumble Bees.”

  “Ya think?” I giggled again. I couldn’t help it.

  “You want to know the worst part?” His eyes playfully sparkled into mine for a second.

  “There’s more?”

  “Yep.” He nodded and focused back on the road. “Our uniforms are purple.”

  “Purple bees?” I bit back a grin. “Purple bees can be cute.”

  “Yeah, if you’re a Care Bear, maybe.”

  That was it—I lost it. I totally cracked up all over again. Tony was seriously so cute. He kept me giggling the whole way to the soccer field. It was amazing, the direct contrast between him and Jaden.

  I should’ve never gone out with that wolf! If I hadn’t, I could’ve already seen the Bumble Bees play. Besides, who wouldn’t love to hang out with a vampire all day? Especially if he was as cute as Tony.

  Since he was the assistant coach and expected to be early, we were the first ones on the field. I unloaded the cones while he hauled out the big net of balls he had stashed in his trunk. It only took a few moments to get the cones set out and the soccer balls freed and lined up for the children.

  He was teaching me a few dribbling tricks with the ball when the kids started to show up. He was super good—his feet were so quick and light, by the time my feet would make it to where I’d seen the ball, it was already gone. I really didn’t want to stop, but the kids had other ideas. They were way too excited to see Tony.

  As they came on the field, they raced right over and started ganging up on him, each little guy eager to be the one who stripped the ball from him. Tony laughed and ran all over the field, barely keeping the ball in front, with loads of kids chasing from behind. It was easy to see that this was a warm-up game he played with them all the time. Everyone was laughing, and some of the parents egged the kids on.

  “Come on, Max! Get ’im! Get Mr. Tony.”

  “Kayla! The other way! Go the other way! Look, Mr. Tony’s comin’ up behind you!”

  “Go, Justin! You can do it! Get the ball from Mr. Tony!”

  I decided it was my turn. “Run, Mr. Tony! Run!” I shouted loud enough to be heard over the parents’ laughter and shouts as I climbed up to sit on the bleachers.

  Tony must’ve heard me because he whipped his head up and smiled the cutest smile I’d ever seen just before a little girl rammed right into him, causing him to trip over the ball and go sprawling onto the field.

  Oops.

  It became a mad chaos of chuckles and whoops as the kids all tackled him in one large, purple dog pile.

  Tony finally emerged the winner, smiling triumphantly with the ball in his hand and children dripping from him. It was the most charming thing I’d ever seen. My heart practically burst from my chest with happiness.

  Is there a more perfect guy on the planet? No way—it has to be him. Eeeh! And he’s smiling right at me.

  It became all seriousness once the coach arrived and blew his whistle. The children and Tony jumped to attention immediately and jogged over to the man, who looked like he was in his early forties. Within seconds, the team was back on the field, and Tony was leading them through a series of proper warm-ups. Even that was fun to watch.

  Of course, it helped that every few minutes Tony would look up from what he was doing and grin at me.

  Just before the game started, it was discovered that they were short a referee, so Tony quickly volunteered.
He grabbed a black referee shirt and ran across the field up to the stand where I was sitting.

  “Hey, can you hold this?” he asked, not even slightly winded. He looked up at me mischievously.

  I bit my lip and stared down at him. He is so hot. “Hold what?”

  “This.”

  Before I could blink, Tony leaned forward and whisked off his shirt right in front of me. Oh! I glanced away as he pulled the other one over his head.

  “Thanks,” he replied. He flung the shirt in my lap and climbed up the side of the bleachers, giving me a swift kiss on the cheek before dashing back out to the field again.

  My hand flew to my cheek, while my other one clasped the white coach uniform. I didn’t care that it was slightly damp—he’d just been wearing it! Once he made it out to the field again, he ran backward a few steps and gave me a wink and a little salute, then focused solely on the game about to begin.

