Next up: Alex’s story

Two words:

1. Alex

2. NaNoWriMo

What does that mean? It means that the first draft of Alex’s story should be complete by the end of the month because I’m writing it for Nano. And Nano runs the month of November only. I’m challenging myself to. Get. It. Done! I’ve scheduled time with my editor for December and January. I was hoping to release this bonus addition to the Double Threat series at the end of January, but then something exciting happened today. Meggie is coming to town in January. Well, Jurnee (the model on the cover of the books) is coming to California. Alex (or Gabe) already lives in California, so the two will be reunited for another cover shoot. I’m beyond thrilled. I can’t even begin to express in words how excited I am to shoot them together again. It was amazing to watch my characters come to life years ago when the first book, So I’m A Double Threat, came out. To see Meg and Alex together again, all grown up and in love will have me in awe all over again. I can’t wait! So… it looks like the release of Alex’s story will be pushed back to February. I’m okay with that though. And I hope you will be too. You’ve waited this long to find out what the hell Alex was thinking dating Amy. You’ve waited this long to find out what the heck he was doing while he was away at college. Well, please be patient a little longer so we can bring these two to life again and give you an awesome cover.

For now, though, I’d like to share the first chapter of Alex’s story. It’s not edited. It’s not revised. Hell, I might scratch the whole thing and start all over. Either way, I’d like to give you a sneak peek. Happy reading!

——————–

 

“Did you get a look at the fresh meat in there?”

It’s not the first time we’ve set eyes on a new crop of freshman. It’s not the first time I’ve heard that from one of the guys either. And I know it won’t be the last.

“Hell yeah,” Ben says. “Once school starts, I think I’ll call dibs on one of them.”

Figures. What a dick. By the time the year is over, he’ll probably have called dibs on each and every one. That’s just how Ben is when it comes to girls—perpetual flirt, never one to stick with one chick. Mom calls him the heart breaker, a charmer. He’s good looking and he knows it. Girls don’t stand a chance against him. One of these days a girl isn’t going to fall for his shit. She’s going to give him a run for his money and he’s going to be whipped. He won’t know what the hell to do with himself and I’m going to laugh my ass off. I can’t wait to call him a pussy like he calls me.

There you have it. According to my best friend, I’m a pussy. A vagina. A fucking cunt. A twat. What else has Ben called me? Pick your favorite word for pansy. Because I believe in love, he thinks I’m a total sucker. Apparently, believing in love isn’t normal for a seventeen year old straight dude. While most guys my age are looking to get laid and running from girls who just want to hold hands and go to the movies, I’m all about finding someone to truly love. Don’t get me wrong. I’m a guy. Getting laid ranks right up there with jacking off every day, but sleeping around doesn’t appeal to me. Call me old-fashioned, or a bitch, all you want, but sex means more to me than just blowing my load.

Well, shit, it’s easy to believe in love in my house. My dad found my mom in high school. My grandpa found my grandma when they were teenagers too. They’ve never been ashamed to tell everyone about how they fell head over heels in love at such a young age. I certainly wouldn’t call Dad or Gramps pussies, that’s for sure. They’d both show me how much of a pussy they aren’t—with Gramps’s bad hip and all. Ben should get it. It’s not like he comes from a broken home. His parents were high school sweethearts too.

“It’s not like Alex is looking,” Ben says. “He’s too busy trying to figure out if Lydia is the one.” He hangs his air quotes on the one, his facial expression that of disgust.

I don’t tell him this, but I’ve pretty much discovered that the one is not Lydia. If I have to take time to figure it out, that says it all. I like the girl, but I don’t see us lasting much longer. She’s not all that in to me either. I’m just another notch on her black studded belt. She’s far from what the guys would call a pussy. Lydia doesn’t have any interest in finding love. She’s more interested in kissing as many frogs as possible. She might find her prince sometime in grad school at rate she plans on going. But if you asked her she wouldn’t complain. She’s having a lot of fun doing it. Hell, maybe she belongs with Ben. They’re definitely the mirror image of each other in the dating department.

“You guys ready for a game of pool?” My soon to be ex-girlfriend pokes her head out from the screen door and calls out to us in the backyard. The guys always end up out here to get away from Lydia and all of her squealing friends. When they’re done gossiping and talking shit about everyone, Lyd usually summons us inside. I guess they’re ready.

“Sounds good.” I stand. “I gotta take a leak first.”

The guys and I make our way inside and I head down the hall for the restroom.

Lydia’s sister, Steph, and her friends are in her bedroom. The door is cracked and I can hear them talking. I don’t plan on listening, but I hear my name.

