that big a deal.”
“Yes. It is.” She pulled back. “You put on a good front, but you’re not who they think you are, Rose. You’re not what he thinks you are.”
I nodded, hating the tears that were stinging. She was right. But she was the only one who knew that. Ever since I’d transferred here in the eighth grade, I’d been playing a part. I’d come in here with a loud bang and demanded their attention as I dazzled them with the new star in their midst.
I’d never once regretted it.
Until now.
Now I was so freakin’ tired of playing the role of flirty, fun, no-cares-in-the-world Rose. I was even tired of being the school’s star. Sure, I wanted the lead role in whatever play we ended up doing this fall, and I wanted to find the perfect monologue for the scholarship.
I wanted all those things, but right now…what I really wanted was a nap.
Instead I got Bianca, Avery, and three other girls from the drama department. “We heard you were working on the fair,” Avery said as they raced down the aisle toward me and Hannah, who’d finally let me out of her bear hug. “We’re here to help!”
Bianca, the one girl who was actually deluded enough to think she stood a chance as my competition on stage, was eyeing me oddly. “Is it true you got Jax Hadley to take part in the kissing booth?”
The other girls laughed as I struck a pose and buffed my nails on my shirt. “Of course I did.”
“How?” Avery asked.
I gave her a little grin. “I have my ways.”
“I heard he’s making his friends do it, too,” one of the girls said.
“And his band is going to play,” another one said.
“I would totally pay for a little lip time with Jax,” a sophomore girl said with a sigh.
I gave a little snort of amusement. “Sweetie, there’s no need to pay. Just show up at a party and look in his direction.”
The other girls laughed, but I saw Hannah scowling out of the corner of my eye.
When the others were talking amongst themselves, I went over to her. “The cavalry has arrived, so you have officially been relieved of duty. Go call your boyfriend and be all gross and mushy.”
She laughed. “You sure?”
We both heard Bianca starting to give orders about who would call local vendors to ask for food donations. “I think we’ve got it handled.”
She nodded but her expression was still wary. “Are you sure?” she asked. “About tonight, I mean? About…” She glanced at the drama girls as well. “About your game plan?”
“My plan to play the player?” I laughed. “Of course, I’m sure.”
“Because you don’t have to go tonight,” she said. “And we can come up with a new plan of how to deal with Jax.”
I gripped her by her shoulders and started steering her toward the exit. “Go. Text River. Tell him how much you love him and adore him and how cute he is and—”
Her laughter cut me off. “That’s not all we talk about, you know.”
“Oh, I know. I’ve had to sit through endless conversations between you two on the stimulating topic of soccer.” I feigned a yawn as I pushed her through the swinging doors. “Go. Talk soccer with your sexy stud. I’ll see you later.”
“Okay,” she said as she walked away. “But you don’t have to do this, you know.”
She was still saying that hours later when she and River picked me up to drive up to the lake house for the party. She’d insisted on coming along to make sure I was all right, and River had insisted on going wherever she was going so without even having to try, this diva found herself driving to the party with an entourage.
This diva also had the start of a killer headache and wanted to go home and crawl in bed more than anything.
“We could still turn back,” Hannah said as she turned in the passenger seat to face me.
I was busy watching the last of the suburban houses fly by my window as we headed out of town and toward the mountain where the lake house was located.
They could turn back, but I couldn’t go home. Not when my mom had her new boyfriend coming over for dinner tonight. She didn’t want me there—and I had no interest in crashing her big date.
“Why wouldn’t I want to go?” I asked. “It’s a party.” I flashed her a smile. “You know I live to be seen