I stood up and folded my napkin neatly, setting it next to my nearly untouched plate. There was only so much I could handle without losing my stuffing. “Aiden,” I interrupted. “I’d like to go home. Can you please bring me?” Shoot. I should have driven myself.
Aiden pushed back in his seat with a loud scrape and gave his mother a disappointed expression. She looked down in her lap. She’d lost this argument.
“I’ll see you at the game, Tessa,” she said, not looking at me.
“Thanks for dinner,” I whispered, unable to lift my head. My chest hurt. I wanted her to like me. I really did. Especially since I loved her son so very much. But ... she didn’t. And there was nothing I could do about it. I nodded and walked to the door.
Aiden whispered something to his mother, but I didn’t catch it. He wouldn’t go home tonight. She knew that. And that was about as rebellious as he got. Tomorrow he’d be back here and they’d get along until the next time we had dinner together. It was a vicious cycle of passive aggressiveness.
Aiden met me at the door, looking down into my face. My cheeks were burning with humiliation and sadness. I sniffled.
His eyes weakened. “Come on, baby,” he said, opening the front door for me. He put his hand on my shoulder and led me out.
The night was cold, and I shivered against it. When we paused at his car, Aiden reached out and completely wrapped me up in his arms. He kissed my mouth forcefully, taking my breath away. When he moved back, I was gasping and feeling decidedly better.
“Well, that was nice,” I said, trying to smile at him.
“I love you,” he said seriously, as if I were arguing that he didn’t. “I love you so fucking much.” My bottom lip jutted out. Aiden looked like he was going to cry, and I’d never let him cry.
I nodded. “I know you do.”
“There’s no break. Don’t listen to that bullshit. It’s not going to happen.”
I raised my eyebrow at his language but didn’t say anything. When he was like this, he was allowed a bad word or two. His mother was a real b-i-t-c-h sometimes.
But my sweetie still looked distressed. I knew it was because his mother had brought up his father. Aiden was really sensitive about that. And who wouldn’t be? His dad had left them when Aiden was twelve. He never called, never wrote, nothing. How anyone could forget about Aiden was a crossword puzzle to me.
“Tell me no break,” he whispered, kissing me with his eyes open.
I reached up and swept his hair away from his face. “You’re not going to shake me, point guard. I play man-to-man defense.”
He grinned. He thought it was so cute when I talked basketball. Aiden bent down and kissed my neck softly. “I’m sleeping at your house tonight,” he mumbled into my skin.
“I figured as much,” I said, biting my lip. My hands slid down to his waist.
“And we’re going into overtime tonight, baby.”
I laughed. “Let’s get out of here,” I said, moving back. “Your mom’s probably watching out the window.” I glanced over, and she totally was. Ew!
We got into Aiden’s Jetta, leaving for my house. I pushed his mother’s dirty looks from my mind and imagined next year. Aiden away at Washington State and me still cheering with the Smitten Kittens. We’d be apart, but we’d work it out—we belonged together. We were apple pie a la love.
“She brought up his dad?” Kira asked over the phone, sounding completely sorry for Aiden. I shifted the receiver to my other ear, listening for Aiden, who was taking a shower in the hall bathroom.
“I know,” I said to Kira, walking over to my mirror to check my lip gloss. “I felt awful for him. Just because his dad is a complete jerk doesn’t mean that all relationships are doomed to fail. That woman seriously needs some sunshine in her life.”
“Or maybe Prozac,” Kira said. I grinned and stepped over to my bed, dropping down and sinking into the pillows.
“Sorry about canceling the meeting. You sure you guys don’t mind waiting until tomorrow?” I hated blowing them off, but Aiden was here. There was no way for me to sneak out with him in my bed.
“No bigs,” Kira said. “But we have some pending assignments. Travis Murray is accused of hooking up with his ex-girlfriend, or at least, I think she’s his ex. Either way, it’s going to be a busy week.”
I sighed. “I know. And thanks for listening, K. About Aiden’s mom and all. She really messed with my head tonight. I wished Aiden lived here with me; it’d be so much easier.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’d take good care of him.” Kira giggled.
