out of her last night, but she wouldn’t spill.”
“I was just curious is all,” I state, which only leads to me getting questioning looks from both of them.
I laugh to cover my nerves and look for any opportunity to change the subject. “It was Parker,” I whisper so that only the two of them can hear.
“What was Parker?” Alex asks, but it seems that Rory realizes what I meant.
“Shhh…not so loud,” I chastise. “I woke up in his bed the morning after the party.”
“Shut up,” Alex says loudly.
“Shhhh!” Both Rory and I shush her.
“Sorry,” she replies. “You mean you woke up in the Parker Reed’s bed? You mean the one who left you in the dirt, causing us to have like a million ‘I hate Parker Reed’ sleepovers to get over him? That Parker?” she whispers.
“Yes.”
Her mouth drops open again and Rory is right there to push it back up. “Dani, insert middle name, Marks, what in the hell were you thinking? Have you lost your damn mind?” she asks.
“It wasn’t like it happened on purpose,” I huff.
“Need I remind you of what that a-hole did to you?” Alex asks, and Rory nods while looking pointedly in my direction. “I mean, we even wrote a song entitled, ‘Parker Is a Giant Douche Canoe.’”
“No, I’m fully aware of what happened between him and me. No need for a refresher course on all things douche canoe Parker.”
The lunch bell rings, saving me from further scrutiny from Alex.
“This convo is so not over, Dani,” she says as we get up from the table. “You, me—conference, after school.”
I giggle. “Yes, ma’am.”
Chapter Ten
Sitting at my desk in the newspaper office, I begin looking over the mock-up for Friday’s issue. Like usual, I’m the first one at the after-school meeting, but I don’t mind because I can usually get some work done before the others show up. Being the editor-in-chief for the paper has its definite ups and downs, but thankfully there are more ups.
“Dani, you’re here early, as usual,” I hear Mr. Whitman say as he enters the office.
“Am I really that predictable?” I ask with a laugh.
He smiles. “I wouldn’t call it predictable. More like dedicated or dependable.” He takes the mock-up from my hands and begins flipping through it. “Looks good.”
“I agree, though the margins are a little off on the sports column. I’ll try and fix it before everyone shows up,” I reply, taking it back from his hands.
“Oh, I completely forgot to tell you all during today’s meeting that I have a surprise for you. We’re going to have a new addition to the newspaper since I can’t be here to help out as often as I’d like to,” he says as he takes a seat behind his desk.
“An addition? Who is it?”
Just as he’s about to respond, a couple of newspaper staff members walk into the room.
“You’ll find out soon,” he answers and turns his attention back to the door as more students enter.
I reach for the mock-up that I placed at the edge of the desk and knock over my pen cup, spilling the contents onto the floor. Damn.
As I begin picking up the pens and pencils, I hear the door to the office open again, and then a familiar male’s voice fills the room. Peeking over the desk, I see Parker shaking hands with Mr. Whitman. I cower behind the desk once I realize he must be who Mr. Whitman was talking about. Succumbing to the fact that I can’t hide behind my desk for the rest of the meeting, I rise up, slowly and inconspicuously, while putting the writing utensils back into the cup and taking a seat.
My eyes slam into Parker’s and we experience an “oh crap” moment. He sends me a quick wave to say hello and I flash him a forced smile.
The nerve of him. Seriously? You know, I could easily write him off—if only he wasn’t so freakin’ drop-dead gorgeous and didn’t completely ensnare all my senses in one fell swoop. Oh, and I guess he can be an all-right guy at times too.
Once everyone is settled at their desks, Mr. Whitman calls the staff’s attention to him and Parker. I notice a few of the girls in the room are already completely smitten with Parker.
“Poor bastards,” I say under my breath.
“I’d like to introduce my new assistant on the newspaper, Parker Reed. He was my star pupil when he attended Brookmoor High. He actually sat in your desk, Dani,” Mr. Whitman says,