Page 22 of Adorkable

Becks’s brow furrowed. “You want me to French and feel you up in the janitor’s closet?”

Maybe, a treacherous part of my brain whispered, but I swallowed the impulse, afraid I’d scare him away. “No. We’d just have to play for the crowds, parents, friends, etc. In private, we’d be just like we’ve always been.”

“Just friends?” he asked.

I nodded. Just friends.

“You said a month?”

“Yeah,” I swallowed again. Man, even with Becks—especiallywith Becks—this was embarrassing. “At the end, we’ll just tell them we decided to call it off because of irreconcilable differences. I’d pretend to be devastated. The dates would end; you’d be off the hook. No harm done. So—” I tried not to let my nerves show, hoped my voice wouldn’t waver. “—what do you think?”

I held my breath the entire time Becks thought it over.

Finally, he said, “Okay, I’m in.”

I blinked. “You’re in?”

“Yeah, I’ll do it.”

“You will?”

Becks looked up at me and grinned. “Sure. You didn’t think I’d say no, did you?”

“No,” I said, but it came out more like a question.

He laughed. “Sal, I just want to help. You’re my best friend. How could I possibly refuse?”

“So, that’s it?”

“Well, yeah,” he said, and I began to breathe a bit easier.

Good old Becks. A guy any girl would want in her corner. My entire body was floating on a cloud of relief. The best friend I could ever ask for...

“Now, about what I’m getting in return.”

That put an end to all the light and fuzzy.

“I thought you said you just wanted to help,” I said incredulously.

He shrugged. “You know what they say: You can’t get something without giving a little something, Sal.”

That wasn’t quite what “they” say, but I got it.

Cutting him off before he could get going, I said, “Okay, Becks. You now have ten seconds to tell me your demands.”

His jumped off his bucket in protest. “But, Sal, you can’t—”

“Eight seconds,” I said, looking at my watch.

“But—”

“Five, fo—”

“A month’s worth of Calc homework and hand over the Goobers,” he said in a rush.

I gaped at him, forgetting the counting altogether.

“But you’re great at Calculus, nearly as good as me.”

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