Curvy Girls Can't Date Quarterbacks - Kelsie Stelting Page 0,54

welt swelling on his eyebrow.

Murmurs sounded behind him as people poured out of the club to watch the scene, but Beckett continued, ignoring them just as completely.

“What Merritt did was wrong. There’s no other way to put it. Because you are...” He stepped back and spread his arms out, searching for the word. “You’re incredible, Rory!” He came close again and took my hands, shaking them with each point he made. “Can’t you see? You’re beautiful and smart and kind, and every time I’m with you I learn something new—dream something new about how life could be.”

“I—” I began, but Beckett held up his hand.

“No excuses, Cupcake. You can’t reason your way out of this one or convince me I’m making the wrong decision.” He glanced around and then reached into his pocket. “I was going to do this later, but I want everyone to know.” He dropped to his knee and looked up at me. Raising his voice, he asked, “Will you go to homecoming with me?”

My fingers reached the cupcake pendant hanging from a gold chain, and I held it to my chest. “Yes!”

He stood and pulled me close, his lips coming to mine. No hesitation. No fear, just pure euphoria in every second of our kiss.

I closed my eyes and savored him, feeling every cell of his skin meet every cell on mine, charging them, changing them, and marking them his.

A cheer erupted around us, and I grinned against his lips. “Are you sure about this?”

He smiled back and kissed me again. “There’s no going back now.”

Thirty

When I walked into health class on Monday, the entire room burst into applause. Well, the entire room except for Merritt, Tinsley, and Poppy. Their glares still weren’t enough to dampen this joy that flared in my chest.

I put my hand over the cupcake pendant and bowed. Then I used my hands to quiet them. “I’d like to thank my friends, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and of course, Merritt for always believing in me.”

My classmates chuckled, and for once, I felt like maybe my days as a wallflower were over. Like I finally belonged at Emerson Academy. It was just too bad it took until senior year for me to feel that way.

“What’s so funny?” my mom asked behind me.

“Nothing,” I mumbled and took my seat. I glanced over at Jordan, but a waterfall of curls covered her face. A sniffing sound came from behind the curtain of hair.

“Jordan, are you—”

“Let’s begin class,” Mom said pointedly to me, and Jordan never even looked up.

I resolved to ask her about it during lunch in the AV room. Then it hit me. Were we still meeting?

My heart sank. They didn’t need me anymore. Now that Beckett had asked me to homecoming...what was the point? We’d accomplished “Operation Cupcake,” which meant their work was over. It would be back to sitting by myself in the quad and using my lunch hour to study like I had for the last three years. But why didn’t that sound appealing anymore? I’d had a taste of friendship, and I was tired of being...alone. Loneliness might have been safe before, but it cost me too much. What had I missed out on because I’d been too afraid to put myself out there?

After the bell rang, Jordan quickly swept her books up and left into the hallway. Ditching my bag, I hurried to follow her and see if she was okay. She was already several feet ahead of me. “Jordan, hey!” I called.

She disappeared into the rush of students, going away so fast I couldn’t even see her face. With a sigh, I walked back into the empty room to get my bag.

“Forget something, honey?” Mom asked.

I nodded toward my desk obviously still full of things and gathered them up. I left the room feeling way lower than I had upon entering, and the cloud seemed to stay until Beckett found me at my locker.

His hazel eyes smiled down at me, captivating. “Hey, Cupcake.”

I grinned up at him, feeling better already. Just his presence cheered me up. “I love my necklace.”

His fingers brushed the space between my collarbone and the pendant, setting my skin on fire. “I thought it fit you.”

“It does.”

“Come on.” He took my hand. “Let’s grab lunch.”

My eyes flared open. I hadn’t even considered the possibility that Beckett might want to sit together at lunch. The concept made me excited and nervous at the same time. He usually sat with the football players and