Cupcake

“So, did you and Rhys hook up?” Toni asked.

My jaw dropped. We were in the library, sitting at a table, doing research for an upcoming lit project. She gave no warning, just popped the question like it was no big deal.

“No,” I said, glancing around to see if anyone had heard. Thankfully, no one was near us. “Jeez, where did that come from?”

“I wondered about it all Sunday.” Toni gave a shrug. “I was going to call, but I wanted to see the look on your face when you answered.”

“And?”

“Annnd judging by your wide eyes and the goldfish impression, I think maybe more happened than you’re letting on,” she said.

I scoffed. “Please, it was nothing like that.”

“Well, what was it like?”

“We practiced in the living room until his family came home.” I smiled at the memory. “His parents were really nice, and though his brother was sarcastic, it was fun seeing Rhys with all of them. Then, since we needed to review more for Homecoming, we moved the dancing to Rhys’s bedroom and—”

“Wait, wait.” Toni held up a hand, halting my words. “You’re saying you went up to his room, and the two of you just danced?”

“Yeah.”

“Or did you, you know, dance?”

Toni bounced her eyebrows, did a little shimmy, and blew me a kiss.

“I have no idea what that move means,” I laughed. “But there was no hooking up.”

She pouted. “Ah, come on. Not even a kiss?”

Almost, I thought.

I could’ve sworn Rhys was about to kiss me before we were interrupted. But with the touching and the dancing and his closeness, I hadn’t been thinking straight. Who knows? There was a chance I’d imagined the whole thing. I didn’t want to give Toni false info.

“No kissing either,” I said.

Unfortunately.

To distract her, I pointed to my head. “Hey, can you help me with this? My hair’s been giving me grief since I woke up this morning.”

“Sure.” Toni sounded disappointed. “But next time could you please kiss the prince? If not for you, then for me?”

“I thought you had your hands full with Ben,” I said and grinned when I heard her sigh. “How’s it going with you guys?”

“He’s a total goof,” Toni said, the affection clear in her voice. “Ben says the sweetest things and even insists on carrying my books. I have to admit, A—I think the kid’s growing on me.”

That was as good as a declaration of love when it came to my best friend.

“You mean you like him,” I said.

“Yeah,” Toni said, “I do. And we actually have kissed a few times, in case you’re interested.”

I looked over my shoulder and smiled wide. “When did this happen? How was it? And where was my phone call?”

“I think it must’ve been when you were at the elementary school with your mom.” She stuck out her tongue then gestured for me to spin back around. Running her hands through my hair, Toni added, “It was awesome. And I would’ve called, but…we were a little busy.”

“I see,” I said.

“Ben’s a fantastic kisser, by the way. I’m still waiting to hear if a certain quarterback has any skills in that area.”

I shrugged. “I wouldn’t know.”

“But you’d like to,” Toni put in.

Did I want to kiss Rhys?

Yes. A hundred times yes.

Had I replayed that scene in his bedroom again and again and again?

You know it.

Was I confident enough to say it out loud?

Not so much.

“Your silence speaks volumes, my friend.” Toni laughed. “Just let me know how it is when it happens.”

“Don’t you mean if?” I said.

“When,” she repeated then lifted a handful of my hair. “Now, should we go with a messy fishtail braid or the classic half-up, half-down Belle at the ball look?”

“Either sounds good.”

“I’m feeling Belle,” she said. “With all the talk of Homecoming, it seems appropriate. Plus, you are a princess.”

I frowned, her words taking me back to the other day.

“Why do you think there aren’t any fat princesses?” I asked.

Toni paused. “Do you really expect me to answer that?”

“It was just something one of my mom’s students said.” I thought it over. “Actually, add TV, movies, and books to that. There are hardly any plus-sized leading ladies. Do you realize there’s not even one Disney heroine who’s fat? The closest you get is that little Lilo chick, who’s like six, and her story isn’t even a romance. Stitch is a blue alien who’s a friendly pet. I mean, are they trying to say girls who have a little pudge aren’t worthy of love? Because that’s what it feels like.”

“Ariel,” Toni said, “you are so weird, but I love it.”

I looked over my shoulder. “But seriously, why? I mean, would it have killed them to have one chubby girl?”

“Turn back around before you ruin my work,” she said. I did as she asked and felt her hands moving through my hair once again. “Well, if you really want to know, the answer’s simple. Someone on the Disney team was obviously a fat-ist.”

My brows furrowed. “Huh?”

“Fat-ist,” she repeated. “It means people who have this illogical but ingrained prejudice against fat people. Actually, the whole world’s fat-ist.”

