After forgiving me, he’d heard my stomach growl and insisted we make brunch since we couldn’t go out for it. Never being one to turn down food, my dad actually agreed to it. He even helped! The three of us pulled a hodgepodge of ingredients from the fridge and pantry and went to work.
Not being experts in the kitchen we let Lucas take the lead. He doled out instructions and we did our best to assist. We made chocolate chip pancakes topped with Fruitloops, green olive and left-over lo mein omelets, and bacon drizzled in peanut butter! The concoctions were absurd, but somehow they tasted amazing.
Lucas assured us it was the best brunch selection he’d ever tasted. I didn’t believe him, but I appreciated his enthusiasm.
By the time we were done, the kitchen was a mess, but our stomachs were full, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d laughed that much. Surprisingly, my dad’s mood had turned around too and that spoke volumes. He was always a stickler with his players, but Lucas had won him over with his cooking. I loved that my dad was showing off his softer side—something he usually reserved just for me.
My heart needed this after the way today had started. It was stressful fighting with my dad and the boy I loved.
Loved!?
Was I seriously contemplating love after the morning I’d just had? Only a few hours ago I’d been terrified to let Lucas in my house, and now here I was thinking how nice it was to have him in my messy kitchen.
Maybe it was love.
How else could I explain how much I was enjoying doing the dishes? Just having my hands in the same soapy water as Lucas was making my heart flutter.
“Have you kids got this under control?” my dad asked.
“We’ve got it, Coach,” Lucas answered dunking a pan into the dish water.
“Alright. I’ve got some work to catch up on. Behave yourselves.”
I turned to roll my eyes at him, but his smile stopped me. When was the last time I’d seen him smile like that? Before I could contemplate it, he gave me a nod of approval and headed down the hall to his home office.
Once my dad was out of the kitchen I turned to Lucas. “My dad likes you.”
“Really? How can you tell?”
“Well, for one he tried that omelet.”
Lucas laughed. “Hey! You said it was good,” he added bumping me with his hip.
I bumped him back. “It wasn’t.”
He flicked dishwater at me, spraying me with suds. I did the same and before we knew it both of us were laughing and covered in water. I nearly slipped lunging for the hose attachment on the sink. Luckily, Lucas’s catcher reflexes kicked in and he caught me before I ended up on my butt.
“I got ya,” he murmured, his arms circling my waist.
My breath hitched as his intense blue eyes locked on mine. “Thanks,” I said breathlessly.
“I’ll always catch you, Casey.”
My heart pounded as I reached up and brushed the suds from his hair. “Good,” I whispered as I let my fingers slowly trace his jaw line. “Because it’s safe to say I’m falling for you.”
Lucas’s lips pulled into a mesmerizing smile right before they collided with mine.
I was so lost in our kiss that I didn’t hear the doorbell ring at first, but I eventually came up for air long enough to excuse myself and answer the front door.
I smoothed my soaked dress before opening the door and nearly shrieked when Archer’s face greeted me.
“Beeler!” His voice cut through my euphoria like a knife! “You got a little something on your dress,” he teased pointing to the sopping remnants of my dish soap fight.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed.
“I figured you’d ditched your date by now, so—”
“What’s going on?” Lucas asked walking into the living room behind me.
Archer’s eyes darted between Lucas and me. “Oh, sorry. My bad.”
Lucas removed the dishtowel from his shoulder and glared at me. “No, it’s apparently my bad. I didn’t realize my date had run into your next one.”
“No, Lucas!” But he was already halfway out the door.
I chased after him, barefoot and drenched in dish water. I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to let another misunderstanding ruin our chances.
“Wait,” I yelled, finally catching him in my front yard.
But when he turned to me, I could tell I was already too late.
Hurt hardened his features. “Why, so you can tell me again that there’s nothing going on between you two?” Lucas snapped, jerking a finger toward Archer who was stomping toward us like an overprotective pit bull.
“There isn’t anything going on between me and Archer!”
Lucas huffed a bitter laugh. “I can’t believe I actually bought it. I mean I get it. He’s the star quarterback and, I’m me, but you didn’t have to lie to me, Casey.”
“I’m not lying!”
“Yo, back off her,” Archer snarled, finally reaching us. I watched in horror as he advanced on Lucas who bowed up, giving me flashbacks of that awful night with the reporter.
“Stop it!” I yelled getting between the two boys who were puffing out their chests. “I don’t need your help, Archer.”
“Kinda seems like you do since this douche nozzle thinks it’s okay to yell at a girl.”
“I wasn’t yelling,” Lucas yelled, doing more to prove Archer’s point than his own.
I rolled my eyes and shoved between them again, trying to block Archer so Lucas would look at me. I realized I probably looked like a mouse blocking a Buick, but I’d never let my size stop me before.
“Lucas, you’re overreacting,” I said as calmly as possible. “There’s nothing going on between Archer and me. Tell him, Archer,” I pleaded, sure that he’d help me clear this up, but when I looked back at Archer, the football star was shrinking like a violet!
He backed away and grabbed the back of his neck, looking at the ground.
