So Many Boys

  I laughed and walked into the haunted house behind him, pausing to throw out my half-eaten corn dog before going in.

  The haunted house was a bit of a letdown. The cart stalled out once, stranding us in a small room among a sea of glowing red eyes. Only most of the bulbs had burned out, so there was just a lot of winking lights going on. Despite the non-scare factor, Joel made bad jokes the entire time, so it was sort of fun.

  And after about two hours and three rides on the super-slide, I was exhausted—filled with confectionary sugar and ready to go. We were halfway to his car (still needing to jump my own) when my phone vibrated in my pocket.

  “It’s Kira,” I said, looking down at it as I pulled it out. “Tell her I say hi,” Joel replied, reaching into his jeans to take out his car keys.

  The minute I clicked on the phone and put it to my ear, Kira started talking.

  “We’re at the gymnasium,” she said in a monotone. “You need to meet us here.”

  “Oh…” I looked over at Joel, surprised by Kira’s tone. “Did something—”

  “And bring Joel with you,” Kira interrupted, and then hung up.

  My breath caught and I stopped walking, pulling the phone slowly from my ear to look at it. Guilt consumed me.

  “Everything okay?” Joel asked, clicking the locks of his car. I brought my eyes to his soft hazel ones, wondering if I’d done something wrong.

  “She wants me to meet her at the gym,” I said, swallowing hard.

  “Cool. Your car is parked there anyway. I’ll drop you off.”

  “Actually,” I said, moving past him to his passenger door. “She wants to see both of us.”

  Joel looked back at me, then shrugged and walked around the front of his car to his door. He might not look fazed, but something in Kira’s voice worried me. And I had a feeling the fair might not have been a good idea after all.

  Kira shifted on her sneakered feet, glaring at me as we walked into the gymnasium. Then she softened her eyes and looked to Joel. “Hi, honey,” she said with exaggerated sweetness as her voice echoed across the court. “I’ve been wondering where you were.” She was smiling, but I could tell by the shallowness of her dimples that it was forced.

  “Hey.” Joel left my side and walked across the gymnasium to Kira, kissing her cheek when he got there. He’d fixed my car before we came in just in case. In case of what, I wasn’t sure. “It took a while,” Joel told Kira. “Tessa needed a jump.”

  Leona coughed at his word choice.

  He darted a glance at her before continuing. “Then I figured since I had to bring her back here, I’d stop by the fair at the mall and get a corn dog.”

  “You’re so adorable,” Kira said, reaching up to pet his chin. I felt a small twinge of discomfort.

  The gym doors swung open and Izzie came running in. “Girls,” she called. “There’s something you have to see.…” She stopped in her tracks, noticing Joel. “Oh. Hi, Joel,” she said, looking between him and the rest of the squad.

  He laughed. “Where’s the fire, Izzie?”

  Izzie took her hair in her hand and twisted, a sure sign of her nervousness. “It…” I could tell she was struggling to find an answer.

  “Is that the new jacket you wanted from Hollister?” Kira interrupted, her eyes narrowed slightly.

  “Yes,” Izzie snapped, sighing. “The jacket. Isn’t it great?”

  Joel nodded, not catching on in the slightest. Normally I would have politely asked him to leave, but judging by Kira’s protective hand on his bicep, it wasn’t my place. And I had a feeling that she was already pretty ticked at me.

  “Mind if I meet you after practice?” she asked him, flicking her eyes toward me once. I lowered my head.

  “That’s cool,” he said. “Call me when you’re done and I’ll pick you up.”

  They embraced quickly, and I felt further out of place. I wrapped my arms around myself in a hug. When they separated, Joel waved to the other girls and walked past me on the way to the exit.

  “And thanks for hanging out, Tess. It was really fun.” His smile was innocent, friendly. But I could practically feel the daggers coming my way from Kira.

  “Bye,” I said casually, not returning his compliment.

  Pressing his lips together and raising his eyebrows in a “what’s up” gesture, Joel raised his hand to me and crossed to the double doors. I regretted not being able to return his enthusiasm, but I could feel the hot water boiling around me. When Joel was gone, I looked over at Kira.

