Confusion pulsed through me. “I saw you,” I murmured. “I saw you kiss her.”
“I know.” His voice cracked. “And once that happened, I broke it off with Mary. I promise you. I don’t know what I was thinking. It was just…Mary was at school, she was there. And in a way, it was like being with you, Tess. Especially since things between us had been so weird—”
“Oh my word,” I squeaked, and backed out of his hands. The realization hit me. “Aiden, did you…did you sleep with her?” Please no. Please no.
His breath was jagged. As the boy I’d loved since the moment I met him stared back at me and nodded, everything left me. Everything I ever cared for was suddenly ruined. I felt…completely betrayed. Completely alone.
Aiden started saying something, but I wasn’t listening anymore. I was looking past him, into the street. I wanted to go home.
“I love you.” He kept saying it, as if it made everything else go away. As if it exonerated him. Or Mary.
I narrowed my eyes, thinking of her. Thinking of how her sneaking behind my back made her the ultimate snake. How she tried to ruin the Smitten Kittens for me. She was the fake SOS. If she could ruin my (sort of) relationship, she could ruin SOS.
“I’ll do anything, Tess. Please.”
On the corner, I saw a sedan turn onto the street. It was a sensible car. Something reliable. It slowed down just as it passed under a streetlight and I saw him. Immediately I smiled in relief, and suddenly I could breathe again. It was Joel.
Without a word to Aiden, I ran past him, my sandals slapping against my heels. I ran right into the road and put up my hands to stop the car. Joel braked violently and peered out of his windshield until he realized it was me.
He leaned his head out the driver’s-side window. “Holy hell, Tessa. Are you trying to get killed?”
I laughed then, shaking my head. I was so relieved to see him that I didn’t care that he almost ran me over. I was ready to go home.
“Tessa?” I heard Aiden call from the lawn behind me, but I didn’t turn. I couldn’t look at him right now. There was no such thing as Aiden.
“I need a ride, Joel,” I said, rubbing absently at my low back. “I just really need a ride home right now.”
Joel looked past me toward Aiden in the grass. He understood. “Get in.”
I exhaled and started walking around the car. But before I climbed in, I looked back once at Aiden. He raised his chin to me.
“I won’t give up, Tess,” he called, his voice thick. “I’ll make this up to you.”
I blinked heavily, unwilling to listen, then yanked open the door to Joel’s car.
“Looks like I missed a great party,” Joel said as we drove toward my house. “I mean, ex-boyfriends on the lawn and cheerleaders running out into the streets. Sounds like a hoot.”
“It was definitely unforgettable.”
“Things involving you usually are.”
My face warmed, and I looked sideways at him as he drove through the darkened streets. He was smiling, staring out the windshield. There were light splatters of rain on the glass as it started to drizzle, and Joel clicked on the wipers and turned up the heat. We didn’t listen to the radio.
“I didn’t know you were coming to the party,” I said after a while of car silence. “Kira didn’t mention it.”
He looked sideways at me. “Uh…why would she?”
I scrunched my face, not sure what he meant. I opened my mouth to answer just as my phone vibrated in my pocket. I didn’t know who it was, and there was no way I was going to look now. I turned to gaze out the window at the passing streetlights.
“So what did he want?” Joel asked, flicking on the turn signal and merging onto the highway.
“Aiden? To talk to me,” I murmured. “To explain himself.” My stomach turned as I thought about the pain on his face. The embarrassment.
“Did he explain himself?”
I didn’t want to answer because I didn’t want to believe it myself. And even though Aiden was the only person I’d ever slept with…he couldn’t say the same. I might get sick.
I rolled down the window and let the wet air hit my face, probably wrecking my makeup and hair, but at this point, it didn’t matter. Tonight changed everything.
“Our friendship is a problem for Kira,” Joel said suddenly, his voice low. I opened my eyes in the air. Slowly I brought my head back in the car and rolled up the window.
“I know,” I answered, looking down into my lap.
