“Weren’t you afraid someone would notice?” Katie asks.

“Did you notice I didn’t get up to cheer when Aiden made that great catch?”

“We thought you were boycotting Aiden’s catch.”

“Then when whoever scored, I was really happy about it.”

Maggie grins at me. “That is soooo bad! I totally want someone to do that to me. I bet it felt naughty. I wanna feel naughty. I’m sorta tired of being the good girl all the time. Well, not that I’m that good. I kinda hooked up with Parker last night.”

“You did? That’s awesome. I mean not that you hooked up, but are you going to get back together with him?”

“Probably not, but he’d be an okay Homecoming date. Logan told me you two have math together. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t think about it. But he is really cute. I sit right behind him. He has a sexy back.”

“It’s those lacrosse muscles,” she says. “Do you think I should go for him or Parker?”

“I don’t know. Who do you like more?”

“I was thinking more about who might look better in pictures,” she laughs. “The pictures I will show my kids someday.”

I think about how Dawson told me his goal was to ask Whitney to Homecoming. I push that to the back of my mind. “Back to being naughty. I want to do something like that back to Dawson. Any suggestions?”

“You could do something to him at a game, like under a blanket or with a sweatshirt across his lap,” Maggie suggests.

I look down at my phone for the time. “Oh, shoot. I have to get to the library. Aiden is having some French crisis.”

Annie says, “French kissing crisis?”

“Shut up. I like Dawson. Aiden just annoys me.”

I throw a sweatshirt over my head and leave on the yoga pants I’ve been relaxing in. I don’t care that my hair is in a ponytail, and I’m going to see the God of all Hotties.

I really don’t.

But fine. I do stop to brush my teeth.

And maybe put on a swipe of lipgloss.

Vote for letting him die.

7:50pm

On my way there, Riley calls me.

“What’s up?”

“I just dropped her off at her dorm and she kissed me.”

“That’s good. You sound happy.”

“I can’t say this when Dallas is around, but I feel really happy. She is so pretty.”

“Yeah, she is. Did you make out or just kiss?”

“Neither, she gave me a kiss on the cheek. It was such a turn on.”

“A kiss on the cheek? Was it sweet?”

“Yeah. Super sweet.”

“Did she slip you a love potion or something last night? You’re acting really weird.”

“Shut up. But maybe. We’ll see. She’s really pretty.”

“I’m just walking in the library. I’ll let you go dance in the rain or something.”

“No, wait. I called to ask you about today. What did you think? Do you think she likes me?”

“Yes, Riley, I do. She laughed and smiled when you were talking to her. When you wrote Riley in glue on her arm and covered it with glitter she practically swooned. And she wouldn’t have come to lunch with just us or kissed you on the cheek if she didn’t like you.”

“But what about the guy from home?”

“I heard they aren’t going out. So let her figure that out. If she likes you, he’ll be history.”

“But what if I’m history instead?”

“Speaking of history, you need to work on the script for our project tonight or I’m not letting you copy my worksheets any more.”

“Answer my question first.”

“I think she needs to see you shirtless. She won’t care about any other boy.”

Riley makes a satisfied noise. “I do have a good chest.”

“Yes, you do.”

“So how am I going to get her to see it?”

“I was sort of joking, Riley. Text her tonight. Be sweet. No player lines whatsoever. You understand me?”

“Yes, Mom.”

I find Aiden sitting in the back corner of the library. It seems to be becoming our corner. It’s behind some stacks and one of the more private tables in the library. He told me it was so we could quietly talk without bothering anyone.

I think he’s just trying to be sneaky.

Like maybe there is some time warp, or a valley of the gods under a secret seal below the carpet. Maybe the table rests on it, and when he needs his aura recharged by the gods, he just sneaks down there. Or maybe he goes down there to see his mother, Aphrodite. Come to think of it, that’s probably why Aiden messes with me, he’s got that spitefulness of his mother, who thinks love is some cruel, manipulatable game.

Whatever.

Okay. Tutor face on.

“Hey, Boots,” he says to me. “How was your weekend?”

“It was good. Really good.”

“Good for you. Okay, so, I don’t get this at all.”

We go over the workbook pages, and I start to think maybe he does need to go get his aura recharged or something because he doesn’t make fun of me and Dawson. He doesn’t slam me in any way.

“What’s wrong with you?” I finally ask.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re being nice to me. It’s kinda scary.”

“I’m always nice to you.”

I look at him, eyebrows raised, calling bullshit.

“I just thought it would be nice if we could try and be friends, so I guess, yes, I’m trying to be nice.”

“That’s cool.”

“Well, it may be cool, but it sucks. I wanna hear your weekend with Dawson sucked. I want to be tutored in my room, so we can have some privacy. I also want you to stop flipping your ponytail around. Your hair smells like cotton candy and it reminds me of the stupid Ferris wheel.”

“Ha! There’s the Aiden I know and love.”

He cocks his head at me and grins. “You love me?”

“It’s just an expression. It doesn’t mean anything.”

He leans a little closer toward me. Thank God there is a table separating us.

“Still, there are lots of expressions out there. You picked that one. You’re just trying to tell me you love me, it’s okay. I already know.”

My phone buzzes on the table and up pops a text.

Dawson: I miss you </3. Will die if I don’t get a kiss before bed.

Aiden reads it. “Wow, if only it were that easy.”

“What?”

“I vote for letting him die.”