  She was watching me, twisting a blonde curl around her finger. Her eyes were wide and innocent, but I knew Kira. That expression was hiding something underneath.

  “Are you upset with me?” I asked, walking toward her.

  She laughed, dropping her arms at her sides. “Of course not. Why would I be mad? You’re Tessa. So you get your pick, right?”

  I gasped. Leona mumbled something I couldn’t quite catch before walking to the bleachers.

  “Kira!” Was she implying that I was trying to steal her boyfriend? That was completely uncalled for! I put my fists on my hips. “What do you mean by that?”

  “Izzie,” she said, holding out her hand. “Can you give me the pictures again?”

  “Sure.” Izzie sounded absolutely defeated. “There was also an update on the blog,” she whispered. She darted a glance at me and then pulled a few glossy pages of pictures from her backpack. She marched over and handed them to Kira, peering over her shoulder.

  “Oh, look,” Kira said sarcastically. “You’re super-photogenic, Tess!” She jutted out her hand, the papers flapping. I took them from her and looked down.

  TGI Friday’s! Someone had been spying on me! I swallowed hard as I sorted through the pictures. They were from the fair, when I was with Joel. Only, the way the pictures looked, I was with Joel.

  There were several frames of us staring at each other, laughing. Even the moment when he had to reach over to wipe a bit of whipped cream off my chin. We looked rather…cozy.

  “It’s not what it seems,” I said, glancing up at Kira.

  She watched me for a minute, seeming to think it over. “Someone dropped these in an unmarked envelope taped to my front door a little while ago.” She sighed, maybe suddenly recognizing that I hadn’t actually done anything wrong. “Either way, it’s obvious that you’re their target,” she said. “I think it’s time you start keeping a lower profile, Tess. Maybe Mary was right. Maybe the Smitten Kittens aren’t for you after all.”

  The annoyance in her voice was palpable. She turned toward the bleachers, picking at her manicure.

  “You can’t just take it back like that,” I called to her.

  She spun to face me. “Can’t I?”

  “Wait,” Leona said, holding up her finger. I was happy someone was going to stick up for me. “This can be a good thing.”

  “It is?” Kira asked, looking over her shoulder at her. I glared at Leona, unsure how my dismissal from the squad could ever be a positive thing.

  “Not the Smitten Kitten stuff.” Leona shook her head. “The spying on Tessa. We can use it. Use it to lure out the copy-Kitten. And I have an idea,” she added, starting to smile at me. “But it’s kinda crazy.”

  “How crazy?” I asked, my heart beginning to speed up at the look of excitement on Leona’s face. If anyone could make sense of the situation, it was Leona. She was amazingly logical.

  “Faked affair,” she said, nodding and licking at her teeth. “One between you and Joel.”

  “Oh, that sounds brilliant,” Kira snapped fiercely. “My boyfriend is not a pawn in your game of checkers.”

  “It’s chess, you dumb blonde. Now what is your deal?” Leona shouted at her, standing up. “You’ve been a total bitch since becoming captain. Do you have chronic PMS or what?”

  “Um.” Izzie raised her hand. “PMS is a real condition. I don’t think we should joke about it.”

  “Shut up!” both Leona and Kira said to her at the same time. I
gasped. Were my Kittens about to tango?

  Kira straightened and then climbed atop a bleacher so that she stood a foot higher than Leona. “You don’t know anything,” Kira hissed at her.

  “You mean, other than the fact that your insecurities are making you a jealous maniac? And I’m not just talking about Joel here.”

  “Leona,” I scolded, marching over to them.

  “Stay out of this, Tessa,” Kira said without looking at me. I stopped, staring at her. But Kira was going skirt to skirt with Leona, locked in some ancient art of intimidation.

  “She’s our true captain,” Leona said through a clenched jaw. It made me think they’d had this conversation before—maybe about me getting back on the squad.

  “Doesn’t mean I have to stand by and watch it.”

  “Watch what?” My heart was pounding in my chest. I felt like I was coming in late to an argument, but I’d been here from the start. From the start of everything.

