Page 34 of Rocked: The Price of Dreams

I laughed.

Wouldn’t that be fucking funny?

Chapter 13

Two days later, I sat on a bench in the school’s courtyard between Kyle and Hunter, jabbering away. We were finalizing our set list for our gig at the tavern that weekend. I made a shopping list—we’d need to buy more duct tape for securing cables and cords on the ground, and markers for labeling boxes. Some weeks, every cent we earned went on replacing and renewing equipment. Would we ever save enough to get ahead?

But Kyle, who usually planned everything, had been super quiet. I followed his gaze. A bunch of cheerleaders laughed and giggled at one of the nearby tables. The girls, like most of the other students in this school, left us alone. Most kids here had seen us play at events around the district and liked our shows. Everyone let us do our thing without any hassle. Even the bullies had backed off. That was cool.

But this was new.

Since we’d started senior, girls now noticed the guys. Kyle and Hunter had grown taller, filled out, dressed better. Heads often turned in their direction when we walked along the corridors between classes or hung out by our lockers. I had to admit, their asses looked hot in jeans.

Funny thing was, they didn’t know how to handle the attention. They’d get super awkward and shy if a girl said hello to them.

Kyle had never shown interest in girls...until now.

Intrigue zipped through my veins. I elbowed him in the arm. “Who are you checking out?”

“No one.” He lowered his chin, clearly attempting to hide his flushed cheeks.

“You’re such a bad liar.” I giggled. “Who?”

“Um...shit.” Kyle winced. “I guess...Laura.”

“Oooo,” I teased. “You gotta a cruuuush. On a girrrrl.”

“Really? Laura?” Hunter wrinkled his nose as he spoke with a mouthful of sandwich. “You can have her. Now Trina is a different story.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, Hunt, you’ve got no chance. She’s into girls.”

“Damn.” His shoulders slumped. “She’s the only hot chick at this school. But it doesn’t matter. Once we graduate and move to the city, babes will be falling at our feet.”

“And guys.” No one at this school appealed to me. They were all dickheads. Everyone assumed that I was in a relationship with Hunter or Kyle or both. That didn’t bother me, but it would be nice to catch the eye of the occasional guy. Some flirty attention and a little ego boosting wouldn’t hurt. Oh. Maybe my hormones had kicked in. Finally! I wanted guys to notice me. Sweet.

Laura glanced in our direction and waved.

Kyle threw her a sheepish smile.

A weird quiver rippled through my stomach and tugged at the back of my belly button. Hold on one sweet minute. I swiveled toward Kyle. “Oh. My. God. Something happened, didn’t it?”

His cheeks turned a darker shade of red. “Gem, can we change the subject? Are you happy with the set list for Saturday? Wanna change anything?”

My mouth fell open. Oh, he was out of it. We’d already gone through the changes. Twice.

I slapped his thigh. “Kyle McIntyre? Did something happen yesterday? At math tutoring?” He’d barely passed math last year. His mom had convinced him to get some help for senior year. “Did you get to first base?”

His leg jiggled and he rubbed the back of his neck. “Geez. Are you intuitive or something?”

“Yep.” Crazily so. “What happened?”

The cutest wrinkles formed on the bridge of his nose. “Do you really want to know?”

“Yes.” Hunter leaped from the seat beside me and sat on the ground in front of us. “Every detail.”

The three of us were still virgins. Any interest or encounter with the opposite sex piqued our curiosity. None of us had gone beyond kissing someone during vacation or when hanging out with friends of friends down by the creek or at the occasional party.

“Okay.” Kyle finished his mouthful of apple and scrunched up his lunch bag. “It’s pretty embarrassing. We were working through some calculations at the dining table when she um...slipped down onto the floor. I thought she’d dropped her pen. But the next thing I know, she’s sliding her hands up my legs and unzipped my jeans. I totally freaked out. But she said she wanted to...you know...go down there. I nearly came in my pants. Anyway, I let her...um...blow me.”

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