Right Girl Wrong Timing (Offsides Book 3) Read online

  With that, I back away from her and retreat to my car. She stands there for a moment after I get behind the steering wheel, and then she pivots and enters her house.

  Chapter Ten

  Adaline

  I drop my forehead to my desk and groan. Austin. Austin. Austin. That is all I think about. I shouldn’t be. What I should be doing is my English paper on Jane Eyre. What I should be doing is getting my portfolio together for art like Mrs. Haines wants. Not worrying and foolishly day-dreaming about Austin, his words, and his soft kiss pressed against my cheek.

  He’s good at being a player. Toying with my heart. He’s been doing it since elementary school when he gave me my first kiss. I don’t remember why, but we just got done watching the animated classic, Cinderella. Not the version with real humans, although I admit I love that one. Anyway, Austin and I were sitting on my couch, and he said, “I want to do that.” And I asked him, “Do what? You’re not a prince. You can’t save a girl and marry her and make her a princess.” Austin rolled his eyes at me and said, “Duh. I meant kiss a girl. I want to do that.” I remember laughing and said he didn’t have the guts. Then he just did it. Kissed me right on the mouth, seizing the air from my lungs, and causing my head to swirl with delicious thoughts.

  Once he finished the kiss he shrugged and said he thought there would be more. That night I cried. Not only did Austin ruin Cinderella for me, he also ruined my first kiss, and eventually he ruined my heart by stealing it. Jerk!

  My phone pings, and I don’t want to look at whatever message I might have or whom it might be from. It pings again and again. To the point I’m annoyed and finally snatch it from my desk and start going through the messages.

  Juliet: WC2 my game on Stdy?

  Juliet: L is making signs.

  Juliet: Or not. Is ur art show this wked?

  Juliet: I hope ur taking a shower, or reading a great bk n rn’t ignoring me.

  I smile.

  Me: Stuck on HW. Sry. OMG, I don’t want to write a paper.

  Juliet: Y did U wait til rn 2 do it?

  This isn’t like me at all. I can’t tell her the reason either. Austin Reed being on my brain twenty-four seven isn’t normal either. At least it hasn’t been for a long time. Then that magical bubble that used to keep him out burst, and I’ve become a walking mess. I can’t eat, sleep, or even think without some dumb reminder of him popping up.

  I chew on my thumbnail and call.

  Juliet answers, “Hi.”

  “I need to get out of my group project or switch with someone. I can’t work with him again, Juliet. I can’t. He’s screwing with all my emotions.”

  She sighs. “I wish I could help. We tried getting Emily kicked out of the group, but Mr. Briggs was so not having it. Jared even tried to get his dad to talk to him, and Mr. Briggs still won’t budge.”

  “Yeah, Rachel and I tried getting Zander and Lucas out of our group too, but he said something about we need to find a way to help them succeed. As if we’re the cure to help them where the school failed to give them proper motivation or tutoring.”

  “Right? I don’t think anything could motivate Emily.”

  “Not even Jared’s smile?”

  “Nope. She laid on the dirty gym floor and took a nap while we were working out what to do, where to meet. She said, ‘Wake me when this is over.’ I mean, really.”

  “Wow. At least you don’t have to work with Rachel on top of that. It’s bad enough she sits behind me in history and mocks my wardrobe. ‘No man would want you in that top, Frost.’ ‘Omg. Did I just see some cleavage? Oops. Trick of the lighting.’ I can’t survive another round of it on top of her relentless flirting with Austin. I swear someone upstairs hates me.”

  “That’s why you should find a distraction. Date Greg.”

  I sneer. “I don’t want to date Greg. He’s nice, but we’ve got nothing in common. Besides, he’s still in love with Candance.”

  “Oh, you didn’t hear? Candance is hooking up with some freshman. I don’t think she’s going back to Greg any time soon.”

  “Really?” I seriously don’t want a whole Chase repeat all over again.

  “All right, subject change since you’re making that weird grumbling noise. Do you wanna come to my game on Saturday?”

