Phone Calls From a Rock Star (12 page)

Ouch.

“
Oh. I’m glad. I mean, I’d
hate for you to be lonely or anything. And if she’s nice, that’s
even better. You deserve that.” So much for sounding only slightly
interested and not at all bothered. “I really have to go now. I
have a ton of homework to do. Thanks for the tickets.”

“
Not a problem, angel,” he
said, slightly bemused. “I’ll call you soon.”

Ending the call, I dug my Calculus book out
of my bag. I flipped the pages until I found the one with my
homework problems and prowled around looking for a pencil.

“
Well?” Annie
demanded.

“
He’s going to send me
tickets for Seth.” I shrugged as I rummaged around the bottom of my
bag and found a pencil.

“
I figured that much,”
Annie said. “What about Monique?”

I was tempted to tell her to go read one of
her tabloids but I didn’t. It wasn’t her fault Jake enjoyed
Monique’s company every now and again. It wasn’t her fault that I
had a strange urge to snap my pencil in half and throw it at the
picture of Monique wrapped in Jake’s arms.

Taking a deep breath, I turned to Annie. “He
said they date sometimes but it’s nothing serious. He said she’s
fun.”

I was horrified to feel tears building
behind my eyes.

Annie’s face melted into sympathy and she
hugged me close. “I’m sorry, Bella.”

I choked back the tears and smiled at her.
“Don’t be stupid. I don’t like Jake that way.”

She gave me a look of clear disbelief. “Are
you sure? Because I bet if you just said something to him—gave him
the slightest encouragement, he’d be yours for the taking.”

I gasped. “How do you figure? Look at him
and then look at me. He’s a famous rock star. I’m just a high
school senior stuck at a ridiculously expensive boarding school. He
has movie stars falling at his feet. I get dumped by football
players days before our first date.”

“
Yeah, but he took you to
the dance and…”

I held up a hand and stopped her. “He took
me to the dance as a favor. He felt sorry for me. It didn’t mean a
thing.”

“
What about all the
birthday presents?”

I instinctively shook my wrist, jiggling the
bracelet and letting the charm bounce off my arm. “He’s my friend.
Friends buy friends stuff. You and Cammy bought me birthday
presents, too. You don’t want to date me.”

Annie rubbed furious circles on her
forehead. “I think you’re missing the point here.”

“
No, I think you are,” I
argued. “He doesn’t want to date me, and I don’t want to date him.
We talk. We get together and laugh. That’s all.”

My cell phone rang before Annie could
respond, and I was instantly grateful for the distraction. I
figured it was Jake, calling back for something to do with the
tickets but when I glanced at the number, it was one I didn’t
recognize.

“
Hello?” I answered
timidly.

“
Hi, Bella. It’s
Lance.”

My heart leapt and I smiled brightly at
Annie. “Hi, Lance. How’d you get this number?”

Annie shook her head, frown marring her
face.

“
Cammy gave it to me.
That’s all right, isn’t it?”

“
Sure,” I said, not really
caring much. “So, um, what do you need?”

“
I was wondering if you’d
like to go to the movies with me Friday night after the football
game.”

My heart stopped. Lance was actually asking
me out. Me!

“
What movie?” Oh, I know I
did not just ask that! I wanted to smack myself but I didn’t think
I had enough strength to make it hurt.

“
I hadn’t really thought
about it,” he said, a little taken back. “Whichever you’d like to
see, I guess.”

“
Okay. Sure. Thanks.” I
really needed to work on my conversation skills.

“
Great. I’ll talk to you
more about it tomorrow.”

“
Sure. Thanks.” Ending the
call, I mentally chastised myself for my stupidity. I never had a
problem talking to Jake!

“
Lance asked you out?”
Annie inquired.

I nodded, excitement returning. Yes, Lance
asked me out. Me! I beamed at Annie perhaps a bit too smug. But I
would prove to her once and for all that I had no romantic interest
in Jake.

None whatsoever.

Chapter Nine

“
What movie do you want to
see?” Lance asked as he maneuvered his sleek, black BMW through
town. He’d finally taken a break from his play-by-play recap of the
earlier game—a game that I had attended. Obviously he thought I,
being female, knew nothing at all about football. But, Meridian
Valley was having an amazing season, and as quarterback, Lance was
dubbed the star.

