Dare You to Resist the Bull Rider (Rock Valley High Book 4)

by Lacy Andersen

  Immediately, the tension went out of the guy’s face. A little line appeared between his eyebrows as his eyes darted back to mine. “You’re Ray Black’s daughter?”

  Despite my surprise that anyone outside of my dad’s circle of nerdy lawyer friends knew his name, I stood a little taller and nodded sharply. “Yep. I’m Lexi Black.”

  “Ray’s a nice guy.” He pursed his lips in thought. “My dad said he’s a bulldog when it comes to negotiations. He’s very protective of your school.”

  Pride pumped through my body like a shot of hot chocolate. I smirked at the boy who still stood in my way and then placed my hands on my hips. “Sounds like my dad. So, as you can see, we belong here. If you’d kindly step out of my way, I’d like to join the rest of the party. If not, you might just find that my dad passed down his bulldog traits to his daughter.”

  His lips twitched as he stared at me a moment longer. Humor danced in his eyes that were so blue it was like looking up at the sky on a summer’s day. With a final nod of his head, he stepped aside.

  “My bad. We had a bunch of paparazzi sneaking around when we were filming in LA and I guess I’m being a little too paranoid. Please, go on ahead.”

  “Paparazzi in Rock Valley?” Beth snorted loudly beside me. “Yeah, that’ll be the day pigs fly.”

  He shrugged and then leaned back on the wall, as if he didn’t care if we believed him. I couldn’t help but be fascinated by how he could go from an insanely intense bouncer to someone so disinterested in everything around him. The way he shoved his hands in his pockets and found the shadows again was almost ninja-like.

  He said his dad was involved in the negotiations for the film, but maybe he was also a part of the crew. My heart skipped at the thought of running into him on set. He was definitely cute. And I kind of liked that he wasn’t afraid of standing up for the cast. I stared at him for a moment longer, until he looked up from the floor and his blue gaze met mine once again, sending an electric bolt straight down my spine.

  “Lexi, is that her?” Charlotte poked me in the side, dragging my attention away from the nameless brooding boy in the shadows. “Is that the Alanis chick you were talking about?”

  Sure enough, Alanis Nori was straight ahead, sucking down a red colored drink with a couple guys. Her hair was stacked high on her head in a thick braid and she had gold feathers attached to her false lashes She looked even grander than the profile picture on her website. I couldn’t help but hyperventilate in excitement.

  “Oh my gosh, that’s her. I have to talk to her. I have to convince her to let me on her squad,” I said, dragging my fingertips down my face in despair. This was everything. It was my only chance in the dinky town of Rock Valley to get my name out there in the makeup industry. “How do I look, guys?”

  “Like you just walked out of a Sephora,” Charlotte said, grinning. “You look great.”

  I glanced expectantly at Beth and Hunter, but they could only enthusiastically nod in agreement. Hunter, I could forgive for knowing absolutely nothing about makeup. But Beth...her lack of knowledge about anything girly kept me up at night.

  “Right. I’m going in.” I swallowed down my nerves and took a step toward Alanis. “It’s now or never.”

  My tunnel vision of Alanis must’ve blinded me to the waiter making a second round with the tray of shrimp cocktails, because the next step I took caused a collision of epic proportions. Shrimp went flying into the air. Cocktail sauce splashed in every direction. I did my best to try and catch the tray before it crashed to the floor, but there was a reason a girl like me didn’t do sports. When it was all said and done, the floor was littered with shrimp and I had to help the grumbling waiter up off the floor.

  “I’m so, so sorry,” I said, snatching up a few of the cocktail glasses that hadn’t broken on impact. “That was all my fault.”

  “It’s fine.” He brushed my hands away from the broken glass. “Just leave it. The last thing I need is to be blamed for maiming one of the actresses. I’ll go get a broom and a towel.”

  I wrung my hands together as the waiter ran off, not bothering to correct him. We’d been here five minutes and I’d already been mistaken for the paparazzi and an actress. It wasn’t the worse thing in the world. Now, if only I could be mistaken for someone with an amazing potential to help with the makeup on set.

