“Told you it would work.”
Izzie reached up and pulled off her hat, letting her hair fall raggedly around her face. “Maybe I need a disguise,” she said.
“Nonsense. You’re beautiful, Iz. Remember to keep that positive attitude.” But I could tell by her blank expression that she wasn’t really listening.
“Pom-pom’s up,” Kira warned. “Blaze just said something to Leona.” I raised the volume on the phone and watched as the belt buckle came closer.
“Hey,” he said, his voice tough.
“Hey,” Leona replied, her guy accent thick. Kira giggled.
“Do I know you?”
Uh-oh. My stomach took a swift left turn. I hope she didn’t get beat up. Leona had great high kicks, but Blaze was pretty beefy. I was terrified for her.
“No, man,” Leona said. “I’m here with my cousin.”
Cousin? Me and Kira looked at each other. That wasn’t in the script!
“Cool,” Blaze said, distracted by someone offscreen as he waved to whoever it was. The party behind him seemed to be in full motion, and the bonfire was illuminating it all.
Leona shifted from foot to foot, making Blaze’s belt sway in front of the screen. She must have been nervous.
“I’m getting seasick,” Izzie whispered and rubbed at her eyes.
“You hear about the Smitten Kittens?” someone off camera asked.
We suddenly perked up and stared at the screen. The voice was too far away to recognize, and I couldn’t see who it was because only his khaki-covered thighs were visible. He was holding a bottle of beer low, occasionally lifting it to, I assumed, take a sip.
Hm. There was something familiar about those quadriceps.
“Aiden’s there?” Kira was leaning between the seats, her head just above Izzie’s as she glanced down at the screen.
“What?” My heart skipped a beat. I studied the way the person moved, the way he put his hand on his hip so casually. “Mamma mia, K! You’re right!”
“Aiden’s muscles are hard to miss.” She grinned and moved back into the front seat. “Looks like your hero arrived after all.”
What the heck was Aiden doing there? I thought he wanted to punch Blaze. Wait! Was he there to fight?
“Hey!” Blaze said to him, reaching out to slap his hand. “Didn’t know you were in town, player.” He stepped back. “Oh, shit. Sorry I didn’t ring you back. What’s up?”
“Just hangin’,” Aiden replied. “Heard you guys couldn’t keep your cheerleaders in line.”
My stomach did a tuck and roll, and I felt Izzie’s eyes flick up to mine, but I was frozen. In line? Was Aiden just … talking smack about us?
Blaze laughed. “Dude, don’t you still mess around with Tessa Crimson?”
“Naw. Ended a while ago. She was a liar.”
I heard Kira shift uncomfortably in the front seat. I, on the other hand, was unmovable. I was listening to Aiden unedited. I was getting a glimspe into who Aiden really was, and right now, he was discussing us as if we were never a big deal. Was this how he really felt? I felt my heart break.
“Too bad,” Blaze said. “She’s f**king hot.”
Aiden lifted his beer for a long minute. When he brought his arm back down, Leona seemed to move away from them. Don’t leave now!
“Yeah,” Aiden finally said. “She’s a good-looking girl. Heard from Darrell that you caught her in the locker room. Did you do something to hurt her?” Aiden’s hand shifted on the bottle, wrapping around it like it was a club. I stopped breathing.
Blaze bent over, laughing. His black hair filled Leona’s lens for second, then he straightened. “No, man. Never touched her. They were sneaking around, and she fell doing some stupid shit. But I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on her.” He paused. “No disrespect, dude.”
“None taken.” Aiden stetched over to set the bottle in a cardboard box next to the keg. “Just wanted to make sure there wasn’t a problem.”
“It’s all cool.” Now Blaze was acting nervous, putting his hands up. “I’m really sorry she broke her leg. I didn’t mean for—”
“It was her ankle,” Leona interrupted in her man voice. Both Aiden and Blaze’s bodies turned toward her. The camera phone started shaking.
“Oh, no! Leona!” I called out. “Aiden will totally recognize her. Abort mission!”
Immediately Kira pulled out her phone and began punching in excape codes to inform Leona to exit. But nothing was happening.
“Right,” Aiden said, stepping toward Leona. “It was her ankle. Thanks… . What’s your name?” There was a hint of amusement in his voice.
“Walter.”
Kira snapped her head back to look at me. “Walter?”
“She’s supposed to be Rocco!” Leona was totally losing her disguise.
“My grandfather’s name is Walter!” Kira groaned and covered her eyes as she leaned back into the seat. “This is a disaster.”
“So how do you know our cheerleaders, Walter?” Aiden asked. Dang, I wish I could see his face! I couldn’t tell if he recognized her.
“Uh …”
“Hey,” Blaze thankfully interrupted. “Rhett is flagging me down over there. Wanna come say what’s up to the team?”
“I’ll be over in a bit,” Aiden said, lifting his drink again.
“Cool, man. I’ll check you later.” They slapped palms, and when Blaze was close, he spoke quietly. “And, hey, I wouldn’t mess with your girl. I was just joking about putting my hands on Tessa.”
“Yeah. You’d better be,” Aiden whispered back calmly.
They split uncomfortably, Blaze adjusting his vulgar belt. I was feeling pretty darn good. Aiden just totally threatened him in his smooth, polite way. I was … sort of turned on.
When Blaze’s backside was out of sight, Aiden’s body turned toward Leona. Sigh. His thighs really did look nice.
“Now,” he said, sounding a little annoyed. “Where’s Tessa?”
“Excuse me?” Only Leona’s maleness had worn off as her tone took on the high pitched squeak of a cheerleader that had just gotten busted. And then, the feed cut out.
SOS Inter-Kitten Communication
Dear Smitten Kittens,
Our suspension ends on Monday, and we were thinking of how to reenter the student population with a positive attitude. Yes, I know most of the boys are angry with us, but that does not mean we have to lose our spirit!