“Your turn, Meg. Who do you think is cuter? Alex or Ben?” one of the girls asks. Sounds like Stephanie. I’ve been around her enough to know that voice. She’s always so animated and loud.

“Alex.” Meg doesn’t hesitate and that makes me smile in triumph. Take that, Ben Calloway. The little freshmen thinks I’m cuter. I happen to think she’s the cutest of her friends too. She’s actually quite beautiful. And what’s even better is that she has no idea just how beautiful she is.

I remember the first time I saw her, she had her hair in a messy ponytail. It was kind of sagging to the side and hair was falling out all over the place. She wasn’t wearing any makeup either which was a nice change of pace from most girls I know. Her attire included fuzzy pajama pants with yellow happy faces on them and a big t-shirt. I was picking up Lydia and she was at their house for a sleepover with Steph. Most girls would have made a quick getaway into the room if a guy walked in. Not Meg. Her cheeks flushed pink for a moment, then she just waved at me and continued watching TV with Steph. I thought it was cool. Different.

“What are you wearing on the first day of school?” another girl asks. Probably the tall blonde. I bet she plans out her wardrobe at the beginning of every week. From what I’ve seen, she’s the polar opposite of Meg. “All the guys are going to be checking us out. We need to make sure we look good.”

Seriously? I roll my eyes. I can’t remember what Lydia was wearing five minutes ago, yet I remember the freshman was wearing pajama pants last week. Shows how much guys really care about clothes. That’s my cue to leave.

“Who the hell cares, Amy? I’d hope a guy would like me for more than my fashion sense.” That was Meg again. Good girl. I stay put for a minute longer.

“You would say that, Meg. Look at you.” Catty, catty. Not my thing. Girls are evil.

I’m out, before I walk into that room and say something I shouldn’t.

I head to the bathroom instead. Lydia is probably wondering where I am. Actually, probably not. I don’t know what’s keeping us together. We’re more friends than anything. Friends with benefits. And not the benefits you’re thinking either. More like kissing benefits. A solid date to parties and to the movies.

When I open the door to exit the bathroom, I’m chest to face with Meg. Megan. Steph calls her Meggie. It’s cute. To me, she’s Megan. She might be young, but she has this maturity about her that warrants her full name.

“Hey,” she says. “Didn’t mean to smack right into you.”

Again with the pink cheeks. It’s not at all bad on the ego to have that effect on a girl.

“It’s okay,” I say, rubbing my chest. “I don’t think you broke anything.”

She smiles. “You’re like twice my size. Stop being a wimp.” She knocks me in the chest with her small fist.

A chuckle escapes from my throat. “Ouch. You’re hurting me with your words now.”

“I’m sure you’ll be just fine,” she says.

“Hey, dick,” Ben yells at me from the other end of the hall. “Are you going to stand there and make small talk all day or are we going to play?”

Looking over at him, I yell back. “Shut the hell up. I’ll be right there.”

Ben disappears around the corner and I turn back to the girl in front of me.

“Gotta go.” I shrug. “Talk to you later, Megan.”

She looks surprised, her brows furrow at the center of her forehead, making her look absolutely adorable. “You know my name?”

“Uh huh,” I say with a nod. I leave her in the hall and head back to the gameroom to Lydia and our friends. For some strange reason, I’d rather stay in the hall with Megan—watching her skin blush and taking about nothing.

* * *

“Baby doll, I think it’s time for us to move on,” Lydia tells me.

We’re sitting in my car in her driveway after school. I steal a glance at her. She’s smiling. I feel like an asshole for not being torn up about us breaking up, but I’m not bothered at all. We went to the last party of the summer together, kicked off the school year as a couple, but we both knew it was just a matter of time.

“Oh, come on,” she says. “I know you’re not sad. This has been coming for a long time. We’re like really good friends. Not really boyfriend and girlfriend. Let’s just be what we are right now. Well, without kissing each other.”

She makes me laugh. “Cool,” I say. “You’re right.” I squeeze her hand. “Sounds good to me.”

“God, you’re going to make someone really happy some day. You’re a fucking awesome catch, Alex Aguilar. You know that?” She leans over and smashes her glossy lips against my cheek with a loud muah.

“Yeah.” I wipe the oil slick from my skin. “I know. Your loss,” I say, completely joking with her and she knows it. “Now, get out of my car.”

“You don’t want to come in? We can watch a movie or play air hockey until you have to go back to school.”

“Not today. Coach wants us back earlier than usual, so I don’t have much time.”

Lydia narrows her eyes at me. “Damn, I sure am going to miss you all sweaty in your uniform.”

