Kiss List (26 page)

I didn’t have to wait long to find out if Liam had reeled in the right one. The Rosedale boy started grinning bashfully and laughing. I saw Liam doing the same thing. They were totally flirting. I didn’t blame the Rosedale boy. Liam was smoking hot. He was so hot I would have been surprised if the straight boys weren’t questioning their orientation just a little. Liam was
working it too just like I had told him. His body language projected confidence and yet playfulness. It was perfect.

At one point I saw Liam lean over and whisper something in the Rosedale boy’s ear. A huge grin crossed the Rosedale boy’s face and I knew we had him. Liam had done his job perfectly. Now I needed to do mine.

The rest of the game flew by. Lakeville managed to narrowly pull out the win. Many of the fans rushed down to congratulate the players and I let myself be swept along with them. I quickly found 35 and headed towards him. He was talking to two girls but the moment his eyes caught mine his face blanched.

“You!” he said, interrupting the girls. “You stay away from me. I don’t know what is going on but...”

I pushed my way through the girls and ran a hand down Chris’s chest. I let it trail down his abs, feeling momentarily wistful as I felt his strong muscles and lean body. Then I tapped lightly on the shorts-covered cup between his legs.

“Five minutes. Inside the shed underneath the visiting team stands,” I whispered. “Meet me there and I’ll give you the best sex of your life.
Guaranteed.”

I kissed Chris lightly on the lips, biting his lower lip a bit, and then pulled back. I turned around in time to see his face transform into an evil grin. Bingo. He would be there. I walked past the two very annoyed girls and headed to the shed.

Instead of going into the shed I hid around the other side of it. Approximately three to four minutes later I heard someone approach and enter the shed. I peeked around the corner and saw Chris’s red jersey. So far so good. One more to go.

A moment later I heard someone else walking up to the shed. I carefully looked around the corner and saw the Rosedale boy look furtively back towards the field and then stride into the shed.

I couldn’t restrain myself. I needed to see what happened next. I snuck up to the entrance of the shed and peered in. When I saw what was taking place, I almost burst out laughing.

It seemed that Liam had done a very good job indeed of revving the Rosedale boy’s engine. The boy had wasted no time. He pinned Chris up against the wall of the shed and started kissing him passionately.

Chris shoved the boy back and yelled, “What the...” but the Rosedale boy wasn’t giving up that easily.

“Don’t be a tease, now,” the boy said seductively. He forced the stunned Chris up against the wall again and this time got much
more free with his hands.

“Hey, what’s going on here?!”
I cried, bursting into the shed.

The Rosedale boy jumped and darted out of the shed as though his pants were on fire. I fixed Chris with an annoyed glare.

“If you were gay you should have just told me,” I said in my best pretend angry voice. “I don’t get it. First you give me the best sex of my life and then you make out with another guy. What a cheat!”

“I didn’t... I... this is insane,” Chris protested furiously. “I’m not gay! Liam’s the gay one. I swear!”

“Oh sure, more of this pretend twin nonsense,” I said.

“Listen you dumb bi...” Chris started to say.

“Okay, take it easy,” I said, chuckling to myself. It was time to drop the dumb blonde act. “Listen up, Chris. Here’s what’s going to happen. First of all, you are never going to bother your brother about his sexual orientation ever again. Do you understand? Secondly, you are never going to even mention that fact that he is gay until he tells you that he wants to come out of the closet. Every person should have the right to decide when they are going to do it so long as they’re not leading another significant other on. Personally, I hope he does come out, but if he feels like he’s not ready for that yet you’re going to respect his decision. Thirdly, you and he are both going to start treating girls like the princesses that they are. And if I hear that you have broken anyone of these rules, this is going to get out.” I held up my phone. “I got the whole encounter on it.”