  Both Kira and Leona ignored me for a minute, and then Kira dropped her head. “Whatever,” she said, waving her hand. “Do what you want, but count me out. I’m not putting my boyfriend up for grabs for the sake of Tessa’s reputation.”

  Before Leona could respond, Kira hopped down from the bleachers and grabbed up her backpack from the gym floor. She looked up once and met my eyes.

  “Sorry,” she said to me, her blue eyes glassy. “I’m not trying to hurt your feelings, Tess. But…you know what they say.” She put her pack over her shoulder. “Keep your friends close, but your best friends even closer.”

  “It’s enemies.”

  She pressed her lips together in a sad smile. “Exactly.”

  And then she turned around and walked out of the gymnasium.

  I flinched like I’d been slapped across the face. I looked over at Izzie, who was watching me wide-eyed, unsure of who to follow. Luckily she stayed where she was.

  “Well, that was fun,” Leona muttered, climbing down from the wood bench and smoothing out her skirt. “Can we talk about how the hell we’re going to catch this copy-Kitten now? I have a strongly worded letter that I need to write.”

  The plan was simple, really. The weekend after next was the homecoming dance, the primo event for Washington High—a time when relationships (and affairs) were forged. Since the copy-Kitten was so interested in me, even when I wasn’t a subject, they’d surely be interested in investigating me for real, now that I was officially named.

  Leona would send in a cheater request form pretending to be Kira and name Joel and me as the targets. The tough part was going to be trying to pull this off without letting Joel in on our plan. Surely he couldn’t know that the Smitten Kittens were SOS, or rather the real SOS.

  I would just have to be seen with him. We’d considered setting something up for Chris’s party on Saturday, but Kira had told us that Joel wouldn’t be there. I admit, I was a little disappointed. After seeing Aiden with Mary, the thought of another date with Chris made me slightly nauseous. It would have been nice to see a friendly face.

  So we decided that the best place for Operation Knockoff would be at homecoming, with Joel and me in a compromised position. And even though Kira refused to participate in the sting or talk to me other than in short sentences, she was still up for going to Chris’s party on Saturday with us.

  However awkward that might be.

  SOS CHEATER REQUEST

  CASE: 005

  CLIENT: Kira Reynolds

  SUBJECT: Joel Fletcher

  Due to the sensitive nature of this assignment, we will keep this notice brief. SOS will be investigating Tessa Crimson, free of charge, in the suspected cheat of Joel Fletcher.

  Although pictures were supplied already, from your sternly worded letter, we gather that you’re not ready to accept this crime.

  Because of that, SOS will confirm the cheat and provide revenge tactics.

  SOS will inform you of our findings as soon as possible. We would also recommend that you no longer associate with Ms. Crimson or the Smitten Kittens.

  Keep kicking ass,

  SOS ☺

  SOS

  www.thecheaterreports.blogspot.com

  Text: 555-1863

  Exposing Cheaters for Over Three Years

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  “HURRY UP, LEONA,” KIRA CALLED FROM THE driver’s seat as Leona walked out the front double doors of her huge brick house. Her dad’s vintage cars were in the driveway, making her already-impressive house that much more eclectic.

  We’d parked on her street, sitting at the curb for close to fifteen minutes while we waited for her. But the second I saw her, I knew why. She looked delicious. Her brown hair had been set in curlers, leaving it all wavy, with her fringed bangs brushed to the side. She’d gotten new contacts and lined her eyes heavily with liner, giving her that model-just-out-of-rehab look. Her black minidress with strappy heels was a total ensemble!

  Izzie whistled from the passenger seat as Leona climbed into the back with me. I smiled.

  “You look ravishing,” I said, reaching up to touch one of her curls.

  She shrugged. “No big deal.”

  “It certainly is,” Kira announced before checking her mirrors and pulling out into the street. “You finally look like a real Kitten.”

  Not true. Leona always looked like herself, which was exactly right for a Smitten Kitten. But Kira and I were only speaking to each other when necessary, and contradicting her right now didn’t qualify as necessary.

  “Shove it, Kira,” Leona said, reaching over to adjust the strap on her sandals. “I just wanted to put myself back on the market. Worry about your own boyfriend.”