  “Sure.” It’s not like I really have much else to do since the people who are in my group for the end of term project have clearly stated they won’t work on Saturdays or Sundays.

  “Awesome. Oh and hey, don’t worry about Austin. Things will work out. You’ll see.”

  I place the end of my pen cap against my lower lip. “Yeah.”

  “Don’t say it like that. I mean it. I gotta run. Maybe tomorrow if you’re free, I can swing by with some ice cream.”

  I laugh. Whenever Juliet and I are having crap days, she wants cookies where I want nothing but ice cream. When she was upset about Mark kissing another girl at our winter formal, I brought over some cookie dough ice cream. It didn’t cheer her up for long, but sometimes when the heart hurts, a little relief is enough. Even if it’s less than an hour.

  “Deal,” I say.

  We hang up, and I go back to staring at my paper. Oh, Jane, why can’t I write a thing about you? Why am I thinking of some boy who is nothing but bad news for me?

  I rest my head on my desk again and groan. There has to be a way out of this.

  Chapter Eleven

  Adaline

  A burst of apples and cinnamon fill the small, carpeted room. Jars of candy line the desk from jelly beans to individual chocolates. I’m tempted to take a piece, but I’m not sure that’s allowed. Mrs. Martin just told me to wait in here, not to help myself to whatever is on her desk.

  Her office is set up sort of weird. She has a couch against the side wall near her desk. Instead of the typical chairs in front of the desk. There is a coffee table and a chair. A bookshelf behind that, which is mostly empty. That is a crime in my book.

  Mrs. Martin steps back into the room and smiles. “Adaline. What can I do for you this … ” She glances up at the wall, I assume at the clock and continues, “morning? Sorry, time usually slips away from me.”

  I watch her continue to her desk in long strides with high heels. I’m secretly envious she can even walk in those things. “Right. I need to know if there is any way possible I can change groups.”

  “There is not. What seems to be the issue? Maybe I can help you out that way.”

  I fiddle with the string on my zip-up hoodie. “I just need to switch groups.”

  Mrs. Martin grabs a handful of jellybeans and says, “Would you like some?”

  “No thanks.”

  She nods. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s really going on.”

  I suck in a deep breath.

  “Could it possibly have to do with your mother coming to see me this morning?”

  My mom came here? Oh. My. Gosh! Parents shouldn’t be allowed to visit your school without your permission. Heat floods my face. “I … uh … didn’t know she came here.”

  I bet my mom’s visit will be the talk of the teacher’s lounge. I swear she is so obsessed with my future she’s trying to relive applying to colleges through me. My dad is a doctor. My mom designs stores. I don’t like looking at surgeries at dinner. This is something my dad will do when someone texts him for a second opinion. It’s gross. I don’t care about how someone’s office is revamped. My mom pretends to ask what we think about color schemes or which vase she should pick. I don’t know why she does this; she ends up doing exactly what she wanted anyway.

  “If it’s not that, then would you like to share what the issue may be?” Mrs. Martin asks. Just spit it out, girl. I don’t have all day. Don’t you see this box of chocolates I want to devour? is what she leaves off, but her expression speaks volumes.

  I take a breath and lean forward. “Mrs. Martin, girl to girl, have you ever had a horrible crush on someone?” I cock my head to observe her reaction. She sighs. I cont
inue, “Every day you see them, but the kicker is they don’t like you. For some reason, your heart is just too stupid to stop feeling crap whenever you’re around them.”

  “I’m sorry, Adaline, you lost me for a moment. What does this have to do with the project?”

  I squeeze my eyes shut. “I can’t work with Austin Reed.” There. I said it. I open my eyes only to find her looking at me half confused.

  “Please explain why,” she says. Her voice is on edge like she’s heard these pleas before and isn’t in the mood.