Chris’s eyes were on fire. He stood up straight and for a second I thought he was going to attack me. “You bitch,” he said. “You think you and my faggot brother can intimidate me with a few photos? I’m going to make both your lives a living hell. Release the damn photos, I don’t care. I’ll just say that Liam stole my jersey and framed me. People suspect he’s gay anyway. No one will ever believe you over me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Chrissy-poo,” I said coldly. “You see, I wasn’t taking photos. I was taking video and I still am.” I waved the phone at him. “The people at this school might think you’re cool if you act like a badass but there are some lines you just can’t cross, and you crossed a bunch of them when you threatened me and your own brother. With some good editing this could instantly go viral. Do you know what the saddest part of this is? I actually have to blackmail you into being a good human being. How ridiculous is that? Well, if that’s what I have to do, so be it. Be a good boy, Chris, or you’re going to have to deal with me.”

I left Chris trembling with rage and fear in the shed. I didn’t want to look at him anymore. No more, I told myself. That was the last time I was ever going to use evil to accomplish good. I had just kissed every boy on the kiss list. Now I needed to go find some good people to spend some time with and ensconce myself in their positivity and influence.

I needed to go find Aaron.

“So what do you think?” Olivia asked, waving grandly at her computer screen.

I glanced at the screen. Photos of me kissing all the boys on the kiss list – with the notable exception of Aaron – were arrayed across a yearbook template page. Olivia had worked her graphics magic to really make the photos pop. It was a start contrast to the previous page with its two measly photos of Missy kissing Graham and Troy. Across the heading of Missy’s page Olivia had written “Most Popular Girl in School” in quotes, as if to make the statement seem satirical. It certainly seemed that way with so many photos of me kissing guys, including Missy’s own boyfriend, right across from it.

“I’m not so sure about this,” I said. Alyssa nodded slowly in agreement but Payton groaned.

“Come on, girl,” Payton said. “You put in all this work to get the guys and show Missy up. Now let’s go in for the kill. It’s not like we’re announcing that she’s the worst person who has ever lived, which she might be. Missy’s a big girl; she can take it.”

“I think Sadie’s right,” Alyssa said. “The kiss list was always more of an inside joke, wasn’t it? I mean, we are not seriously thinking about publishing these photos in the yearbook, right?”

Olivia snorted. “I just wish we had a photo of Aaron to include,” she said. “It would have been the crown jewel. By the way Sadie, have you told all the boys that they’re going to be in these pictures?”

I had stopped paying attention, however, because at that moment Aaron walked past the window of the activities office. I desperately wanted to talk to him. “I’ll be right back,” I said quickly. “Don’t do anything for now.”

“We have to submit everything by tomorrow!” Olivia yelled at me but I ignored the reminder. I had more important things to worry about. Aaron was almost out of sight.

I rushed out the office and practically yelled, “Aaron!”

Aaron looked back over his shoulder and gave me one of his dazzling smiles. He motioned for the two other guys with him – whom I hadn’t even noticed before – to keep going and he walked back to me.

“Sup Anderson?” he asked playfully. “Why are you hanging around after school so late?”

“Yearbook stuff,” I said. “We need to get everything wrapped up by tomorrow and the only computer with the right software is in the activities office.”

Aaron nodded his understanding. “I was just signing my letter of intent to play soccer next year.”

That explained Aaron’s clothes. He was wearing khaki pants and a new blue golf shirt that fit perfectly onto his lean frame and brought out the color of his gorgeous eyes. It was a clean, innocent school boy, preppy look that I found sexy and irresistible. Aaron’s hair looked like it had been recently cut and his skin already bore a light tan from playing soccer in the spring sun. It made me realize that summer was almost upon us. Once summer arrived I would be lucky to see Aaron around town a couple times. Then the new school year would start and I might never see him again. That thought suddenly made me desperate to make a lasting connection now before it was too late.

“School, wow,” I said, grasping for anything that could start a conversation. “It’s weird to think you’re going to be gone next year. Do you know what you want to study?”

Aaron shrugged. “Not really,” he said. “My dad wants me to study business.”

“Is that what you want to study?”