  “Did you guys see where Alanis went?” I asked, looking up to find my target missing. She’d disappeared into the crowd faster than a cat with its tail on fire. “Please tell me she didn’t see that wreck. I have to say sorry to her.”

  “Um...maybe you should go to the bathroom first, Lex.” Beth gently pulled on my arm and then pointed to my shirt. Dread danced in her eyes. “I think...I think you might have gotten hit by friendly fire.”

  The moment my eyes took in the red cocktail stain on my mom’s Prada blouse, my knees nearly buckled. I grabbed onto Beth’s arms, glancing around desperately for a napkin.

  “No, no, no, no. My mom’s going to kill me. Murder me. Have me publicly executed.”

  Hunter shrugged, holding a broken cocktail glass in his hand. “It’s just a shirt. Can’t you get her another one?”

  I felt my nostrils flare as I glared up at him. Boys. It was a wonder how they’d come to rule the world. “Sure. No problem. You happen to have an extra $1200 laying around?”

  The blood drained from his face. “Why would anyone ever spend that much on one shirt?”

  Lexi patted him comfortingly on the arm. “It’s designer, babe. You’re never going to understand. Don’t even try.”

  The grateful smile he threw her would’ve melted my heart, if I weren’t in the middle of a major crisis.

  “Here.” The boy from the corner reappeared in front of me, pushing a cold glass of clear liquid into my hands. “Club soda. My mom used to say it could get anything out. Better hurry, though. Alanis Nori won’t even talk to you if you look like that.”

  So, he’d been listening in on our conversation. That wasn’t cool. But neither was the stain on my shirt, threatening to put me into a grounded status of the rest of my short life if my mom found out. I squinted up at him, trying to find the words to say.

  “You’re welcome,” he said pointedly, arching his eyebrows.

  I grumbled something that sounded like a thank you and he shrugged, an irritatingly calm expression on his face.

  “I figured it would make up for me accusing you of scooping a story,” he said, taking a step away. “Good luck with Alanis. She’s a beast, but she’s the best.”

  What a strange guy. Even as he backed away and disappeared into the crowd, I couldn’t help but wonder if all the boys from LA were like that. Ridiculously good looking enough to stop a girl in her tracks, but also stiff and entirely disapproving in a way that made me feel like I’d done something to personally insult him. It was weird.

  “Lexi, if all the boys on set look like that, you’re going to have the time of your life,” Charlotte said, elbowing me in the side and making Beth giggle.

  Hunter’s grunt of disapproval had her laughing and reaching up to kiss him quickly on the cheek. “Relax, cowboy. I’d never give up the boots and buckles. You’ve got me addicted.”

  A proud smile worked its way onto his face as he draped his arm over her shoulder. “Good, then my plan worked.”

  At that moment, Dad came walking up beside me in his three-piece black suit that didn’t quite fit him in the shoulders. His face glowed with childish excitement as he took in the party scene ahead of us. “All right, kiddos, are we ready to roll? Maybe, if you’re lucky, you’ll get to meet a real-life movie star.” His grin faded as he looked down at me and his gaze took in the red stain on my blouse. “Alexia, baby, what did you do to yourself? I was only gone a few minutes.”

  I shook my head in a warning and backed away for the restroom I’d spotted down the hall. He seriously did not want to know. And there was no time to discuss for the hundredth time my lack of responsibility.

&n
bsp; Been there. Done that.

  This might not have been the introduction I’d wanted to the Hollywood scene, but I wouldn’t let this bad first impression ruin everything. That was what Hollywood was about, right? Everyone else got to remake themselves into the perfect version of themselves. This was my chance to start all over again.

  Lexi Black. Makeup artist to the stars.

  It sounded like heaven to me.

  ***

  Thank you for reading!

  Did you love this book? Do me the greatest favor in the world and go rate it on Amazon. Seriously — it’s the best tip you could leave for an author.

  Much love,

  Lacy

  Make sure to check out the next in the series, Lexi’s story – Dare You to Chase the Soccer Player – and order it here before it returns to full price.

  Excerpt From Dare You to Chase the Soccer Player

  Chapter One

  Some kids were lucky not to have to hustle during high school. They got everything from their parents, including a plush allowance to pay for all their toys. No babysitting jobs. No pushing pizza slices. No busting their rear ends off to make a dime.