“Be quiet.” But I was smiling. She’d done one heck of a great cheer-up job tonight. The shower in the bathroom turned off with a squeak.
“You and Aiden are like Romeo and Juliet,” Kira said dreamily. “It’s like star-crossed lovers and—”
I furrowed my brow. “K, Romeo and Juliet killed themselves.”
She gasped. “Oh, my word! They did? That is so tragic!”
I held back my laugh. “Hey,” I whispered. “Aiden’s out of the shower. I’ll talk to you in school tomorrow.”
“Night, Tess. Give Aiden a big, sloppy kiss for me.” She giggled.
“Yeah,” I said. “Probably not sloppy, though.” Because that would be gross.
I hung up and set the phone on my side table just as my bedroom door opened. I sat up, admiring Aiden’s lean, wet body draped in just a towel. He noticed.
“Hey,” he said, leaning against the door frame, rubbing another towel in his hair. As I watched him, he wiggled his eyebrows and tossed the wet cloth at me.
It bounced off my shoulder, and I laughed. “Hi.”
“Who were you talking to?” He licked his lip, readjusting the towel around his waist.
“Kira.”
“What’s up with her?”
My insides were complete pudding right now. “She wanted me to give you a big, sloppy kiss.”
“Sloppy, even? That sounds sort of hot.”
I smiled and shook my head. “Quit teasing me and come over here.” I patted my bed. I wanted him. I always wanted him, and there was nothing his mother could say to change that. We didn’t need a break; she was wrong. In my heart, I knew she was wrong about us.
SOS CLIENT REJECTION
CLIENT: Becky Roth
SUBJECT: Corey Panchilla
Dear Ms. Roth:
SOS is sorry to inform you that your cheater request has been denied due to the rules of double jeopardy. Although we sympathize with your discovery of a “skanky thong” in the glove compartment of Mr. Panchilla’s car, we are unable to investigate further.
It may be in your best interest to confront Mr. Panchilla yourself or possibly terminate the relationship.
We trust that this report will remain confidential as some of the information contained within could compromise our top-secret status.
Please keep in mind that double jeopardy does not apply to your future relationships. SOS is still at your service, and we hope you’ll keep us in mind for referrals. Have a great day.
Keep smiling,
SOS
Text: 555-0101
Exposing Cheaters for Over Two Years
CHAPTER EIGHT
“UH, TESS?” KIRA WHINED AS WE PAUSED ON THE multi-color carpet of the restaurant aisle. “Why are we inside? We could scope this out from the car. My hair is totally going to smell like french fries.”
“Shh ... we’re supposed to be incognito.”
“In what? I thought we were undercover.”
I rolled my eyes but then reached down to tug up the legs of my black stockings. Irk. These things were annoying. And fashionably hideous. I had to leave my utility vest in the car, but I still had on the black turtleneck and stockings that went underneath it. Right now, I looked like a mime—minus the white gloves.
Marcus dragging his date to the Applebee’s two towns over was inconvenient, but he wasn’t nearly as smooth as he thought. Not when we’d already bugged his cell phone. My b
reath caught.
“Snap, crackle, and pop!” I whispered harshly. “They’re early.” I ducked down, then dropped to my knees, pulling Kira under a booth table with me.
The carpet was rough, and I hadn’t expected the space under the booth to be so tight. Kira was practically sitting in my lap.
“Ew,” I said, trying to push her back. “Your hair does smell like fries.”
An immediate pout pulled at her pink lips.
“Is this table okay?” Leona’s sister’s voice announced. Her black sneakers paused in front of us. Her undercover work as a waitress was usually pitch perfect. But what was she doing? They couldn’t sit here! There was no room for their legs.
“Naw. How ‘bout the one toward the back?” Marcus asked in his usual smooth, confident voice.
I exhaled as I watched the feet move away, noticing the pair of red heels that followed Marcus’s sneaks. Really. Red? That seemed sort of tacky, even for Applebee’s.
