Challenge Accepted Read online

  You would have thought I’d slapped her across the face. Angry tears sprang to her eyes as she threw the card at my chest. “Get out,” she hissed, turning around to head back toward to the pool.

  I chose not to address the fact we were outside, therefore, “get out” was not really the appropriate phrase to use.

  “Look, Emma, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t know the computer would match us up. And I didn’t show up last night because when I figured out you were my match, I knew it would just make you angry anyway. I wasn’t in the mood for a public blow-out at a coffee shop.”

  Emma stood still, her back facing me. “Some people took that test seriously, you know,” she said, her voice thick. When she turned back around, I could see she was on the verge of crying and I wanted out of this backyard, pronto. “But I wouldn’t expect you to understand why. Now, please leave.”

  I would have loved nothing more than to follow through with her request, but I knew Rachel would be waiting for me back at home, expecting specific details on how I fixed this mess. Problem was, I still had no idea how I was going to do that.

  But then a brilliant idea hit me. The simplest solution of all. I had no idea why I hadn’t thought of it immediately.

  Making my way over to her, I reached into my back pocket. “Here, let me make this up to you.”

  I pulled out my wallet, opened it and rifled through the bills inside. When I found a twenty, I grabbed it and held it out to her.

  She blinked down at it, looking completely dumbfounded. “What’s that?”

  “Twenty bucks. To pay you back for the test.”

  I guess maybe I expected her to look grateful at my offer, but instead, she looked insulted. Yanking the bill out of my hand, she crumpled it up and threw it into the pool.

  “Hey!” I protested. “That was a perfectly good twenty!”

  “Then go jump in and get it. I don’t want your money, Logan. I want you to leave.”

  I wasn’t about to jump into her pool to retrieve it. She’d come to her senses eventually and realize it was a nice gesture. Maybe later, she’d even call to thank me.

  Yeah, right.

  “Fine.” I put my wallet away and began to back up. “But don’t say I didn’t try.”

  “GO!” she bellowed, thrusting out her finger in the direction she wanted me to leave.

  On my way back over to my house, I started to worry. That hadn’t gone well. At all. And I only had the rest of the day to make things right with Emma before Rachel had a talk with my dad.

  “Well?” Rachel called out as soon as she heard me step through the front door. I rounded the corner to see she was sitting on the living room floor playing with Abby. “How did it go?”

  “Lousy,” I said, plopping down on the couch and covering my face with my hands.

  “What happened?”

  “I explained everything to her. I apologized. I offered her a twenty-dollar refund for the test and she threw it in the pool.”

  Rachel gaped at me. “Are you kidding me? You robbed Emma of the chance of having a summer romance, then you stood her up, and you actually thought twenty dollars could possibly make up for all that?”

  “What?” I said defensively. “You think I should have given her a fifty instead?”

  She shook her head and laughed. “You’re lucky that twenty-dollar bill was all she threw in the pool. I would have thrown you in right behind it.” She glanced down at Abby, meeting her eye-to-eye, and said to her, “Abigail Reynolds, don’t ever get yourself mixed up with boys, okay? They’re not that bright, and they certainly aren’t worth all the trouble they cause.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Look, money was my only option. Emma hates my guts—she hated them before I went over there, and now she hates them even more. I offered her an apology, she didn’t accept it. I offered her money, she didn’t take it. She wants nothing to do with me, so I can’t offer her anything else. What do you expect me to do?”

  Rachel picked herself and Abby up off the floor. “The same thing I expected earlier. I expect you to make it up to her.” She walked past me toward the kitchen, calling out over her shoulder, “You have until the end of the day to come up with something. Otherwise, you might as well start packing.”

  My shoulders slumped forward in defeat. That wasn’t an empty threat. I had less than twelve hours to come up with something and I’d have to make it good.

  Chapter Six

  EMMA

  As I stormed up to my bedroom, taking two stairs at a time, the only thought that kept running through my head was, I want to kill Logan Reynolds.