“
I don’t care. Anything but
that new Monique DuVois film,” I muttered, still a little
bitter.

“
You don’t like her?” Lance
asked. “I thought everyone loved her.”

“
I don’t like her acting,”
I answered in a petulant tone. Actually, I couldn’t recall ever
seeing her in a movie but I didn’t share that little tidbit with
Lance. I really have to have a burning desire to venture inside a
movie theater. I prefer renting or buying DVDs and watching them at
home - the floor isn’t sticky, and I can pause the movie when I
have to use the bathroom.

“
There’s an abundance of
horror flicks out since Halloween is around the corner. Do you want
to burn some brain cells on one of those?”

I laughed and relaxed. Who knew Lance had
such a weird sense of humor? “Sure. Sounds great.”

We settled toward the back of the theater
and munched on popcorn. The movie was a typical garden variety
horror film, pun intended. I say that because the psycho freak used
various garden tools to creatively murder all the college students
daring to spend the night in a supposedly haunted caretaker’s
cottage behind an abandoned mansion. Lots of blood, gore and naked
coeds. Lance loved it.

After the movie, Lance offered to take me
out for junk food—it’s no secret at school that I’m a huge junk
food addict. I nearly agreed until he suggested we go to Burger
Kastle. I turned him down—I just couldn’t do it. Burger Kastle
suddenly became sacred ground that no one could tread upon in my
company unless he happened to be a rock star named Jake Johnson. If
that made me a psycho, well, hand me a garden hoe.

We agreed upon a coffee shop near the
theater. It wasn’t the same one I’d visited with Jake, not that it
mattered. Really. We sat in a booth, sipping hot drinks, when I
remembered to turn my cell back on. I was surprised that I had two
voice mails and like a thousand text messages. I sighed. They were
all from Jake.

“
Something wrong?” Lance
asked, lifting a brow in an incredibly adorable way.

I smiled. “No. I just have
a ton of messages. Geez, the movie wasn’t
that
long.”

Lance’s deep laugh assaulted my ears. “Maybe
you should check just to be sure everything is okay.”

I nodded and before I could even begin to
scroll through the messages, I received another text. From
Jake.

I’m bored. Turn your phone on.

I released a frustrated
sigh before answering.
On a date. Leave me
alone.

It took him a few minutes
to reply.
Who is the lucky guy?

Call you later.

“
Anything important?” Lance
asked.

“
Huh?” I’d almost forgotten
he was there. “Oh. Nah.”

“
That’s good,” he said
absently as he gazed out the window and into the darkness. He
snapped his head to me so fast, I was afraid he’d suffer whiplash.
“Hey, do you want to go to a party with me tomorrow
night?”

“
I didn’t know anyone was
having a party tomorrow night.”

He leaned over the table, lips curled in a
conniving grin. “It’s off campus. Dean’s cousin lives in town, and
his parents are leaving in the morning for vacation.”

“
Oh,” I muttered. Real
witty, I know, but it was all I had. “Sure.”

“
Great,” he smiled. “I’ll
pick you up at your dorm around seven.”

***

“
Help,” I cried as Cammy
opened her door.

Her brows pulled together, resembling a
fuzzy caterpillar above her eyes. “What’s wrong?” She tugged me
inside and shut the door. “Are you in trouble?”

“
No. I need something to
wear. Lance is taking me to a party tonight.”

Her brows tightened as her lips puckered in
confusion. “I didn’t know there was a party going on anywhere.”

I quickly explained about Dean’s cousin. Her
eyes darkened as she dropped to her bed. “Be careful, Bella.
Remember how Dean spiked the punch at the Fall Festival dance? He
got me drunk and didn’t care.”

Oh, I remembered. But I would be with Lance,
and I’d make sure he knew I didn’t drink. “It’ll be okay, Cammy.
I’ll be with Lance.”