  “I just did. I can’t get over my silly crush on him, and he doesn’t like me. He’s in love with Rachel. And it’s hard enough walking the halls here and pretending I don’t care. But now, I have to work with them daily after school for the next few weeks. That’s complete torture. Surely there is a rule against torturing a student.” Surely some part of her can get this. Maybe. Now that I truly look at Mrs. Martin, I can kind of see myself regretting coming to her with this. She’s obviously more in the Rachel Little sort of group: beautiful, got that geeky librarian quality that guys crush on, her husband is probably a model. Yep. Wrong person to come to.

  She smiles. “There is, but it’s not written in that context. I wish I could allow you to swap groups, but Principal Briggs’s decision is final.”

  Great. She’s about as helpful as a fortune cookie.

  “If it’s really difficult seeing them together, maybe you should send them on errands. Trips to the office supply store or hardware store. Food runs. Whatever. This way they’re doing something, but you don’t have to see them.”

  To think she gets paid to give this kind of advice. I snatch up my backpack from the ground beside my feet and swing it over my left shoulder. “Thanks, Mrs. Martin.”

  “My door is open any time.”

  Yeah, and I probably won’t be using it ever again.

  Chapter Twelve

  Austin

  “Where were you?” I ask Adaline as I take the seat next to her in lunch.

  The sandwich that was about to enter her mouth stills, and she turns a glare at me. “When?”

  “During history. You weren’t in class.”

  “So?”

  God, this girl is so stubborn. I narrow my eyes. “I know you didn’t come in late because I’ve seen you in the halls.” I leave off: walking with that noodle-arm, Greg. The boy has no muscles at all. Hell, even our king geek, Steve Clements, has more arm strength than Greg.

  Speaking of Greg, he stops at Ads’s table with a tray in his hand. He looks at Adaline then over at me sitting next to her. On the other side of her is Juliet and then Jared. If he thinks for one second I’m scooting down for him, he can think again.

  He takes the spot next to Jared and guns a glare at me. I smirk back at Greg. I’m in such a mood I’m half tempted to stretch my arm across the back of Adaline’s chair just to show him how comfortable I am sitting here. But Adaline is still pissed at me and would most likely slap the hell out of me if I did anything like that.

  “What brings you here, Austin?” Greg says.

  I smile. “Lunch?” I say.

  “No. I mean to this table. Don’t you have other people to hang out with?”

  If Greg is trying to piss me off, he’s doing a shitty job. Words usually don’t do it, unless it’s about my mom or Adaline. Actions, on the other hand, are a different story. If he gets out of his seat, walks over here, and plants one on Adaline, whispers in her ear, or just gets near her at all, that would set me off. But he’s across the table, and I’m the one near her.

  I stretch in my seat. “That’s the funny thing about being popular, Greg. You can kind of sit wherever.”

  I notice Jared shaking his head. Juliet sips her drink in silence. Adaline, though, is fuming. She stands up, latches onto my arm, and says, “With me. Now.”

  I salute Greg. “Ah, the master calls.”

  For as little as Adaline is, she pulls me out of the lunchroom and down an empty hall as if I weigh nothing. “What in the hell was that?” she snaps.

  I jut my thumb over to the commons. “That? Nothing. Why?”

  “You think this is so funny. It isn’t.”

  I smirk. “It’s a little funny.”

  She smacks my arm. “You’re a jerk.”

  “Me? Are you dating him?”

  “No.” she looks genuinely offended I even asked the question.

  I fold my arms and stare her down. “Really? Because he seemed like an animal trying to stake his territory.”

  “And what about you?”

  “What about me? I was just asking you a question when that jackass decided to be a total tool.”

  Adaline places her hands on her sexy hips. I hate when she does this, and I also love it. It’s really the most perfect type of torture. “I don’t need to give you a play by play of my life.”

  Her words strike a spot in me. “Fine. Forget I asked.”

  “Typical. Ignore and try to shove it all under a rug.” She spins away from me and starts toward the lunchroom again. I want to stop her, but I can’t. I need to remember no matter how much I may want Adaline, I’m not worthy enough for her.

