Harris followed his brother"s gaze down five rows of bleachers and straight to Ma.s.sie Block. She was surrounded by a group of girls who were taking turns holding her black pug. Both Ma.s.sie and the dog wore white scarves and fluffy earm.u.f.fs. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold. She looked like a beautiful snow angel under the hazy glow of the stadium lights.
"I second that," Harris said. "She could definitely model."
"Hey, Alicia," Faux-livia said. "You should send Lucinda Ma.s.sie"s picture. Didn"t she say she was looking for more-"
Alicia stepped on Faux-livia"s toe with the heel of her boot.
"Ow!" Faux-livia screeched.
"You guys are freaks." Cam shook his head. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his beat-up leather jacket. "I"ll be right back."
"You"re the one with two different-colored eyes," Alicia shouted after him.
Cam turned around and smiled. "Sure, make fun of the eyes, that"s sooooo original."
"Whatevs." Alicia watched him hop from one metal bench to the next. He stopped when he got to Ma.s.sie, Claire, Kristen, and Dylan. What made them them so interesting? Why wasn"t Alicia enough? Why did everyone choose Ma.s.sie? so interesting? Why wasn"t Alicia enough? Why did everyone choose Ma.s.sie?
Alicia tried to seem interested while Chris, Danny, and Derrington recapped the boring details of their winning goal. But she was distracted by Ma.s.sie. She did did look pretty. Her hair was even glossier than usual and Alicia couldn"t help wondering if there was someone special she was trying to impress. look pretty. Her hair was even glossier than usual and Alicia couldn"t help wondering if there was someone special she was trying to impress.
The minute she saw Ma.s.sie whack Cam with her signature roundhouse kick, Alicia had her answer. All the signs were there ... the ultra-glossy hair, matching outfits with Bean, and, most importantly, the kick-boxing moves she"d learned from her mother"s old Taebo workout DVDs.
Oh my G.o.d, Ma.s.sie likes Cam!
"Can you talk to her for me?" Derrington mumbled in Alicia"s ear. He had seen her roundhouse kick.
"What?" Alicia said, annoyed. "You have to speak up."
"Can you tell Ma.s.sie to go out with me?" Derrington said louder. "Come on, you"re her best friend. She"ll listen to you."
Alicia didn"t want to tell Derrington that she and Ma.s.sie weren"t speaking. Then he"d take sides. And she knew exactly whose side he"d take.
"Sure," Alicia said to the cement. When she looked up again, she caught Harris sneaking a peek at her b.o.o.bs.
"When did it get so cold?" Alicia b.u.t.toned her coat and folded her arms across her chest.
"Six weeks ago." Harris flashed a big toothy smile. "The Strokes just canceled their Chicago show because of a snowstorm." He tilted his head back and looked up at the late afternoon sky.
Alicia did the same, even though she had no idea why. It wasn"t dark enough yet to see any stars.
"I swear if that happens when they come here, I"ll freak." Harris returned his gaze to Alicia.
His green eyes were so intense, Alicia had to look away. "Are you going to their concert?" she asked.
"I wish. I"m still trying to get tickets. They always sell out when they play in New York. I even tried eBay." Harris ran his hands through his s.h.a.ggy brown hair. "I"ll probably have to buy from scalpers."
"How many tickets do you need?" Alicia asked.
"Two." He sighed "Done," Alicia said.
Chris and Derrington laughed.
"Yeah, right," Derrington said.
"I"m serious," Alicia said.
Harris"s green eyes flickered with amus.e.m.e.nt. "There"s no way you could actually get those tickets," he said. "Could you?"
"Given," Alicia said. She waved her hand through the air to show him how ridiculous he was being. "My dad has the ultimate hookup. We just saw Beyonce last night."
"Why?" Derrington mumbled.
"He"s a lawyer and he knows everyone everyone."
"No," Derrington said, "why did you see Beyonce Beyonce?"
Chris Plovert busted out laughing. They high-fived each other.
Alicia turned to Harris. "Do you want the tickets or not?"
"h.e.l.l, yeah." Harris threw his arm around Alicia and she caught a whiff of his new leather jacket. It smelled fishy, but Alicia didn"t mind. It meant the leather was real.
"Who"s the other ticket for?" Alicia forced herself to stare straight into Harris"s pupils, because her cousin Nina told her boys got turned on by direct eye contact.
Harris smiled and raised his eyebrows. He didn"t speak, but his green eyes seemed to say, "It could be yours if you play your cards right."
Alicia felt p.r.i.c.kly heat spread through her entire body. She immediately looked toward the soccer field.
"Hey, Cam." Harris cupped his hands over his mouth and called again, "Cam, time to boogie."
Alicia watched Cam say goodbye to her ex-friends and felt a little pang of envy. It wasn"t fair that he got to hang out with them when she couldn"t.
"Why. Are. They. Calling. You an EW?" Cam panted. He was out of breath from running up the bleachers.
Alicia stepped away from Harris and lowered her voice. "They didn"t tell you?" she whispered to Cam"s shoulder.
"No, they said you"d tell me."
"Come on, Cam, I have to get Mom"s car home," Harris said. Then he turned back to Alicia one last time. "Call me as soon as you find out about those tickets."
"Given." Alicia looked around to see if anyone heard Harris ask her to call him. But it was getting dark and almost everyone had cleared out.
"Cam, I"ll be waiting in the car." Harris lifted the collar on his jacket to block the wind and walked away.
"Okay, one minute one minute," Cam said. "I just have to talk to Alicia about something."
