Was she trying to make me jealous? Maybe. Although, one look over at Trey and his smarmy smile was enough to think it was just Trey being a jerk. But even if she was, I’d been playing the same game, so I wasn’t mad at her.
“Rumor is Brian’s asking your friend, Tessa,” Trey said. “So at least you’ll know one person there.”
His little digs, trying to remind Ashley and me that I was an outsider, were getting monotonous and predictable. The joke was on Trey because Ashley was rolling out the red carpet for me by getting the day of the party changed.
But hearing that Brian was taking Tessa to the party was a gut-clencher. Because Brian and Tessa together was a ridiculously dumb idea. The two of them together was a total mismatch. Like pudding on a salad or skinny jeans on a guy. Just, no.
Focus, idiot. Calm down and focus. Stay the course.
“Ashley, how would you like to sit in on our band practice?” I asked. Everyone in the band had given their permission.
“How did I not know you were in a band?” She tilted her head, looking intrigued. “Oooh, do you play guitar?”
“I do. It’s just a thing me and my friends do for fun.” Few kids at school knew we had a band since it was mostly a way to spend time together now that we each had busy high school schedules, work, and activities. But we also hadn’t talked much without Trey hanging around. “This invitation is just for you. The band didn’t approve anyone else.”
“Sorry, Trey.” Ashley shrugged before smiling up at me. “I’d love to. Have I ever told you I’ve always wanted to date a guitar player? There’s just something so hot about it.”
I grinned at Trey. “Awesome. I’ll text you my address, Ashley.”
“Like I want to go hear your crappy band,” Trey mumbled.
“I have to run to class.” Ashley gave me another quick hug. “I’ll see you later. Come on, Trey.”
I watched Trey snap to it, obeying her command like a well-trained puppy. Not that I thought much of Trey, but why would anyone accept a friendship like that? I shrugged since it wasn’t my problem. Nope, my problem, thankfully a small one, was the party.
Although, if being stuck going to a party was my worst problem, then I really couldn’t complain. I’d worked for months on my plan. While step one, to get Ashley to notice me, wasn’t my end goal, it was a necessary one. I just hadn’t figured it would mean I’d be stuck with Trey, too. The guy was like a leech.
And he hated me. Considering that I trusted Trey about as much as I’d trust an opposing player with our playbook, I’d have to watch my back at the party. Which was why I wanted my friends there with me. Between my friends and me, we could handle whatever Trey threw at me.
The other issue was that the “no parents” part of the evening was problematic. I thought about not telling my mom for about a nanosecond. Not even. My parents and I had a good relationship, and it came down to mutual respect.
So, I’d tell her, and hopefully, she’d trust me enough to know I wouldn’t do anything stupid. And if someone at the party did—like Trey or one of his friends—I’d leave. It was as simple as that. What could go wrong?
There was also no point in letting it take up space in my head, seeing as how it was only Monday. Nope. I was taking this week a day at a time. I focused on getting good grades in my classes, so when lacrosse practice started, I was ready to be the student-athlete I needed to be.
I was still juggling a lot of plans—more than I’d planned when I’d started this whole thing. I felt a lot like Cary Grant in The Philadelphia Story, one of Tessa’s all-time favorite movies. Oh, yeah, the ultimate guy, working a plan to win the girl seemingly out of reach forever.
21
Spencer
“I know I already asked, but with how bad I messed up last time, I just want to make sure.” I looked around my garage at the people I trusted the most. We’d been through a lot together. I knew I could count on any one of them if I had a problem. A trust I’d taken for granted at our last practice. “Is everyone sure they’re cool with Ashley sitting in to listen today? Because I have no problem uninviting her if someone has second thoughts.”
Yes, I’d made sure to check with everyone first, but after the way I’d messed up at our last practice, you bet I was double and triple checking with everyone.
“Dude, it’s cool,” Mikey said.
Rhys simply gave me a thumbs-up.
