Cristian had started it, obviously. He was the exact opposite of Alex. Getting into trouble and barely passing his classes while Alex aced his way through school and led the basketball team to victory. I remembered there’d been some talk that Cristian would be suspended after the fight.
He wasn’t.
Their dad intervened, I supposed. Everyone knew that their dad was crazy rich and had invested loads of money in this school.
Some people—like Alex— seemed to actually appreciate all that their father did for them. Maybe Cristian didn’t realize how lucky he was to have a father who cared...
I just barely held back a wistful sigh as I watched Alex talk to his friend, only half listening as he joked about how Cristian was failing out of school because he was a lowlife drug dealer.
The whole conversation made me sad. I mean, I didn’t approve of Cristian’s tendency to fight or his bad attitude, but still...
Poor Cristian.
He might not appreciate what he had with his family’s wealth and an amazing brother, but I still sort of felt bad hearing Alex talk about him.
My loyalty was to Alex, obviously, but you had to feel bad for any sibling of his. It couldn’t be easy being related to such an amazing guy with a heart of gold who had offers from schools around the country rolling in thanks to his basketball prowess.
Meanwhile, from the sounds of it, Cristian had flunked out of school and needed to borrow Alex’s car just to get around.
I was overcome with sympathy for both Alex and his brother by the time Alex turned back to face me. He blinked in surprise like he was shocked that I was still here.
I smiled brightly. “So, what do you think?”
He blinked again, his eyes darting around like the answer was written on the walls somewhere. “Sorry, about what?”
I laughed. “About the health baby,” I said. “I figure it’ll actually be easier than doing research and maybe…” I shrugged, nerves making my belly do a flip-flop. “Maybe it’ll even be fun.”
That came out way higher and far more chipper than I’d intended but Alex’s answering grin put me at ease. “Fun, huh?” He laughed and ran a hand through his hair. “Whatever you say.”
I straightened a bit. It wasn’t often I felt like an expert on something—or anything, really—but babysitting was my jam. Kids loved me. Babies adored me. I gave him my most confident smile. “I have a ton of experience with babies,” I said. “It’ll be easy.”
The bell rang and Alex shifted to grab his bag, flashing me one more smile. “Great. If that’s what you want to do then I’m all for it.”
“Okay, so I’ll…”
He was already halfway to the door when I finished the sentence under my breath. “I’ll give you my number so we can coordinate schedules.”
Hazel leaned against the desk beside me. “How’d it go?”
If she’d caught the fact that I’d been sitting there talking to myself, she didn’t let on.
“Great!” I said with a huge smile. I stood up and linked my arm through hers to head to lunch where I could tell the rest of our friends about the crazy luck which had just handed me the opportunity I’d been looking for.
My BFF Max likely wouldn’t approve, but what else was new?
A little while later it became obvious that Max not approving...? That was an understatement.
“So, let me get this straight,” my best friend said when we were all gathered around our usual table. “You’re going to pretend to have a baby with Alex?” Her brows drew together in confusion. “And then…” She repeated my words back to me like she was trying out a new language. “You’re going to use the magazine tips to…” She closed her eyes in clear disbelief. “To make him fall in love with you?”
Charlotte, the shiest and smartest of us all, was watching me with sympathy as I withstood my best friend’s grilling with a smile.
See, Max and I had been besties for a long time. I knew that despite her biting sarcasm and her mockery of all things romance, she was really just worried about me. She had no reason to be, of course, but that was just how Max was. She cared deeply about her friends, even if she had a bizarre way of showing it.
“It’s perfect, don’t you see?” I said.
Max’s doubtful expression said she definitely did not see. With her dirty blonde hair pulled back in a long braid like always, the strands around her face were frizzing out thanks to the humidity. Once again, she’d ignored my advice to use hair products.
I took one of the magazine’s Lakeview High’s lead actress had given us all a few weeks ago when Simone was in the same boat that I was. I glanced over at the previously invisible brunette and her mega hottie baseball player boyfriend.
“It worked for Simone,” I said.
“That was different,” Max snapped.
I swallowed, not quite able to meet Max’s gaze just yet because...why? Why was it so different? Why could she be happy for Simone but act like I was the world’s biggest fool for thinking the same thing could happen to me?
I gave myself a little shake and met her glare with another smile. It was fine. This was Max. She was just looking out for me and I couldn’t deny the fact that she’d spent the better part of the last three years watching me pine over Alex with no sign of reciprocation in return.
I flipped to the article I’d bookmarked and pointed to the relevant item. “Find a common interest to bond over,” I said, reading it aloud.
“And you want to bond over a baby,” Max confirmed.
I pressed my lips together and huffed in irritation.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Lulu offered from the other end of the table. With long red hair and an overall hippie vibe, Lulu