  There was something almost magical about that game. Even though the Bumble Bees lost, they didn’t seem upset or disappointed. In fact, every one of the little guys got a special hug and a high-five from Tony at the end. He also made it a point to exclaim in the coolest, older-brother voice I’d ever heard, “Man, you rocked! You are the best soccer player in the whole world!” Every kid heard the same thing. And they knew he told them all the same thing—they were all standing right there—but they didn’t care. They knew they were special and that Tony loved them. I could tell that was all that mattered.

  I’d never seen so many happy, excited kids run home after losing a game, but it made me think, really think. Just who are you, Tony Russo? How can one guy capture the hearts of so many people around him? And does your heart have room for one more? All at once, I wanted to be a part of his life—that is, if he’d let me.

  ***

  When I got home, Darlene announced that we’d all been invited to the Russos’ for a get-together Tuesday evening. My heart flip-flopped when she said the words. I couldn’t believe we’d been invited to Tony’s house. His house. Just like when Bella was invited over to Edward’s home for the first time. I couldn’t wait to see what it looked like inside.

  Tuesday couldn’t come fast enough for me. When it did, I was just so darned excited that nothing could’ve stopped me from going. Nothing.

  Just as I finished putting on my makeup, I got a text. I thought it might’ve been Tony because we had been texting on and off all day. I opened it and was surprised to see it was from Jaden.

  hey think we should go 2 the movie 2nite. what u say?

  Yeah, right. Not on your life.

  sorry I have plans already :oP

  Jaden was undaunted.

  why dont U cancel them?

  cant but thx 4 asking.

  It wasn’t thirty minutes later when the wolf came to the door, holding two movie tickets. “Hi. I thought if you saw the tickets, you wouldn’t be able to say no.”

  Darlene came to the door just as I answered him. “Look, Jaden, I’m sorry you bought them already, but I told you I’m going somewhere else. I can’t.”

  “Wait a minute.” Darlene leaned over my shoulder and tugged the tickets out of Jaden’s hand. “Hey, this looks like a good movie. You don’t have to go to the Russos’ house if you don’t want to.”

  “I want to.” My smile tightened.

  “I’m sure they’d be fine if you went with Jaden. Besides, you can’t waste these.” Darlene held the tickets in front of my face.

  Jaden went in for the kill. “Yeah. You don’t want me to waste them, do you?”

  I would’ve smacked the smug look off his face if Darlene hadn’t been standing right there. Instead, I heaved an exasperated sigh. “Look, I know you spent money, but I did text you and say I wasn’t coming. I can’t just bail on my friends. Sorry.”

  “Oh, go with Jaden, Claire. I’m sure it’ll be more fun watching a movie than hanging out with us old folks, anyway.”

  “Exactly. Looks like you’re leaving with me.”

  “Come on, out you go.” Darlene began to nudge me out the door. “I’ll tell the Russos what happened. I’m sure they’ll understand. And don’t worry about the Dating Ritual thingy—we already know Jaden’s a good guy.”

  I could see my hopes and dreams of spending time with Tony vanish in a puff of smoke. “No. I’m not going—the Russos won’t understand. Besides, Jaden’s not as good as you think.” I dug in my heels just as he leaned in and swung one arm around my waist. I was no match for his strength. In less than a second I found myself heading toward his car as he hollered out behind him, “Thanks, Darlene. I’ll bring her back safe and sound.”

  “Jaden, stop!” I pushed against him, and to my surprise, he let me go.

  “What?”

  “I’m not going with you.”

  “But— ”

  “No.” I folded my arms and glared, daring him to challenge me again.

  “You’ve gotta be kidding me. You’re still mad about the other day? Seriously?”

  “Yes, I am, but this has nothing to do with it. The issue here is I’ve told you repeatedly I’m going somewhere, and you still expect me to drop everything and run off with you.”

  “So, what’s the big deal? It’s just a boring dinner, right? Wouldn’t you rather go see a movie?”