“Archer!” I demanded. “Tell Lucas why you’re here.”
Archer met my eyes. “You made me a promise, Beeler.”
I threw my hands up. “Omigod! Just tell him the truth, Archer!”
But the stubborn quarterback stayed silent.
I marched over to him. “If you think I’m going to help you after you chase away the first guy I’ve ever liked you’ve got another thing coming, buddy!”
“Maybe you need better taste in guys.”
“Excuse me?”
Archer jerked his chin toward my driveway. “Doesn’t look like anything I could say’s gonna change his mind.”
I turned around just in time to hear Lucas’s truck engine roar to life. I sprinted to the driver’s side and knocked on the window. Lucas rolled it down, but his eyes remained fixed on the windshield.
“Lucas, please don’t leave like this. You don’t understand—”
“You’re right, I don’t.”
“I’m starting to feel like a broken record. Archer is just my friend.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“What does that mean?”
He looked at me, his eyes flashing like blue flames. “It means three’s a crowd, Casey. Maybe there’s nothing going on with you two yet, but there’s only one reason a guy like him hangs around with a girl like you.”
Anger sliced through me stealing my composure. “And what about you? Is that the only reason you’re hanging around with me? To get some?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“No, you didn’t have to. You made it perfectly clear that no one would ever want to be just friends with me.”
“Casey . . .”
Regret stained his cheeks, but I didn’t care. I crossed my arms trying to control my anger. “I think you should go.”
Lucas clenched his jaw looking like he was fighting his own anger to keep his words in. In the end, his willpower won and he backed out of my driveway without another word.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Casey
The next
few weeks of school were the worst of my life. Lucas avoided me like the plague and after the boy drama on my front lawn, I was back on bad terms with my dad.
Of course, the Tattler had caught wind of that story and ran with it.
Trojan Tattler:
Seems someone craves the spotlight. News flash, Red. This isn’t the 90s. No one needs to see guys fighting over a girl.
I couldn’t deal.
It wasn’t so much the gossip or not being able to enjoy my dream-come-true softball team, it was the pain of loss that wrecked me.
I know how stupid it sounds to say I’d lost Lucas considering I’d never really had him. But in those few moments we’d spent together I’d seen how great we could be and that was hard to let go of.
I wasn’t fantasizing about some romanticized reality either. It was the real moments I craved. The quiet simple things that built a life. I’d let myself picture lazy movie nights on the couch, cooking meals at my house, slow dancing in the kitchen to nothing but the staccato rhythm of our hearts.
I’d let myself imagine how wonderful it would all be and now that I had, I couldn’t stop wanting it. I didn’t know if this was how it always felt to shoot for love and miss, or if I suffered the pain more sharply because I knew how a hole like that could swallow you up if you weren’t careful.
I supposed losing my mom made me extra sensitive. She’d left a permanent hole in my life that in one way or another I was always looking to fill—with sports, friends, hobbies and, for a moment, Lucas. And that’s what hurt the most. Of all the people I’d let in, Lucas was the only one who truly felt like he fit.
That stupid brunch he’d cooked for me and my dad made me feel like I was normal. For that one fleeting meal I was part of a big, loud, messy family again. I could tell my dad felt it, too. I hadn’t seen him smile like that in ages.
But thanks to how that day ended, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be seeing my dad’s smile again any time soon.
He’d kept his word and found us a softball coach, helped me order equipment and work out a schedule so the girls’ team could use the field and weight room, but if it wasn’t softball related, he didn’t have much to say to me.
Didn’t he know I was just as disappointed as he was that things with Lucas didn’t work out? But what could I do?
It wasn’t my fault that Lucas had a jealous streak and didn’t want to believe that I liked him over Archer. I tried to tell myself if the roles were reversed and Lexy Bale kept showing up around Lucas that it wouldn’t bother me. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I had a jealous streak, too.
Maybe I should’ve been more understanding. But when Lucas said the only reason a boy would ever talk to me was because they thought they could score, it had really stung. Especially since it made me rethink Lucas’s intentions. I’d thought he’d liked me for me, but how could I ever really know?
It was true my stupid viral video and Tattler attention had definitely put me on the map at Northwood. I was getting noticed in the halls and it wasn’t for starting a softball team. The catcalls and Tattler gossip were starting to chip away at my confidence.
I felt like I was losing myself lately. And losing Lucas was just one more casualty.
After Lucas ditched me, I’d worn nothing but dresses to school hoping to show him what he was missing. Petty, I know, but my pride was wounded.
My new style was meant to do more than make Lucas jealous. I wanted to prove that I wouldn’t be pigeonholed. I could play softball, wear dresses, and be friends with anyone I wanted—and not just because they wanted to hook up with me.
But it turned out, Lucas was right. It was glaringly obvious that people weren’t coming up to talk to me because they actually were interested in getting to know me. It was the Tattler gossip and my enticing new look that drew people in. And that was not the kind of attention I wanted. It just made me feel petty and fake. Even my pretty new wardrobe felt forced.
Eventually, I caved, going back to my usual tomboy attire. But the thing that I really wanted to go back to normal was my relationship with Lucas. I wished I could go back in time and start over so I could have another chance with him and figure out how to not make a mess this time.