“Well, I’ve always thought it would be cool to study education and become a teacher,” Aaron said. “But a lot of people want to do that and, like my dad always says, you don’t make much money doing it. Maybe it’s just one of those things that I want to do because I see people teaching, you know? I mean, if I see my teachers working all the time so maybe it’s natural to want to be one of them. Maybe if I watched a businessman work at his office I’d want to go into business. My dad says it can be exciting.”

“Maybe,” I said, “but are you just thinking about going into business because your dad wants you to go into it? There’s nothing wrong with business – you can change the world in a lot of ways through business – but if you don’t want to do it you shouldn’t do it. It’s not like you can’t make a living as a teacher, especially if you focus on an in-demand area like math or science.”

Aaron shook his head. “I think I would really like working with kids but you don’t know my dad,” he said. “He can be very persuasive.”

“So what?” I said firmly. “Once you’ve graduated you can choose to do whatever you want to do. Yes, it’s completely up to your dad whether he supports you or not and that’s certainly a factor, but I don’t think you should give up on any dream solely for another person. Your life isn’t a dress rehearsal, Aaron. You only get to live each moment of your life once.”

Aaron smiled. “That’s deep,” he said.

“I’m pretty sure I got it from a fortune cookie,” I responded.

Aaron looked at me for a few seconds and then said, “Are you about to leave? I’m headed to the parking lot. I can walk out with you.”

I wasn’t. I still had all my stuff in the activities room and my locker and Alyssa was driving me home. “Absolutely,” I said.

I walked as slowly as I could to try to steal more time with Aaron. We talked about soccer and our plans for summer training. Aaron invited me to go on runs with him, which made me wonder whether he was just being nice or actually trying to create an excuse for us to see each other over the summer. Either way, I was thrilled. At the very least I would get to spend some more quality time with Aaron’s shirtless body as it glistened in the sun after a nice long run. That image boosted my spirits. Eventually, however, I could see the doors to the outside and knew if I didn’t get him to ask me out now I would lose this rare opportunity alone with him.

Aaron was making a comment about running. Desperate, I jumped on the chance for a flimsy segue into my romantic life. “I’ve lost my running buddy,” I said with a sigh. “Paul and I used to run together when we were dating but we’re no longer together.”

Nothing about that statement was true. Paul and I had never gone running together, we had never really officially dated, and we still met for the occasional hookup. Aaron didn’t need to know that, however. I just wanted him to know that I was available. If the fact that a guy as hot and popular as Paul was interested in me made me seem more desirable, well, that was a nice little bonus.

My statement seemed to bring Aaron up short. He mulled it over for a moment as we walked in silence and then said, “Paul Stedman? I didn’t know you and he dated.”

“Yeah,” I said, suddenly wondering if I had gone overboard and made myself seem like I dated too many different guys. Aaron already knew I had been romantically involved with guys like David, Dylan, and Sam. “You know, it was a very brief thing,” I said. “We had fun though.” I grimaced and immediately regretted that I had said the last part. I just wanted to make Aaron jealous. Now I had definitely gone overboard.

Aaron was quiet for another moment. Then he said, “So I guess that means you’re not dating anyone now?”

My heart leapt. I struggled to keep my emotions under control. “No,” I said in the most neutral voice I could muster. Was Aaron Caldwell going to ask me out?

Aaron stopped walking. I took a step past him before I realized it and had to turn around to look at him. “What is it?” I asked.

Aaron looked at me with his gorgeous light blue eyes and his flawless face. I let myself enjoy the eye candy for a moment. He was beautiful. I wanted his perfect, strong, manly hands to caress my body and his soft lips to kiss mine. More than anything, I wanted this amazing, kind, sensitive boy to ask me out. And now his lips parted and he seemed nervous, almost as if I wanted to ask me something important, and then he...

“Sadie!” a voice suddenly called out. I let out an audible groan as Aaron turned around at the sound of the noise. Alyssa, Olivia, and Payton were walking towards us. Alyssa had yelled to me. I would have killed her on the spot if Aaron had not been there. I doubted he would date a murderer.