  “When were you off the market?” Kira laughed. “And don’t worry about Joel. He’s just fine.”

  Leona shot me a glance, then turned to look out the back window at the passing trees. “Let’s drop it. I’m just ready to have fun. That’s all.”

  After the week I’d had, I was hoping that Chris’s party would be more on the hook than off, but I was wrong. There were at least twenty people standing on the front lawn of his two-story, red Craftsman’s-style home. A few were playing horseshoes (which I’m sure the neighbors loved), and some were just sitting on the porch watching and drinking, occasionally calling out winners.

  Kira bumped the curb as she parked in front, causing the crowd to taunt us.

  “Nice,” Leona murmured. I could see the splotches of red appearing on her neck and chest. It wasn’t a common thing for Leona to look petrified.

  Izzie sighed longingly from the front seat. “I bet Sam liked horseshoes.”

  “He probably did,” I said, trying to be supportive. Then I leaned over and pushed open the door. As the rest of the girls filtered out, grouping around me, I became uncomfortably aware that I was underdressed.

  Leona was in a minidress, and Kira and Izzie were both in short skirts and ballet flats. I, however, was wearing a white T-shirt with jeans and sandals. They seemed to notice my clothes too.

  “Jeez, Tessa, could you have even tried to impress Chris?” Kira said, fluffing her blonde curls. “I could have let you borrow an outfit.”

  I wasn’t sure if Kira was trying to be friendly or if she was putting me down because she was still upset about the Joel misunderstanding. Either way, I decided to just be polite.

  “Thanks for the offer.”

  “Let’s go,” Leona said, looping her arm in mine and heading across the soft grass and toward the party. A few people said hi to me as we walked. I sensed that just by being here, I was getting part of my reputation back. Although at this point, I wasn’t really sure how much I cared.

  The music was loud. Really loud. We wandered in, Izzie and Kira immediately heading to the kitchen in search of cups while Leona and I decided to stake out the scene from the living room.

  We stood by the fireplace and scanned the room.

  “Do you think the copy-Kitten is here?” I asked, swallowing hard. It made goose bumps rise on my arms
, just thinking about being watched. Again.

  “Naw,” Leona said. “I doubt it, since Joel’s not here.” She turned to me. “But then again, you seem to be the flavor of the week, so there is a chance she’s tracking you.”

  “Reassuring.” I felt my phone vibrate in my jeans pocket and held it up to check the number. I drew in a harsh breath. “It’s Mary,” I murmured.

  “Shit.”

  “Language.”

  “Sorry, Tess.” But then Leona reached for my phone, plucking it from my hands and putting it to her ear. “Tessa’s phone,” she said into it, looking sideways at me.

  Her carefully lined eyes narrowed. “Yeah, see, Mary, I don’t think Tessa’s all that keen on talking to you right now. Why?” Leona laughed, reaching up to switch the phone to her other ear. “Maybe because you’re a sneaky bitch? Maybe because we saw you kiss her boyfriend—ex, whatever. Doesn’t matter. You violated Smitten Kitten code.”

  There was a mix of sickness and relief in my stomach. I didn’t want it said so bluntly about Mary and Aiden. Saying it made it real. But then again, I was just so glad to have Leona stick up for me. I hadn’t felt protected in a long time.

  Leona sighed. “Sure,” she said. “I’ll tell her. Bye.” Leona pulled the phone from her face and looked at it as she clicked it off, averting her eyes.

  “Tell me what?” I asked, my heart racing.

  Leona pressed her lips together and turned, holding my phone out to me. “She said she’s sorry and that she didn’t mean for it to happen.”

  Grief rushed through me. It was the only way to describe the ache that pulled at my ribs, making my lip quiver.

  “Listen,” Leona said. “I know this isn’t the time, but I think Mary may be my main suspect.”

  “I thought you said it was Chloe,” I mumbled, sniffling once. I hated to cry off my makeup, but I wasn’t sure I could hold it in. My phone vibrated again in my hand, and when I turned it over, I saw Aiden’s mother’s number.

  Was his mom calling me or was he in town? I clicked it off, sending it to voice mail before shoving it deep into my pants pocket.