  Granted, this thought was nothing new, as I wanted to kill Logan Reynolds on a regular basis. Like every time he spoke, or every time he breathed. But this time was different. This time I wanted to make his death intimate. I wanted to see the life drain out of his cold, hazel eyes as I slowly but steadily tightened my hands around his neck. I wanted him to beg for mercy, only to have me laugh in his face and tell him, “Sorry, I have no mercy left to give.” I wanted to be the last thing he saw before embarking on his journey of pitch black, eternal nothingness, and I wanted him to know that I was the one sending him packing.

  It was bad enough he lied on that test. It was even worse that he didn’t show up for our “date”. But to try to hand me a twenty-dollar bill, as if that somehow made up for it all? The boy was an idiot. A heartless, arrogant moron. A douchebag of epic proportions.

  And, not to mention, a spineless coward. Who goes to such great lengths to get their “sometimes-girlfriend” to break up with them? And doing it at the expense of somebody else, no less?

  When I got to my room, I slammed the door behind me, and let out a cry of frustration.

  Immediately, I dialed Chloe.

  “Hola, chica!” answered a voice that was not Chloe’s, but Sophia’s. In the background, I could hear loud music and laughing.

  I couldn’t help but feel a brief stab of jealousy in my gut. My two best friends were hundreds of miles away, having the time of their lives without me, while I was now stuck here all summer, pining after the romance that could have been but never would be.

  “Hey, Soph,” I said, throwing myself onto my bed. “Why are you answering Chloe’s phone?”

  She paused for a moment and giggled. “Oh gosh, this is Chloe’s phone, isn’t it? We must have switched again. Hey, Chloe!” Her voice was now muffled. “We switched phones again! Em’s calling you!”

  “So, what’s up?” she said back into the phone.

  “I found out who Number 7 was.”

  Sophia gasped and whispered, “She found out who Number 7 was!”

  “Omigod, who was it?” I could hear Chloe ask in the background.

  I scowled up at the ceiling. “Logan,” I said through clenched teeth.

  There was a long pause before Sophia said, “Logan who?”

  “What do you mean, Logan who? Logan Reynolds.”

  “What?!” the two girls exclaimed in unison.

  “How is that possible?” Chloe said. “You two are the least compatible people we’ve ever met.”

  I took a deep breath and told them the story about how Logan lied on the test and why. When I was done, they both sounded furious.

  “What a jerk!” Sophia said. “That’s low, even for Logan.”

  “Emma,” Chloe chimed in, “you need to come down here. You’ve got nothing holding you back now.”

  “Not true,” I said. “Remember? My book collection?”

  “Screw your book collection, girl!” Sophia said. “Chloe’s right! Get your butt down to Florida! We miss you. And besides, we met a group of three guys that are totally cute, and we’ve hung out with them a couple times. Chloe and I each have one picked out for ourselves, and the third boy, Max, would be perfect for you! He’s sweet, kind of shy, a bit of a nerd, but in a hot way—”

  “Let me stop you right there,” I interjected. “Guys, I’m not coming down to Florida. I’d love to spend the summer with you two. I�
��d maybe even love to meet this Max guy. But it’s not going to happen.”

  “Why not?” the girls asked in unison.

  Because I’m terrified I’ll die in a fiery plane crash. “Because I’ve got other things to do.”

  “Besides organizing your book collection, what other things do you have to do?” Chloe asked.

  There was no good answer to that question, so I said, “Oh, my mom’s calling to me. I’ve got to let you go. Talk to you later?”

  “But—” both girls started to say, but I hung up before they could say any more.

  I heard a soft knock on my door before it opened slightly. I sat up to see my mom poking her head in.

  “Hey, sweetie. What was that all about? What did Logan want?”

  “Nothing,” I mumbled. I didn’t feel like telling the story again, so I didn’t.

  “It didn’t seem like nothing.”

  “He just came over to harass me, as usual,” I said.

  Mom furrowed her brow. “Harass you about what?”

