“Shannon’s always been like that,” Mrs. Cooper said.
“I wish she didn’t have to feel like putting on a brave face. It makes it much harder to know when to help her. She just wants to carry all her burdens on her own.”
“You’ve been the best thing to ever happen to Shannon. I don’t know what she’d do without you.”
“I hope we never find out. I plan on being there for her even if I have to be on the other side of the country.”
If only there was a way to bring Shannon with me to California.
On Monday, the school was buzzing with the news that Shannon and I were an item. For the most part, the girls with the autographs had backed off. Most of them already had their autographs at this point anyway. Some of the more hopeful, persistent girls didn’t seem to care whether Shannon was my girlfriend or not. The fact that they thought they could convince me to choose them over Shannon was laughable.
Last night she’d looked like a dream come true in the dress I’d bought for her. It hugged her in all the right places and showed off enough skin to be tantalizing, but covered enough to still be classy. She’d paired it with tan heels that made her long legs look even longer. It had truly been a magical night. I felt like the prince and the fairy godmother all rolled into one for Shannon.
When school let out for the day, I pushed open the front doors to the school to head out to my car. Today I’d parked near the front. Tabby was sitting on one of the stone benches that sat in front of the school.
“Ryker! I’ve been looking for you,” she said, scrambling to her feet, smoothing down her already smooth, jet-black hair.
“What’s up, Tabby?”
“I had kind of a weird question, and I was wondering if you could help me answer it. It’s part of a social experiment I’m conducting.”
“Sure. I mean, I’ll do my best. What’s your question?”
“Am I a good kisser?”
I blinked at her in confusion. “I wouldn’t know the answer to that question, Tabby. I don’t know why you think I would.”
In a flash, before I could react, Tabby’s candy-apple red lips were on mine. She reached up and around my neck, keeping me pinned to her face as she went in again. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to pry her off of me physically, but I was beginning to contemplate it.
“Ryker!” Shannon’s voice startled me, and Tabby finally pulled her mouth away. I twisted to see the shock and horror etched on Shannon’s face. She dashed back into the school, disappearing from sight.
“Shannon.” I tried to follow her, but Tabby still had a tight grip around my neck, almost like a headlock. “Let go of me, Tabby.”
She dropped her hands and said, “What’s your issue? I’m just having some fun.”
I pushed past her and headed into the building to find which way Shannon had gone. Instead, I slammed right into Austin.
He looked furious. “Why were you kissing my girlfriend just now?”
“How should I know? She’s nuts. She just grabbed my face and kissed me.”
Austin scoffed. “Did you just make that up? That’s not even a believable lie. You’re lucky Mr. Klaton wasn’t here to see your little public display of affection. He’s been handing out detentions all year to people kissing on campus.”
I didn’t have time for Austin and his delusional self-righteous monologues. “Which way did Shannon go?” I asked instead of trying to defend myself again.
“How should I know?” Austin said. “It’s not my job to keep track of her.”
He wasn’t helping anything. I dashed down the hall but couldn’t see Shannon anywhere. I blew out a frustrated sigh. Maybe she just drove home. I decided to check the back parking lot and pushed open the crash bar on the double doors at the end of a long hallway lined with lockers. I stepped outside and took a sharp left to head to the area where Shannon had parked this morning.
I spotted Tabby again, crouched in the bushes. She had her hand between two bushes like she was looking for something. She brought her hand back, and it was full of a wad of rolled-up cash. My heart pounded. What was Tabby up to? I started jogging in her direction, but she turned and disappeared between two cars. Then a short, squat man with a camera around his neck stepped from the bushes.
“Hey!” I called to him. Had he paid Tabby to kiss me so he could get a picture of it for the tabloids? “You there!”
The man looked in my direction and took off running at full speed. I was a fast runner, but not fast enough. A black sedan pulled up, and he climbed inside before I could ask him any questions.
I found Shannon sitting in her car, her eyes puffy and red from crying. I knocked on her window, and she rolled it down. “What do you want, Ryker?”
“Can I get in?”
She narrowed her eyes at me like I was poisoned but then nodded.
I rounded the car to the passenger side and climbed inside. “You saw what Tabby did to me, didn’t you?”
“Why, Ryker? Tabby? Really? She’s horrible.” Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she dabbed at them with a tissue that looked like it had been through a war zone.
“I can explain.”
“I’m sure you have some sort of fancy explanation. And then I’ll believe you and fall for it all over again.”
“I don’t have a fancy explanation. It’s a lame one. Because what happened was very stupid and lame.”
“Well, we can both agree with that.”
I explained the situation to her, ending with what I saw in the bushes with the paparazzi guy.
“That is the most ridiculous story I’ve ever heard. You expect me to believe that?”
“Have I ever lied to you before?”
“Well, there was that one time when it was my birthday, and you didn’t tell me my house was full of about fifty people. And you know I don’t like crowds.”
“That doesn’t count.”
“Then . . . no.”
“Tabby did it for the money. And, by the looks of it, she was handsomely paid for her efforts. They couldn't even get her to do it for free.”
“Why would the media go through all that trouble of getting a picture of someone else kissing you?” Shannon asked.