“It’s not like I’m going anywhere. You’ll still see me. And, let’s be honest, it’s not like you’re going to stop looking, Lyd.”

She ignores me, opening the car door and turning in her seat to get out. She closes the door behind her but pokes her head back in the open window, resting her arms on sill. “You got that right. We may have broken up, but I’m not dead. As long as you look like that,” she wags her finger up and down at me, “I’ll be looking.” She winks. “Bye, Alex.”

She doesn’t give me time to respond to her bluntness. She just walks to her front door, shaking her nice ass back and forth at me. Yeah, I’m not dead either.   

* * *

“Hey, check it out,” Ben says, pointing to a group of girls walking on the sidewalk. What the fuck. It’s almost ten at night. “Isn’t that Steph and her friends? I bet they’re going to the party.”

I take a closer look. Megan? It’s her. I pull the car alongside them without giving it another thought. Damn, this girl has invaded my every thought since that day in the hall at Lydia’s. She was just so fucking adorable. The way she blushed. The way she wasn’t afraid to joke with me. And the way she looked, so natural. Just beautiful.

Then, I saw her at the end of the summer party a few weeks ago. She was standing at a table all alone. For a minute, I felt guilty for wanting to talk to Megan, but then again Lydia was downing shots of tequila like a spring breaker in Tijuana and flirting with every guy who came her way. So, I walked up to the freshman and started up a conversation, hoping she’d remember me.

“Hey, Megan. What’s up?”

“Hey, Alex,” she said, instantly calming my nerves. I’d talked to girls before. Had been since junior high, you’d think I’d be able to calm my shit as a senior talking to a freshman, but this girl had me strung out, fidgeting like a fucking meth addict. That is, until she said my name. She remembered me. Hearing it roll off her tongue gave me a different kind of high.

I introduced her to the concept of a double threat. She was so shocked by the idea it cracked me up. What’s so surprising about being able to get away with shit if you’re an honors kid or talking AP classes and you’re in ASB? Students who are in student council can do anything they want. They can ditch class sitting in front of the principal’s office and no one will bat a fricken eye.

Why aren’t you in class?

Oh, we’re just finishing up a project for ASB.

Okay. Good luck.

It’s seriously that easy. It works even more if you have an AP Bio book in your hand while you mention ASB. She’s a brainiac and she’s involved in school activities. See, a double threat.

Megan is clearly one of them.

“So what are you then?” she asked, challenging me, for sure. Her eyes were wide and wild. I hoped that it was the effect I had on her and not the beer that was in her cup. At least she wasn’t doing shots.

“I’m a football player so I’m even more of a threat than you are.” Lightly, I bumped against her, teasing her with my words, our arms making contact. To say I didn’t feel something would be a flat out lie. I felt it all right. She sucked in a soft gasp for air while my body felt prickly. I’d say I felt sparks, but I can hear Ben’s voice in my ear asking me if I wax my twat.

Our conversation was just getting good when Lydia interrupted us and asked me to watch her chug a beer bong. “Later, Megan,” I said. I couldn’t help looking back at her. I must admit I felt like a fucking MVP when our gazes met. She was watching me walk away. Fuck yeah.

So forgive me if I see her walking on the side of the road… in the dark for fuck’s sake… and I don’t just flip out a bit.

“What’s up?” Really? That’s what I open with. Megan probably thinks I’m an idiot who can only come up with two words.

Ben is much smoother. He asks the girls if they want a lift to the party.  They all jump in the back seat, squeezing in tight for the rest of the ride.

Stealing glances in my rear-view mirror, I peek at all the girls. Steph and Keesh are lost in their own conversation. Megan looks nervous. Her cheeks are pink again. And Amy, she just looks like there’re a million other places she’d rather be.

At Freshman orientation, I got the message that Amy thinks she’s the leader of the pack. When she is around, the rest of the girls seem to shrink in comparison. I don’t think they mean to, it’s just that Amy commands—no, demands—attention. She ruined my concentration, that’s for sure. We had just finished morning practice and I saw Megan in the quad. My plan was to get a drink from the water fountain and run into her. She was alone at the time and I really wanted to talk to her again. Things went well at the party. And I knew Lydia and I were just days from breaking up. But before I could talk to Megan, Amy showed up and the rest of the guys started chattering about her long legs and killer ass. I just wanted her to go away, but she didn’t.

Megan wasn’t alone anymore. I lost my chance.

That wasn’t going to happen again. Not tonight. Especially now that Lydia and I are officially done.