“But…” He paused and exhaled. “I don’t want to stop being your friend, Tess.” He glanced over at me. “I have a lot of fun with you.” He smiled. “Even when your hair is sticking up in all directions and you have makeup smeared under your eyes.”
I laughed, reaching up to smooth back the hair poking out on the sides. Then I swiped my fingers under my lids and sniffled. “Better?”
“Much.”
I cleared my throat as Joel turned onto my street and pulled up to the curb in front of my house. When he stopped, he cut the engine. The streetlight above us illuminated the car so that I could see pretty clearly. I could see his hazel eyes.
“It was an unsolvable problem,” he said as he exhaled, like he’d been waiting to tell me that.
I furrowed my brow, looking over at him. “I…” I wanted to tell him that Kira was out of control, that she was acting possessive and mean. “Joel, I’m not sure I’m the one to give you advice,” I said instead.
He laughed. “That’s probably true.”
We sat together in his car, parked in the street and listening as the rain tapped on the windshield. I let the night wash over me. The copy-Kitten exposing the couples. How they stayed together. How Aiden had come for me.
“Aiden slept with someone else.” I paused. “Would you forgive him?” I asked Joel, my head resting against the back of the seat as I watched the water pool and run down the driver’s-side window.
Joel crossed his arms over his chest. “No.”
I blinked quickly. I wished the rain would stop. It was completely depressing.
“I don’t know what to do,” I whispered.
“Not Chris Townsend,” Joel answered, staring straight ahead.
“Nope. I pretty much burned that popularity bridge tonight, I think.”
Joel laughed to himself. “It’s kind of funny, me and you being all sad together. I’m pretty sure we’re the nicest people I know.”
I tsked and sat up, smiling at him. “You’re not all that nice, Joel. You make fun of me nonstop.”
He shrugged. “That’s because you can take it. Kira hated my jokes. In fact, she didn’t even think I was funny.”
But I didn’t believe that. His comedic timing was pure perfection; even Kira had to see that. But at the mention of her name, Joel seemed down again. I hated to see him like this.
“You and Kira are fine,” I said to him, nodding. “You’ll see.”
Joel turned to me, his eyes nearly amber in the streetlight shine. “What do you mean?” he asked. “Tessa, I’m not sure you—”
My phone vibrated again, making me jump. I sighed, unable to fight it much longer, and pulled it out to look at the number. “It’s Aiden,” I murmured.
“Want me to tell him to piss off?” Joel asked with a smile, holding out his hand.
I laughed. “No, better not. You’re way too classy for that.”
“Right,” Joel agreed. “Totally high class.”
I slid the phone back and grasped the door handle. “Thank you for the ride,” I said. “You saved me from humiliation.”
“I did?” he said, snapping his fingers. “Darn.”
I slapped his shoulder but then smiled. “I have to go in, okay?” The Smitten Kittens were probably wondering what had happened to me. I’d have to call them ASAP.
Joel smiled. “Okay. It’s always nice talking with you, Tessa. You’re a good friend.” He reached out to swipe a damp strand of hair behind my ear, and I tensed as a shiver ran
down my back.
My breath caught as his hand paused on my ear just a second longer than necessary. “Uh…” I stammered, blinking quickly. “Thanks.” I pushed out into the rain, shutting the door quickly behind me.
My pulse was racing. I wasn’t sure what had just happened, but when he touched me like that, I…I…
I dashed up my driveway and paused under the porch awning before looking over my shoulder to the road. Joel waved once to me before turning on his car and pulling back into the street. And while I watched him go, there was one thing I was sure of.
Just then, that feeling I had—it was a lot more than just friendship.
(CODE PINK) SOS INTER-KITTEN COMMUNICATION
Dear Smitten Kittens,
Next weekend is the homecoming dance. We have a very sensitive sting operation in place to catch this knockoff Kitten, and please be mindful of your assigned position. This is one clever spy we’re trying to catch. (And for the record, I think it’s Mary Rudick. Just saying.)
Those of us not meeting at Tessa’s house before the dance should have the equipment in place at the gym prior to her arrival. Also, make sure to have both the police and emergency personnel on speed dial. And Izzie, remember it’s 9-1-1. Not 9-11. There is no 11 on the phone.