Tessa looked at me and shrugged like it was no big deal. Hmmm.
It was a big deal. In the two years the band had been together, we’d never invited anyone to a practice. It was another iron-clad rule, just like the phone rule. In the beginning, it was because we didn’t want anyone to hear us until we’d gotten good. Until we’d jelled together as a band. Which we had. But the closed sessions kept us focused and able to get more practice in with our limited time.
We were breaking that rule today.
“Cody? You haven’t said anything.” I cleared my throat, knowing this was a pretty big deal. “Are you cool with this?”
“I don’t know. It’s a pretty big ask.” Cody paused, glancing down at his shoes before meeting my eyes again. “I might need some reciprocity. Like, if you get me a date with your sister. That would make me cool with just about anything.”
“Cody!” We all groaned and then grabbed up the closest thing on hand and threw them at him. Empty water bottles, paper, CD cases, and tennis balls flew at him.
“Ouch, ow, oof, ow.” Cody tried to deflect it all while covering his head and laughing. “Kidding! I’m kidding. I don’t care who comes to our practice.”
“Are you sure you aren’t just worried that Ashley won’t like the band?” Tessa asked.
I was pretty confident about our talent. But every step in a romance was a risk, wasn’t it? Big risk, big reward. But then the devil on my shoulder whispered, You’re making mistakes left and right these days. Are you sure about this next step? There might be no going back.
The truth was, I wasn’t sure. At all. So I made an executive decision and put a moratorium on over-thinking it. In fact, no more thinking for the rest of practice. What’s done was done. Just rocking out with my friends. Shutting out the world while we escaped into our music. The only difference was today I had invited Ashley.
“We have fun, if that counts,” Cody said from behind the drum set.
“In my book,” Tessa said. “That’s everything.”
“Are we still doing our original songs? With Ashley here?” Mikey asked. “Not sure how impressive they’ll be.”
“It’s up to you guys,” I said. “We could play our stronger songs if you want.”
“If you’re nervous about how we sound, it’s too late. Ashley will be here any moment.” Cody shrugged. “You can’t put lipstick on a pig.”
Tessa coughed and looked pointedly at me. “It seems to be working for Spencer.”
Oh, sure. Of course, all the guys laughed. I had a feeling if they knew my real goal, everyone one of the guys would have been as serious as a heart attack. They’d know the girl was worth the effort I was putting in.
“Give me a break. Girls and guys have been trying to make themselves more attractive to each other since before fire was discovered.” I twanged an angry chord on my guitar for emphasis. “So, I’m trying to get a girl’s attention, and you’re acting like the world can’t handle it.”
“Haven’t you heard the theory that when you drop a small pebble in the water, it creates a huge wave on the other side of the world?” Rhys asked. “You’re creating waves that are rocking all of our boats.”
“How do you know I dropped the pebble?” I countered.
“Oh, you totally dropped the pebble in our previously smooth waters,” Mikey said.
“I think he just called you a boat-rocker,” Rhys said.
“A boat-rocker? I’ll take it.” I grinned, jutting out my chin. “Hale-storm, the boat-rocker.” It was very appropriate.
“Hey, Spence,” Cody said quietly, pulling
me off to the side. “Are you worried about Ashley seeing your house? You know—we don’t live like she does.”
“It’s not a problem. But thanks for thinking of it, bud.” Cody may not be book smart, but the guy was an emotional savant.
“Here’s Ashley,” Mikey said, as she pulled up to the house in her bright-red sports car. “Everybody be cool.”
“Hey, Ashley, come on in.” I walked over and gave her a hug as she entered the garage. “I think you know everyone. Cody, Mikey, Rhys, and Tessa, of course.”
“Yes. Hi, everyone. Thanks for letting me sit in.” She smiled sweetly at everyone. “I didn’t even know you all had a band until Spencer mentioned it today.”
Story of my life, right? First lacrosse and now the band. It felt like we were living in some secret parallel universe from the rest of the kids at school.
