by Ellis, Eliza
His hand rounded her shoulder. “You okay, Mom? You look tired.”
“Never better. Okay, gentlemen. I’ll be in the cafeteria.”
With a wave, she left, taking with her the lightness of the atmosphere. Pete glanced cautiously at his father, who busied himself with stacking sheets and pillows.
Pete thought about the phone conversation with the Warp Entertainment executive. Titus Headley hated Pete’s video games. Said they destroyed brain cells. He couldn’t understand why Pete enjoyed playing them so much or why he’d “waste his time” designing games.
It didn’t help to argue that video games did business in the billions of dollars. That kind of money didn’t exist in Titus Headley’s world. For a man who made very little money in his lifetime and pushed his son to pursue a career that would net him a comfortable living, the logic behind his father’s dismissal of video games escaped Pete.
Pete fiddled with the pile of sheets and pillows he would take to the girls’ bunks. He raked his hands through his hair and cleared his throat. “Uh, Dad? Can I talk to you about something?”
“Hmm?” His father continued to pull soap bars from a shelf in the toiletry cabinet.
“I…uh, developed this game for the phone. Cell phone. It’s an app, really.”
“What are you talking about?” Titus said gruffly.
“An application? On your cell, you have applications that allow you to do things like open internet browsers and—”
“Son, the kids are going to be here any minute, and you’re talking about internet browsers on cell phones?” He gave Pete an annoyed look.
Pete blew out a frustrated breath. “No, I’m talking about a game app I developed.”
“What about it? Haven’t I asked you not to spend so much time on those games? Have you thought about what your senior project will be for Cornell? Their computer science program is highly competitive. Or have you forgotten you only got a partial scholarship?”
Of which Dad never let the sun go down without reminding him.
“And if you’re going to get a job afterwards, you need to come up with a project that’ll get noticed.”
“Well, I have, Dad. My app—”
Titus held up a hand. “I let you pick computer science as a major, didn’t I? And I let you have a year off from school to be a bum in my home. Why can’t you meet me halfway and quit fooling around with video games?”
Someone cleared their throat, and it sounded distinctively feminine. Keke stood in the doorframe, and Pete could’ve melted into the floor. Not only did she not recognize him, but now she probably overheard his dad chastising him for staying home after graduation and playing video games. It was like being thirteen all over again—without the pimples and grasshopper legs.
He never skipped leg day in the gym.
“Uh, sorry to interrupt.” Her curious gaze rested on Pete. “I’m here to grab some stuff for the girls’ bunk?”
“It’s here.” Pete pointed to the table where he’d stacked a couple of piles of sheets and pillows.
“Take some toiletries, too.” Titus gestured to his own pile. “And welcome home, Keke. It’s good to see you again.”
Keke ducked her head shyly, or maybe meekly. “Thanks, Mr. Headley.”
Pete cocked his head to one side. He had never seen Keke act shy before. Ever. She had a confidence that drew attention to her. He’d always been impressed with how she carried herself, which made dance a perfect college major.
He grabbed one pile while Keke took the other. “I’m going there too.” He led the way out. If his father wasn’t going to listen to him, wasn’t any point in staying.
“Still playing video games?” Keke teased.
She heard. “Yup.”
“Clearly your dad thinks you should grow up.”
Pete whirled, nearly causing Keke to slam into him. “You don’t know anything about it.”
Keke took a step back, her expression startled. “No. No, I don’t.”
Pete resumed his trek to the bunk. “He doesn’t understand why it’s important to me, and I don’t get it. Why can’t he accept I’m different and be happy for me?”
“Be happy that you want to play video games all day?”
Pete groaned loudly. “That’s not even accurate.”
“Did I hear him, correctly? You got into Cornell?” Keke hurried to match his pace. She stared at him with astonishment. “Petey, that’s incredible! Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” he mumbled. He’d rather be congratulated on getting a meeting with Warp Entertainment.
Warp Entertainment was a rapidly growing game company that rivaled the major ones that had already cornered the market on strategy fantasy games and first-person shooters. Warp wanted to dominate the gaming world only played on phones. A ton of apps existed, but nothing that had the sophistication of Warp’s. A lot of their storylines focused on space exploration, and Pete had been an avid Star Trek fan since conception.
And they valued talent over degrees.
“Petey?”
“Argh, I can’t believe you remembered.”
“How could I forget your name?”
“Not my name Keighly.”
“Nickname, whatever.”
“Unofficially. You’re the only one who calls me that.”
“You’re not excited, Petey? Cornell’s an Ivy League school.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“You know how many people don’t get accepted? I’d frame that letter if I was you.”
“I only got a partial scholarship. You got a full ride to your school.”
Keke nodded. “Yeah, I did, but it wasn’t Ivy League. It wasn’t even one of the top twenty dance programs in the nation. But yeah, it was a full ride, and it got me out of this place.” She looked around like she’d been transported onto an alien planet.
He knew the feeling.
Pete stared at Keke’s lovely, heart-shaped face. “I want out, too.”
“Don’t blame you. There’s nothing in this town. It’s so small and…small.”