“Wow,” Kira said, adjusting herself in my lap. “That was close.”
“Not as close as us right now,” I said, moving her over. I tried to unfold my legs in the darkened area under the table, but it wasn’t big enough. Well, this wasn’t very fun. And it wasn’t easy to stay in spy mode when I knew I could be at the movies or making out in the backseat of a car—something normal. I twitched my nose. “Is Izzie taking care of the video feed in the car?”
Kira nodded, trying to smell her hair. I’d let Izzie drive tonight. It helped her feel more involved. And even though she wasn’t great at things like math or science, she was awesome on the feed. Total pro.
“Let’s go,” I whispered, sliding myself up onto the seat. I opened a menu in front of me and then peeked over it toward the back of the restaurant. Uh-oh. Marcus’s face wasn’t in view. No clear shot. I’d need to get closer. I bent my head back under the table to Kira.
“K, hand me my camera.” She rummaged through the backpack, pulled out the extra-zoom lens, and snapped it on the camera before handing it to me. “You move in,” she said, widening her eyes. “And I’ll listen to the audio. But be careful.”
I nodded. She always worried about me. The thing was, if the Smitten Kittens were found out to be SOS, the guys in the school would freak. To this day, all the cheaters thought that their girlfriends had caught them. If they knew what the squad and I had been doing for the last two years and some of the things we’d seen, they might not appreciate our cheers anymore. In fact, they might boo us.
I shuddered. That was a very negative thought. Lately, SOS assignments had seemed to be bringing them out in me. Something about the fact that 100 percent of all of our assignments ended up in a cheating confirmation was depressing. One hundred percent of the time.
“I’ve got the audio feed,” Kira whispered, nudging my leg. “Video is recording from the bar, but there’s not a clear view. Wait ...” She touched her earpiece. “Marcus just told the accomplice that he has to ... drain the lizard.”
We looked at each other and giggled. Honestly. How some of these boys scored was beyond me.
“Move in,” Kira said, waving her hand.
Keeping my head low, I moved to the booth across from us and peered over the top. Marcus was gone. I needed to get at least two clear shots for the report. Preferably one with them holding hands or kissing. I swallowed hard. I hated this part. Witnessing the cheating. It made me pretty sick, and sometimes, it even gave me nightmares.
Before he could come back, I’d made it to the large plastic fern a few feet from their table. I wasn’t used to being this close to the action. I had both audio and visual. Holding up my camera, I clicked off a few silent shots of the girl. I didn’t recognize her. She must be from a rival school. Marcus was a traitor.
He came back, kissing her cheek before he sat down. I felt the familiar turn in my stomach. The girl was beaming at him. Did she know he had a girlfriend?
“Where’s your girlfriend tonight?” she asked, sipping from her water. My lip curled. She did know. That was bad form, even from a rival school.
“She’s studying.” Marcus licked his lips suggestively, eyeing her cleavage. He reached out to touch her fingers. “She has no clue.”
“That’s good,” Red Heels said. “I’d hate to kick her ass if she tried to start something with me.”
“Naw, she’s not smart enough to figure it out. She won’t mess with you.”
My throat was burning. I wanted to yell out. I wanted to scream. But instead, I took another picture as he reached under the table to rub Red Heels’s thigh. My nose began to run. I needed a tissue.
I took out my phone, punching in the escape code to Kira. Within a minute, Leona’s sister appeared at the table, talking animatedly and blocking their view of the plant. The restaurant music turned up to a much louder level and I began the move.
The music disguised the rustling of the plant as I slid from behind it. I walked quickly and purposefully toward the door. Not looking back, not looking down. Cool and collected.
As I passed the last table, someone grabbed me by the wrist. I gasped.
“Tessa?”
Christian? Toasted ravioli! I was busted. I was busted being in Applebee’s with the cheater. My heart pumped and I jetted my eyes around for Kira. I found her by the front door, her eyes wide and frightened.
“What...” Christian paused, covering his mouth with his other hand as he looked me over. “What are you wearing?”
