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  My eyes stung with unshed tears. “I know being friends with me is what brought your social standing down and would completely understand if you’re ready to move on. But, I can’t join you on that adventure. Not with my predicaments.”

  Mom was right. I did seem to get myself into strange situations and this was one of them. It wasn’t until now that I noticed how my unpopularity affected Autumn and that she didn’t like it. For the longest time, I thought she enjoyed the seclusion like me. Now, I saw otherwise.

  She started eating the apple again. “I’m sorry. Let’s just forget I said anything. I couldn’t imagine having someone else be my best friend.”

  I smiled at her, but a slam of a tray on our table stopped me from replying. My eyes landed on a grinning dark-skinned boy.

  “Holy buckle, did you guys see Mr. Sexy New Guy?” Michael fanned himself.

  He was the sweetest guy at this school and was friends with everyone, including us. Michael was gay, but nobody criticized him for it. That was the one good thing at this school. He was a comedian too and didn’t have just one group he hung out with. He bounced from clique to clique and he would pop in on us every now and then to say ‘hey’.

  “Molly here actually talked to him Saturday when he knocked her over at the movie theater,” Autumn stated with a smug smile.

  “Lucky. Are his muscles as hard as they look?” Michael started eating his food and kept stealing glances at the new guy.

  “I don’t know. It happened too fast for me to notice,” I answered.

  “Well, what’s his name? I haven't been able to catch it yet.” Michael looked at me expectantly.

  Crap. I time skipped so don't remember his name.

  I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but luckily, Autumn rescued me.

  “His name’s Rhett.”

  “Hmm, sexy name for a sexy guy. Is he gay?”

  “Not by the way he was talking to Molly.”

  “Damn,” Michael cursed.

  “Why aren't you over there talking to him instead of us?” I questioned.

  “Why aren’t you?” he countered.

  “Because Fallon has her talons already latched on him.”

  All three of us looked over to see Fallon rubbing her hand over the muscles in his arms. Rhett must’ve felt our eyes because he looked up and we guiltily looked away.

  Michael took a bite of his French fries and stated, “Boy, do I envy that hand.”

  “Me too,” Autumn swooned.

  “Come on you two. He’s just a guy.” I went back to eating my food.

  “It’s not every day that our small town gets a guy like that.” Michael glanced back at him, but quickly turned back to us. “He’s still looking over here. I think we got his attention.”

  “Why don’t you go talk to him then?” I smirked.

  “Nah. I’ll wait until the novelty of it cools down and he’s more vulnerable.” Michael grinned mischievously.

  We all laughed at that and finished eating our food.

  ~*~

  It wasn’t until my last class of the day that I was forced to face Rhett. He was in my cooking class and even joined my group. None of us spoke until Mrs. Loyd gave us the go ahead to start cooking and our assignment today was gumbo.

  As we gathered the ingredients, we took turns introducing ourselves to Rhett. First up was Roxy. She was a quiet, mousy little girl with long orange hair and bright blue eyes. Even though she never really talked, she still always had a smile on her face. I would think it was creepy if I didn’t know how sweet she really was when she chose to speak.

  Next was Brantley. He was kind and always helped when it was needed. He had soft light brown eyes and matching light brown hair. He and Rhett seemed to hit it off and I was glad to have such a good group to work with.

  I went last, but he cut me off before I could say anything.

  “You know, I tried to approach you this morning, but I’m pretty sure you ran off.”

  Breathe, Molly. He’s just a guy. It’s not like he’s interested in you.

  “Me? Run away? Nah. I just remembered that I had to meet with the teacher before class. Not that I was in trouble or anything. I’m not bad. I’m very well behaved even though my parents don’t think so. And I’m doing my babbling thing so I’m just going to shut up. Let’s cook.”

  Brantley chuckled. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you flustered, Molly.”

  “Don’t hold your breath because it doesn't happen often,” I muttered and started cooking the rue like the instructions explained.

  After that incident, we worked in silence until the gumbo was finished. Rhett and Brantley would talk here and there, but Roxy and I kept our lips sealed.

  “Holy heck. Is this what I’ve been missing out on my whole life?” Rhett gushed. “Southern food is so amazing.”

  “Well, you’ve chosen the perfect class because we cook call kinds of Louisiana dishes,” Brantley stated. “They don’t always turn out right though.”

  “You’ve been warned,” I teased.

  “I think I’m going to have to get another helping.” Rhett filled his bowl back up.

  “How can you eat that much when we had lunch only two hours ago?” I asked.

  “You’ll quickly learn that I’m always eating,” he replied between bites.

  “I’m glad I don’t feel as bad with you here since I always get second helpings,” Brantley admitted and proved his point by reloading his bowl.

  I had to admit that I could go for a round two, but I wouldn't be able to function for the rest of the day. I’d be put into a food coma and would go straight home to nap. Homework would be neglected and grades would drop. The prospect of being turned away by colleges invaded my thoughts.

  Yeah, I’m going to skip that additional helping.

  “You look like you're overthinking something.”

  It took a second for me to process that Rhett was talking to me.

  “Huh? What makes you say that?” I quirked an eyebrow.

