by Amy Sparling
I frown. “That might work.”
“I’ll say he was camping and he stayed for two nights and then left.”
My eyes widen. “That’s actually a good plan…we can have Clay’s cousin post more photos in Cleveland and it’ll make the fans forget about the lake.”
“Huh?” she says.
I explain how we set up the fake Wal-Mart photos, and Risha nods eagerly. “That’s brilliant. Let’s do it at other places like McDonald’s, because they’re also everywhere.”
We set up a plan, thinking of all the chain stores within an hour or two drive from here. I can’t wait to go home and tell Clay all about our plan.
“Do you think this will work?” I ask her as I’m leaving.
“You said he’s out of school, right?” she says. “He won’t be recognized if he changes his hair and stays away from groups of teenagers. Especially in this town.”
I smile. “Yeah, you’re probably right. And hopefully in a few months this whole thing will blow over.”
“Yeah, and then when the drama has died down, you have to get him to take us out on his yacht.”
“His what?”
She laughs. “Girl did you not do your research? Boy has a yacht.”
“Wow.” I guess it does make sense. He was making a lot of money from being a social media superstar. I grin as I think of the possibilities. “I’ll ask him about that.”
“Girl, he’s crazy about you,” Risha says. “He’ll do anything you want.”
“Hey,” I say, turning back to her. “I’m glad we’re friends again.”
She smiles. “Me too.”
Chapter 10
1 week later
I shift the tray of brownies over to my other hand. I didn’t wait as long as I should have for them to cool down, so now the tray is uncomfortably hot. I tap on the door of the house next to mine and wait.
Mary opens the door, her hair messy and curly around her face. “Shelby! How are you?”
“I’m good,” I say with a grin. “I brought you some brownies.”
She puts a hand to her chest. “Girl, you are an angel. Come on in. I think Clay is in the shower, but you can wait for him.”
Clay and I have a date tonight. After changing his wardrobe from trendy designer clothes, to jeans and a flannel (which happens to look really cute on him), Risha and I dyed his hair light brown, which was a big difference from his natural dark hair. Then he got it cut short and although it no longer hangs messily over his eyes like he’s some kind of sexy rock star, he’s still cute. He wears sunglasses whenever we go places and no one seems to notice him. So far, our fake Cleveland photos have been a success, and no one has come around here looking for the infamous Jonny C.
Mary takes a brownie and bites into it. “How do you make these so damn good?” she says, shaking her head.
“Secret family recipe,” I say.
She laughs. “Well, as long as I have a steady supply from you, I think I’ll survive.”
We chat about my job at the diner, and how she wants to find a job just to give her something to do.
She heaves a sigh and reaches for another brownie. “Clay told me that you had no idea who he was when you met us that first day.” She smiles. “I think it’s refreshing that some teenagers don’t live on the internet.”
I shrug. “Sometimes I wonder what I’m missing, but I like my simple life.”
She nods. “Totally. The fame and the money was fun. Well, don’t get me wrong—money is always fun—but, the fame is something else. You think you like it, and then suddenly you don’t. You realize it’s horrible and you wouldn’t wish it on your worst enemy.”
I just listen, because I have no idea how to relate to this. Mary reaches over and squeezes my arm. “You’re a special girl. Clay was so popular for so long, and he had girls lining up for miles to date him, but he never did date any of them.”
I feel weird hearing this, like I’m being let into a secret part of his life that he hasn’t shared with me yet. I guess I just assumed he’d probably had a million girlfriends.
“Really?” I say.
She nods. “Oh yeah. You’re the first girl he’s brought home. He’s different with you. He really likes you.”
“I really like him,” I admit.
She winks at me and then covers the brownies with foil. “I have to put these away or I’ll eat them all at once.”
Clay walks into the room, smelling like shampoo and boy. “Hey,” he says, grinning at me. I grin back, and probably turn totally red when he kisses me on the cheek in front of his mom. “You ready?”
“Yep,” I say.
We tell his mom goodbye and then Clay holds my hand as we walk to his car. When we get there, he stops me from opening my door. “Thank you,” he says.
“For what?” I say, looking up at him. I press my hand to his chest because I like the feel of his heartbeat, how it’s faster when he’s close to me.
“For everything you’ve done to help me look like a normal guy and not some famous YouTuber.”
“Well,” I say, sliding my finger down his chest. “Part of it was selfish, because I want to keep you all to myself.”
He kisses me, his lips taking a long time to pull away from mine. “You’ll never have to worry about that,” he says, kissing me quickly on the forehead. “I’m all yours. Every single part of me, the famous, and the un-famous. And especially the secrets.” He grins and I wrap my arms around his neck.
“Don’t worry, Clay. Your secret is safe with me.”
###
Thank you for reading My Un-Famous Neighbor! If you enjoyed the book, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads. It doesn’t even have to be long; just one sentence helps out a lot!
This has been the second book of the new First Love Shorts series by Amy Sparling. There will be 10 books total, all releasing on Fridays.
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Also by Amy Sparling
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About the Author
Amy Sparling is the author of The Summer Unplugged Series, Ella's Twisted Senior Year, Deadbeat & other awesome books for younger teens. She loves coffee, the beach, and swooning over book boyfriends.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Also by Amy Sparling
About the Author