Good luck, Smitten Kittens. After this weekend, the real SOS will be back in business.
Keep smiling,
Leona ☺
CHAPTER NINETEEN
FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK, I KEPT MY DISTANCE FROM Joel, not just because it felt a little awkward now, but also because Kira shot me dagger stares every time his name was mentioned. Let’s just say she wasn’t all that appreciative of the ride home he gave me after the party—even when I’d explained myself three times.
And though at this point I had less than stellar feelings toward Mary, what she’d said about the drama—that the shift in captainship would strain mine and Kira’s relationship—rang true. But having to pretend-cheat with Kira’s boyfriend wasn’t going to make it any better.
In reality, I was doing this for her, for all of us. It was my responsibility to catch the copy-Kitten and save our high school. That was what the Smitten Kitten skirt stood for. And if I had to fake it to make it, so be it.
The day of the dance, the Smitten Kittens were huddled in my bedroom while I got dressed. Even though we’d all gotten our hair and makeup done together, I was the only one in a gown. They were dressed in black for the mission, but it was still kind of cute with the dangling earrings and updos. When I came in from the bathroom, Izzie clapped.
“Tess, you look beautiful!”
I smiled. The dress I had was awfully pretty. My mother had surprised me with it the weekend before. Unfortunately my parents were in Seattle this weekend, but I promised to take lots of pictures. I didn’t mention that some of the pictures would be of the spying variety.
My dress was a pale yellow with soft, shimmery fabric billowing out below my waist. Due to a conflict in the schedule, the homecoming game was moved to tomorrow, and luckily, between planning out this mission and navigating best-friend jealousy, I’d put together some fabulous cheers.
Leona looked over the top of the magazine she was reading as she lounged on my bed. “Looks better on you than it did while it was hanging up.”
“Thanks,” I said, blowing out a deep breath. In my depression, I’d ramped up my yoga routine, easily losing the five pounds to make this dress now look perfect. I missed my talks with Joel. And I wouldn’t even begin to think about Aiden.
None of the other Smitten Kittens had a date to the dance. Marco had been seeing someone else, Sam had dumped Izzie, and Kira’s boyfriend, well—we weren’t allowed to talk about him in that context.
“Hey,” Leona said, tossing the magazine on my bed as she sat up. “I need to talk to you about something.”
Kira snickered and I could hear Izzie gulp. Never a good sign.
“Okay…” I was a little worried. Seemed like every time someone wanted to talk to me, it was terrible news. Why didn’t people ever want to talk to me about good things? Like bunnies or cotton candy?
Leona looked into her lap, seeming uncomfortable, then straightened up to meet my eyes. “I’ll just say it.” She exhaled, shaking her head. “Chris Townsend asked me to homecoming.”
I gasped, completely surprised.
“Seems her little outfit worked,” Kira said, playing with her hair in the mirror. “Guess you should have dressed up more, huh, Tess?”
That stung. I turned back to Leona. “Really? Wait, did you say yes?” I wasn’t exactly offended or jealous that he’d asked her. Just…surprised.
“I did,” Leona said, scrunching her nose. “Is that okay with you?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. I mean, I think he’s a nice guy and all. I just…I didn’t know you were into him.”
Leona smiled a little to herself. “I didn’t either. But after the fight and after you left, we started playing pool and…we just clicked. Did you know that he’s planning on majoring in business next year?”
“No,” I said. When I thought about it, there wasn’t much I did know about Chris Townsend other than the fact that he was a good football player.
“He has a total five-year plan,” Leona said, sounding way more interested than I could have thought possible.
“Well, I think it’s spectacular,” I said. “He’s a total catch. I’m really happy for you, Leona.” I smiled at her, completely proud that my Kitten had just found her Tom Cat. Leona grinned back and thanked me.
“Gets you off the hook,” Kira said, applying some lip gloss. “Not that you liked him anyway.” She looked over her shoulder at me, narrowing her eyes.
