When I awoke the next morning, I had no inspiration for how to fix this no boyfriend problem. In fact, I felt worse about the whole thing because of how bad my nightmares had been. I had dreamt that it was graduation night and Andrea showed up to meet me, saw the empty date book and cackled in my face, lightning and the witch sound effects and all. I couldn’t let that come true.
The whole drive to West End High, I tried to clear my thoughts. I turned up the music, I turned it off. Nothing changed the fact that I knew no guys that would be willing to do the dates.
Not a single one.
Sage better have brilliant ideas or I’d be screwed.
I parked in my designated spot. As a senior, we could park in the front few rows, so at least I never had a huge walk inside. Our high school was pretty big. There were over five hundred students in the senior class alone, making us the largest group. The West End Warriors were well known in our county. The only high school we ever lost to was Rosewood High.
I grabbed my bookbag from the backseat of my silver Honda Fit. My gaze blurred as I tried to focus on the building. It was hard to believe that I would graduate in a month or so.
The beautiful stone façade had invited me in with open arms from day one. It almost reminded me of a castle, with its large front exterior. Inside it boasted four floors. Many of the rooms were luxurious, paid for by the lovely sponsors of our organization.
We had a huge gym for spectators and all our sports teams. We had a state-of-the-art green room, technology lab, and a makerspace.
My favorite room was of course the library.
“Marley, let’s go!” Sage shouted a few cars down.
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. I had to focus and I didn’t want to be tardy. I had a perfect record to maintain after all.
“Coming.” I locked my car and jogged beside her, surveying her mood.
Today she wore vibrant pink capris and a white shirt that clung to her and merely kissed the top of her pants. I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t get a warning for the outfit. Her light brown hair was braided into two sections, making pigtail braids.
Sage always pushed the dress code. I on the other hand stayed well within the lines, which is why I settled on flare jeans without holes, of course, and my favorite cotton T-shirt in my favorite color—salmon.
“So good news or bad news first?”
I groaned. “Surprise me.”
“Well, bad news is I couldn’t think of any ideas to get you out of this.”
“And good news?”
“I’ll keep thinking. Or you could get a boyfriend?”
I rolled my eyes as I strolled past her toward the front door. “Yeah, because if I couldn’t find a boyfriend the first almost four years of high school, I’ll manage to find one in the last month? Sage, get real.”
“I am! Andrea deserves to eat her words.”
“I agree, but I equally came up with nada.”
She tapped a finger to her chin. “We are both smart, capable women. We can do this. A dating app?”
“Ugh, no.”
“It could be fun. Do a date with each new person?”
“Andrea might be boy crazy and ditzy at times, but I think she’d figure out they were different people each time.”
“Okay, so not the best plan, but we have time.”
“Not really. A month is hard as it is.”
She patted my hand. “It will work out. I know it.”
We pushed open the front doors and walked past the office at the entrance.
She waved as she headed to her locker and I headed toward mine. The hallways bustled with students walking to homeroom and their lockers—a sea of red and black, our school colors.
My locker was the last one in the hallway, right at an intersection of classrooms in the history department. I hurried and shoved my books from the weekend inside, grabbed what I needed and headed to class. I would have to think about options later. Now it was more important to focus on my class schedule.
* * *
By the end of the day, as I headed toward my locker a few minutes before the final bell, I understood one truth: I was in over my head. What had I been thinking? I didn’t have a boyfriend and Andrea knew it couldn’t be done within her ridiculous timeline. I was foolish enough thinking I could come up with a plan to beat her. If only I had thrown it back in her face, but then I wouldn’t have witnessed that wonderful view of her smug expression melting off her features. I had never pulled one over on Andrea and if I managed to succeed, it would be an accomplishment.
Each class I surveyed boys I thought could be a good option, but what had I noticed? Not one of them looked in my direction or acted like I even existed.
I leaned my forehead against my red locker door. I needed to find a way out of this or the next time I saw Andrea at graduation, she would rub it in my face.
Footsteps scuffled down the hallway.
I froze.
“Wyatt, you’re failing my class. You need to turn in your homework and write those essays.”
Someone cleared their throat. “Mr. Andrews, I just need more time.”
I tiptoed toward the voices and peered around the corner.
Wyatt Shaw stood in front of Mr. Andrews, a history teacher. Wyatt wasn’t in any of my classes, although in freshman year I thought I had one or two with him. Even with such a large senior class, I tended to know at least the names of all the students. And at this point in the year, word around school was that Wyatt barely showed up for class and truant officers were on a first name basis with him. How could someone ditch school so much? What could he really find more important?