  “Well, by the way your nose was scrunched, it made you look like you were thinking too hard.”

  “We haven’t been around each other long enough for you to pick up on that,” I retorted.

  His lips turned upwards. “But this isn’t the first time we’ve met. This is technically like our second date. I’m allowed to tease by then.”

  I scoffed. “If cooking class in school qualifies as a date, then you must be a crappy boyfriend.”

  “Then, I guess I should prove you wrong.”

  “I guess you should. Wait, what?”

  “Let me take you out on a real date this weekend. That way I can prove you wrong.”

  I blinked stupidly at him and glanced at Brantley and Roxy. They were both pretending not to be listening, but they were just as bad as Autumn at pretending.

  “Um… uh… you sure you wouldn’t prefer Fallon or someone like her?”

  He raised his right shoulder in a shrug. “Meh, I’ve dated girls like her before and they only want one thing.”

  “And what’s that?” I asked sarcastically, knowing he was going to say sex.

  “The title of being girlfriend to the mysterious new guy. I’m worth more than that though.”

  I blinked at him again. “You’re not like most guys I meet.”

  “Then, you aren’t looking in the right places. How ‘bout that date?”

  My hair fanned over my face as a curtain. “I’m not very good at dates.”

  “Well, that’s good, because I’m good enough at them for the both of us.” He winked.

  I never thought winking could look sexy, but he seemed to master it.

  “Okay,” I agreed.

  “Yeah?” His eyes widened as if he was surprised.

  I nodded my head shyly. “Yeah, but no promises on it being a good one. You’re probably going to regret it.”

  “Doubt it,” he stated.

  Even if he didn’t regret it, I was most likely going to. My head was s
creaming about how bad of an idea it was, but my heart and gut were telling me to try.

  What harm could one date do?

  “So, where are we going?” I asked.

  “I’m going to a party at Alec’s Friday night. Want to be my plus one?”

  I swallowed hard. “Um, I’m not really into parties.”

  “All right, then, I’ll take you out to dinner Saturday.”

  “That sounds a lot better.”

  The bell rang shortly after that and we quickly picked up our supplies and left together. He walked me all the way to my car and even gave me a kiss on the hand as a goodbye.

  I nearly choked on my spit as I watched him stroll to his car. I couldn’t even swallow properly around him, so there was no way I was going to be able to control my time skipping.

  I am so going to regret this.

  As soon as I got into my car, I noticed Autumn’s was gone and dialed her number on my cell immediately.

  “Guess who just asked me out on a date?” I squealed as soon as she answered.

  “He did not,” she squeaked just as excitedly.

  “Yep. Rhett asked me to go out with him this weekend.”

  “And you said yes?” she hesitated.

  “As surprising as it is, I did. Something just told me to accept it.”

  “I’m so proud of you,” she gushed. “You’re growing up. I knew it was going to happen eventually, but I didn’t think it would be this soon.”

  And then, Autumn fake cried. It sounded ugly and horrible and I couldn’t stop laughing.

  “I can’t wait to see the look on Fallon’s face when she finds out,” she added. “Until tomorrow, darling.”

  “Until tomorrow,” I replied and then hung up.

  I hadn’t even thought about what the kids at school would think, but I guessed that was because I didn’t care. I was already considered the weirdo, so what could be worse?

  Chapter Three

  The next day at school went way differently than I thought it would.

  It started in my first class when Alec made poor little Lester move seats so he could sit next to me.

  “So, I heard you got a date with my man Rhett. If he thinks you’re cool then there must be something there.” Alec grinned.

  I was pretty sure he was trying to complement me, but it came out as more of an insult.

  “We’re trying to get him on the football team, but he keeps refusing to try out. He was the best running back at his previous school and would be a great addition to the team. Maybe you could talk to him and, you know, hook him up if he agrees to join the team.” Alec smirked.

  “Excuse me?” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Rhett can do whatever the hell he wants. I’m not his master and I’m certainly not a slut if that’s what you’re implying. Besides, why would I do you a favor when you’ve made my school life terrible?”

  His playful demeanor darkened. “Because I can make it a lot worse. If you’re in with Rhett, then you can sit at the popular table with us. I think you’d rather have friends than enemies at that table with you.”

  “Sorry, but still no. I don’t respond well to threats.”

  With that, I brushed his presence off for the rest of class. When the bell sounded, he knocked my books off the table and left with an unapologetic ‘oops’. My eyes tried their hardest to burn holes into his back, but, alas, I didn’t possess that gift.

  Autumn caught up with me in the hallway on the way to my next class. “You’re the talk of the school, Molly. If they didn’t know your name before, then they do now.”

  “Rhett is new so how could it cause that much of a wave in our school?”

  “Because he’s like the hottest guy at this school right now.”

  I sighed and told her about Alec’s threat.

  “Aw, screw that guy. I’ll punch him in his manly jewels if you’d like.”

  I giggled. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. I certainly won’t be sitting at his table any time soon anyway.”

  “What if Rhett asks you to?”

  “If he wants to sit with me, then he can sit at our table. There’s no way I’m leaving you behind.”

