Don't Kiss Your Enemy (Rockford High #4)

by Victorine E. Lieske

  She was tempted to put her phone away, but it vibrated again and she was too curious not to look at it.

  Sorry, am I getting you into trouble?

  It was Cole! She turned around again to catch him texting her, but he was in the same position, his hands on the desk, his head in his algebra book. She grunted and turned back around. Maybe it was someone else in the class? She subtly tried to look around, but she didn’t see anyone on their phone.

  She scooched down in her chair and tried to look like she was paying attention while texting back.

  Yes, you are. Are you in my algebra class?

  She took another glance around before staring at Mr. Harrison and pretending that she was listening to his riveting lecture on linear relations. Again, she couldn’t see anyone with a phone, but it’s possible they were hiding theirs on their lap, like she was.

  It took a few minutes for her phone to notify her of another text. She made sure Mr. Harrison was looking at another student before she checked it.

  Maybe.

  This was very intriguing. Who was it? Probably some kid in the class as bored as she was. She wanted to know who it was. It had become a challenge now.

  I’m going to take that as a yes. Tell me your name.

  The teacher droned on as she waited for a response. And while she waited, she tried to see who might be on their phone. A couple of people caught her attention as she scrutinized the other students. One girl kept reaching under her desk for something. Another boy was digging in his book bag every so often. And she did catch one other person on their phone, but it was Nikki and she was definitely not a friend of Destiny’s. Besides, she was texting constantly and no other texts had come through. Until her phone vibrated, almost scaring her. She took a peek.

  Guess.

  Oh, that was so unfair. She tried to think of a response.

  Okay. I get to ask a few questions.

  She still thought maybe Cole was messing with her, so she waited a second before turning quickly around to see if she could catch him texting her back, but his hands were on the desk. Unfortunately, Mr. Harrison cleared his throat at her. “Miss Blake. Would you care to tell the class why you can’t seem to sit still in your chair?”

  “Sorry. I had…an itch.” She rubbed her back against the chair, and a few students laughed. Unfortunately, her phone slipped from her lap and landed with a clunk on the tile floor.

  Mr. Harrison narrowed his eyes at her. “Is that your phone?” He walked to her and held out his hand. “Give it to me.”

  She panicked. “But—”

  “Give it to me now, or you’ll get detention.” Mr. Harrison looked like he meant business. The little vein in his neck was throbbing.

  “Okay,” she said, handing him her phone. She did not want to get detention over something so stupid.

  “Thank you. I’ll give it back to you after class.”

  Amanda scooted down in her chair, embarrassment heating her entire body. She hoped the person who texted her really wasn’t in this class.

  Chapter 5

  Cole didn’t mean to get Amanda into trouble. He was just goofing off, trying to find a way to lighten things between them. He’d totally forgotten he’d purchased an alias number for his phone last year when he was getting some odd phone calls and wanted to try to figure out who they were coming from.

  As he grabbed a tray and stood in his lunch line, he thought about what he’d done. Using the alias number to text Amanda hadn’t occurred to him until she had looked like she wanted to rip his head off. He wasn’t even sure what he’d done this time to make her angry. It most likely wasn’t going to get better until after the opera house was demolished, and she had time to get over it.

  He picked up a sub sandwich and added it to his tray. He was hungry today, so he also grabbed a banana, a yogurt, and a cheesecake for dessert. Amanda walked into the cafeteria, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. She didn’t look over at him, though. Instead, she headed straight for their table and started talking with Destiny.

  It had been easy to fool Amanda. While she’d sat with her back to him, he’d slipped his phone out of his pocket and held it under the desk. After he hit send, he put his arms back up on his desk. Using the alias number always delayed the text a bit, so by the time Amanda swiveled around to look at him, he was concentrating on his algebra. Or at least, he looked like he was.

  At first, he was just messing with her. But after he chatted with her a bit, he realized talking to her anonymously might be a great way to get to know her better, without her putting up walls. At least, he could try. And if it didn’t work out, he could just stop texting her and let her be curious who it was.