“Just so you know, you’re the first person ever invited to our practices,” Cody said.
“Oh, my gosh. Well, aren’t I special?” Ashley giggled and flashed her long lashes at me.
“Come sit on the couch.” I led her over to the monstrously large purple couch we’d nicknamed Barney. “Can I get you a water before we start?”
“That would be great.”
I grabbed out a water from the fridge and handed it to her before moving over to pick up my guitar.
“We’ve each been working on songwriting, Ashley.” I looked around at the band. “Who wants to throw themselves in the volcano first?”
“Sure. I’ll take the leap,” Cody said, scooting out from behind his drum set and holding his hand out to me to borrow my guitar. “This one took me all summer to write, so I hope you love it. I call it ‘Ode to Pie.’ Here goes.
“Blueberry, cherry, apple pie
They’re all tasty, my oh my
Pumpkin, plum, fruity pies
They make me crazy
Oooh oooh
Golden crusts
Glistening fruit
Gooey insides
Ice cream on the side
Pie for dinner
Pie for lunch
Pie in the oven
Take it out
It’s ready.”
With the last twang of the strings, the garage busted out with applause and whistles—everyone except Ashley.
Ashley sat frozen in her seat, looking like Cody had turned into the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters.
Which, sure, Cody’s song wasn’t to everyone’s taste. He didn’t have a great voice, which was why he played drums, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t awesome. It was so very Cody. We exchanged a fist-bump when he handed my guitar back.
“So fun, Code-ster!” Tessa’s smile was wide. “I loved every bite of that song. You can never have too much pie, right?”
“On that note . . .” Rhys cleared his throat. “I might as well go next because, quite by coincidence, I also wrote a song called ‘Ode to Pi.’”
“Wait, what?” Tessa said. “Did you two work together?”
“No, which you’ll see right away. Here’s my love song to Pi.” Rhys accompanied himself on his electric keyboard, and his song was more like spoken poetry than actual singing.
“Pi is the perfect number.
The 3.14ness of it
Speaks to me—so loud.
No Pi, no circles.
No Pi, no radius.
Pi makes the earth go round
In that 3.14ish way only it can.
Pi brings the round to the party.”
I released a loud two-fingered whistle to show my appreciation. We all clapped, enjoying the fun of both of the pie/Pi songs.
“Oh, my.” Ashley blinked a few times before giving a polite golf clap. “I guess you really like math.”
“That’s our Rhys. Fun stuff, both of you,” I said.
“Okay, let me get mine over with,” Mikey said. “I wrote this after Melody broke up with me on Saturday. It’s titled ‘You’re the Three-Car-Pile-Up Accident on the Freeway of my Heart.’
“I was cruising down the strip
In my Ford sedan
You were standing on the corner
Holding out your hand.
I pulled over
Let you in
To my car and my heart
You steered us down the road
Until you crashed them both.”
“That gets me right here, Mikey.” Cody hit his chest with his fist. “Sorry about the breakup, though.”
“I’m over it,” he said. “Almost.”
“Let’s go, Tess,” Cody prodded. “No bowing out this time. You’re up.”
Tessa had a pretty singing voice. Similar to Colbie Caillat, but she’d totally deny it since she swore her own voice was too nasally. It wasn’t.
“Fine. Here’s a verse of the song I’ve been working on. I don’t have a title yet.” Tessa adjusted her guitar and began.
“I’m wearing my boots
And my heart on my sleeve
They’ve both been walked on hard.
But that only shows
That I’ve traveled the road
And I’ve reaped, and I’ve sowed
And I’m asking you now
Please . . . don’t leave.”
Rhys nodded his approval. “T-Swift better watch her back.”
Maybe. It had a soft country with an edge kind of sound to it. Not bad for her first try at writing.
“Oh, stop.” Tessa made a face at Rhys and then laughed. “Whatever.”