  As soon as she disappears I run both hands through my hair and grumble. I hate this. Hate how she looks at me. Hate how he gets to have her. But I mostly hate what she thinks about me.

  I step up to the water fountain and take a drink. “I might not like you much, Reed, but dude, you’re way better than Greg,” Chase says, startling me.

  I choke on a sip of water and meet his eyes, coughing like an idiot. He slaps my back a few times. “You all right?” he asks.

  “I would have been fine if you didn’t sneak up on me like a damn ninja.”

  He smiles. “It’s a skill.” He shrugs. “How has she been lately?”

  “Adaline? I wouldn’t really know. She doesn’t talk to me. Not really.”

  Chase nods. “Look, I’m sorry for being an ass. I really thought Addy and I could have been something. Then she drops the whole seeing-me-as-her-brother bombshell, and I lost it.”

  No guy wants to be told they’re viewed as a sibling. It’s worse than being dropped into the freaking friend zone. So I got Chase’s beef with me liking Adaline.

  “At least she’ll talk to you,” I say.

  We walk down the hall to lunch, and he says, “Yeah. I guess.” He pauses by the doors before entering and says, “Fletcher can’t date her. His whole prep boy shit show is nothing but an act.”

  “Chase, why are you telling me this? You hate me. Go tell Juliet.”

  He shakes his head. “Nah. I got the right person. You care about Adaline. She might have changed a little in the appearance department. She also likes a few more things that she didn’t as a kid. But she’s mostly the same. Use it.”

  He slaps my shoulder and then leaves while I stand there trying to figure out what that was all about exactly. Before, Chase wouldn’t have me ten feet near Adaline. Now, he wants me to what? Sabotage Greg dating her? Not that I don’t enjoy the idea, because I do. I just don’t know if it’s what’s best for her.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Adaline

  This cannot get any worse than it already is, can it? I’m stuck with these clowns until the project is complete. That probably means the entire six weeks. There is no way in hell I’m going to work with this group. They will get me an F, and my grade will drop. I can’t get an F. My parents will not stand for that.

  One bad grade, and I’ll be out of the accelerated program. I can’t bear to be a disappointment in their eyes. I have no other siblings to contend with, so the thought of crushing all the high praises they have for me kills me. Being in the accelerated program means I can start college courses next year. That gets me one step closer to getting my degree faster and well, being able to start having my own life.

  No pressures. No lessons in languages I don’t care to learn. But the best item on this list: I’ll be able to eat things I’m dying to eat.

 
No one is going to kill my hopes and dreams. Certainly not these jokers.

  On top of all these problems, my heart decides to add one more. It keeps slamming in my chest like a hammer every time I’m near Austin. I better get ahold of myself, soon. Very soon, or I’ll be stuck picking up the pieces all over again.

  As I’m sitting at a table in the back of the library, I notice a dark shadow fall over me. “I figured I’d find you back here,” Greg says as he pulls out the chair next to me.

  “Hey, what are you doing here?” I ask. It almost feels like Greg knows my every move, and that sort of freaks me out.

  His blue eyes examine me for a moment while he runs a hand through his short red locks. “Good. Although, I keep telling myself not to hang out with this really cool girl because she might get the wrong idea.” He makes an awkward face, and I laugh.

  “Uh huh. I’ve no idea what you are talking about. So what’s up? I can’t imagine you would come into the library to hang out with me.” I hope he doesn’t want to hang out with me here.

  He smiles. “Actually, I do need something. I don’t know what to get you for your birthday. I could go to your friends and ask them, but I figured it would be better to ask you.”

  I glance down at my book and sigh. “You really don’t have to get me anything.”

  “I know. I want to.”

  Oh lord, why? Gifts mean something. When it’s from your friends, it shows they get you. When it’s from someone crushing on you, it shows they’re thinking about you and want you to be thinking about them too. If he’s coming here to ask me, it means he’s not thinking of this in the friend way. “Um. Gift card.”

  “You’re not making this easy, Addy. Give a guy a little more of a hint. Where to?”