  “Oh, good. I was worried you were going to get swept away into popular land and leave me in the dust.”

  “You’re my girl. At least for now. We’ll have to see just how good that date goes,” I teased and she stuck her tongue out at me in response before splitting up to go to her class.

  My next class went just about the same except without any threats. Miranda, one of the popular girls, made Cindy give up her seat so she could sit by me. She said ‘hello’ and that was it. She fiddled with her nails throughout the whole class, cleaning and repainting them.

  Miranda blew a bubble with her gum before saying, “Let’s walk to our next class together. We both have Literature so our classes are in the same wing.”

  I blinked at her. Twice. “How do you know where my class is?”

  “Because we’ve been going in the same direction for a whole two months.” She gave me a ‘duh’ look. “Just because we don’t associate doesn’t mean you’re invisible. Now, come on. We’re going to be late.”

  She hooked arms with me and we walked to our next class together. Granted, she didn’t say a word to me, which was strange and awkward, but it still made me feel good that she didn’t think I was invisible before Rhett came around. She didn’t even say bye when we broke off, but I still entered literature with a broad grin planted on my face.

  There were no popular kids in my next two classes. Just your average ones and they didn’t react to my presence any differently. The smile turned into a peaceful one as I went through those two classes. I was more than happy for those normal hours to break up this crazy day.

  At lunch, the popular crew waved me over, but I meandered to Autumn and sat by her as promised. She eyed the popular table when I plunked down and quirked her eyebrows at me.

  “You know, I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to sit with them.”

  “No, thanks. My day has been hectic enough so I don’t need to add to it. I’d prefer you over them anyway. You’re much better company.”

  She just laughed at me and we preceded to eat our food. Halfway through lunch, Rhett sunk into the chair that was beside me.

  “Excited about our date?” He smirked.

  I could feel the eyes of the other students on us. Sure, this was a small town, but he was just a guy. New or not.

  “You know it,” I stated sarcastically.

  “Aw, don’t be like that. Don’t girls get excited about this type of thing?” he joked.

  “I’m not most girls.”

  “Which is what I like about you.” His smirk turned into a smile as he faced Autumn. “I remember you from the theater, but we’ve never actually met. I’m Rhett.” He thrusted his hand out for her to shake.

  Autumn giggled like a typical school girl as she took it. “I’m Autumn.”

  “Pleasure,” he said as he dropped her hand. “Well, I need to head to the library real quick to find a book for literature class. I just wanted to pop in and say hey before I did. I’ll see you in cooking class.”

  He gave my hand a simple squeeze before leaving. The eyes lingered for a few more minutes after he left and Autumn and I just stared at each other. We were both at a loss for words. He was just about the strangest guy I’d ever met, but I liked it. He’s weirdness eased my nerves about the fact that he was hot.

  The minutes went by slowly as I counted down to cooking class and Rhett was already there by the time I reached it. He was chatting away with Brantley as they gathered the ingredients.

  “What’s on the menu for today?” I questioned as I approached them.

  They both smiled at me and Brantley was the one to answer, “Jambalaya. My favorite. Rhett here’s in for a treat. He’s never had it before.”

  I gaped at him. “Are you serious? Poor guy. You don’t even know what you’re missing out on. We’ll have to make it rig
ht then. You’ve been practicing with your grandma still, right Brantley?”

  He nodded. “I sure have and we just cooked jambalaya so it’s fresh on my mind.”

  “Perfect.” I clapped my hands together when Roxy arrived. “Well, then, let’s get to it.”

  We each had our own job. I was in charge of chopping the sausage. Roxy got the pot ready. Brantley prepared the chicken. Rhett chopped the onion. It didn’t take long before we were mixing our ingredients together with the proper spices.

  By the end of class, we were stuffing our faces. I watched Rhett take his first bite and the delight on his face was visible. He groaned as he took another bite.

  “I really was missing out,” he admitted through his food.

  “Do you ever talk without food in your mouth?” I asked.

  He swallowed before he questioned, “Is that your pet peeve?” When I nodded, he added, “Guess I’ll be sure not to do that on our date.”

  With that, he winked and refilled his plate.

  “Which did you like better, the jambalaya or the gumbo?” I questioned as he walked me to my car again. This time, he parked next to me.

  “That’s a hard one, but I’m going to have to go with the gumbo. It just seems like that one is good for the soul too. Sort of like chocolate,” he explained.

  I laughed. “I’ve never heard that reasoning before, but I guess it makes sense.”

  Autumn’s car was gone like usual, but I didn't expect Rhett to notice.

  “Why does your friend always jet out of here? You guys never hang out after school?” He leaned against my car while he waited for an answer.

  “She has to rush to pick up her brother Max after school. Her parents work late and he’s only in the first grade, so she has to get him.”

  “What about you? Do you have any siblings?”

  I bobbed my head. “I have a thirteen-year-old brother named Maddox, but I never see him. He’s permanently glued to his tv.” Rhett gave me a confused look, so I elaborated, “He loves video games and that’s just about all he does with his time. Do you have any siblings?”

  “Nah. I’m an only child. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling though.”