  I, Lexi Black, wasn’t one of those kids.

  According to my parents, if I wanted the new Artis makeup brush set, I was going to have to earn every single penny. I was getting close. Flipping through the dollar bills in my hand as I trudged down the ditch in a shortcut to my dad’s new house, I added up the dollars and cents in my head.

  Only fifty more dollars to go. Today’s birthday party had paid off. One of the parents I babysat for in the evenings hired me to do face-painting at their kid’s party. It wasn’t exactly the kind of stage makeup I wanted to do when I finally busted out of this dinky little town, but it worked for now. I had a pocket full of money and a pink and purple sparkly butterfly spread across my face to show for it.

  “And you thought those painting lessons wouldn’t pay off,” I said to myself with a mocking laugh. It was punctuated by the sound of rolling thunder in the distance, as if the heavens themselves were laughing with me.

  Dad had paid for my lessons two years ago – it was the summer I’d been convinced I was going to go on to become as famous as Andy Warhol. Unfortunately, I quickly learned that painting on a canvas was about as exciting as watching ice melt.

  But painting on a face? Now, that was fun.

  I pushed my long hair out of face, annoyed by the fact that the humidity from an incoming storm had ruined my straightening job this morning. At least it didn’t take away from the shiny rich chestnut color I’d dyed it last week. Changing hair colors was like setting the tone for a fantastic new year. I was about to start my junior year at Rock Valley High next week and everything was going my way.

  Thunder rumbled again in the distance and the raindrops that followed it seemed to argue differently. I clutched my face paint kit to my side and picked up speed. Running wasn’t exactly on my short list of talents, but a girl had to do what a girl had to do to keep her mascara from running. And as the rain began to fall much harder, I broke into a sprint, altering course for a screened-in picnic shelter only fifty yards ahead.

  My gladiator sandals squelched through the field which was quickly becoming gross and muddy. I squealed as my foot got stuck deep in muck. With the strap of my face paint kit hanging from my teeth and both my hands tugging under my knee, I managed to disengage it. However, another step forward had me slipping and sliding in the slick mud as if this were some kind of yard game.

  This time, there was no fighting it. The kids from the party would’ve yelled timber and giggled at my expense. Waving my arms crazily, I went down in an undignified mess of limbs and wet hair...butt firmly planted in a plot of wet grass.

  “Why?” I threw my head back to glare angrily at the sky above. “Was that really necessary?”

  Mud oozed through my fingers as I fisted the ground around me in defeat. I was just going to sit there and let the rainstorm wash me away. So long, cruel world. My older sister, Audrey, would jump at the chance to turn my bedroom into a music room for all her junk. Dad would probably use the college money he’d been saving for me to buy my new stepmom a MINI Cooper. Lucky her.

  At the least, I hoped there was a Sephora in heaven.

  But just as I was about to give up on life in general, the sound of feet stomping through the mud behind me had me twisting around to get a look. Was it the Grim Reaper, coming to take me away? I couldn’t be sure, but I definitely hoped so. A hooded dark figure with broad shoulders bore down on me, grabbing me around the waist and plucking me from the mud as if I weighed nothing.

  “Come on, let’s go,” he growled, ducking his head against the rain.

  I didn’t get a look at his face, but I could feel the strength in his arms and he pushed me toward the shelter. The rain was coming down in sheets now. I could hardly catch my breath. It wasn’t until we were inside did I finally manage to get a lungful of air.

  The stranger released me and I dragged my sopping wet sandals across the dry cement floor. I was officially soaked from head to toe. Gone was the last bit of straightened hair. If I was lucky, the concealer I’d carefully put over my horrible acne scars this morning was still in place. I could only pray that if I didn’t touch my cheeks, it would all stay in place.

  If anyone saw me without my makeup, I really was going to need a Grim Reaper to put me out of my misery.

  I dropped my butt down onto the nearest picnic table bench and pouted, waiting for my skin to dry. It wasn’t until I dragged my eyes up from the floor to look at my rescuer did I snap out of the self-pity and dove straight into embarrassment territory.