“
I don’t know,” she said,
uncertainty troubling her eyes. “Bella, I think those boys changed
a lot over the summer. I’ve heard some stories…”

“
Cammy,” I said, gripping
her shoulders and giving them a little shake. “I’ll be fine. I
don’t drink—you know that. I can take care of myself. If Lance
turns out to be a jerk, I’ll call you or Annie.”

She scrutinized me carefully before giving
me a reluctant nod. “Okay, let’s see what I have.”

Cammy was close to my size though I was a
little bit skinnier and shorter and she was more top heavy. She
found a cute dress in her amazing wardrobe and made me try it on.
It was pale pink with a square neckline, fitted waist and a flowing
skirt.

I tugged on the hem. “It’s a little short,
don’t you think?”

“
Not on you. You’re shorter
than I am, and it looks good.” She stepped back and tilted her
head, studying my appearance. She made me feel like a specimen
under glass. “You’re going to need a padded bra. The bust is a
little poofy.”

“
Gee, I hadn’t noticed,” I
replied in a droll tone.

Once she had me properly dressed, she worked
on my makeup and fixed my hair. By the time she finished, Annie
appeared and gave her nod of approval. We returned to my room to
fetch my jacket just as Lance buzzed our room. I bid my friends
goodbye and hurried out to greet him.

His eyes lit up when I walked out the door,
and he eagerly claimed my hand. “You look beautiful, Bella. I’m
going to have to keep a close eye on you tonight.”

“
Yeah, well, I hope you
do,” I muttered nervously. “I don’t guess I’ll know anyone
there.”

He led me to his car quickly, in an obvious
hurry to get to the party.

“
Sure you will,” he said as
we stopped at his car. He opened the passenger side for me and I
slipped inside. He hurried around the front and started the engine.
“Dean will be there and a couple guys from the team. Probably a
couple girls from school, too.”

Great, cheerleaders and all his friends. My
kind of crowd. I sighed, knowing he only meant to put me at ease,
but he’d managed to make me more nervous. I didn’t fit in with his
friends; never had.

The massive front lawn was packed with cars.
I was sure Dean’s aunt and uncle would not appreciate their lawn
being turned into a parking lot. Lance didn’t seem to mind, though,
as he found a spot and killed the engine. We both got out and he
took my hand.

The music was loud, naturally, and
definitely not my favorite. The bass reverberated off the walls as
the rap artist expelled his thoughts firmly. I winced. If this was
the music choice for the evening, my head would be pounding right
along with the beat.

Lance kept a tight hold on my hand as he
shoved his way through the hordes of bodies moving to the music on
the once beautiful carpet. I stayed as close as possible to him,
scared he’d let go and I’d become lost in the crowd.

“
Lance, dude! You made it!”
Dean exclaimed once we entered the kitchen. He thrust a plastic cup
in Lance’s hand and smiled appreciatively at me. “Bella, baby, you
look hot!”

I stepped closer to Lance, trying my best to
smile at Dean. Lance dropped my hand and slung his arm over my
shoulder.

“
Hey,” he warned. “Go find
your own girl.”

“
Just kidding,” Dean
laughed, holding his hands up in surrender.

“
Be a good boy and fetch
Bella a drink.”

I opened my mouth to protest when Krysti
stumbled into the room, her eyes slightly glazed. She spotted me
and Lance and pulled her lips into a tight smirk. She lifted her
plastic glass in my direction and disappeared out on the deck.

When Dean handed me a glass, I sipped it
carefully. I could taste cranberry juice but it had a little bit of
a bite to it. I couldn’t smell anything alcoholic but it didn’t
take a genius to know vodka didn’t have a scent. At least, that’s
what the kids always said at school. I decided to just walk around
with the cup in my hand so I fit in with everyone else. I would
just sip at it gingerly and make it look like I was drinking. No
one had to know it was just an act.

Suddenly a horde of cheerleaders popped up
in front of us. Kimberly Carlson was in the lead and she nearly
screamed when she spotted me.

“
I just knew Lance would
bring you,” she exclaimed. She squeezed my empty hand. “I always
knew he liked you.”

Krysti pushed through the crowd and stopped
next to Kimberly. She drained her plastic glass and tossed it
carelessly to the floor.