I needed to take control of the situation. Sure, I was dressed in black from head to toe. But this could be normal. If I played it normal, it could be normal.
Shaking my hand from Christian’s grip, I looked around at his table. He was with two others, but I didn’t recognize them. They were probably Ducks.
First, I needed to dodge the fashion question. “Sorry, Christian. My ride is leaving.” I looked back toward Kira, who was now hiding behind the hostess booth, watching nervously.
“You’re leaving?” Christian asked, looking disappointed. “Well,” he said anyway, motioning to his company. “This is my best friend, Colton, and his girlfriend, Sherrie.”
I smiled at them, offering a little wave. I needed to get out of here before anyone else saw me. Someone who knew I’d never dress like this. That was the number-one rule of the Society of Smitten Kittens—never be seen at the location of the incident. Christian had seen me. This was a huge complication.
“This,” he said to them, reaching out to touch my hip. I was startled. “This is Tessa Crimson.”
I sidestepped his hand, trying not to look as thrown off as I felt. He wasn’t allowed to invade my personal space. And my hips were very personal.
“Oh,” Sherrie said, pursing her dark red lips. “The cheerleader?”
I blinked rapidly. Whatever school they came from, I’d have to meet their cheer captain and find out about the animosity factor. This was getting ridiculous. She was smirking at me.
“I’m sorry,” I said, backing away into the aisle. “I have to go.”
Christian tilted his head. “You sure?”
Wow. He was more aggressive than I had originally given him credit for. Maybe with his friends, he was more confident. Either way, he seriously needed to be avoided. Especially now that he’d seen me on assignment. “Yeah. Bye.” I nodded to them and twirled quickly, striding toward the door. I could have sworn I heard a snicker as I left.
Kira jumped out just as I passed the hostess booth, but she waited until we got outside in the cool night to totally freak out. “Oh, my word, oh, my word ...”
“Breathe,” I told her, taking her by the shoulders even though my own voice was tight. Nervous. “Let’s get out of here. Quick.”
She nodded and we began to jog across the asphalt parking lot toward Izzie’s blue Honda. Her face was white as we opened the doors and climbed in.
“Well.” Izzie gulped. “What happens now? The new boy saw you. Are we compromised?” She’d obviously seen the video feed.
I
put my hands over my face and bent over, trying to think. Okay. So yes, I’d been spotted. But SOS communications always stayed top secret. There was no reason for Cassandra to use our evidence to confront her boyfriend. We could destroy the photos. She could just say she knew. Crab cakes! I’d never give an official ruling without hard evidence.
“Maybe we should just abort,” Kira said quietly from the backseat. “Tell Cassandra we didn’t find anything.”
I swallowed hard and looked up. I just couldn’t do that. I couldn’t let Marcus get away with it.
“We’re fine,” I said to the girls, my back straight. “Let’s hang out for a bit, and then we’ll follow them. I want to wrap this one up.”
Kira and Izzie exchanged a glance but then nodded and agreed. I was glad they did. Because I wasn’t sure what I’d say if they argued. I had the feeling that Christian Ferril was going to a big, honking problem.
SOS CHEATER INCIDENT REPORT
CASE: 046
CLIENT: Cassandra Heart
SUBJECT: Marcus Billings
FINDINGS: At approximately 7:00 p.m., February 6, Mr. Billings was observed having dinner with an unfashionable female accomplice at Applebee’s restaurant. They were photographed holding hands and using their feet under the table to fondle each other.
The pair was later followed to a parking area overlooking Skinner Butte. Photographs documenting the interaction were unclear due to the fogginess of Mr. Billings’s window. SOS did, however, recover an item that Mr. Billings tossed from his driver’s window, confirming sexual intercourse.
We trust that this report will remain confidential as some of the information contained within could compromise our top-secret status.
SOS is sorry for your loss, and we offer our deepest sympathies. We hope that we will not have to assist you again in the future, but please keep us in mind for referrals.
Keep smiling,
SOS
Text: 555-0101