My Know-It-All Nemesis - Maggie Dallen Page 0,39

I was one lucky son of a gun, not everything in my life was as easy as it seemed.

But the same went for her. And that made me appreciate her all the more.

Let’s face it—I more than just appreciated Kate Andrews.

It was possible that one day in the not too distant future I might even use the L-word when it came to this girl. But for now…

Well, for now, it was time to do some serious introspection.

“With all that being said…” I looked back to the crowd. “I’m no longer running for student council president.”

I heard some gasps and whispers, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to look over at Kate. Not yet.

“See, here’s the thing,” I said, shuffling my useless flash cards as I took a deep breath. “There was one simple question on the application that I struggled to answer. Why do you want to be president?” I shrugged. “I didn’t have a good answer. The best answer I could think of was—I want to beat Kate Andrews.”

This earned a big laugh, and I risked a glance over at Kate and saw that she was laughing, but her eyes were fixed on me intently, trying to understand.

See…here was the thing. I’d meant it before when I’d said that I wasn’t going to back out. Not because she’d asked me to. That wouldn’t have been fair to her, you know? It would have been disrespectful, somehow, to assume that she couldn’t win with me going against her.

She could.

She absolutely could.

But it wasn’t until she admitted she didn’t need me to back out that I realized…I wanted to. Not for her sake, but for mine. I wasn’t going after this role for the right reasons, and I never had been. Would it look good on my applications? Sure. Did I need it to get in to any school of my choosing? Probably not.

And more than that…did I want it? Did I actually have ideas on how to make this school a better place?

No and no.

I’d barely even given it a thought, too focused on winning to consider what I’d get if I won.

A job I didn’t want. One more obligation that would eat into the time I so badly needed to study and be a part of the football team.

It would cut into the precious little remaining free time I had to, you know…date. I glanced over at Kate.

Without having to think about it, I knew what my priorities were, and Kate was at the top of the list, just above grades and the team. And being student council president? That didn’t even rank.

“Here’s the thing,” I said to the crowd. “Kate Andrews deserves this position. She’d probably win even if I was still in the running, but she shouldn’t have to go up against someone who doesn’t want anything more than a win.”

I glanced over at her, and her eyes were wide. So freakin’ adorable. You know, when her claws weren’t out.

I looked back at the crowd. “I know everyone here loves Kate, but let me tell you something you might not know. The girl is fierce.” Laughs filled the air. No one saw cute-as-a-button as fierce, but they had no idea. “She’s strong, and she’s smart, and she actually cares about this school.” I nodded toward the crowd. “She cares about you. And for that, we should all be grateful.”

When I glanced over, she was beaming at me, and it was impossible not to smile back. I had to tear my gaze away to look back over the crowd. “So, much as I absolutely love to fight with Kate…” I shot her a sidelong look, complete with the smirk she loved to hate. “I’m going to have to sit this round out.”

Someone in the crowd made a sound of disappointment, and someone else shouted out, “But we love to watch you fight.”

I started to laugh and saw that Kate was too. “So happy to know that we amuse you,” I said. “And don’t worry. Something tells me we’ll be giving you all ample fighting entertainment once Kate agrees to be my girlfriend.”

The chaos that ensued in the crowd made it impossible for me to continue—but I was done up there anyway. In three long strides, I was off the stage and heading toward her.

Kate was grinning, but her eyes were full of tears when I reached her.

“Please tell me I didn’t embarrass you so badly that you’re crying,” I said.

She leapt on top of me, her arms wrapping