Kissing The Hero (The Dangers of Dating a Diva Book 2)

by Christina Benjamin

  Maybe I should call Lola again. Our conversation had gone really well last night. She’d been open to my apology and she made me feel like Layne might be, too. It certainly helped knowing I wouldn’t have the added battle of winning my dream girl’s best friend over anymore.

  With how well things had gone with my dad and Lola, I’d let myself believe things would work out with Layne, too. But I was starting to lose confidence. The more time that went by without talking to her, the worse I felt. I told myself I deserved it.

  Knowing I’d hurt Layne made me feel like rubbish and I made sure to let that feeling sink in. If I memorized it maybe I’d remember never to do something so stupid again.

  As it was, I felt like the Tin Man, wandering around without a heart.

  I knew where it was. It was with Layne. It had been for quite a while now. The only question that remained was if she’d keep holding onto it for me, or if she’d hand it back smashed into a thousand tiny pieces.

  I knew I deserved the latter, but that didn’t keep me from hoping. Layne had taught me to dream and it was a bloody difficult thing to turn off.

  I bounced my good leg under my desk as I watched the second hand count down to dismissal. Finally, I was free! I crutched out of the school and fired up Scarlet. I tapped the dashboard twice for good luck before pulling out of the parking lot.

  I swung by Layne’s house on my way home. I didn’t really have a plan. All I knew was that I needed to see her. But as I pulled up to her house, my hands began to sweat. This was it—do or die time.

  I felt like a man walking to his execution as I trudged up the steps to her porch, but I was ready to face her. I knew she’d be mad, and I deserved whatever scolding she gave me. All I was hoping for was a moment to apologize when that was all over.

  I needed to tell her how sorry I was, and of all the endless feelings I had for her in my heart. I hoped she’d return them, but I wasn’t sure. I might have ruined it. But still, she deserved some groveling at least.

  I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. No answer. I tried again, but still nothing.

  I picked up my phone and sent a text. It went unread. I dialed her number. The faint sound of her Mason Jar Hart ringtone could be heard coming from inside the house.

  So, she was in there. She just didn’t want to see me.

  I flexed my jaw. There had to be a way to get her to open up.

  I hobbled down to her front yard, staring up at her window. The blinds were drawn shut. I leaned my crutches against her porch and threaded my fingers together, resting them atop my head while I tried to decide what to do. There had to be a way to make her hear me out.

  I’d never been so frustrated in my life. I realized I’d dug this grave myself, but I wasn’t ready to lie down yet. Layne was worth fighting for. But I needed her to let me fight.

  She was shutting me out completely and I didn’t know how to combat that.

  Normally, she was so easy to talk to. We communicated effortlessly on every level. Especially music.

  That’s it!

  Music!

  It’s what started this whole thing. It’s how I’d fallen for her and how our relationship had grown so rapidly without me even realizing it. Music had the ability to reach people in a deeper way than words, especially people like me and Layne. And her music . . . well, it had changed my life.

  The way it spoke to me was nothing short of magic.

  With any luck there was enough magic left to set things right.

  Now that I knew exactly what I needed to do, I got to work. I hurried back up onto the porch and knocked on the other front door. A moment later, Robby appeared. He gave me a mischievous grin when he saw me. “Oooo, you’re in trouble.”

  My eyes widened. “She told you?”

  He nodded. “Layne said you’re a big jerk face and you’re not allowed to come to breakfast anymore.”

  This was even worse than I thought. But I wouldn’t be deterred. “She’s right. I did something stupid, but I’m on a top-secret mission to fix it. Will you help me?”

  Robby crossed his scrawny arms and leaned back against the doorframe. “What’s in it for me?”

  “Do you still want to ride in my car?”

  His eyes got huge. “For real?”

  “If you help me, I’ll drive you to school.”

  “For a week,” he challenged.

  “Deal!”

  We shook on it and he grinned. “Okay, what’s our mission?”