  “Nothing, okay?” I snapped, feeling immediately bad about it. “Sorry, Mom, he put me in a bad mood and I don’t feel like talking about it right now.”

  She studied me before saying, “Okay. I won’t pry.” She paused for a moment. “Your dad and I are leaving in a bit to go see some old friends. You can come with us if you’d like.”

  “No thanks. I’ve got some things I wanted to do today.” Like murder Logan.

  “The library?” Mom guessed with a smile. She knew me so well.

  I returned her smile with a nod. “Yes, the library.”

  “Well, have fun. We’ll be back before dinner. Call us if you need anything.”

  I opened my mouth to tell her I would, but I was interrupted by my dad, who had suddenly appeared behind her.

  “Hey, I found this twenty-dollar bill in the pool,” he said, holding it up for us to see. He looked right at me. “Know anything about this?”

  “Oh, yeah. I think that’s mine.” I walked over and grabbed it from him. “I was using it for a bookmark and the wind must have blown it away when I wasn’t looking.”

  Dad rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Sweetie, you shouldn’t be using money as a bookmark. If you need a new bookmark, I’ll buy you one.”

  “Or, she can buy herself a new one with that twenty-dollar bill,” Mom quipped, and Dad nodded in agreement.

  “Okay, well you two enjoy yourselves,” I said, ushering them out of my room once again. It seemed like I was having to do that on a daily basis now.

  Once they were gone, I looked down at the soggy, chlorine-scented bill in my hand. It was dirty money. It was Logan’s money. But it was still money nonetheless and it would buy me a few new bookmarks. Or at least a couple books at the used bookstore downtown. All I had to do was throw it in the dryer for a little while and it would be as good as new.

  And after it was dry, I was going shopping.

  Chapter Seven

  LOGAN

  It only took me an hour to come up with a solution to my problem. A brilliant solution that would satisfy Rachel’s requirements and maybe even make Emma hate me a little bit less:

  I was going to find her a boyfriend. Somebody to have a summer fling with. It wasn’t going to be easy, because I had no idea who this poor soul was going to be yet. I didn’t know too many guys who were looking to hook up with boring, plain, bossy girls who spent their nights with their noses stuck in a book. But I would hire somebody if I had to. Anything that would get me out of that “family bonding” trip to New York with Little Miss Pukes-A-Lot.

  The hardest part was going to be getting Emma to listen to my proposal—let alone agree to it. I was pretty sure I was the last person in the world she wanted to see right now, but I was on a tight schedule. I had to get this over with today or it was all over. Every plan I’d already made for the week Dad and Rachel were going away would have to be scratched, and I wasn’t going to let that happen.

  Not because of Emma Dawson.

  My timing was perfect when I left the house to go see her. She had just exited her own house and was heading for her car. Quickly, I called out her name as I jogged over to her.

  She glared at me as I approached. “Go away, Logan.”

  “Wait,” I said, standing between her and the car to prevent her from getting in. “I want to talk to you about something.”

  “The two of us talking never ends well. You should know that by now.”

  “I do know that. But I wanted to apologize. For earlier. I was an insensitive prick and I’m sorry.”

  My apology seemed to throw her off-guard. She almost looked less irritated for a moment. She also seemed to be considering how to respond.

  “Thanks,” she said finally, but her voice was tight and unsure.

  “And I want to make it up to you,” I added.

  She snorted. “What, do you have a fifty you want to give me or something?”

  I perked up. “Would that do it?”

  She looked up at me with a smirk. “No, that wouldn’t do it. Logan, what you did was lousy. You’ve ruined my summer. No amount of money is going to make up for that.”

  “I know, I know. That’s why I came up with a plan on how to un-ruin your summer.”

  I could tell that intrigued her. Folding her arms over her chest, she said, “Oh yeah? And what exactly is this plan of yours?”

  “Well,” I said, leaning against the side of the car. “I screwed you out of a summer romance, so I’m going to give you a summer romance.”