  He paid for his lunch and walked over to their usual table. Amanda didn’t look at him. Figured. He set his tray down by Eli and plopped into a chair. “Hey.”

  Eli glanced at the girls, standing by their table. They had started whispering.

  “How’s it going?” Eli asked, sticking his fork into his lasagna, and smiling like he’d just won the lottery.

  “Not good.” Then he lowered his voice as well. “She’s still mad at me.” He shook his head. “I just don’t get it. It’s a stupid run-down building. Why is it so important to her?”

  “I don’t know, man.”

  “I can’t wait until this whole thing is over.” He took a bite from his sub sandwich. It kind of tasted like it had been made yesterday. The bread was chewy and the cheese a little hard. Nothing was going his way today. “So, what’s up with you? You look…happy.”

  Eli’s smile widened. “Sorry. I don’t mean to be weird. It’s just that my mom got a raise. A big one. She says we can start to look for a house.”

  “Seriously? That’s great.”

  “Yeah. And if we can find one with a big enough yard, I can have my dog back.”

  “Where is he?”

  “With my dad, in Cali.”

  “That’s awesome, man.” Cole had always wanted a dog, but his father wouldn’t let him get one. “They’re too messy,” he’d say. “They’ll scratch the hardwood and chew up the furniture.”

  The girls went to get in line. Cole got an idea. He leaned closer to Eli. “Hey, will you help me out with something?”

  “Sure.”

  “I texted Amanda anonymously to mess with her, but I think she suspects it’s me. Will you text her for me, right now, so if she looks, I can be sitting here eating and talking to you? You’ve got your back to her, so she wouldn’t be able to tell.”

  Eli got a strange look on his face. “How can you text her anonymously? Doesn’t she know your number?”

  “I used an alias number.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s like an app. It makes it look like I’m texting from a different number. Will you send something to her from me?”

  “Okay.”

  Cole pulled out his phone and unlocked it, then slid it across the table. Eli grabbed it and put it below the table. “What do you want me to say?”

  “Ask her if she thought of any questions yet.”

  Eli typed and then hit send. Then he posed as if he was listening to Cole, his hands above the table. From his vantage point, Cole could see both Eli and the girls in line. He picked up his sub sandwich and took a bite, watching the girls behind Eli.

  Amanda chatted with Destiny, but then swiveled quickly to look at him as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. She scanned the lunchroom, then showed the text to Destiny.

  “What’s she doing? Did she get it?”

  “She’s texting back. Just a second. Using the alias makes it delayed a bit.”

  Eli shoveled in the last of his lasagna and nodded. “Okay.” A few seconds later, he looked down at Cole’s phone. “She answered.”

  “What does it say?”

  Just as he suspected, both the girls started scrutinizing the people in the lunchroom. Eli grinned at him. “Are you male or female?”

  Cole chuckled and puffed out hi
s chest. “Definitely male.” He grinned and pointed. “Type that in.”

  “Will do.” Eli was quite good at typing with one hand while making it look like he was still talking to Cole.

  “Very impressive.”

  “I once texted during an entire biology lecture while sitting in the front row. The teacher never suspected.”

  Cole wasn’t sure that was a brag-worthy feat, but he nodded and chuckled, anyway. Amanda’s gaze still swept the room. Cole leaned back in his chair and wiped his face with his napkin. This was perfect. Amanda would never suspect him now.

  Amanda must have gotten the text because she and Destiny crowded around her phone. They both looked at Cole, and he gave them a little chin motion, acknowledging them. The line moved and they both grabbed trays. He didn’t think he’d get a text back anytime soon. “Okay, they’re getting food. Give me back my phone.”

  Eli slipped it back to him and he stuck it in his back pocket so Amanda could see it when he stood up. This was too easy.