“I liked what you did with the guitar at the end,” Mikey said.
“Thanks. Now, let’s move on to the last victim,” Tessa said. “Spencer?”
Right. Without a word, I positioned my fingers for the first chord on the third fret, and I took my turn. I’d admit it sounded like it could have been an Andy Grammer song, but he was one of my music idols, so it made sense.
“The sky’s the limit, the sky’s the goal.
The sky’s wedged deep, so deep in my soul.
The sky is open, the sky is blue.
The sky is blind to what I’m telling you.
Star-studded in the darkest hours
Twinkles of hope that we have the power
To change.”
“Wow, Spencer. That was great!” Ashley beamed a thousand-watt smile at me. “Really great. I had no idea you were so talented. You’re almost as good as Justin Bieber!”
“Um, thanks?” I assumed she meant that as a compliment. I darted a quick glance at Tessa, who was giving Ashley a side-eye before turning to me with a simple nod of approval.
“How about a couple of real songs,” Cody suggested. “That might be more fun for Ashley.”
“Great idea.”
We played some rock classics. AC/DC, Queen, and more before we broke practice.
“This was amazing,” Ashley said. “I’d love to come back another time. Maybe just hear you play next time, Spencer.”
“Oh, sure.” I walked her to the opening of the garage and then waved as she got in her car and drove off.
“That wasn’t too painful.” Cody clapped me on the back. “And now she thinks you’re a rock god. I’m out. Mikey, can I get a ride?”
“Sure thing. Tessa?”
“Nope. I’m walking. Thanks, though.” She gave them a wave on their way out.
“Hey, Tessa, can I ask you something before you leave?”
“Sure.” She set her guitar on the stand in the corner before turning to give me her attention. “What’s up?”
“I heard you were going to Trey’s party with Brian,” I said.
“Nope.” Tessa shook her head. “Brian and I are not going to work. We were a one-date wonder.”
“Sorry.” I ran my gaze over her face to see how upset she was. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, not really. It turns out we don’t have much in common. And he . . .” She hesitated, like she was deciding whether or not to say more. “Just nothing. I’m fine.”
�
��Good. That’s good.” I shoved my hands into the front pockets of my jeans and rocked back on my heels. “You want to go to the party with me?”
“I-I thought you were going with Ashley?
“Well, yeah, I’m meeting her there, but I think she’s trying to use Trey to make me jealous, so I was thinking making Ashley jealous might not be a bad thing. Maybe she’ll stop when she gets a taste of it herself.” Again, this was one of those moves I wish I could have talked over with Cody. This move might backfire, but I was getting impatient. I was hoping this extra little push might get things moving faster.
“So, you and I would be on a fake-date at the party?” She squinted her eyes up at me like I’d asked her to walk with me into a fire swamp without a map.
“Exactly.” Possibly a crazy idea, yet definitely not the craziest idea I’d had recently.
“Heck, it’s your life. Sure, I’ll go. I’m warning you right now, though, if I hate it, I’m leaving early, but I’ll go.”
“Great. It’s a date.”
“No, it’s a fake-date.” She shook her head at me. “It’s fascinating watching the crazy things a guy will do for love.”
She had me there. I was definitely doing crazy things for love.
22
Tessa
“Hey, Tessa.” Spencer leaned his shoulder next to my locker while I was exchanging books between classes. “I’ve been getting some strange looks around school today. Any idea what that’s about?”
I bit my lip while I tried to decide how he would react to the PR campaign's latest evolution.
“Are you feeling okay?” he asked, reaching out to check my forehead.
“Excuse me?” I pulled back, slamming my locker closed. “Why would you think I’m sick?”
“I can’t remember the last time I saw you in one of your cool dresses. Levis and a plain blue sweater seems like a cry for help from you.”
My Totally Off-Limits Best Friend: A YA Sweet Romance (Sweet Mountain High, Year 2: A Sweet YA Romance Series) Page 10