  “You?!”

  “Me.” My rescuer smirked at me, as if he were trying to keep from laughing. He shook his dirty blond hair, sending water droplets flying. “Nice to see you again, Lexi Black.”

  Every syllable of my name fell off his tongue like the electrifying sound of a guitar riffing. I knew that hair, just long enough to fall over his brow. The strong jawline and perfectly shaped nose. And most of all, those eyes so blue that a Robin’s egg had nothing on them. We’d met only a few days ago, at my Dad’s work party for the new movie they were going to be filming at Rock Valley High this fall. I didn’t know his name, but I could pick him out of a lineup anywhere.

  The mystery boy.

  That work party was supposed to be all glitz and glamour, but had ended in me sitting alone sending snapchats to all my friends who’d abandoned me that night because it was so boring. The only not-boring part about that party had been meeting him...the boy who’d never given me his name and was now looking at me with a strange expression in his blue eyes.

  “What are you, some kind of stalker?” I shot him a nervous smile as I tried to nonchalantly smooth my hair out. It probably didn’t help. I was sure I looked like a drowned rat and half of my makeup was gone. It was just my luck that today of all days I had to come face-to-face with the most gorgeous boy I’d ever seen in my sixteen years of life.

  The side of his mouth quirked in disbelief. He pushed his six-foot-tall athletic frame onto the nearest tabletop and grasped the edge with his long, slender fingers. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been accused of being a stalker before. For the record, I was practicing my soccer moves before the monsoon came through and I had to rescue you from drowning. Now, I’m just waiting on my ride.”

  “Yeah, well, thanks for that.” I stared hopelessly down at my blouse which had been soaked through and flecked with mud. Much like my mom’s expensive blouse I’d stained the night I met mystery boy, it was ruined. “You’re a nightmare for my wardrobe, you know that?”

  He snorted and then smiled down at the ground, flashing his impossibly white and straight teeth. It was a nice smile, the kind that made a girl’s stomach twitch a little bit with the sensation of butterfly wings.

  When we’d met at the party, he’d been all serious and tense, first accusing me of being the paparazzi – as if that would ever hap
pen in Rock Valley High – and then, out of nowhere, coming to my rescue after I’d destroyed my mom’s shirt. He’d disappeared into the crowd after that. I’d tried to look for him, but there was no sign of him. I had started to believe he was a figment of my imagination, but now, here he was again. In the flesh.

  Definitely still a mystery.

  “So, what’s your name, anyway?” I asked.

  He froze, blinking at me as if in shock. “What? What do you mean?”

  “Your name, silly.” I gave him my most flirtatious smile. It was one I’d perfected on the boys at school. “You know, the question people usually ask when they meet someone new. You know mine. It’s only fair that I know yours.”

  “My name?” His face contorted as if I’d just asked him if the sky was blue. “It’s...Zane?”

  It seemed like he was anticipating some kind of fireworks show from me after he uttered his name in such a weird way, but I just shrugged. It wasn’t the weirdest name I’d ever heard. Actually, it was kind of cool sounding.

  “Thanks. I was getting tired of thinking of you as the mystery boy.”

  Disbelief turned into a suppressed grin as he slid off the table and came to take a seat beside me. “So...you’ve been thinking of me?”

  I threw my head back and laughed. Zane had some nerve. I liked it.

  “Thinking about how you ruined my chance to work on that movie crew.”

  He pulled his chin back and grimaced. “Hey! It wasn’t my fault you flattened that waiter and got shrimp sauce on your shirt.”

  I gave him a sad smile. “Yeah, well, I guess it doesn’t matter now. I wasn’t even given the chance to charm my way into the makeup crew. All my hopes and dreams, down the drain, because someone wrongfully accused me of being a no-good sneaky reporter.”

  “I’m really sorry about that, Lexi.”

  One glance at the side of his face, and my heart sank. I’d only been teasing him, trying out my best flirting techniques, but he was staring hard at the floor as if I’d just accused him of capital murder. I’d never seen a guy be so serious. Usually, they were too busy hitting on me or tripping over themselves. I nudged him with my shoulder, smiling when he looked up at me.