Once, Stephanie told me that she and her friends loved to dance, especially Megan. I can’t wait to see her move. If I get my way, I’ll be spending tonight’s party getting to know Megan. On and off the dance floor.

When we finally arrive, Ben takes off into the party like a bat out of hell. Megan is wrapped up with her girls, so I head in the direction of the rest of the team to talk about the game and how badly we sucked. I’m not a fan of audiences so I’ll just wait until later to get her alone.

After going over several busted plays with the guys, I decide I’ve had enough. Let’s face it. Our teams sucks ass. We lost half our team in May when all the seniors graduated. Now, we’re starting all over again. We have a young team and very few returning players. I’d say to hell with this losing shit and walk, but I love football too much to quit. Besides, this is my last year playing. I know I’m not good enough to play in college. May as well enjoy it, even if we lose every game this season.

First, I grab a Coke from a cooler and then set out to find Megan. I’ve been watching her out of the corner of my eye for most of the night. She is one hell of a dancer. She definitely knows how to move.

The party is packed and I’ve lost Megan in the crowd of dancers. Amy and Steph are sitting down in a corner so I walk over to them, hoping that Steph will help me find her. At the very least, I know Megan will come back to her friends eventually. Or maybe I’ll just have to join her out there for a dance. If only I could find her. It doesn’t help that she’s five foot-nothing. Just one more thing that I find so damn cute about her. I bet the top of her dirty blonde head would fit right under my chin.

“Hi, Alex,” Amy says. My name draws slowly from her lips while she’s giving me a look that scares the shit out of me. Her gaze slides up and down my body like a true professional. To say this girl is sexy would be an understatement. She may be only fourteen but she looks way older than most girls my age. And she’s intimidating as hell. No wonder the girls cower to her. She has me wanting to run away with my tail between my legs and she’s only said hi to me.

“Hey,” I say back, and then look toward Steph. She stands up, rolling her eyes and walks away with a flip of her long, dark hair at me. What did I do? I’d hate to get on her bad side. Amy might scare me in a sexy slave kind of way, but Steph—well, she’d just kick my ass if I pissed her off badly enough.

Trying to ignore the I’m going to pounce on you vibe I’m getting from Amy, I look out into the sea of bodies that are dancing. I catch a glimpse of Megan. Her head is tilted back and she’s laughing. Her smile is contagious. The corners of my mouth turn up unconsciously. Who knew this sweet little thing would have such an effect on me?

“Meg looks like the life of the party out there,” Amy says.

She caught me. Staring. At Megan. “Yeah, I guess.” What do I say to that? Yeah, she does? She’s having so much fun that I want to go over there and see what’s making her laugh like that? That I want to dance with her and maybe even feel her body against mine with every beat of the music? I might be thinking it, but there is no way in hell I’m sharing that with Blondie.

“Oh, look at her. Dancing with Ben. She thinks he’s cute.”

Well, look at that. Ben is out there, the meat in the center of a Megan-Keesha sandwich. Whatever, Megan thinks I’m cuter. A smile curves across my face again.

“Yeah, she was going on and on about how she’d like to hook up with him. She’s like that, you know. Not the kind of girl to date one guy.”

Surprised, I turn my face to look at Amy so quickly I may have whiplash. “Really?” I didn’t get that feeling from her at all. Amy is totally pulling my leg. She takes a step toward me. When she speaks again, she’s so close I can feel her breath on my neck.

“Totally. She had a long-term boyfriend in middle school. Now that we’re in high school, she wants to play the field.”

My gaze turns toward Meg again. She’s drinking and dancing with Ben. She’s laughing again. Ben is getting closer to her and she doesn’t step away. Fuck. How did I read things so wrong? Maybe Amy is right.

When I feel Amy’s hand on my arm, I tear my stare away from Meg and give Blondie my attention. I don’t really want to listen to her anymore. I’d rather get the hell out of here, but Ben looks like he is having the time of his life and I can’t leave without him. And there is no fucking way I’m going to go over there and break up that love fest that is going on. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“You know, I’m all for dating one guy in high school. I’m not into messing around and playing games. I’d like to find a guy who’s older too, someone who knows what he wants.”

The feel of her fingers dragging up and down my arms says it all. She’d like me to be that older guy. “That’s cool,” I tell her.

“Hey, this party is getting boring.” The music is louder now, and I can barely hear her. She says something else and this time I can’t make it out.

“Huh?” I mumble, close enough to her ear so that she can hear me.

She leans in, her lips graze my neck as she says, “Are you ready to go? Do you mind taking us home? We’re all staying at Steph’s tonight.”