  “First, do you have a pair of walkie-talkies?”

  “Duh!” Robby replied.

  I smirked. “Great. We’re gonna need them.”

  A few minutes later I was back in Scarlet, walkie-talkie in hand as I raced home to put the next part of my plan in motion. I screeched into my driveway and crutched my way inside. Thankfully my dad was home. When he saw me, his expression warmed. “Hey, Wyatt. How’d it go with that girl of yours?”

  “That kind of depends on you.”

  His eyebrows rose. “Oh?”

  “I need a favor.”

  A few hours later I was back on Layne’s street. It was grand gesture time. I still didn’t know if it was going to work, but if I pulled this off, at least I’d know I tried everything.

  I pulled up to the curb and looked at the time on my dashboard. In fifteen minutes, I’d have my answer. I turned on the walkie-talkie tuning it to the agreed upon channel. “Breaker. Breaker. I’m in position. You ready, Robby?”

  The walkie-talkie crackled in my hand before Robby’s voice filled my car. “Use our code names.”

  I sighed but didn’t want to waste time arguing. “This is Halo. I’m in position. Are you ready T-Rex?”

  “T-Rex is ready to execute the plan,” Robby announced. It sounded like he was eating the walkie-talkie. He must’ve had his mouth pressed right up against it, because I could hear him breathing. It was creepy!

  But when you had to rely on a little kid’s help to win back your girl, you had to take what you could get. “Okay, T-Rex. Radio silence until I give you the signal.”

  I got out of my car and took one last look at Layne’s closed window, then I checked the time again. I only had one shot at this. I just prayed it would work.

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Layne

  I awoke to the sound of footsteps outside my bedroom. I didn’t even remember falling asleep. What I did recall was peeking through my living room window after school to see Wyatt’s car outside my house. I’d promptly dissolved into a puddle of tears and retreated to my room to drown my sorrows in bed with another movie.

  I must’ve fallen asleep.

  Now, the fading light of sunset was filtering into my room through the cracks in my blinds. What time was it? I glanced at my alarm clock. Almost eight. Great. I’d probably never be able to go back to sleep now.

  The creak of the floorboards in the hall drew my attention again. Who was out there?

  My mom shouldn’t be home already. She was working a double. I tensed as my doorknob jiggled.

  In a panic, I swept my room looking for some sort of weapon to defend myself. When I came up empty, I leapt off my bed and hid in my closet, cursing myself as I realized I’d just become the victim in every horror movie I’d ever watched.

  I held my breath as my door creaked open. I heard the intruder take a few tentative steps into my room and then the crackle of radio static broke the silence. “Halo, this is T-Rex. Princess is not in the tower. I repeat, Princess is not in the tower.”

  “She has to be,” said a voice on the other end of the radio.

  I immediately flung my closet door open, glaring at my nosy neighbor. “Robby! What do you think you’re doing?”

  He jumped when he saw me then quickly spoke into a walkie-talkie. “Uh oh! Mission compromised!”

  He tossed the walkie-talkie at me and darted from my room. I tried catching it but missed. It sailed past me and landed somewhere in my closet, but I opted to leave it and chase after Robby ins
tead. By the time I made it to the hall, Robby was already hightailing it down the stairs.

  “For the last time, Robby, you’re not allowed in my room!” I yelled, as he thundered toward the first floor.

  “Sorry, but it was important,” he yelled back.

  I leaned over the railing scowling at him as he looked up at me from the landing. “What’s important?”

  “Just listen, okay?”

  “To what?” But Robby was already darting out my front door.

  I heard his front door bang shut and rolled my eyes. I did not have the patience for his pranks today. Sighing I turned to head back to my bedroom, but the crackle of radio static stopped me in my tracks.

  That’s when I remembered the stupid walkie-talkie he’d thrown at me. Well, he wasn’t getting it back, that was for sure. Gritting my teeth, I stomped back to my bedroom, going straight to my closet to find it. I was going to turn it off and hide it from him. It would serve him right for scaring me half to death by sneaking into my room.

