Someone pushed against the door, the sound echoing off the walls.
Summer jumped up as people burst into the room. She was so dizzy from the kiss that she had to steady herself on a nearby chair. It took a couple of seconds for her brain to kick into gear. If people are coming in for class… She looked at the clock on the wall and saw she only had a few minutes to make it all the way to the other side of the school.
“Crap, I’ve got to get to my next class.” She glanced at Troy, who was staring up at her, a stunned look on his face. “I’ll, um, see you later.”
She rushed down the steps, pushed past a few stunned-looking freshmen trying to get into the room, and sprinted all the way to her next class. Mrs. Crawford was closing the door as Summer slipped inside. She fell into her desk, gasping for air. She didn’t have any of her materials, but she didn’t care.
I kissed Troy. She lifted her hand to her still-tingling lips and smiled. And he totally kissed me back.
All practice, the girls’ barbed remarks didn’t get to Summer. The insults simply bounced off her. Troy saturated her thoughts, blurring all her other problems. Her gut wouldn’t let her forget she needed to make things right with Ashlyn, though—she planned on calling her the second she got done with practice. Make that when she got home. Driving and talking on your cell could get you pulled over.
As soon as practice let out, Summer walked outside, already formulating her apology to Ashlyn. When she saw Troy’s Jeep in the parking lot, her stomach got all fluttery, and her lips burned again with the memory of that kiss in the band room today. She pulled out her phone, thinking she’d call and see if he was almost done practicing his drums. Maybe even see if he’d like to give her another lesson.
Then she saw Troy.
And the volleyball player.
Summer’s heart dropped as she watched them talking and flirting. I’m such an idiot. Like he’s going to give up all his other girls for me. She couldn’t watch anymore, so she hid between the buildings. There was no way she was going to walk past the two of them right now. She was the girl he was around all the time—the one who talked to him about you know. It made Summer feel like an even bigger idiot for thinking they’d shared something more than a kiss today.
She pulled out her phone and dialed Ashlyn’s number. She swore when she got the voicemail. “Ashlyn, please pick up. I really need to talk to you. I’m sorry about everything, and I really need to hear your voice. Please call me back.”
Summer peeked around the corner. Troy opened the passenger-side door for the amazon-volleyball-player girl. He pulled out his phone as he walked around the Jeep. Summer’s phone rang, vibrating in her pocket. Eager to talk to Ashlyn, she dug it out.
Ashlyn’s name didn’t show up, though. Troy’s did. He’s calling me while he’s practically on a date? Maybe he wanted to tell her today was a mistake—try to sugarcoat his we’ll-just-be-friends spiel. Or maybe he wanted to keep her on the back burner with the rest of his girls. Either way, she couldn’t talk to him now. In fact, she felt like she’d never be able to talk to him again.
He climbed inside his Jeep and drove away, his and Cara’s outlines visible for a moment before they disappeared into the evening to do whatever they were going to do. Summer tried the text message approach with Ashlyn.
Ash, please call me. Need to talk. Today sucked without you.
She slowly made her way to the Civic, hoping it’d give Ashlyn time to reply. She glanced in the direction the Jeep had disappeared. What was I thinking, kissing Troy? Of course he kissed her back. He was a guy. That was what they cared about. It didn’t mean they wanted a girlfriend or wouldn’t get what else they “needed” somewhere else. Now, she’d ruined things between them for good.
And on top of that mess, Ashlyn wouldn’t even answer the phone or text her back.
Chapter Twenty-Six
As sick as Summer had gotten of hearing about the pep rally all week and how important it was, nailing the dance routine in front of the school had given her that rush that made it worth the fight to keep performing. Bonus, Kendall had gotten permission for them to skip first period to practice the routine and help the cheerleaders set up, which had saved her from an awkward Troy encounter. That drama was going to have to wait. Today was about getting her friendship with Ashlyn back on track.
As the students spilled out of the bleachers, Summer searched for Ashlyn’s face among the crowd.
“You looked good out there,” Summer heard. She turned and saw Cody. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stepped closer. “Look, Summer, I’m sorry about how messed up everything’s gotten with us. I feel like an ass.”
“Well, you’ve been an ass, so that seems appropriate,” she said. His face dropped, and she decided she should try to say something nice. After all, she’d had her jerk moments, too. “I guess we both made some mistakes.”
He stood there, nodding, looking like he wanted to say more.
Summer felt obligated to fill in the awkward silence. “So….good luck on the game tomorrow.”
“Thanks. It’s gonna be a tough one, but don’t worry; we’ll come out on top. By the way, you guys looked great out there, getting your dance on. I’m sure you’ll do awesome at the State Competition.”
For all the times she thought he was simply ignoring her when she talked about dancing, it appeared he actually knew how important it was to her. Maybe eventually, they could even be sorta friends. “Thanks, Cody.”
Jenna walked up, snaked her arm around Cody’s waist, and glared at Summer. “I’d appreciate it if you stopped trying to throw yourself at Cody.”
Summer blinked, the accusation taking a moment to register. “We were just talking, so you can go ahead and take it down about twenty notches.”
“It was no big deal,” Cody said. “Really.”
Jenna stepped forward, shoving her face in Summer’s. “I don’t buy that innocent act. I’m not going to stand by and watch you try to steal my boyfriend.”
“Oh, like you didn’t hit on him when I was out of town, back when he was still my boyfriend.”
“Don’t blame me that you don’t know how to keep your man. You’re just jealous because it’s obvious how much more satisfied he is with me.”
Summer clenched her teeth. “If you thought he was so satisfied, you wouldn’t feel the need to come over and go crazy on me for just talking to him.” Heat was rising through her body and her muscles were tensing. She shook her head. “You know what, you’re not worth it.”
Jenna shoved her, sending her stumbling backward. Summer barely managed to keep her balance. Her mouth dropped and the thin strand of control she had on her temper started to fray. Cody was tugging at Jenna, obviously trying to get her to walk away, but she was yelling and pushing him, acting like she was going to come at Summer again. “Don’t defend her,” she yelled at Cody, fighting to get around him. “I want to settle this right here, right now.”
“If I were you, I wouldn’t touch her again.” Ashlyn stepped up next to Summer and glared at Jenna.
And just like that, Summer didn’t care about Jenna or the fact that she’d shoved her anymore. Ashlyn cared enough to defend her, and that was all that mattered. “It’s okay, Ash. Let’s just go.”
“You think I’m scared of you because you’re twice my size.” Jenna pulled away from Cody. “Bring it on, fatty!”