  A look of nausea washed briefly over her face as I realized what she must have been thinking. “Oh, God,” I said, scrunching up my face. “I didn’t mean with me.”

  The look of nausea was quickly replaced with one of relief. “Good. You scared me there for a second.”

  I refrained from making a snide comment about how she could only be so lucky to have a summer romance with somebody like me, but I didn’t want to get any further on her bad side than I already was.

  “So, then what did you mean?”

  I pushed myself off the car. “I mean, I’m going to help you get a boyfriend. Is there anyone you’re interested in right now?”

  The instantaneous blush on her cheeks indicated there was. Interesting. What nerd had managed to take Emma’s attention away from a book long enough for her to develop a crush on him?

  “No,” she denied, but if her face hadn’t given away her lie, her voice would have.

  “Oh, come on. There had to have been at least one guy that you were secretly hoping would walk into Dream Bean holding a card with the number 7 on it.”

  There was. I could see it in her eyes. Shaking her head, she said, “Even if there was, there is no way I would tell you who it is. You can’t be trusted. You—”

  She was about to go on, but the next words out of her mouth were halted by the sound of a voice behind us.

  “Hey, Logan!”

  I turned to see my best friend, Matt Fisher, crossing the street and jogging toward us. Matt, in all his star quarterback glory. If he could wear his letterman jacket all summer long without passing out from heat exhaustion, he would. That’s how much of a jock he was. He and I were opposites when it came to sports, in that he played them, and I didn’t. But I didn’t need to—at least, not to attract girls. And wasn’t that the main reason why most guys in high school wanted to play sports?

  “Hey, man,” I said as he stopped in front of me and gave me a fist-bump greeting. “What’s up?”

  “Not much,” he said. He looked over at Emma and gave her a nod. “Hey, Emma.”

  Emma’s mouth opened slightly, like she was going to maybe say hello back, but all that came out was a squeak.

  She was so awkward, it was painful.

  Matt didn’t appear to notice. Turning back to me, he said, “I’m heading to the beach to meet the guys. I figured you could ride with me.”

  “Yeah,” I said. I gestured over to Emma. “I just have to talk to Em
ma about something first. Give me a few minutes?”

  “Sure,” Matt said with a smile. He glanced at her and added, “You can come too if you’d like.”

  At that, Emma’s face turned a shade of bright pink that I don’t think had ever been witnessed on human skin before. What was her deal? Why was she blushing like a—

  “Th-thanks,” Emma stuttered, her voice barely audible. She stared down at the ground as she spoke.

  He chuckled slightly, told me to meet him at his car when I was ready, and jogged back across the street.

  When he was out of earshot, I gaped at Emma and said, “Oh my God.”

  Her face was already starting to revert to its normal color of pale white. “What?”

  I couldn’t help it—I laughed. Like, really laughed. To the point where I was practically doubled over.

  “What’s so funny?” she asked, and I knew immediately I had to calm down. She was angry, and I hadn’t yet made amends with her. I would have to tread lightly here.

  But my brain ignored that fact, and before I could stop myself, I said, “You have a total lady-boner for Matt!”

  There was that otherworldly pink color again. Only this time, it was brought on by rage, not lust. “A lady what?” When it dawned on her what I’d said, her face crumpled in disgust and she punched me in the arm. “You’re disgusting, Logan. I do not have a lady-boner for Matt.”

  “No, you totally do,” I said, finally calming down. Once the laughter had subsided, I chewed on my lower lip, deep in thought. How the heck am I going to make this work?

  “Okay, um…” I started, rubbing the back of my neck with my hand. “This is a bigger challenge than I was expecting. I figured you probably had the hots for one of the band geeks or a chess club nerd—you know, somebody who’s in your league. But…” My voice trailed off as I glanced over at Matt’s house. “I think I’m up for the challenge.”

  “Challenge?” Emma echoed as she narrowed her eyes at me. “What are you talking about?”

  “Emma Dawson,” I said with a devious grin. “I’m going to get Matt Fisher to fall in love with you.”