Chapter Fourteen
Don’t Go Breaking My Heart
Tuesday, September 27
Caleb was surprised to find Mandy waiting at his locker in the morning holding to-go coffee cups. Surprised, but happy.
“Gotta love a girl who brings her boyfriend coffee.” He reached for the cup she extended, brushing her fingers with his. She didn’t say anything, instead staring at the floor. “Uh-oh,” he said. “What’s up, Disco?”
She raised her head, and he saw apprehension in her eyes. “I, um, need to talk to you. About something important.”
Caleb grabbed his textbooks and slammed his locker shut. “Problem with your essay?” He felt confident he could help with that, based on how things had gone before. And he felt a little zing shoot through him at the idea of hanging out in the library at their corner table and joking together.
She shook her head, glancing around at the growing crowd of students in the hallway. “No, it’s…personal. About our, um, deal.”
Uh-oh. This didn’t sound good.
“Okay,” he said, putting his free hand on her back and steering into a small, dark alcove that housed a dusty trophy case. “What’s up?” He sipped from his coffee, pretending he wasn’t worried about whatever she was about to say.
She dropped her gaze again, biting her lip. “The thing is…I…we…I think we should break up. Fake break up, I mean.”
He’d steeled himself before she said the words, hoping like hell his intuition was wrong, but it still felt like she’d punched him.
“No deal, Disco. I still have a stalker.” Maybe that would be enough to convince her to wait, at least until he could talk to J.T. about his recon mission.
He had to play this just right. Had to talk her the hell out of it.
She glanced up, looking guilty and wary. “Um, but I…the thing is, Gus and Kay split. And he, um, well I think he might…”
“Like you?” Caleb said, only it came out more like a growl than a question.
She shrugged. “I’m not sure…but, well, he at least needs friends right now. Like me.” She swallowed.
“You don’t have to break up with me to be his friend, Disco. I’m not possessive.” It was true; he wasn’t that kind of guy. But Gus was a special case, and if she was going to go all BFF on the Octo-Gus, he’d be around to…supervise.
She sighed and shot him a frustrated look. “Caleb. This whole thing…it’s just kind of ridiculous. I hate living a lie. It’s totally bad karma.”
“So let me get this straight,” he said, unable to stop the anger coloring his voice. “You’re ready to dump me for a guy who just dumped his girlfriend, like, two minutes ago?”
Her eyes flashed, and he knew she was about to match his anger with her own. “Caleb, that’s ridiculous! You and I aren’t…real. This isn’t a real breakup.”
Then why does it feel so real? His nostrils flared, and he told himself not to flip out. He couldn’t drive her away, not now. Not until he could prove that Gus was the wrong guy for her. Stalling, he drank more coffee, trying to figure out his next move.
“Okay, so let’s say you’re right and Gus is…interested in you. Maybe even wants to take you to homecoming.” Over his dead body would that happen. “Like I said, I still have a stalker. So we can’t break up. Not yet.”
“Argh!” Mandy stomped her foot in frustration, sloshing coffee out of her cup. “This is ridiculous! How do we get rid of Elle?”
He cocked an eyebrow. “We already covered that. PDA, babe. That should take care of it.”
“What?!” She screeched so loudly that people turned to stare. Including Elle, now hovering in the hall, eyes locked on them.
Perfect.
He smirked, moving in close, deciding to use the one advantage he had—the sparks that flared between them.
“We have a deal, babe.” He took her coffee cup, and set both cups on the windowsill behind Mandy. Then he caged her in, trapping her against the wall.
“Showtime, Disco,” he whispered.
She glanced over his shoulder at Elle, then glared at him. “Right now, cutie?” she said loudly.
He heard a few snickers at the “cutie” nickname.
“Funny,” he whispered, then he raised his voice to be heard over the swelling crowd in the hallway. “You know that turns me on, babe. Call me cutie again.” He heard more laughter from other students as he lowered his face to hers.
“We also had a deal about no shenanigans,” Mandy said softly as his lips brushed hers.
He felt her chest rise and fall against his. “That was while we worked on your essay.” He heard her sharp intake of breath as his hands cupped her waist. “I’ll break up with you,” he murmured against her lips, “if you can look me in the eye after this kiss and tell me it’s fake.”
He kissed her softly at first, waiting to see how she responded; he wasn’t going to be an ass like Gus and force himself on her, but he knew she wanted this as much as he did. Every time they argued the sparks crackled between them, and the times they were actually getting along…that was a whole other level of sparking.
She made a sound in the back of her throat that made him crazy, then she melted into him. He deepened the kiss, molding his body to hers. She didn’t even try to resist, responding to his touch so willingly he had to remind himself they were in school. Still, he was going to push this as far as he could, because it might be his only chance to prove that this…connection…they had definitely wasn’t fake.
