Curvy Girls Can't Date Quarterbacks - Kelsie Stelting Page 0,56

by Poppy, Tinsley, and a couple other cheerleaders, and even a few football players. “Come on, we don’t want to eat at the feedlot,” she said too loudly.

“Ignore them,” Beckett said, biting into his burger.

That would be easier if everyone wasn’t staring at us and wondering what had caused the divide. I sighed and stared at my stupid grilled chicken under stupid wilting lettuce.

“Take some fries.” Beckett pushed his toward me, but I shook my head.

“I’m not feeling hungry right now,” I said. Especially not with Merritt and her cronies sitting three tables over with their heads down like they were planning my next humiliating moment.

I reached into my backpack, looking for my phone so I could tell the girls I was sitting with Beckett, but realized I must have left it in my locker. I hoped they weren’t too upset with me. Maybe if we finished early, I could stop by the AV room and see if they were there...

“You’re cute when you’re thinking,” Beckett said so only I could hear.

His presence quickly became my sole focus as my cheeks heated. “Sure I am.”

“You are adorable,” he said.

I turned and looked over my shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

“Checking to see who you’re talking to!” I teased. “Because I know it’s not me.”

A frown creased his eyebrows. “You don’t think you’re beautiful?”

Now I was feeling self-conscious—more so than usual—but no one at the table was paying attention to us. It was just Beckett and me and the narrowing space between us.

I shook my head, because my throat was getting tight. I tried to swallow down the emotions rising there. “There’s a reason my mom’s putting me on a diet.”

He shook his head and fell quiet for a moment. “What are you doing after school tomorrow?”

I shrugged, thankful for the change in subject. “Probably studying. Maybe working on some scholarship apps.”

“Think you can free up some time for me?”

The cute way he said it and looked at me made me melt. “I think that can be arranged.”

“Meet me at the pier. And bring your homecoming dress.”

My eyebrows came together. “What?”

“Trust me,” he said.

And with those eyes and that smile, how could I not?

Thirty-One

The girls weren’t in the AV room when I finished with lunch, so I got my phone out of my locker, where I’d left it, and read through my missed Sermo chats.

Zara: Are you coming to the AV room?

Zara: Jordan’s really upset.

My heart sank. She’d been so down in health class.

Rory: Is everything okay? I was sitting with Beckett.

When no one replied, my heart clenched. I sent another message.

Rory: What’s going on? Can we talk after school?

Just as I was about to put my phone in my bag, it vibrated.

Jordan: Why don’t you worry about your boyfriend?

There weren’t any more messages from them, so I put my phone in my backpack, still worrying about Jordan. What had upset her so much?

But then I was mad at them too. This should have been the best day of my senior year—sitting with Beckett at lunch, hearing him stand up for me to Merritt for the second time since Friday. Why weren’t they excited for me? They knew how much this meant.

As I walked to class, it struck me. Their mission was over: get back at Merritt. Now that they had, maybe they didn’t have any use for me anymore—didn’t want anything to do with me.

Between that and my mom’s lunchtime surprise, I had a hard time focusing on my afternoon classes. Still, I waited until dinner that night to confront my mom. She’d been conveniently busy during class changes. Not that I wanted to make a scene in front of everyone, because with how angry I was feeling, that’s what it would come to—a full-blown verbal jousting match.

We were all sitting at the table, Dad, Aiden, Casey, Mom and me. The longer I sat across from Mom, watching her act like everything was okay, the angrier I got.

Especially at the fact that she was using a fork and knife to cut her salad into smaller pieces. Just shove the freaking lettuce in your mouth and move on.

“How was school?” Mom asked no one in particular.

“Good,” Aiden said with a shrug.

Casey nodded. “Same.”

I glared down the table. “It’s funny you should ask, Mom, because I was completely humiliated at lunch today.”

Her hands froze over her plate.

Dad swiveled his head toward me. “What happened, hon? It wasn’t that boy, was it?”

My heart softened for a moment at how quickly my dad sided with me,