“My dad wants me to go to school so I can come back here and, I dunno, start some firm and help keep this camp alive.”
Her brows came together. “Is the camp in trouble?”
Pete halted in the doorway.
A girl with thick, blonde hair cascading over her shoulders bent over a bed, smoothing out the wrinkles in the sheets.
Lea…
Chapter 3
“Would you get out of the way, Petey?” Keke shoved past him, making him drop a few toiletries onto the floor.
Pete fumbled with his pillows and blankets, opting to put them on a nearby bed before picking up the toiletries. He rose from the floor, Keke’s Cheshire cat grin making his neck heat.
“Mmm-hmm,” she said.
He didn’t have to be smart to guess her thoughts. He had always turned into an awkward, clumsy mute around a pretty girl.
Pete cautiously glanced at the blonde while fumbling with the toiletries. He cursed his crippling shyness.
“Hi! I’m Lea.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and presented a massive grin.
Pete was in love.
Or whatever defined the really warm, squishy feeling inside that had him wishing this girl would never stop smiling at him. “Uh, yeah, I’m…I’m…”
“This is Petey,” Keke said, giving him a “you’re so weird” look. “And I’m Keke.”
Pete shot Keke a scowl at using his nickname.
Lea shook Keke’s hand first and then faced Pete. Her grin widened. “Petey? That’s so adorable. I love it.”
And he didn’t hate it anymore.
“Are you the Headleys’ son?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Why did he have to sound like a moron? He got into Cornell, for crying out loud.
“Well, it’s really nice to meet you.” Lea took his hand and shook it once. “I’m really grateful that your parents gave me this job last minute. I thought I
was going to head off into a summer fellowship right before the fall semester, but it got pushed a couple of weeks. I figured it’s probably a good idea to work while I wait.”
“Yeah, uh, that’s smart.”
Yeah, uh, you sound dumb. Pete grunted and began putting the sheets and pillows on the empty beds.
“Are you a freshman?” Keke asked.
“Uh-huh. I am. I’m so excited.”
She did a little hop that reminded Pete of the cute baby bunnies he’d sometimes see in the backyard—whenever he actually looked away from a computer screen and out a window.
“What are you studying?” Keke asked.
“Biology. Marine biology, actually. I love all things animals but especially those that live in water. Since we really don’t have any significant bodies of water around here, the forest is the next best place to experience nature.”
“Or an aquarium,” Keke mumbled.
Lea blinked. “I’m sorry?”
Pete recognized Keke’s fake smile. “Nothing. Glad you could join us.”
“You’ve worked here before?”
Keke nodded. “I was a counselor my junior and senior years in high school.”
“Are you a freshman too?” Lea asked, her hands clasped in front of her chest.
Keke laughed. “No. I just graduated with a double major in theater and dance.” She lifted her chin.
“That’s right.” Pete finally found his voice. “I had heard you graduated. Congratulations. Wow, double major.” He kept his eyes on her face. “That’s impressive.” He meant her as well, but he suppressed the thought. She was still—and always would be—out of his league.
Lea’s gaze volleyed between Pete and Keke. “Oh, so you two know each other?”
“Uh, not really,” Pete supplied, hoping to end it there.
“He’s like my kid brother,” Keke said at the same time.
Pete looked pointedly at Keke, whose eyes widened as if apologizing for making him lose a few cool points in front of the new girl. He felt a weird twist in his gut as the words ‘kid brother’ reverberated in his head.
“Well, it’s really nice to meet the both of you. I promised Mrs. Headley I would help her out in the cafeteria. Do you mind finishing up here?”
“Sure. No worries,” Keke said with a syrupy voice.
“Thanks!” Lea turned to Pete, her lashes dipping low. “Nice to meet you, Petey.”
After she left, Pete threw a pillow at Keke’s head, making contact. “My name is not Petey,” he hissed.
Keke laughed heartily. “It is to me.”
“It’s Peter or Pete. I won’t respond to anything else.”
“Who said I would be calling you? And that’s not at all true.”
She stalked toward him like a beautiful cheetah, graceful yet dangerous. Her wicked grin caused sweat to break out on his forehead.
“If Lea said ‘Petey, please,’ you would come running. Admit it.”
Pete rolled his eyes. “I would not.” He’d walk casually; not run.
“Why didn’t you talk to her more? She seemed…”
“Nice,” Pete finished for her. “Nice is the word you’re looking for.”
Keke’s top lip curled up to one side. “Eh. She’s got cheerleader written all over her.”
“You’re a dancer! How’s that any different?”
“Two totally different things! Dancing is respectable.”
“Oh, and cheering isn’t?” He grinned. “Keke, you’re a snob.”
Keke crossed her arms. “Do you know how much professional cheerleaders earn? Barely anything. They all have full-time jobs. That’s why it’s not respectable.”
“Games aren’t played year-round,” Pete countered. “You expect them to earn a salary like a teacher?”
“And I’m not a snob, Mr. Mute.”
“I couldn’t talk with you hogging the conversation,” Pete muttered.
A deeply gross-sounding snort came from Keke. “I was hogging the conversation? We both know you lose all verbal skills when talking to a beautiful woman.”