Alicia prayed silently while Cam led her to a bleacher. He sat down. Please, G.o.d, don"t let him ask me why they are calling me an EW. PLEASE! Please, G.o.d, don"t let him ask me why they are calling me an EW. PLEASE!
"Aren"t you going to sit down?" Cam asked.
"No, I"m fine," Alicia said.
Cam stood up. Alicia could smell his Drakkar Noir mixed with dried sweat. It smelled better than his brother"s fishy jacket, but she still liked Harris more.
"Alicia, will you talk to your friend for me?" he asked softly.
"What"s with everyone?" Alicia snapped. "Do I look like the host of The Bachelorette The Bachelorette? Go talk to Ma.s.sie yourself if you like her so much."
"I don"t," Cam said through the side of his mouth. "I like hair."
"What?" Alicia crinkled her eyebrows. "Are you looking for a stylist?"
"NO, I like Claire," Cam said, raising his voice. "CLAIRE." He quickly looked at his friends, who were busy helping Faux-livia decide if she should tattoo her ankle or her lower back. "But I never get a chance to talk to her alone. Ma.s.sie"s always interrupting."
Alicia looked at the dark sky and winked a thanks at G.o.d for this small miracle. Ma.s.sie liked Cam. And Cam liked Claire. Alicia couldn"t wait wait to spread the news. to spread the news.
"I"d be psyched to talk to Claire for you," Alicia blurted. Cam shushed her immediately. Then she whispered, "But you have to do something for me in return."
"Anything," Cam said. He was looking at Claire in the distance. She was sharing a bag of candy with Dylan. For some reason that made him grin.
"Tell your brother to take me to the Strokes concert," Alicia said.
"Can"t you just get more tickets?" Cam asked.
"That"s not not the point." the point."
"Don"t tell me you"re a Harris groupie too." Cam sounded disappointed. "That"s disgusting. He"s like four years older than you." Then his eyes lit up. "Ohhh, wait," he said, throwing his hands in the air and slapping his thighs. "So that"s that"s why they call you an EW. Right? "Cause that"s gross?" why they call you an EW. Right? "Cause that"s gross?"
Alicia stuffed her hands in the pocket of her coat. "Yeah, that"s why."
"Fine, I"ll talk to him. But you have have to talk to Claire." Cam stuck out his right hand. "Deal?" to talk to Claire." Cam stuck out his right hand. "Deal?"
Alicia grabbed his hand and shook it. "Deal."
Cam jumped to his feet and Alicia watched him walk away with Derrington and Chris.
"Congrats again on a great game," Alicia called after them.
"Go, Hawks!" Faux-livia shouted.
"Let"s go," Alicia said. "Ma.s.sie"s packing up and I want to beat her to the parking lot."
"Let"s walk across the soccer field," Faux-livia said. "It"s faster."
"Done." Alicia led the way.
It was windy on the field and the two girls were walking fast. "So I think he"s going to invite me to the Strokes concert," she announced, tightening the pink scarf around her neck.
"What are you going to wear?" Faux-livia asked. "Hopefully something that shows off your b.o.o.bs."
Alicia punched Faux on the arm. "Gross! Shut up! Why would you say that?"
"I saw him checking them out." Faux-livia laughed.
"Puh-lease, he was not," Alicia insisted. "Was he?" This time they both laughed.
"You should totally wear your Dixon," Faux said.
"Too daytime," Alicia said. "I"m thinking more Miu Miu with a splash of Calvin."
"You always know exactly what to do when it comes to boys."
"I learned a lot from my older cousins. You should come to Spain next summer and hang out with us. They"ll teach you everything everything."
"If I did, would that make me your beta?" Faux-livia asked.
"Huh?" Alicia stopped walking and looked her friend in the eye. The cold temperature turned her breath into white puffs of air that came out of her mouth when she spoke.
"Well, didn"t you once spend the summer with Ma.s.sie and her family in the Hamptons?" Faux-livia asked.
"Yeah, so?" Alicia wondered when the Ma.s.sie comments would end.
"So isn"t that when you became her beta? "Cause when you came back, she was the alpha and you were like her second in command."
"Yeah, but I am so over being a second," Alicia said softly.
"Then be an alpha," Faux-livia said. "And I"ll be your beta. I"ve always wanted to be one."
"Are you serious?" Alicia asked, still not moving.
"Totally. Betas have it made. They don"t have the pressure of leading, but they still get the status."
"No, I meant about me being an alpha," Alicia said.
"Given," Faux-livia said. "I mean, you"re as good as going to the Strokes concert with Harris Fisher Harris Fisher. Only a true alpha could have pulled that off. You"re a natural."
Alicia peeled off a yes yes sticker and stuck it to Faux-livia"s cheek. For the first time ever, the ditzy girl actually said something right. sticker and stuck it to Faux-livia"s cheek. For the first time ever, the ditzy girl actually said something right.
OCTAVIAN C COUNTRY D DAY S SCHOOL T THE C CAFe.
4:25 PM PM.
November 17th Ma.s.sie couldn"t bring herself to take another bite of the turkey burger that was on her lap. Every time she tried, a glob of ketchup fell onto her True Religion pre-ripped jeans and she couldn"t stand to keep them in harm"s way any longer.
She stood up from the head seat of table 18 and chucked the half-eaten burger in the trash.
"We have to clean up this mess," Ma.s.sie said to the piles of wrapping paper, ribbons, and mini-holiday cards that had taken over their regular lunch table in the Cafe. "There"s no room to eat."