God, anything to get Amy away from me right this moment. And anything to spare me the misery of watching my best friend make moves on the girl I’ve been digging for the last three weeks. Fuck. Why didn’t I mention it to him? He’d know better than to go near her. I fucking blew it.

“Yeah, let’s go. How about you let them know and I’ll meet you guys at the car?” I need some time to myself to think.

“Great, I’ll be right back.” But before she leaves, she hops up and pecks me on the cheek. What they hell is that all about? I wipe my face, wondering what the hell kind of a game she is playing. She doesn’t like games, my ass. She’s the fucking team captain. Thankfully, she’s able to at least take my mind off of Megan, if only for a minute.

Jesus. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me. The girl is three or four years younger than me. She’s just a kid and I’m going all fucking apeshit over her. I’ve barely spoken to her, only a few minutes at a time and I’m getting all worked up about Ben laying it on thick. Like Mom says, he’s a charmer all right. With my luck, he’ll make Megan change her mind about wanting a boyfriend and she’ll be all goo-goo gaga over him by the end of the night. If she isn’t already.

This is such bullshit. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me. It’s just that I really enjoyed talking to Megan. She seemed like a no nonsense kind of girl with a great sense of humor. And she’s fucking beautiful, naturally gorgeous and she doesn’t even know it. That big smile makes me feel things. Big things. Fuck me. I sound like my grandpa. That’s exactly what he said about my grandma when they met. Seriously? Is Megan the one and I’ve already blown my chance? Is Megan the one and she doesn’t even want to fall in love? Damn it, I sure know how to pick them.

By the time I reach my car, I want to punch something. The sound of footsteps stomping behind me snaps me out of it.

“Hey, dude. The girls will be here in a second. They’re pretty cool. I know we weren’t that fun when we were freshmen. We were fucking dorks.” Ben is all smiles and I want to slap the happiness right off his face. “That little one, Meggie, is something else. She can dance and she has a mouth on her.” He smiles even wider. “I like it.” He rubs his hands together and I’m sure smoke is coming out of my ears. “When we drop them off, I’m gonna go for it. I’m going to kiss her. Nothing big, just a quick one. Just to let her know I’m interested.”

“You could just ask her for her number.” God, I don’t know what made me say that but getting Megan’s number isn’t as bad as watching him kiss her. Fuck.

“You’re such a pussy. I’m going to kiss her. You should do the same with the her friend. That chick his been all up on your dick all night. You know she’s game.”

With a shake of my head, I don’t respond with words. There is no way in hell I’m kissing Amy.

The entire way to Steph’s I can’t stop thinking about what Ben said. He’s going to kiss her. That’s pretty forward. They just met. And she is only a freshman. He should give her some time. Be patient. Get to know her first. Not try and get into her pants on the first night. What the fuck is his problem? Better yet, what the fuck is my problem? I need to get over it already. Yes, I wanted to get to know Megan better. Yes, I thought that maybe I might like to take her out. But she’s not interested. Amy said she wants to play the fucking field and I’m not down with that. I don’t want to be one of the guys she messes around with her freshman year. I wanted to be the guy she called her high school sweetheart. Shit. Maybe I am a pussy. I reach down and adjust my junk just to remind myself I do in fact have a dick.

My stomach is in knots when I pull into Steph’s driveway. I throw the gear in park and both Ben and I undo our seat belts and step out of the car, flipping the handle on the seat so it moves forward for the girls. Amy and Keesh get out on my side and Megan and Steph get out on Ben’s. Fuck. Why couldn’t it have been the other way around? I can’t help but look at Ben giving Megan his full on I’m going to get into your pants stare. She glances my way, but looks back at Ben. There you have it. She does want to get with him. If only she’d kept her eyes on me. On me! Steph stands to the side and Ben takes a step closer to Meg, holding out his hand.

Fuck it.

I can’t watch.

I can’t watch Ben kiss Megan.

I close my eyes tight, but hear my name. “Alex.” Opening them slowly, I see it’s Amy and all my sense goes out the window. She’s giving me that pouncing look again and I know what I’m about to do. She won’t care if I use her. She’s all about playing games. And right now I need to play the get Megan out of my fucking head game.

Reaching out, I take Amy’s hand and pull her against me as my lips crush against hers. It’s the worst kiss of my life, but at least I didn’t have to witness my best friend kissing my one.

——————–

Tell me what you think! And tell me, please… what in the world should we title this thing? Oh, and tell me… do you have any favorite scenes that you think should be depicted on the cover of Alex’s story?

Thank you for reading! I just love my Double Threat Crew!!!

Double Threats Forever, baby!