Pete dropped onto one of the beds and rested back on his arms. “I’m having no trouble talking to you.”
Keke’s mouth dropped open slightly before she snapped her jaw shut. She smoothed the hair up to her already perfect dancer’s bun that sat on top of her head. Her signature look. She turned her back on him.
Pete sighed. She had a point. His father didn’t bother to teach him anything more than “just talk to them.” And “who cares what you say? They won’t know.” Except some girls he wanted to approach in school weren’t just pretty, but smart. They could hold a conversation about a number of topics. So could he.
If he were talking to a teacher.
He hadn’t learned anything about confidence or how to get over the fear of rejection. Had his father ever known rejection in his life?
Keke groaned. “Okay, okay, you don’t have to pull my arm.” She shook her arm dramatically.
Pete’s head snapped back. “I’m not even touching you.”
Keke rotated around in dramatic fashion. “I’ll do it.”
“You’ll do…what?”
“I’ll teach you,” she said simply, yet with a devious smile.
Fear crept up his spine. He didn’t want to ask. “Teach me…what?”
Keke’s head fell back. “You’re so clueless. Just like a guy.”
Her confident gaze held his as she plopped on the bed next to him. Her perfume swirled around him, drawing him into an even deeper haze. He stared directly into her hypnotic brown eyes searching for the meaning he wasn’t deciphering.
“I’ll show you how to win over girls. Any girl. That Lea. Okay? You’ll need this skill if you’re ever going to operate in the real world. Like at college, for instance.”
Any girl? He thought about the cheerleaders in high school that every dweeb like him wanted to ask to senior prom but didn’t have the guts. Lea looked like an exact match. How could he say no?
Chapter 4
Keke smiled as Pete nodded in resignation. The look on his face—both hopeful and fearful—endeared him to her…a little.
“Move,” he grunted.
Keke hopped up from the bed, bitting her lip to keep from giggling. He was embarrassed, she got that. But with her help, he’d win the girl.
Pete snapped a sheet above a bed, and his much larger biceps flexed. Despite his changed exterior, Keke still saw the same nerd who would use his fingers to clean out his ears and had to shove thick-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose every three seconds.
Wait a minute…
“Where are your glasses? How can you see?”
He stood upright, sliding easily into her personal space. His dark eyes raked her with a tired expression. Keke cringed at the unexpected shiver of pleasure his study of her had caused. Her nerves hummed from shock. Where did that come from?
Okay, so his eyes were actually kind of soulful looking—with the gravitational pull of a black hole. She had never noticed them behind those chunky glasses of his. And the longer she stared into them, the deeper the connection.
She could not have a connection with Petey Headley. She was going to set him up with the cheerleader.
And it went against the code.
“Contacts,” he said simply.
Right. Duh. Keke shook the stupid from her head. This guy was literally making her stupid, and she graduated with a near perfect grade point average.
“Still wear them sometimes. The glasses.”
“Well, you look…” Ugh, she couldn’t say it. It would be like skirting the line between right and wrong. A very, very fine line. Or in the case of a hot guy, a slippery slope. After acknowledging attraction, you’re careening down the side of a mountain into his arms followed by an avalanche of love.
She couldn’t do that to Bertie. It’d be too weird.
Or herself. She had way too much life to experience before falling in love.
Pete crosse
d his arms, his biceps growing larger with the movement. She bit the inside of her mouth to associate his good looks with pain. Eventually, she’d foam at the mouth.
His arched brow dared Keke to say the words they both knew she thought.
Like a chicken, she cleared her throat and began arranging the toiletries on a shelf across the cabin.
Pete laughed softly. “It’s okay if you can’t say it. Your eyes did all the talking earlier.”
Keke grunted. She’d forgotten about that scene in the parking lot. If she had just taken a second to look at him, she would’ve recognized him. At least, that’s what she’d been telling herself.
“Look”—she turned around—“this isn’t about me and what I think about you. This is about you learning how to get a girl. Do you want the lessons or not?”
Pete’s eyes went to the ceiling. “I know I’m going to regret it.”
“Full refund, promise.”
“Seeing how I’m not actually paying for anything… Okay. Go.”
Keke smiled. “First lesson is talking to the girl.”
Keke sauntered up to Pete, biting her lip so she wouldn’t laugh at the growing look of fear in his face or the rise of red up his neck. So cute. Ack! She could only do this if she killed her own attraction to him. She took a deep breath.
“A girl judges a guy’s confidence on how he stands and then what he says. The first few seconds are critical.” She quickly scanned his stance. “Your posture is good.”
That’s as far as she would go to say he looked great. His chest filled out his shirt too well, and his fitted jeans didn’t hide any chicken legs. More than great.
She held out her hand. “Hi! I’m Lea.” She mimicked the girl’s over-the-top, sugary voice.
Pete let out an exasperated sigh and took her hand, giving it a firm shake. “Do you have to do that?”
Keke snatched her hand back, it going to her hip. “That’s the first thing you would say?”
Pete cleared his throat and rolled his shoulders. “Sorry. Can we go again?”