“You’ve had all semester. You have one month until the semester is over, Wyatt. If you don’t turn in all the work and pass your final, you will fail. I’ve talked to your other teachers. You aren’t doing well. Do you really want to redo your senior year? I can’t imagine that fits into your life plan.”
Wyatt shifted his weight and adjusted his bookbag. “No. I don’t want to repeat the year. I’ll get you the work. I promise.”
“See that you do.”
The bell rang and students exited their final class. Wyatt turned the corner and walked by.
At least I wasn’t in that predicament. I could fix poor grades. I was the best tutor in the school. How to do an adventure book with a boyfriend I didn’t have? Well, that was another matter entirely.
Wait a minute!
That was it. That was perfect.
I shut my locker, threw my bag over my shoulder and sprinted after Wyatt.
He exited the outer doors and walked toward the parking lot.
I surveyed the lot, hoping no one saw me, then shouted, “Wyatt, wait up!”
He stopped and turned. He looked through me, as if I didn’t exist, then turned around.
My stomach clenched. That didn’t bode well for my plan. I hurried along, until I was next to him. I lightly tapped his shoulder and tried again. “Wyatt, wait.”
His nose scrunched. “Who … How do you know my name?”
Well, that was perfect.
I outstretched my hand. “I’m Marley.”
He eyed my hand but made no movement to shake it. “And why are you talking to me, Marley?”
Ouch. Clearly I knew my classmate’s names, but they didn’t all know mine.
“I have a proposition for you.”
He arched an eyebrow, eyed me up and down, then laughed.
He actually laughed!
“Look whatever you’re selling, I’m not interested. I have somewhere to be.”
“You haven’t even heard what I want.”
“Let me guess. Goody two shoes wants to take a ride on the wild side. Figured Wyatt Shaw was the perfect one to do that with.”
My mouth gaped.
“I’m not interested in someone who sees me as a label to check off before college.”
“Woah, woah, wait. Instead of being so presumptuous, how about you listen first?”
He crossed his arms.
“I-I heard your conversation with Mr. Andrews.”
His smug demeanor cracked. “Eavesdropping on me? Even better.” He turned away.
I grabbed his arm and stood in front of him.
He eyed my hand and I released him.
“Please just stop interrupting. I could have said it already. I heard about your situation. I’m a really good tutor. I could help you get your grades up.”
“If I wanted a tutor, I could go to guidance for one.”
“You have a month. You need serious help if you plan to turn around your grades. My methods work. Faster than most. I’m the only one who could help you.”
“And why would you waste your time on that? I don’t have money.”
“I’ll tutor you for free.”
He eyed me warily. “And again, what do you get out of the deal?”
“I need help.”
He snorted. “With what?”
“You … uh. You seem adventurous and I need help with an adventure book.”
“An adventure book?”
“Yeah, like those books couples get to amp up their dates. They have all kinds, but one version is adventure themed dates.”
Wyatt stared and then broke out into a sudden fit of laughter. He held his sides as he continued to laugh.
When I didn’t start laughing too, he pulled himself together. “Wait you’re serious. You want me to go on dates with you, while you tutor me? I thought I was being presumptuous when I said you were looking to take a trip on the wild side. What do you call this?”
“Okay, fine. I heard what it sounded like when I said it. I’m crazy, I get it. Just pretend I didn’t say anything.” I turned and headed for the other side of the parking lot.
He waited until I was at my car door before he called my name. “Marley, was it? I didn’t tell you what I thought.”
“If you walked all the way over here to tell me I’m insane, I didn’t need the reminder.”
He chuckled. “Actually, no. I haven’t made any decision yet. I think I need more information. Exactly what do these dates entail?”
“Uh … dates? I don’t remember them all. There’s a list of them, we complete it, take a picture, put it in the book, and move on.”
“Move on, huh?”
“Yeah. I don’t need any actual boyfriend perks. No kissing or PDA, no touching required.”
He arched a perfect manicured brow. Did he happen to get those done?What was I thinking? I was worried about his brow when I clearly needed to be admitted to the hospital for a mandatory seventy-two-hour hold.
“I don’t know. That still seems like you get a better bargain than I do.”
My eyes widened. “Graduating isn’t a big enough lure to you? Mmmkay, well thanks for your time.” I turned to my car door.
“Sure, I guess it is, but to turn you adventurous will be a lot harder than digging my grades out of the hole.”
I crossed my arms and glared. “Based on what? You didn’t even know my name. How do you pretend to know so much about me?”
“You just have an air about you.”
“An air? That’s made up bologna. No one has an air about them.”