Her mouth opened willingly, and his tongue plunged deep as his hands moved up her body, his thumbs briefly grazing the sides of her breasts, then sliding up her neck and into that mass of red hair he’d been dying to touch for days. The soft whimpers she made as theirs tongues danced drove him crazy. Damn. They had to get the hell out of here. Go somewhere alone. Her hands were inside his jacket, moving up the back of his T-shirt, clutching him like he was her personal life preserver.
When the bell jangled overhead, they both jumped, but he didn’t let go of her. He stared down into her glazed eyes, taking in her swollen lips and flushed cheeks. “News flash, Disco. That wasn’t fake. For either of us.”
She blinked, refocusing, then tilted her chin to look him in the eye. “I-I disagree.” She reached up to smooth her hair. “That didn’t…do anything for me.”
“What?!” He was dimly aware of Elle still watching them like a creepy voyeur.
Mandy raised her eyebrows like a judgy teacher. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone that you need to work on your technique.” She turned to grab her coffee cup from the windowsill. “It’s the slurping, cutie. You really need to work on that.”
Then she grabbed her bag from the floor and stalked off, tossing a smug look over her shoulder.
…
As soon as Mandy rounded the corner, she stopped to lean against the wall. She was going to be late to class but she didn’t care; she needed to get a grip. She closed her eyes, letting the cold from the tile walls seep through the fabric of her blouse, hoping it would cool her down because she was on fire from that kiss.
She expected to burst into flames any second, and she had no idea how she’d managed to pull off that smart-ass remark to Caleb and walk away from him like it was no big deal. Her mood ring, turning a violet color, clearly thought she’d been into that kiss.
He’d said the kiss wasn’t fake, and it sure hadn’t felt fake, but Elle had been watching the whole time. How much of that steaminess had been Caleb putting on a show to get rid of his stalker?
She had to remember that he had an agenda just like she did, and that she was dealing with two Calebs: fake jackass boyfriend Caleb who liked to mess with her—and kiss her, apparently—and real Caleb who helped her with her essay and told her about his mom and held her hand like it mattered.
“Come on, girl, let’s get to class.”
Mandy’s eyes flew open at the sound of Cammie’s voice. Her friend studied her with appraising eyes, assessing the messy hair and rumpled blouse. Self-consciously Mandy smoothed her mom’s lime-green shirt, then reached up to finger-comb her hair.
Cammie smirked, then gave her a little push down the hall. “Don’t try to hide it. I saw the tail end of that porno you two were about to make.”
“Cammie! We totally weren’t making a—”
Cammie snorted as they hurried down the hall. “Yeah, right. You’re lucky Dr. Hairy didn’t bust you. Again.” She side-eyed her. “So I take it things have moved to a new level with you two? No more pretending?”
Mandy grabbed Cammie’s arm and dragged her into the girls’ bathroom, then checked to make sure they were alone.
“It’s not…we’re still pretending.”
“Right. You weren’t getting into that kiss at all. It was a total act. For him, too.”
Mandy glared at her best friend. “It was an act, all because of stupid Elle. He’s trying to get rid of his stalker.”
Cammie’s eyes narrowed. “Is that what he said?”
Mandy stared at her shoes. Today she’d worn boring flats with her jeans, which had meant she’d had to look up at Caleb, putting her at a disadvantage, though somehow it hadn’t impacted how well their bodies had molded during that kiss.
“What did he say, Mandy? Don’t even try to lie to me.”
Sighing, Mandy met Cammie’s determined gaze. “He said he’d go ahead and fake break up with me if the kiss didn’t, um, do anything for me.”
“So basically he told you he likes you. A lot.” Cammie smirked.
Mandy frowned. “No, I…” Was that true? Was that what he meant, in his backward, cocky Caleb way?
Cammie reached into her purse, pulled out a comb, and handed it to Mandy. “As long as you’re going to class late, you might as well pull yourself together.” Cammie turned to the mirror and applied lip gloss, smacking her lips together.
“I told him the kiss didn’t do anything for me,” Mandy said, combing her hair. “I’ll give him two more days of this fake thing, then I’m dumping him.”
Cammie’s gaze met Mandy’s in the mirror. “Didn’t do anything for you? Honey, no way is he buying that. Nobody who saw you two would believe that.” She shoved her lip gloss back in her purse and held out her hand for her comb. “Please don’t tell me this is because of the Octo-Gus.”
Mandy slapped the comb on Cammie’s upturned palm. “Yes, it’s about Gus. He and Kay broke up, and Kay’s spreading rumors about him.” Cammie scowled. “I don’t know why you believe that stuff instead of trusting Gus, Cam. He’s our friend! We need to be there for him.”
“Mandy, this is ridiculous. You’re trusting the wrong guy. Kay’s not the only one who’s been on the other side of the eight-handed monster.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “And I’ll eat my chem book if that kiss was fake.”