“Oh my gosh! You are so mean! I think my work here is done anyway.” I pat his shoulder and say the words he did to me after the dances. “See ya later, Aiden.”

My heart mated with his.

9:22pm

As I’m walking over to Dawson’s dorm for a quick good night kiss, I get a text from Aiden.

Hottie God: I miss you </3. Will die if you don’t meet me in my dorm room.

Me: I’ll be right there, baby.

Me: Bahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!

Hottie God: You’ll be sad when I’m dead.

Me: Doubtful, I’ll have more free time. Actually, I do have something I want to talk to you about, if you promise to be nice. Five minutes in your room?

Hottie God: I’ll be there :)

I go kiss Dawson for about six minutes straight and try to keep him from attacking me for the millionth time this weekend.

Not that I minded at all. This weekend was amazing. It really was.

I say goodbye then run up to Aiden’s room and knock on the door.

“Entrer,” he says, using the French word for enter. “So, I turned on the twinkle lights just for you. Just getting ready to start the iPod. I think you owe me something like ten dances.”

“If you’ll do something for me, I’ll give you your dances.”

He’s taken aback by my agreement. “Uh, sure, what?”

“Look, I’m being nice to you and spending an awful lot of time helping you with French. In return for that, I got on what was supposed to be the very cool Social Committee.”

“And it’s not?”

“No. They meet at freaking seven am. Whitney is on it and she’s mean. And your sister isn’t nice to me when Whitney is around. So you have to get on it and team up with me. Or at least run interference.”

“You should get your boyfriend to do that for you.”

“He’s not my boyfriend and you know it.”

“Whatever, you’re with him. Obviously.”

“Whatever. I want you.”

His eyes sparkle at me and a little grin plays on his lips. “I knew you'd come around.”

“I don’t want you, want you. You seem to be one of the few people here that can hang out with them, be a part of their group, but yet, you’re not a part of it. How do you do that? How are you popular without being with them?”

“Because I don’t want it.”

“I don’t want it either. So why does she hate me so much?”

“All you have to do is look at yourself in the mirror to answer that question.”

“She hates the way I look?”

Aiden chuckles and pulls me onto the bed to sit with him. “I’m a guy. I’m not a threat to her. You’re pretty, Boots. Pretty, smart, and you have this, this, way about you. This casual friendliness that people are drawn to. And you seem to be very comfortable in the spotlight.”

“Are you comfortable in the spotlight?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’ve heard you are a really good soccer player. Usually really good athletes have to comfortable in the spotlight. It sort of comes with the job.”

“I’m not a cocky jerk on the field, but I am a good goalie.”

“From what I’ve heard, good is an understatement.”

He smiles. He has the prettiest smile I have ever seen. Even his teeth are perfect.

“I’d say I’m confident in my abilities.”

“Do you get nervous? Like, stage fright kind of thing? Ever choked in a big game?”

“Not since I was about ten. I played up an age group in the Fourteen and Under League. The guys were a lot bigger than me. I lost a game because I got distracted and missed the ball. I’ve never let it happen again.”

“You’ve never been scored on since?”

A smirk plays on his lips and his eyes twinkle.

I roll my eyes. “I don’t mean that kind of scoring. I already heard about your man whore ways last year. I’m still talking about soccer.”

“I have been scored on a total of eleven times since then.”

“Eleven times in seven years. Those are pretty good stats. I’m impressed.”

“Good to know there’s at least one way I can impress you.”

“You can impress me by getting on Social Committee. And we were talking about how you are popular without being popular. You have everyone in your room all the time. I don’t get it.”

He hangs his head down a little. “Maybe I like to party.”

“You don't seem like you do.”

“Fine. I got roped into it.”

“Wait. You’re doing something for them that you didn’t want to do. Why?”

“I do it for my sister. I'm trying to keep her out of trouble.”

I repeat the words he said to me in class one day. “And here I thought you were different.”

“Shut up,” he says, but he’s grinning at me.

I smile big and say in a singsong voice. “Aiden’s been drinking the Kool-Aid.”

He grabs my shoulders, which makes me feel like my body just turned to putty. “Fine. I'll get on the Social Committee.”

His hands are still touching me as he speaks. It’s hard for me to hear what he’s saying because he’s touching me.

I finally say, “We need to be a united front. I know if you’re there, your sister won’t pick on me.”

“My sister likes you. Why would she pick on you?”

“She’s nice to me at dance and at soccer, but when Whitney’s around she's not.”

Aiden shakes his head. “I don’t understand her sometimes.”

“I do, actually. I used to be her.”

“What?”

“Yep. At my old school. I don’t ever want to be popular again.”

“But you’re dating Dawson.”

“I’m hanging out with Dawson because he’s sweet. Not because he’s popular.”

Aiden leans back on his pillow and stares up at the twinkling lights. I lean back and look up at them too.

“So did you date the popular guy at your last school too?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“So your Keats guy. He was the most popular?”

I start laughing so hard I swallow my spit the wrong way and have a choking fit. Aiden hands me the Gatorade he’s been drinking. “No. He wasn’t socially acceptable, according to my friend, who I swear is a Whitney clone.” I stop and snap my fingers. “That’s it.”

“What’s it?”

“Whitney. What does she have on your sister?”

“What do you mean?”

“The reason I never crossed my Whitney is because she knew something embarrassing about me and threatened to tell everyone. And it sorta would have ruined my reputation.”

He rolls over on his side and gives me a crooked smile. “What’d she have on you?”