  I flicked the light on in my closet, cringing at the mess. I really needed to be better organized. How was I supposed to find a walkie-talkie in this disaster? There were piles of clothes and shoes everywhere. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack. But I knew if I didn’t at least look for it, I’d probably be listening to Robby and his little friends pretending to be secret agents all night.

  Luckily, the sound of radio static that suddenly filled my closet gave me a clue where to start searching. I followed the sound to the back corner, reaching around in a pile of my shoes. But before I could find the walkie-talkie, the sound of Wyatt’s voice crackled through it, spearing my heart.

  “Layne, I don’t know if you’re listening to this, but I really hope you are.”

  My heartbeat picked up speed and so did my search as I frantically tore my closet apart looking for the walkie-talkie. I needed to find it and turn it off now! I couldn’t listen to Wyatt’s remorseful voice a moment longer. It was tearing at my ruined heart.

  I knew if I had to listen to him apologize that I’d forgive him and take him back. That’s why I’d been avoiding him. I knew one look in those gorgeous green eyes, and I’d be sunk. And as much as I’d wanted to drown in those deep pools of emerald green, I refused to let myself.

  Wyatt had hurt me. And I deserved better.

  His voice crackled through my closet again. “I might have screwed everything up between us and I know you probably won’t give me another chance. I don’t blame you. But I won’t screw this up. I won’t let you down when it comes to your music. It means too much. You mean too much to me, Layne. So anyway, even if you never speak to me again, I just wanted to do this one last thing for you.” He exhaled wearily. “I may have ruined my dreams, but I can still make yours come true.”

  I dug through my closet in a frenzy. Where the heck was that stupid walkie-talkie? I was shaking as I tried to hold back the tears. Finally, my trembling hands closed around something cool and hard.

  Success!

  I pulled the walkie-talkie from my messy closet, fumbling with the dials as I tried to figure out how to turn it off. But before I could, the sound of another voice came through. I recognized it as the DJ from a local radio station.

  “We don’t get a lot of these requests,” he said, “But I’m always a sucker for romance. So, Layne if you’re out there listening, Wyatt wants to dedicate this next song to you. He says you’ll know what it means.”

  The first chord of my song carried across the radio waves and my heart stopped. My whole body began to shake, and I let the walkie-talkie slip from my hand as the words—my words—flowed through me.

  I was listening to my song!

  On. The. Radio.

  I couldn’t believe it! How had he done this? It was the most thoughtful, incredible, meaningful thing I could’ve ever imagined.

  Wyatt had done this? For me?

  As if pulled by a magnet, I walked over to my bedroom window and opened it. I was glad my bed was directly behind me because after what I saw, there was no way I could remain standing.

  Wyatt stood in my yard, a massive boombox held above his head as he leaned against his car, playing my song for the whole world to hear.

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Wyatt

  My arms began to ache, but I channeled my inner Lloyd Dobler and held strong, lifting the heavy boombox higher. I wasn’t leaving this yard until Layne came out here. Even if it was just to yell at me. She had to hear her song on the radio, and I had to see her face. I had to know I’d at least done something right in the midst of all this wrong.

  I saw her curtains sway, and then the blinds flicked open. Layne’s silhouette filled her bedroom window giving me all the strength I’d ever need. I could hold this stupid boombox forever if I knew she was watching.

  But just as quickly as she appeared, she disappeared, taking my strength with her.

  For a moment, I let my heart hold out hope that maybe she’d left the window because she was rushing down the stairs and into my arms—like what should’ve happened in Say Anything. But just like the movie, I found myself standing out in the cold, alone.

  I looked up at the boombox. The song would be over soon. Then what would I do? I hadn’t really thought past this moment. I’d been sure this would work. She was supposed to come outside.

  How could she not? I was playing our song.