When did life become so complicated?
“Earth to Casey,” Alex said pulling me from my thoughts.
“Sorry, what were you saying?”
“Marissa was asking if we decided on uniforms yet?” Alex said drawing my focus to the smiling Texan sitting next to me on the locker room bench.
“Oh. Not yet.”
“I thought you said we needed to order them this week,” Veronica interjected.
“We do,” Alex added.
“Then we better get after it, y’all,” Marissa said, her twangy southern drawl showing.
“Sorry, I’ll bring the catalog in tomorrow and we can look at options before practice.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Alex asked looking at me with concern.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You do look a tad bit unwell,” Marissa added. “You might be coming down with somethin’.”
“Not unless it’s the broken heart flu,” Veronica added.
I rolled my eyes at her. As much as I hadn’t been excited about having a member of Lexy’s fan club on the team, Veronica turned out to be quite an athlete. Even Marissa was pretty good. And we needed every one of them since half the girls who signed up had dropped out once they found out how tough training was.
“Are you still pining for Lucas?” Marissa asked.
“I’m sorry guys. I know I’ve been distracted,” I muttered, shoving my sweaty clothes into my duffle bag.
“Breakups are the worst,” Marissa continued. “My last heartbreak sent me into a three-week black hole of Netflix and ice cream.” She shivered. “I still can’t even look at a pint of Cherry Garcia without thinking of him.”
Veronica’s eyebrows rose. “What guy was dumb enough to pee in your Cheerios?”
“He shall not be named,” Marissa replied. “But it’s safe to say there’s a stiletto-shaped dent in his pickup truck.”
Even I managed a laugh picturing prissy little Marissa kicking in some poor guy’s truck. The twins were right—don’t mess with Texas!
Marissa put her perfectly manicured hand over mine. “As my mama would say, darlin’, sometimes you just gotta put on your big girl panties and move on.”
“Yeah, no guy is worth you being this bummed out,” one of the twins added.
“But what if he is?” I asked glumly.
“Listen,” Alex said picking up my bag with her own. “You know I was rooting for you two, but if Lucas can’t see that he’s missing out on someone as awesome as you, it’s his loss.”
“Exactly,” Marissa chimed in. “Just do you, Casey. What’s meant to be will be. But you can’t hide. You gotta put yourself back out there so your vibe can attract your tribe.”
“Yeah, this sad sack version of you isn’t a good look,” Alex agreed, giving me a hip bump as we filed out of the locker room.
I smirked bumping her back, leaning into her when she slung her arm over my shoulders. I knew my friends were laying on the tough love because I needed it. I’d been in a funk for weeks.
It was time I got my groove back—with or without Lucas Hargrove.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Lexy
“I still don’t get it,” I muttered as I scowled at Casey’s lunch table over my salad. “Why is everyone still team Casey after all the Tattler posts?”
“Just because she got nominated on the homecoming court doesn’t mean she’s going to beat you,” Emily said.
I turned my glare on the dimwit next to me. “I know that, Emily!”
“Is it really that big a deal?” Veronica asked as she sipped her chocolate milk.
“Are you seriously asking me that? I’m always homecoming queen! I’ve won the past two years and I’m not giving up the junior year crown to some tom
boy just because she discovered how to wear a dress!” I narrowed my eyes at the Judas in our midst. “Whose side are you on anyway, Veronica?”
“Not this again,” Veronica muttered rolling her eyes. “I told you, being on the softball team is the best way to get the dirt you want.”
“You keep saying that, but so far you haven’t delivered anything.”
“What can I say?” Veronica replied. “Casey’s not that interesting. All she does is mope over Lucas Hargrove.”
“She hasn’t mentioned Archer again?” I asked.
Veronica shook her head.
I stabbed my salad with ferocity. “Well, I don’t like it.”
I would never admit it, but I was becoming increasingly jealous of the tenacious redhead. I’d caught Casey talking to Archer twice since he supposedly needed her help with ‘sports stuff’. He said it was nothing when I asked him about it, but I didn’t believe him. I saw the glances they exchanged when they thought I wasn’t looking.
Something was going on.
It didn’t help that no matter how many tips I sent into the Tattler, nothing seemed to tarnish Casey’s reputation. If anything, it made her more popular with the boys!
It seemed starting a softball team had shot her to sainthood among Northwood’s female population. Casey’s tomboy army had rallied enough popularity points to put her on the homecoming court.
I swear, if I lost my guy and my crown to Casey Beeler . . .
No! I wouldn’t even think it!
I slammed the lid back on my barely touched salad. “Voting starts next week, ladies. We can’t let Casey even be a consideration.”
“What do you want us to do?” Jillian asked.
“Your jobs!” I snarled. “It’s time to take down that scarlet harlot!”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Lucas
“So, what are you gonna do?” Grant asked as we made our way through the busy halls, dodging students as they hurried to their next class. “The deadline to reply to Columbia is this week, right?”
Tomboys Don't Wear Pink: How To Date A Tomboy Page 12