“Sadie,” Alyssa said again once the girls got closer, “we’ve given up on the yearbook for the night. We left everything in the activities room and we’re going to come in early tomorrow morning to finish up. Do you still want a ride home?”

“Yes,” I said grudgingly. I did need some way to get home. At least this would give me an opportunity to kill Alyssa and dump her body where no one would find it. Then another thought occurred to me. “Oh crap,” I said. “I still have some stuff in the activities room and my locker. I need to go back to get it.”

“Okay, can you just hurry?” Alyssa asked. “My mom called and she wants me home as soon as possible for dinner. My grandparents are coming over.”

“I can give her a ride,” Aaron said quickly.

Our four pairs of eyes turned to stare at Aaron in incredulity. The hottest senior in the school was offering to give me a ride home?
To be alone in a car with me?

“Are... are you sure?” Alyssa asked.

“Absolutely,” Aaron said. “I was just planning to drive around for a while anyway. It’s no big deal.”

That surprised me as well. I had wondered where Aaron had been hurrying off to after school and why he was so difficult to track down. Ever since spring had come he had been impossible to find. I had assumed that he was busy with friends and soccer. Why would he just be driving around town? Perhaps he made that up. Regardless, I couldn’t have been happier.

“Okay, thanks,” I said. “Do you want to walk with me?”

Aaron nodded and we set off back to the activities office. I shot the girls a quick smile. The stunned looks on their faces were priceless.

Having just been given more time, I relaxed and let the conversation develop naturally. Aaron seemed relieved as well and chatted amiably about school and friends. I was about to respond to one of his comments when we turned a corner in the hallway and saw the last person I wanted to see: Missy James.

My heart, which had been pounding in my chest, suddenly felt leaden. Missy was rummaging around in the activities office, probably doing something for cheerleading. I almost stopped Aaron there and demanded we go to my locker first instead but Missy looked up and saw us. I almost died. I was sure she would somehow sabotage the moment. To my surprise, she darted out of the activities room and walked away in the other direction.

I couldn’t believe my luck. Everything was going perfectly. Aaron was giving me a ride home, he had come up with an excuse for us to spend time together this summer all on his own, and he actually seemed to possibly be on the verge of asking me out. Missy had gone out of her way to avoid us. Things couldn’t be more perfect. It was like I had a lucky charm with me. If there was any time for me to seal with deal with Aaron, it was now.

I grabbed my stuff from the activities room. “I just need to get a couple books from my locker,” I said. Aaron nodded and we continued our walk through the hallway.

A moment before we rounded the corner to get to the commons Aaron did something that caught me completely off guard. He reached out and grabbed my hand. I jumped in shock at the feel of his skin against mine.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Aaron said. “I, uh, I just wanted to ask you a question.”

“Yes?” I asked somewhat breathlessly.

Aaron took a step closer to me. I instinctively backed up and bumped into a wall which I had forgotten was there. Aaron took another step closer, clearly invading my personal space. He was now just inches away from me. He was so beautiful that I felt my knees giving out. I struggled to maintain my composure. What was he going to do?

Aaron leaned towards me and in the moment I realized that he was going to kiss me. Not some girl he didn’t know while he was blindfolded – me. I closed my eyes and readied myself for the best moment of my life.

“Oh.” The word instantly flooded me with confusion and fear. The last thing I expected or wanted Aaron to say. “Oh.” I opened my eyes with trepidation.

Aaron was not even looking at me. Instead, he was looking over my head at something around the corner of the hallway. I couldn’t see what he was looking at from my vantage point so I turned to get a better look. If it had taken his attention away from me it better be nothing short of frickin miraculous.

“No, wait!” Aaron said abruptly. He put a hand on my shoulder to stop me. He was too late.

I saw the student commons. It was filled with pieces of paper strewn across the floor and taped to the walls. Each piece of paper showed me kissing a different boy from the kiss list. Across the front of the pages someone had written words like “Slut” and “Whore.”

And then on the other side of the commons, by the doors that connected the school to the music auditorium I saw a group of parents and students frozen in horror, staring at all of the posters with my face on them.