The Romeo Club

“You’re not gonna stand there staring at it all day, are you?” Drake tugged my arm, jerking me away from my destiny.

“Hey. I wasn’t done admiring it.” If Kenadi had come with me, I would’ve gone in to try it on. Again.

“Yeah, well, with that price tag, I’m sure it’ll be here next time we come in.” His gaze darted around the different storefronts. We took a few more steps, and he came up short forcing me to bump into his back. I glanced at him. He wiped his hands on his jeans, his brow furrowed.

“Um—what’s gotten into you?”

“Chloe works at the Notes Music Store.” He nodded to the shop across from us. “And she’s there today.”

I grinned. “This is perfect.”

“Say what?”

“We’ve found your in. Let’s go.” My red lacquered fingernails dug into his arm as I dragged him toward Notes.

He attempted to pull free from me. His face turned crimson. “No, wait. I’m not ready for this. I thought you said we’d take things slow.”

“Relax—I’ll help you through this.” Geez, he acted like he’d never talked to a girl before. It was kind of cute the way his ears got pink. “Make sure you keep your cell on.”

“Why?”

“That way I can help you if you panic.” As we approached the entrance, I whispered, “You’re here to buy sheet music.”

“Right. Sheet music.” He sucked in a deep breath and let it out slow. “Do you have a piece of gum?”

I dug through my purse and pulled out a piece of Spearmint Bubble Burst. He took it from me and popped it in his mouth.

When we got inside, Chloe glanced up from behind the counter, looked down, and then back up again. “Drake?”

He smiled. “Hey—I didn’t know you worked here.”

For having no experience at this kind of thing, he definitely seemed like a natural. Way to play up the “coincidence meeting up with you here” card.

She blushed. “Yeah. My parents told me I have to pay for my car insurance and gas.”

He chuckled. “Join the club. It must be a parental thing—teach us all that responsibility and stuff.”

“You can say that again.” Chloe giggled and brushed strands of red hair from her face. She then turned to me, as if just noticing me. “Hi, Delyla.”

“Hey.” I nodded.

They grew quiet. I nudged Drake in the side. C’mon old boy. Don’t freak out now. You’ve got her where you want her. I wandered to the electric guitar section to give them some privacy, but stayed close enough to eavesdrop.

“So, I’m actually looking for some sheet music for my drums,” Drake said at last.

“We’ve got a great selection in the percussion section. Actually, I think we had some new pieces come in.” She moved from behind the counter to show it to him.

While they examined the finer points of band stuff, I grabbed a baby blue electric guitar from the display. I turned it on and strummed a few chords. Drake shot me a quick glance, but I continued to play.

I would love to get an electric guitar, but my parents didn’t want to give rise to the next great chick band. Which sucked because I already had a cool name picked out. The Smoking Spanx. I know. Totally epic.

With a sigh, I set the instrument down and pulled out my phone. Ask her about her orchestra stuff, I texted.

I wandered around the store for twenty-five minutes while they chatted it up. At last, my brother made it to the checkout counter with several new sheets of music.

“You should stop by the band room tomorrow during lunch and hear part of the orchestral piece I’m writing,” Chloe said.

“Sure, that’d be awesome. So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She smiled and waved. “See you.”

When we joined the throngs of people in the mall, I squealed. “Am I fabulous or what?”

“It’s not a date or anything. She just wants me to hear her play in the band room.”

“Yeah, but a lot can happen in a band room.” I waggled my eyebrows at him. “I bet you have her playing a high C before you two leave.”

He gave me a playful shove. “Nice—anyone ever tell you, you’re not right in the head?”

“You’re welcome.”

“Let’s get going. We’ve got a long car ride home.”

Phase one of De-nerdify my brother. Check. And done.

Chapter 3

The scent of cafeteria pizza and fries clung to the air around me as I took a bite of my turkey sandwich. Rex sat next to me at our usual table. Beams of sunlight seemed to spotlight him as it poured in from the nearby window. I glanced at him. His blue eyes gleamed when he smiled, while his blond hair stood up in messy, stylish tufts. God he was hot. And mine. I shifted my gaze to see several girls staring at him.

I knew how lucky I was to snag him, seeing as how he was a senior and I was only a junior. It was kind of a freak accident that we hooked up. Well not “hooked up, hooked up”, but dated. We’d been running the Flat River Trail, when he’d accidentally ran into me. We both got scraped up when we tumbled down a nearby drainage ditch. Ever since then we’d been inseparable.