Mandy hated arguing, especially with her friends. Sometimes—lots of times—she kept her feelings inside rather than argue because she hated it so much. But today felt different. Maybe because that kiss had stirred up all sorts of feelings she wasn’t sure about. Maybe because she kept picturing Gus’s worried and embarrassed face when he’d told her about the rumors.
“I thought you hated Caleb,” Mandy said through gritted teeth.
“I never hated him, but I definitely didn’t like him much.”
“What changed your mind?”
Cammie shrugged. “You told me how much he helped with your essay. And I see how you two are with each other, teasing and poking, but also looking like you want to tear each other’s clothes off.”
They didn’t do that, did they? Mandy swallowed and leaned against the sink, confusion swirling through her like beads in a lava lamp. “I wish I’d never started this stupid fake relationship with him.”
Cammie nodded. “It was definitely one of the dumber things you’ve done.”
Mandy’s eyebrows shot up, but before she could argue Cammie continued. “You’re the one always saying things happen for a reason. Maybe there’s a reason for it. Like bringing you two together. For real, not fake.”
“But I don’t belong with someone like Caleb,” Mandy protested. “He’s not the type of guy who’d normally even notice me.” She thought of Elle, who oozed sexiness, like she’d just stepped out of a photo shoot for a motorcycle calendar full of scary-hot models.
“Opposites attract, right? You two are polar opposites…and you definitely attract.”
Stubborn resistance streaked through Mandy. “But it’s supposed to be Gus. It was always supposed to be Gus.” She thought of his puppy dog eyes, his messy brown curls. His shy smile. Completely unlike Mr. Tall, Dark, and Broody.
Cammie rolled her eyes. “You need to look at reality, Mandy, not fantasies about crushes you’ve had forever.”
Mandy stepped away from the sink. “Reality is that Caleb and I are pretending. Reality is Kay and other girls are spreading lies about Gus.” She reached for the door, shooting a glare at Cammie. “Reality is that my best friend is giving me bad advice.”
Then she yanked the door open and stormed down the hall, not even caring that she’d get stuck on the tardy detention list.
…
“Recon update, Blue Ranger checking in,” J.T. said, sliding into the desk next to Caleb in calc class. “Two confirmed Octo-Gus reports.”
Caleb shot him a glare. His day had sucked after this morning’s ridiculously hot kiss with Mandy. He was still reeling after she’d given him that bullshit line about it not doing anything for her. She’d avoided him all morning, and every time he turned around Elle had been hovering like a shadow.
Maybe Mandy was right and he needed to report Elle for stalking, but somehow that seemed like an overreaction. She was just a girl who couldn’t get over him. He supposed he should be flattered.
“Did you hear me, Red Ranger? Octo-Gus is confirmed as a real threat.”
Caleb shrugged. “Whatever. She’s determined to go to the dance with him.”
J.T. tilted his head, confusion clouding his expression. “Still? Even after this morning’s epic face-sucking?”
Caleb flinched. Was everybody talking about him and Mandy? Probably. They were the school’s least likely couple to hook up, so therefore the whole school was curious. He sighed, staring blankly at the whiteboard full of equations. Maybe there was a reason opposites didn’t usually work out.
Their calc teacher burst into the room, papers falling out of his armload of binders.
“She didn’t think it was epic,” Caleb muttered. He had no idea why he was telling J.T. this.
J.T.’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “But Cammie said it was like watching a porno.”
Caleb almost smiled. It sure had felt like that to him, but not to her, apparently, even though he would’ve sworn she was as into it as he was.
“You can’t give up,” J.T. said. “You can’t let Octo-Gus win.”
Caleb shrugged again. Maybe he was better off with a stalker than a fake girlfriend, especially if he was the only one who wanted to move things from fake to real. He fingered the notebook in his jacket pocket, his thumb brushing the Pop Rocks candy Mandy had given him.
He knew this would happen if he was dumb enough to let someone in. He’d confided in Mandy, and what had she done? Thrown it back in his face, saying their connection wasn’t real.
“Dude,” J.T. whispered. “I have more recon data.”
Caleb ignored J.T. and focused on his droning calc teacher, because he didn’t want to bomb this class and get on his dad’s radar again. And he didn’t want to hear more recon data.
People sucked and couldn’t be trusted. He needed to remember that the next time he was tempted by a crazy redhead who made him laugh and pushed his buttons and smelled amazing and…
Shit.
He couldn’t give up. Red Rangers never walked away from a battle. He tore a page out of his notebook and scribbled on it, then passed it to J.T.
J.T. unfolded the paper, wrote quickly, then handed it back.
Caleb glared at the paper, wishing he could set it on fire with his fingers. Since he didn’t have that superpower, he crumpled it into a ball. He’d set it on fire later, in the parking lot.
Right before he beat the crap out of Gus.