  Why is it so hard to talk to this guy? “It wouldn’t matter if you were taking me to Paris—I still wouldn’t miss this dinner. You know why? Because they asked me first. Period. End of discussion.”

  “So, I just spent money on these tickets, and you won’t go, even though Darlene says you can?”

  “Yep.”

  “That’s just stupid.”

  “No, standing here debating with you is stupid.” I spun around and stomped up to the house. Jaden was hot on my heels.

  “Come on, Claire. You’re just being immature. I don’t know why I even bothered coming here in the first place.”

  Grr. “Neither do I!” I didn’t realize Darlene was still standing at the door until I looked up as I came toward it. She quickly scuttled out of the way. “I’m staying here,” I announced to them both, just to be clear. Once I entered, I turned and put a hand up to stop Jaden from coming in. “Thank you for inviting me. Now go find someone else to take.” I plastered a smile on my face to placate Darlene’s shocked gasp. “Look, you’re a nice guy. Just listen to what I say next time, okay?”

  He rested a hand on the doorframe and shook his head like he couldn’t believe I was actually turning him down. “Fine. Whatever. I hope you have fun.” With a sneer, he pushed himself away.

  I hardened my heart against the nagging self-pressure that insisted I was wrong as he walked back to his car. I was right. I knew I was right. It was the principle of the matter.

  It was also the first time I had ever been faced with opposition, done what I wanted to do, and really stuck with it. I glanced over at Darlene. She wasn’t happy with me. Thank goodness she didn’t say anything, but by the way she was biting her lip, I knew I had gone down a few points in her book.

  That hurt.

  Jaden roaring the car to life and pulling out of the driveway hurt.

  I don’t like people to be mad at me. I straightened my shoulders and quickly climbed the stairs to my room, reminding myself as I did that I would’ve hurt Tony more if I hadn’t stood my ground.

  ***

  Tony Russo was most definitely a vampire. I knew it as soon as we drove down the long, winding road that led to the large, many-windowed home.

  Cassidy must’ve seen the look on my face, because she grabbed my hand and whispered, “Not one word about them being vampires. Do you hear me?”

  “But look at the house,” I whispered back, pointing to an almost exact replica of Edward Cullen’s home. “Oh my gosh! It even has a huge garage.” As soon as the car stopped, I jumped out of my seat and out the door.

  Cassidy quickly followed suit. “Claire. Okay, I know you think this looks like the Cullens’ house, but really, you—”
r />   Just then the door opened, and my heart stopped at the sight of Tony bounding down the steps to greet us. His casual, white button-down shirt matched his bright smile. In less than two seconds he was at my side.

  “You made it.” His eyes looked mischievously into mine. “Come on.” He gently tugged on my hand. “I have a surprise for you.”

  Fifteen

  Deja Vu

  “A surprise?” I couldn’t help it—I grinned back. What in the world—?

  “Yeah, come in. You’ll love it.”

  Cassidy’s jaw dropped as we brushed past his parents, who were coming down to greet Darlene and Roger.

  Just as Tony and I entered the house, Nora came up to us. “So, have you told her about the surprise yet? Come on in, Cassidy. You can hang out with me. These two are going to be busy for a bit.”

  Oh my gosh. My heart began to pound.

  “Thanks,” Tony whispered.

  “Just hurry up before Mom and Dad notice you’re gone.”

  Tony didn’t need any more encouragement. We were through the main room and climbing the stairs before I’d even had a moment to comprehend that I was actually in his house. In Tony’s house. Eeeh! “So, are we going to your room?” I didn’t want to tell him my sister would freak out if she knew I was going to a guy’s room, just he and I. Alone.

  Tony paused on the top stair. “No. Your surprise is up here. My room’s downstairs. I have a lot of stuff in there—in my room—so I don’t usually show it to anyone.”

  My smile turned into a chuckle. “Are you saying your room is a mess?”

  He bit his lip and looked away briefly. “Would you drop the subject if I said it was dirty? Would that make you never want to see it?” His gaze held mine.