  Chapter 6

  Amanda sat next to Destiny and picked up her milk carton. The secret texter was a guy. Why did that make her even more curious? After careful study, she knew it wasn’t Cole. Her secret texter sent her a message while she was watching him, and he never got his phone out. But who else could it be? Destiny denied giving out her number to anyone, and she looked genuinely shocked, so Amanda believed her. She wouldn’t lie. They’d been friends too long.

  Eli put his arm around Destiny and kissed her temple. It looked like he did it almost thoughtlessly, and it touched Amanda. He really did care about her. It was sweet.

  She opened her milk carton and took a drink while she fiddled with her phone. She had to think of something else to ask him. Something that might give her a clue. She thought of one and sent off a text.

  Are you a junior or a senior?

  She ate her lunch as she waited for the answer to come, but she got no response. Whoever it was must be busy. She looked around the lunchroom, trying to guess who it might be, but no one came to mind. Maybe because she didn’t have a goal to be popular, so she never really got to know many students. That was more Destiny’s thing. Popularity. She was more into social causes.

  Cole pointed to her sub sandwich. “Is your sub as stale as mine?”

  He seemed to be making an effort to make peace. She wasn’t the kind of person who would hate on someone if they were offering an olive branch. She picked hers up and took a bite. It had been sitting in a refrigerator, but it wasn’t gross. “It’s not bad. I mean, they never taste as good as you think they will, but it’s fresh.”

  He made a face. “I think I got a leftover one.”

  “Yuck. That sucks.”

  Eli motioned to Amanda. “What are you doing this weekend?”

  “I have the Feline Fun Run tomorrow, to raise money for the animal shelter.” This would be her third year participating. She loved that it took place in the fall when the weather was getting crisp outside. Running in the summer heat was never fun to her. Plus, the smells of fall always made her think of pumpkin pie-baking with her mother.

  “Cool,” Eli said. “What are you doing tonight? Any plans?” He gave Cole a pointed look, which Cole ignored. What was going on between them?

  “I want to go see The Paper Pirate.”

  Destiny leaned forward. “Me, too! We totally should see it together.”

  Eli pouted. “What?”

  “I mean, you can come, too, if you want,” Destiny backpedaled.

  “Sure. But what kind of movie is it, anyway? Sounds like origami. Boring.”

  Amanda couldn’t believe it. He’d never heard of the book? “Seriously? You haven’t read The Paper Pirate? It’s like the greatest fantasy novel of all time.”

  “She’s not kidding,” Destiny said. “It’s awesome. I can’t believe you’ve never heard of it.”

  “What’s it about?” Eli asked.

  “Teen gets sucked into another world, has to defeat the evil overlord that rules there. Pretty much like most other fantasy novels, only the teen in this book is like the perfect guy,” Destiny said. “And he’s played by Brandon Travers, so…” She fanned herself and Amanda laughed.

  “Hey,” Eli said, giving Destiny a dirty look. “You can’t say that right in front of me.”

  Amanda snorted. “I’m pretty sure even you know that Brandon Travers is hot.”

  “Hotter than Shawn Mendez?”

  Destiny blew out a breath and groaned. “Oh, no. Not this again.”

  “What?” Amanda didn’t know what they were talking about.

  “Eli gets jealous if I talk about famous people.” Destiny rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of a smile on her lips.

  “Talk about?” Eli said, his face incredulous. “You mean drool over, right? Why else would you pick him to spend the day with?”

  Destiny laughed. “Like I’d ever really get to spend the day with Shawn Mendes.”

  Amanda stared at them both. They were arguing, but in one of those cutesy, almost-makes-you-want-to-throw-up kind of ways. “You guys are crazy.”

  “Do you want to come to the movies with us or what?” Destiny asked Eli.

  “Yes. But no ogling Brandon Travers. I can’t stand the guy.” He wrinkled his nose, like he’d stuck his nose in a dumpster and some fresh, disgusting smell was wafting up.

  “There might be some ogling going on. I mean…look at the guy.” Amanda pulled his picture up on her phone and held it up.