“Of course they do,” he said deadly serious, then moved close to me, our bodies almost touching, until I backed up against my car. “And yours says you have no idea how to be adventurous, date book ideas, or not.”
I hadn’t expected to be so close to him, the closeness overtook my brain and I hated that a stupid boy had caused this reaction. I didn’t get all crazy over boys, but I also wasn’t used to anyone this close to my personal space before.
“I don’t have to become adventurous. I just need to complete the dates, adventure guaranteed.”
He chuckled, sending his brown hair moving under his knitted beanie. It poked out under the edges and covered his ears and some of his forehead. “That’s not guaranteed if I have to drag you through the dates.”
“If you don’t want my tutoring help, then just say so. I’m not here for your amusement.”
“So, to summarize, you tutor me, I go on dates with you to be your fake boyfriend and there’s no PDA or touching?”
At least he knew how to summarize. “Yes.”
“And how long do I have to do these dates?”
“The book is due by graduation, same time you have until you fail.”
He stuck out his hand. “Then you have a deal.”
I shook it as reality settled in. I would fake date Wyatt Shaw. Sage would never believe me.
“Cool, so are you driving with me or following me?”
“What?”
He checked his phone. “I have a gig and you’re the one who made it seem like now or never. So, are you getting in my truck or following me to my gig?”
“Do you even have your books?”
He shifted his bag to the front. “Obviously.”
“Um, a gig for what? And where?”
“Marley for being such a fantastic tutor, you sure don’t follow logic. Gigs are for musically inclined people like me. I’m the guitarist and lead singer in a band. I have to go there and you need to help me learn stuff, so in between our sets you can help.”
A band? He had a gig on a school night? No wonder he couldn’t keep up with his studies.
“Yes or no, Marley?” He smirked and I hesitated to answer. “See … no adventure. You can’t even break your routine and it’s been two minutes since you started this plan.”
I scoffed. “It’s not about being adventurous!”
He outstretched his hand, palm up. “Then show me.”
I placed my hand over his and let him lead me toward his truck—a black Chevy Silverado.
He walked to the passenger side, shifted a few things around from the sounds, and then held the door open and held his hand out for me to get inside.
I gulped. Marley, what have you gotten yourself into? I used his hand to steady myself as I jumped in then settled onto the seat, while he closed the door and walked around.
Before he pulled away, I wracked my brain. Could I actually do this? It was Monday so I didn’t have any after school responsibilities, but I usually went to the bookstore with Sage, then home for dinner. I didn’t know much about gigs, but I couldn’t imagine they would get me home in time for dinner.
The driver’s side door slammed shut. Wyatt shifted his bag on the floor between us, then got in the parking lot’s line.
I was in Wyatt Shaw’s truck. This was ludicrous. What was I thinking? What did I really know about him?
I pulled my phone from my bag and texted Sage first.
Then I texted my mom.
“I must admit, I’m intrigued why Marley Wix would want to associate with me.”
I narrowed my gaze and turned to face him. “How’d you know my last name? I didn’t mention that when I told you who I was.”
He shrugged.
“You knew who I was. How rude! You pretended you had no idea when you knew.”
“So, what if I did? Not a crime.”
“Maybe not, but it’s not sociable either.”
“Well, last time I checked, I’m not known for being sociable. Which is why I’m intrigued. Of all the people you could pick to complete this so-called book, why me?”
“Because it was a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
He chuckled. “I reserve my opinion for later when we actually do some tutoring.”
“Well, while we’re stuck together in this truck, we might as well iron out details of our schedule.”
“You really are a goody two shoes. Syncing up schedules? Is that seriously necessary?”
“Yes. I only have you on my schedule for tutoring, so at least that frees up some time, but I’m in National Honor Society and SADD, you know Students Against Destructive Decisions.”
“Yeah, I’m aware of what it stands for.”
I leaned closer to him. “And you? What can I expect will interrupt our tutoring and the dates?”
We finally left the parking lot for West End High. Wyatt turned right toward the highway.
I crinkled my nose. “Where is this gig?”
“Outside of Rosewood County.” He peered at me for the first time since we started to drive. “Someone isn’t worried about crossing county lines are they?”
“No.” I was, but I didn’t want to tell him that. I pulled out my planner and pen from my bag. “Seriously, though. We need a schedule.”
He closed my planner. “Okay, rule number one. If you want adventure, you can’t plan it.”
I sighed. “Is this going to work out? I don’t actually need to be adventurous to do these dates. Are you sure you can take it seriously? Because if not, let me know now. I have until graduation to finish those dates and document them with my boyfriend. That leaves very little wiggle room.”