“Because then it looks more scandalous. I guess the fact that you’re my next-door neighbor and someone I’ve been best friends with for the past ten years was too stable and boring for them.”
“So they’re trying to make it look like you’re cheating on me. Or maybe you’re this guy who jumps from woman to woman.”
“Or both,” I said, thinking of Austin boasting about jumping from girl to girl while he was still dating Shannon.
“Look,” Shannon said, pointing out her window.
Across the parking lot, we spotted Tabby arguing with Austin. He was waving his arms around to make his points. I was really glad we had the windows rolled up, so we weren’t able to hear what they were saying. It didn’t look like it sounded pleasant. Maybe all of Austin’s mistreatment of women was coming back to finally catch up with him.
“Did he see her kissing you?” she asked.
“Yeah. I told him the truth, but he didn’t believe me.”
“Of course not. Because cheaters expect everyone else to be cheaters like them.”
“And liars, too,” I said.
“Part of me actually feels kind of sorry for him,” Shannon admitted.
“Why?” I scowled. I didn’t feel one ounce of pity for the guy. He’d had it coming to him for a long time.
“Because I know what it feels like to be cheated on. You feel so worthless and rejected.”
“Is that how you felt just now when I found you crying in the car?” I asked.
She nodded, fresh tears springing in her eyes.
“Oh, come here, Shannon. You are anything but worthless and rejected. You are priceless and so very wanted.”
“Thank you, Ryker,” she whispered.
I was such a fool to ever think I would be able to protect Shan
non from the paparazzi. It seemed that the harder I tried to keep her safe, the harder they tried to destroy everything I’d ever wanted with Shannon.
14
Shannon
“I have a surprise for you,” Ryker told me Thursday night. He showed up at Toppings right as I was helping to close up the shop for the night. So far we’d been checking the news for the story about the cheating, but strangely we hadn’t seen anything about it.
“What’s the surprise?” I asked.
“I just got off the phone with Mr. Christopher. He feels terrible about how targeted you’ve been by the paparazzi. Especially since he was the one who encouraged me to tell you how I felt about you.”
“He was?” I would have to thank the guy someday. If I ever got the chance to meet him again.
“So he decided to fly the two of us out to California. There’s a charity ball he wants me to attend with him and Gabi. He’s arranged for a hotel suite for us and everything.”
“That sounds nice,” I said. “I’ll just have to make sure my mom’s okay with that.”
“I already asked her, and she said yes.”
I gaped at him. “When do we leave?”
“That’s the thing. You’re going to need to find someone to cover your shifts here at Toppings. We leave tomorrow after school.”
“I can cover her shifts,” Jessica piped up. I hadn’t even realized she’d been eavesdropping. “I’m trying to pick up some extra cash anyway.”
“Well, there you go,” I said.
“I can’t believe I finally get to go to California,” I said.
“I knew you really wanted to go, and I may or may not have mentioned it to Mr. Christopher,” I said with a wink.
I stood on tiptoe and planted a kiss on Ryker’s lips. “You really are an incredible boyfriend.”
“Oh, so I’ve finally earned the boyfriend status?”
“Duh. You’ve had that status for a while now.”
“Glad to have that explained to me.”
“Cut the snark,” I said, elbowing Ryker.
I hurried home and threw together a weekend getaway bag. I’d never been on a weekend getaway on a plane before. We’d only ever driven to nearby campgrounds over the years. Once in a while, we would camp at the beach near the North Carolina coast. But this trip was an entirely new experience. I was giddy, and my expectations were sky-high.
When I opened my closet to find a dress for the charity event, I was a little stumped. My dress from junior prom had a tear in the hem from when I’d stepped on it in my heels and ripped it. There was no way I could show up to a Hollywood red carpet event in a torn dress. Especially with the vultures swarming, nitpicking everything I did. A month ago, I would have told someone that I didn’t care anything about what someone thought about my appearance. All I cared about was writing my fan fiction with Ryker. But now I realized how important appearances were for Ryker’s career. And now, as his girlfriend, I was a big part of his image.
I texted Ryker and asked him if he thought the blue dress would work for the charity ball. He responded with a cryptic text about how I didn’t need to worry about my dress because it was already taken care of.
My mom and Ryker’s dad checked us out of school early so we could make it to the airport in Charlotte in time for our flight. When we got onto our flight, we were guided to seats in the front of the plane.
“Mr. Christopher said he spared no expense for this trip. He even got us first-class seats.”
“This is unreal,” I said when the flight attendant brought me a drink.
Ryker smiled. “Just wait. This is only the beginning.”
I settled in next to Ryker and burrowed against his shoulder. I didn’t wake until we landed in Los Angeles. I looked out the window and stared at California. I couldn’t believe I was finally there after so many years of dreaming about what it would be like.
After we got our bags, we were picked up by a limo Mr. Christopher had sent over for us. I’d never been inside a limo before. I snuggled next to Ryker in the back, gawking out the window as we drove through the streets lined with palm trees. The limo driver pulled up to a gorgeous hotel surrounded by tropical potted plants. My head spun at the opulence of everything around me. It seemed backwards that we were in Hollywood, the land of the paparazzi, and we hadn’t encountered a single member of that group. Sweet Mountain was such a tiny place compared to LA. With it so flooded with the media, it was almost impossible to catch a moment’s breath without them documenting it.