  Destiny laughed and Eli just grunted. “Put that picture away. There’s a hundred hormonal girls in this room.”

  “And they’re all probably going to go see The Paper Pirate tonight,” Destiny said with a giggle hidden behind her voice.

  “Why is it called that, anyway?” Eli scowled. “Paper Pirate? What even is that?”

  “It’s because the world isn’t actually real, it’s—”

  “Wait!” Cole shouted, interrupting Destiny and raising his hand. He’d been unusually quiet during their conversation. “Don’t spoil it. What if I go see it? I don’t want to know the ending.”

  “You’re right,” Destiny said. “I won’t give it away. Just know, there’s a good reason it’s called that.”

  Eli nudged Cole. “Come with us. We could all go, you know, as a group.”

  As a group? Like what they were supposed to do for the dance? Amanda couldn’t help herself. She frowned. “Like that worked so well last time,” she said under her breath as she picked up her milk.

  “The guys can sit together,” Destiny said, looping her arm through Amanda’s. “That way we can ogle all we want, and they can eat all the popcorn.”

  How did she get roped into going to the movies with them? She wasn’t sure exactly how that happened, but she nodded. “All right.”

  “Great,” Eli said. “We can meet at the theater at six.”

  Amanda saw a look exchanged between Eli and Destiny, and knew tonight was going to be a setup. She just hoped Cole could handle an evening without being a jerk.

  Chapter 7

  What was Eli trying to do? It was obvious Amanda knew the whole movie thing was a setup. He could see it on her face. She wasn’t fooled. Cole climbed into his car and tossed his backpack in the passenger seat. At least it was Friday, and he had the weekend to try to figure out how to set things right with her.

  He pulled his phone out of his backpack. He hadn’t had a chance to answer her question yet. The rest of his classes had been too involved, and he would have gotten caught. But he sent her a quick text now.

  Junior. But that’s all the questions you get.

  As he drove home, his phone alerted him to two more texts. He was dying to see what they said, but he didn’t check them as he drove. He didn’t want to get into an accident. But as soon as he pulled into his driveway and cut the engine, he grabbed his phone to look.

  What? No fair. How am I supposed to guess? How do I even know you go to my school?

  Cole smile
d as he replied.

  Knowing I got you into trouble in algebra wasn’t enough?

  Could have been a lucky guess.

  He tried to think of something that would prove he went to Rockford High.

  The mascot is an eagle.

  She sent him a frowny emoji. Anyone could look that up.

  What if I tell you what you were wearing today?

  She didn’t answer for a few seconds, and he panicked. I’m sorry. That came out way creepier than I meant it. Geesh. I really am not a stalker.

  Are you sure? Because my mom owns a gun.

  You are totally bluffing right now, aren’t you? Because from what I’ve seen, you’re a pacifist. You wouldn’t hurt a fly. He stopped there because if he mentioned anything specific, she would begin to suspect him again, and he couldn’t have that.

  She took a minute to reply.

  You must know me better than I know you. I can’t decide if that’s creepy or endearing.

  Please choose endearing. Cole paused, not sure if he should type the next thing he was thinking or not. Finally, after waffling, he did it quickly and sent it off before he could change his mind. I’ve had a crush on you for a while now.

  And you won’t tell me who you are? Another frowny emoji accompanied that question.

  He took in a deep breath. He did want to tell her, but then the whole thing would be ruined. He sighed and answered her. I’m nervous.

  Fair enough. I’d probably be nervous, too.

  Maybe we can just…talk for a little while?

  Cole hoped that didn’t sound too desperate.

  Sure. If we get to know each other better, maybe you’ll feel more comfortable opening up to me.

  That sounded like a good plan to him.

  Okay, he typed as he got out of his car. He walked through the garage and entered the house. He punched in the security code into the system so an alarm wouldn’t go off. They lived in the only gated community in Rockford, but his father was a bit paranoid about security, so they had extra precautions.

  Oh, man. I can’t go into my bedroom. Amanda sent him a crying emoji.