“Fine then rule number one for fake dating me. I don’t do planners and syncing schedules.”
“Okay, then how else do you propose we pick days to tutor and date?”
“Wing it?”
“Well, I can’t do that. I’ll try to compromise. You don’t have to tell me your whole schedule. If we’re tutoring today, then how about tomorrow we do a date after school, if that works?”
He nodded. “Fine, but I’ll pick the date. Do you have the book?”
“At home. I’ll bring it to you tomorrow and you can hold onto it.”
He grinned. “Relinquishing control? Look at you!”
“Don’t get too cocky about it.”
“I would never.”
My phone chirped. I pulled it out to check my texts. One from Sage scrolled along the top.
My stomach lurched at the words. I shoved the phone back in my bag and glanced at Wyatt. Had he seen the texts?
No. He barely took his eyes off the road.
But I had to be more careful. This was strictly business. I could help him and he could help me. Okay, sure, Sage was right, and I had eyes. He was cute in that unkempt, bad boy kind of way, I supposed.
Even though it was getting warmer, he still wore jeans and that beanie over his mahogany-brown hair. And his eyelashes could have landed a plane. I mean, if he was a girl, I would have thought he used fake eyelashes. I honestly didn’t realize someone’s eyelashes could be so long.
I wrinkled my nose. What was I doing? As if sizing him up would help this situation. His attractiveness did nothing for me. It was fake. “What kind of band are you in?”
“Ouch.” Wyatt grabbed his chest and glanced toward me. “Are you telling me you really don’t know?”
I shook my head.
“Hmm, well, we’re the Honkey Tonks, so I’m sure you can guess what we play.”
I eyed him warily. Was he serious? I searched his car for any clues. He didn’t wear cowboy boots or have a hat anywhere that would resemble what I pictured a country band to dress in, but I also knew I shouldn’t judge someone by their looks for their taste in music.
“Oh, cool.”
Wyatt’s gaze connected with mine.
Was he studying my expression to see if I was judging him?
A smirk spread across his face, then he burst out laughing. “Seriously, Marley, the Honkey Tonks? You really fell for that?”
Words escaped me. I didn’t want to fall into a trap, I honestly had no idea what kind of music he’d play. Guitars were versatile, so it could have been anything. “No?”
“You could have fooled me. You looked deathly serious. Honestly, we’re a cover band right now. We do all kinds of songs, depends on the crowd, sometimes we shift the genre of the original, too.”
“That’s cool. I could never play an instrument.”
He shrugged.
Wyatt drove over a rough patch in the road, sending me almost into the roof of the truck, as he turned right and parked.
I peered through the window to see the name of the place. The sign said LUCY’S BAR and GRILL. “We’re going into a bar? Don’t you have to be twenty-one?”
“At just a plain bar, yes you do. This is a bar and grill, which makes it family friendly, but they also book live bands throughout the week.”
“Oh, gotcha. Okay.”
Wyatt opened the door behind his seat and grabbed a guitar case and his bookbag. Then he sauntered toward the door like he owned the place.
I hastened toward him. The place was at least well lit, but I still felt uncomfortable being outside of the county. Rosewood had everything I needed in a county. I never had much of a need to leave it.
“Are you coming or are you staying out here and gawking?”
I knitted my eyebrows. “I’m following. I’ve just never been here before.”
He snorted. “That doesn’t surprise me in the slightest, Ms. I’m-So-Adventurous.” He pulled the door open and waited as I slipped inside.
The place was well lit. The walls were a dark beige and a bar was placed off toward the left side, while the rest had booths and tables for the restaurant end. A stage was perfectly centered, which at least was smart on their part.
Wyatt paused shortly, then strolled over to a table closest to the bar, but out of the way and off to the side. He plopped his bookbag down on the table, pointed to a chair and said, “Sit.”
I began to protest but stopped short. It would have fallen on deaf ears anyway. So, I sat, even if it made me feel like a dog. He disappeared behind a fake wall by the stage, which was the exact moment my nerves kicked up another notch.
This was insane. I barely knew Wyatt and yet I was at his gig and somehow would tutor him? It made no sense.
A waitress strolled by the table and asked for a drink order. I asked for a Coke, then shifted uncomfortably on the leather upholstered chair. Thankfully, Wyatt reemerged from behind the wall and sat on a chair opposite me.
“We’re the third band to play tonight, so we should have about forty-five minutes before I have to go back again.” He yanked open his bookbag and started stacking textbooks on the table.
“You seriously did bring them all. I suppose that’s a start, I guess.”
