The Romeo Club

“Wow, I barely recognize you,” Trey said. “Maybe we should get you some cologne, too.”

“Do you want me to punch you in the face?” My eyes narrowed.

He chuckled. “Not really.”

“Then shut your pie-hole.”

We found C.C. a few minutes later, still spraying himself with various scents. If he was in a comic book, there’d be a cloud of fumes drawn above his head. When he saw us approach, he did a double take.

“So, you’re a cross-dresser now? Have to say, I always knew there was something off about you.”

“Not another word, or that bottle is gonna get shoved up your nose,” I said.

He grinned, but went back to work. Three tries later, C.C. found a cologne that didn’t make us gag, which meant we could finally head over for him to get his haircut.

He sat in the black leather chair, an apron type sheet pinned across his shoulders, chest, and back. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this.” He shot me a worried glance. “I haven’t cut my hair in a couple years.”

“You’ll be fine. Besides, how bad do you want to land Liza?” My hand shoved beneath the beanie so I could scratch my head.

“What’s that got to do with my hair?”

“Have you actually looked at your poodle curls recently?”

Before he could argue further, the hairdresser snipped his first orangey-red strand. It fell to the floor, reminding me of a giant Fruit Loop. The stylist moved quickly, and soon there was a giant pile at the foot of his chair. At this short-length, his hair was less orange and more brownish-red. Even I had to admit, he looked like a different guy. Not quite sexy, but a step up from circus clown. Without the fro being the main focal point, I actually noticed how pretty his blue eyes were. We could work with this.

“Do you think I can keep some of this?” he asked the hairdresser as he pointed to the floor.

“What’re you gonna do with it? Glue it to your chest?” Trey laughed.

“No. But my mom will probably like to have a memento.”

“Please don’t tell me you have mommy issues on top of everything else?” I said.

“What? She just keeps things for when I grow up. You know, to show my kids.”

Geez, I’d hate to see what else she had. His first teeth. His first diaper. Maybe toilet paper from his first butt-wipe? So didn’t need to picture any of that.

When we finished with the hair department, the guys decided to head over to the snack bar, leaving me alone to stare in the storefront window where my future prom dress hung in all its glory. Although, I suppose it seemed kind of weird, since I was still dressed like a guy.

“Don’t worry. Only a few more sessions of this and you’ll be mine.” And after today’s foray at the mall, I deserved this dress—or rather earned it. With a smile, I walked across the corridor where I saw a cute retro T-shirt hanging in the window. It made me think of Trey. The faded gray material had his favorite band logo on it. Cool, yet nerdy at the same time. Without a second thought, I went in and bought it. I’d give it to him when the rest of the guys weren’t around. A kind of gift to celebrate the new him. Except, why exactly was I celebrating the new him? I had a boyfriend. A very hot boyfriend. Who I lied to in order to help the Nerd Herd. But Trey’s a friend. It’s not an issue. Or at least I hoped it wasn’t.

Chapter 7

After we got back to our house, Drake rushed inside to get changed for his date with Chloe. I sent the Nerd Herd down to the family room so I could put my stuff away, strip out of my boy clothes, and grab some notebooks for them.

When I got downstairs, they were sprawled out in front of the television watching some sci-fi flick, which although it looked awesome, would be a huge distraction.

“TV off,” I said.

They spun to face me, eyes wide, like I’d just told them to down a gallon of gasoline.

“Um—hello, this is Space Radicals III.” C.C. waved at the screen.

“I know. And this is called your first lesson for The Romeo Club.” I tossed him a notebook then handed the other two theirs. With a sigh, I grabbed the TV remote and switched off the movie.

Trey grinned as he stared at the front covers of the notebooks, which had TRC in big letters, with looping hearts below. “Isn’t this kind of girly?”

I glared. “These notebooks are gonna be your lifelines. I put start up conversations in them for you, not to mention, I wrote down different events which are coming up at school. You know, things you can invite girls to. And I also wrote our schedules in them, great date movies, along with date appropriate outfit ideas.”

C.C. flipped through his. “Track meet? Really? Who wants to take a date to a track meet?”

“Hey, I’m just listing school events that some girls hang out at. If you didn’t want my help then you shouldn’t have asked. Besides, the only person in this room who’s ever been on a date is me.”

“She’s got a point,” Kevin said.

I grabbed three pens from the coffee table drawer and handed them out. The guys groaned, but moved to sit on the overstuffed couch and chairs.