  Well, technically it was her song, but as I listened to the words, I realized that I’d begun thinking of it as ours. The lyrics might as well have been telling our story. They were all about taking leaps of faith, falling in love, making it work against all odds, and not giving up, no matter what obstacles got in the way.

  This had to work!

  I turned up the volume and began to sing along with the chorus. “I am bent, bent, bent, not broken!”

  I closed my eyes, praying for a miracle as I continued to belt out the song.

  The sudden feeling of a hand on my chest startled my eyes open. I had to work hard to remember how to breathe because Layne was standing there, right in front of me, tears filling her beautiful brown eyes.

  “Layne?” I whispered, afraid to believe my eyes.

  I set the boombox down, quickly preparing to launch into my apology before I missed my chance. But I couldn’t seem to remember what I was going to say. My heart was beating so fast I couldn’t breathe, and I was certain my stomach would never untangle from the cyclone of knots it was twisting in.

  “Wyatt . . .” Layne said, her voice full of trepidation.

  Panic seized me. I couldn’t let her speak first. I couldn’t give her the chance to tell me it was over before I got to tell her how I really felt.

  My fear finally dislodged my voice. I took Layne’s hands in mine, not even trying to stop my trembling. “Layne, I’m so sorry. I was wrong, about everything. You . . . you are everything, Layne. I need you in my life. I need you more than I’ve ever needed anyone or anything and that terrifies me.”

  Her eyes softened, and I clung to that sliver of hope.

  “You asked me once what my hopes and dreams were. And I didn’t have an answer for you.”

  She nodded. “I remember.”

  “Well, I know why now.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “It was because I didn’t have any. I was too afraid to let myself dream, but you changed all of that, Layne. You taught me to face my fears. And my biggest fear has always been needing someone.” I took a deep breath. “That someone is you, Layne. And it kills me that I realized it too late and it kills me even more that I had to hurt you to figure it out.” I placed her hands on my chest and took a tentative step closer, knowing this could be the last time she ever let me hold her. I inhaled her scent as I let my arms circle around her waist pulling her against me. “Please,” I whispered, my forehead resting against hers. “Please, tell me I haven’t broken this.”

  Layne looked up at me, her eyes shining. “Wyatt, you really hurt me.”

  I cl
osed my eyes, feeling the tears slip out. “I know.”

  “But you also taught me just how far I can bend without being broken.”

  My eyes snapped open, taking in her encouraging expression as she quoted her song. I was afraid to believe my ears. “S-so, you don’t hate me?” I whispered.

  The faintest smile tugged at her lips as she shook her head. “I want to, but I don’t think that’s possible.”

  “It’s not?”

  “No,” she sighed like she’d never been so exhausted in her life, but her smile only grew. “Love always trumps hate.”

  “Love?” My eyes widened and I pulled back, needing to see her face. “Did you just say you love me?”

  Layne nodded, her grin spreading into a breathtaking smile. “Now, shut up and kiss me.”

  She didn’t have to ask me twice. I pulled her against me as my lips crashed against hers. And even though I wanted to savor this moment forever, there was nothing slow and tender about this kiss. Our lips were making up for lost time.

  I lifted Layne off her feet, crushing her against me. She fit so perfectly in my arms. I never wanted to let her go. My heart felt like it was clawing out of my chest to get to hers and I had to remind myself to breathe as Layne’s lips coaxed mine to part.

  She traced her fingers along my jaw, and I forgot myself, moaning into her mouth when her fingers tangled in my hair.

  She pulled back, startled by the sound. “Sorry,” she whispered, her cheeks pinking.

  I grinned. “Don’t be.” I leaned in, gently kissing the corner of her mouth. “Don’t be sorry for anything, ever.”

  “Okay,” she said, breathlessly as she reached up to tangle her fingers in my hair again.

  I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead to hers, trying to restrain another low moan as heat blazed through me at her touch.

  “I’ve always wanted to do that,” she whispered.