He shrugged. “So, you know about Mr. Andrews, but I also have math homework, an English paper, and the outline for my science research project.”
My eyes widened. “What’s the most pressing?”
“All of it? Everything except the math homework is late.”
For more times than I could even count at this point, I had to wonder about my line of thinking. Even with my methods, that was a serious hole to dig someone out of. “Is any of it partway complete?”
“Yes and no.”
“That’s not a real answer. It either is started or it isn’t.”
“Okay, yes, but probably not the best quality.”
I shifted the books around the table as the waitress dropped off my soda. “Here’s what I’m thinking. Let’s do the math homework while I review what you’ve started. Do you have questions about the math homework?”
“No.”
“Good, now do that and hand over the rest.”
He obliged, which was another good sign. I skimmed his assignments from Mr. Andrews that were due and they needed some work. It wasn’t that they were bad, so much as incomplete and clearly not organized. His topics shifted too many times and had no evidence to back them up. As for his English and science assignments, he had little more than a skeletal outline completed.
“You sure you still want to do this arrangement?”
I squinted. “Are you trying to pile it on in hopes of scaring me out of the deal?”
“Why would I do that? You’re helping me pass.”
“Just checking, and yes, I do.”
He held up both hands, then continued to stare at his textbook. “What I can’t figure out is why.”
I leaned over, looking at the problem he was on. “It’s the same as finding x, doesn’t matter what the variable is.”
He chuckled. “I don’t mean I can’t find the letter y. I mean why someone would give you this book? Maybe even who would go along with it when they don’t have a boyfriend.”
“No wasn’t an option.”
“No is always an option.”
I sighed. “Not with my cousin it’s not.”
“Our next band will be Broken Axles after a short intermission,” said someone through the microphone.
Wyatt swiveled in his chair and stood. “Gotta go.” He walked behind the stage as the crowd began to get louder. People shoved closer to the bar. It was barely five o’ clock, but more and more people milled around. Were they here for Wyatt’s band or for the bar in general? Five seemed early to be at the bar, but what would I know? I had never been to a party in my life. I had never had alcohol either, so my knowledge of parties in high school were limited to TV shows and movies.
Wyatt peered from behind the wall, followed by two other people, one guy I thought I recognized from school and the other a girl I had never seen before in my life.
Wyatt approached the microphone, looked around the audience and smiled.
His smile hit me right in the stomach, sending it careening to my feet. He was gorgeous when he smiled. His lashes bounced as he blinked, and he eyed the crowd like they were his best friend. “How’re we doing tonight, Lucy’s?”
The crowd raised a few glasses and a few people at the bar cheered, although I suspected they would have cheered for anything. Two girls were barely sitting on their stools from how wasted they already were.
I shook my head and sipped more of my soda. Why did people get that out of control? All it led to was regret and poor decisions.
“We are the Broken Axles and we hope you like our set!” Wyatt took a few steps backward from the microphone, whispered something to his bandmates, then began strumming his guitar.
Attending a concert? Check. I was already having more adventures. I took a picture with my phone and texted it to Sage with the caption:
I recognized their first song as a cover of Counting Stars by One Republic. The next two I didn’t know, but they performed well. I found myself bouncing to the beat and Wyatt’s voice was good. He definitely had a range. I had no idea he was so good at his music. And his presence on stage was there, too. He really connected with the crowd, even though it was clear most didn’t know him.
By the final song, people had moved closer to the stage and many of the women waved and were watching the set. Wyatt looked over at me and winked, then went into his final song.
Had he winked at me on purpose? Was it for his stage act? Otherwise, why would he wink at me?
Then just like that he thanked the crowd and disappeared behind the stage. The crowd clapped and a few people shouted nice job, then he was back out by the table like nothing had even happened.
“Ready to go?”
“Yeah, sure.”
He packed up his books into his bookbag, then threw a few dollar bills on the table before he led me back out to his truck.
“That was fast.”
He shrugged. “That’s how it goes when you aren’t well known.”
“Oh, well we didn’t do much for tutoring.”
“We will, but Lucy’s isn’t the best place to study or write papers.”
“True. You’re pretty good.”
“Just pretty good? Not Earth shattering or life altering?”
I giggled. “I only heard five songs.”
“And? A few notes is all you really need to make a decision.”
“Not for me.”
He frowned. “Do you make any spontaneous decisions?”
“Not generally.” I looked around. “Except this one.”
He chuckled. “Well, I guess on that note, there’s hope for you yet.”
We headed back to school to get my car and I was still in denial that this afternoon had even happened. If this was hard to believe, what would I do when it came to the dates? Tutoring was one thing; dating was something entirely different.