I felt like the curls in my hair were going to wilt next to the negativity that Kira was sending my way. I understood that she didn’t want Joel involved with this operation, but truly, if she wanted to catch this copy-Kitten and move on with him, she needed to adjust her attitude. I sighed, turning away from her.
“Here’s the plan,” Izzie said as she sat crisscross applesauce in the pink beanbag in the corner of my room. She unfolded the itinerary that Leona had printed up for her. “In”—she checked her watch—“twenty minutes, Tessa will call Joel and tell him she has to speak to him urgently.” She flicked an uncomfortable glance at Kira, but Kira wasn’t listening. She was sitting on my desktop, painting her nails and blowing on them. Izzie cleared her throat and continued.
“Tessa will ask him to meet her under the bleachers in the gymnasium.” Izzie paused to sigh. She looked at me wistfully. “That was the first place Sam kissed me.”
“Stay on task,” Leona said, rolling her eyes.
“Sorry. Okay, so Tessa will meet him under the bleachers. Before she gets there, we’ll set our positions in the rafters and in the hallway, the back door and the school entrance. No way this copy-Kitten is getting in undetected.”
“We’re going to nail her,” I said to Izzie, trying to sound brave.
Kira scoffed. “It’s ‘screw,’ remember, Tess?”
I opened my mouth to correct her but then decided not to. I motioned with my hand for Izzie to continue.
“Well,” she said. “Once the copy-Kitten intersects your call with Joel, they’ll probably figure out a way to bug you or him. I mean, that’s what we’d do, right?” She glanced around and we all nodded.
“So once you two are there…you’re really going to have to play it up.” She winced a little. “You know this might end your friendship with him, right? I mean, you’re sort of going to be throwing yourself at him.”
I thought I heard a sound from behind me, but I didn’t turn to Kira. I just nodded. I’d considered that, and even though I absolutely didn’t like the idea of ending my friendship with Joel (especially by looking improper), I knew it was for the best.
I glanced over to Leona, who pressed her lips in a smile and nodded at me. “You’ll be great, Tess,” she said softly, possibly reading the sadness in my face.
&nb
sp; “Thanks,” I whispered.
“Wonderful. Now let’s go over it one more time,” Kira said, hopping down from the desk to grab her backpack from the floor and unzipping it. She’d finally agreed to help with this case, even though she clearly didn’t want to. “I have the zoom lens, the binoculars, and the infrared camera. Leona has the rope packed in her car. My course is in the rafters.”
“It’ll be perfect,” I said. Above the gym there was a walkway that the janitors had erected to get to the lights and ceiling during some recent renovations. It would be the prime spot to spy from. And since it was her boyfriend down there, Kira probably knew that.
“It’s almost time,” Izzie said, checking her watch. She and Leona exchanged a worried glance.
I took a steadying breath, glancing toward my phone where it sat on my side table. It was convenient that this year the dance would be held in the cafeteria. Not nearly as glamorous as a restaurant or even the gym, but it suited our situation well.
“Have you figured out what you’re going to say yet?” Kira asked, trying to look disinterested.
“Sort of. I’m thinking of telling him something happened with Aiden and me? I don’t know. Do you think that’ll work?”
“Just be hot,” Leona said, not looking up. “All guys care about is hot.”
“Excuse me,” Kira scoffed. “That’s my boyfriend you’re talking about.”
“Right,” Leona responded. “Then play dumb, Tessa. That seems to work.”
I was about to scold her when the doorbell rang, startling me. I looked toward the door, my dress shifting with an adorable whooshing sound.
“Were you expecting someone?” Kira asked, maybe a little suspicious.
“No.” And I really wasn’t. With my eyebrows pulled together, I walked through my house and crossed the kitchen to the front door. I swung it open and gasped.
“Hi.”
It was Aiden. He was standing there, unshaven, disheveled. Wait, was he wearing pajamas? I shook my head, as if to ask him what he was doing here.
“I know you don’t want to talk to me right now,” he said, his voice scratchy. “I know…you probably hate me. But I just wanted to see you before you went to the dance. You look beautiful.”