We got the key cards to our room and took the elevator up to the ninth floor. As we climbed the floors, Ryker leaned over and kissed me. When we got to our room, I was blown away by how gorgeous it was. The large living room had a view of the city below, thanks to an entire wall of windows. Both sides of the room had a door that led to a private bedroom.
“Your mom only agreed to let you go on the trip if we had a hotel room with separate bedrooms. Either that or two different hotel rooms.”
I laughed. That sounded like Mom. She did realize that we were in a different state and could do whatever we wanted, didn’t she? Not that I was planning on doing anything sketchy. “Which room do you want?” I asked, wandering into the room to the left.
“I think this room is yours,” Ryker called from the bedroom to the right of the living room.
“What makes you say that?” I asked, wandering into the room. A white box sat on the bed. It reminded me of the box my blue dress had been in.
“Is this what you meant by saying my dress situation was taken care of?” I asked as I opened the box.
“Yep.”
Champagne satin sat nestled among the tissue paper. I took it out and held it up by the spaghetti straps. The dress was simple but elegant. It draped along the neckline and fell to the ground, and a slit ran up one side of the dress.
“This is stunning.” It looked like it would hug my body. I held it up to myself and turned to look at my reflection in the full-length mirror. “It looks good with my skin tone.” I’d never touched such an expensive-looking dress, let alone worn one, and now this dress was mine. How could I ever hope to deserve any of this? I could never pay them back.
We spent all morning Saturday as tourists, exploring Hollywood. That afternoon Ryker had an appointment with a reporter or someone who wanted to interview him. The limo driver dropped him off, and then he took me to a salon that was recommended by Mr. Christopher. The stylist I was seeing had several clients who were celebrities. I got my hair and makeup done, and the limo arrived with Ryker to take us back to the hotel so I could put on the dress, and Ryker could change into his tux.
I slipped into my dress, my curls cascading down my back. I looked at my reflection in the full-length mirror in my gigantic gilded bathroom. I hardly recognized myself. My skin and hair looked perfectly sculpted, my lips red and sultry in contrast to the champagne satin. The dress was a perfect fit. What had happened to the girl who lived in anime t-shirts and sweatpants? After one final glance in the mirror, I stepped out of the bathroom.
Ryker emerged from his room and stopped in his tracks when he saw me. “Whoa. You look . . . flawless.”
I smiled shyly. “Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself.” It was true. Ryker looked mouth-wateringly good in his tux.
He gave me his arm, and we headed from our rooms to the elevator. Outside the lobby, a limo waited for us at the valet stand. We climbed inside.
“This is all so surreal,” I said, looking out the window at the darkening city.
“I know what you mean. Who would have thought that we’d be here? We were the kids who were too poor to even go to Starbucks.”
“I can’t even think about how much this dress cost,” I said.
“Mr. Christopher insisted on getting it for you.”
“I’m just afraid I’m going to spill a drink on it or something.”
“You won’t,” Ryker said.
The limo pulled up behind a line of cars and limos,
letting passengers out at the red carpet. I could see up ahead a crowd of roped-off reporters lining either side of the red walkway. Nervous jitters fluttered in my belly. I’d only tried to get away from the paparazzi, and now we were walking knowingly into the biggest crowd of them yet.
Ryker took my hand and squeezed. “You’re going to be just fine. You don’t have to talk to any of them. Just smile and wave.”
The air suddenly felt scarce in the limo. I fanned my face with my hands to get some airflow without rolling down a window. Before I was ready, the limo pulled up.
“Ready?” Ryker asked.
“It’s now or never, right?”
He opened the door and stepped out first. Immediately, the crowd of reporters went insane. I could see Ryker waving from where I still sat in the limo, and I could imagine the smile he was giving them all. The guy sure knew how to lay on the charm.
He turned around and grabbed my hand, helping me out of the limo. Just smile. Don’t think about what they’re doing. I stretched a smile across my face and tried to keep from squinting in the blinding flashes that never seemed to stop.
“Ryker White? Is that you?” A busty blonde with a plunging neckline wrapped her arm around his, sidling right up next to him. “We have been dying to meet you.”
A fiery redhead wedged herself between Ryker and me. Why hadn’t I reached back out to take his arm after I got out of the limo? I didn’t realize I’d have to stake my claim on my man. I could feel my smile beginning to strain.
“You haven’t even started filming yet, and you’re already on fire.” The redhead caressed his bicep as she smiled flirtatiously at him. “Are you busy after this?”
“Why are you asking?” Ryker said.
“Because you look like you could use some fun,” the blonde said.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m already taken tonight.”
“Maybe another time,” the redhead purred.
“Probably not. I’m with Shannon, actually.” He stepped away from the girls and offered me his arm. I took it gratefully.
My Best Friend Prince Charming: A Sweet YA Romance (Sweet Mountain High Book 6) Page 9