I scoffed. “I don’t think that’s a real thing.”

“Think about it, A. Forget Disney. Why aren’t there tons of stories about big girls finding happily-ever-after? It happens every day in the real world.”

“You’re totally right. And for that matter, why does the plot have to center around weight when the girl is bigger?” I added. “I love a good makeover story as much as anyone, but can’t a girl just happen to be larger than a size two? A lot of people are. Thin people are cast all the time, and their weight is hardly ever mentioned.”

Toni hummed her agreement as another thought occurred to me.

“And more often than not, curvy girls are portrayed as miserable. Why is that?”

“Because,” Toni said sarcastically, “Hollywood thinks skinny equals happiness—which I can tell you right now, it doesn’t—and fat people should lose weight before they can be happy.”

I shook my head. “Screw that. Love yourself at any size.”

“Amen, sister.”

Toni gave me a high five, and ten minutes later the bell rang. She had turned my hair into a masterpiece as usual. I had no idea how she did it without a brush or tons of tools and hairspray. But I wasn’t complaining.

I ran through a list of movies in my head, trying to think of any that featured a happy, overweight girl. In the end, I only came up with a handful. What a sad commentary on our times.

Maybe Toni was right, I thought as I walked up to my locker and reached in to grab my books.

“Maybe the world is fat-ist,” I muttered.

“What was that?” Rhys was suddenly there, standing over my shoulder with his hands in his pockets. “Were you just talking to yourself, Princess?”

Taking a deep breath, I turned to him with a smile. “Yep, I was.”

He lifted a brow. “Was it a good conversation?”

“The best,” I replied. “I find myself very amusing.”

“Funny, I do, too.”

You’d think I’d be used to him by now, but nope. The sight of Rhys, being near him, still caused a stir of excitement in my tummy. I wondered when that would stop.

“Ooh.” I snapped my fingers, opened my locker again, and reached inside. “I’m actually glad you’re here. I brought these yesterday but forgot to give them to you.”

“Yeah, you left pretty fast.”

I ignored that, shut my locker, and pushed the movies into his hand.

“The best dance flicks of all time,” I announced. “At least in my opinion. I excluded musicals because that’s a whole other thing.”

Rhys looked down, studying the covers. “You mentioned these before, didn’t you?”

I nodded. “Most of them. I’d start with Dirty Dancing or Strictly Ballroom. Napoleon Dynamite is really just in there for laughs. And then I threw in 10 Things I Hate About You because, come on. Heath Ledger serenading Julia Stiles in a football stadium to win her heart? The hilarious way he dances out of the security guards’ reach when they try to catch him? You just can’t beat that!”

He didn’t say anything, so I went on.

“You don’t have to watch them if you don’t want to. I just thought they were good, and that…well, you might like them.”

The words sounded forced even to my own ears.

“You know what? It’s okay. This was a bad idea—”

I went to take the movies back, feeling all kinds of foolish, but Rhys put a hand on my wrist.

“It’s not a bad idea,” he said.

Sparks traveled up and down my arm at the contact.

“You brought these for me. You say they’re good, so I’ll watch.”

He released my hand to put the movies into his backpack, but his gaze held mine, which did nothing to help my racing heart.

“I actually need to ask you something,” he said.

I shrugged. “Go ahead.”

“Do you want to go out with me?”

The warning bell rang, and students began clearing the hall. Rhys didn’t seem in any hurry, though, as I stood there baffled.

“Out?” I echoed. “Do you mean to your house so we can practice some more? I don’t think you need it, but okay.”

“Actually,” he said, “I meant to the movies or a restaurant. Something like that.”

My brows furrowed as I took in his words. “Rhys, I know this is silly. But it kind of sounds like you’re asking me on a date.”

Rhys cocked his head. “That’s because I am. What do you say, Princess?”

A jolt of electricity ran through me, but I quickly tamped it down. Why would Rhys want to date me? There had to be a reason, but I couldn’t figure it out. I had no life experience to draw from, so my mind immediately turned to the one thing I could count on: my vast amount of movie knowledge.

“Is this a joke? Or like some kind of prank?” I asked.

“No,” Rhys said slowly. “But I’d love to know how you came to that conclusion.”

I’m not sure, I thought. In movies, only jerks asked girls out to humiliate them. Rhys would never be that guy—I knew that now.

“Oh,” I said, “did you make a bet with Zander that you could turn me into the Homecoming Queen? Because sorry, Rhys, I already told you that’s not happening.”

“There’s no bet I’m aware of,” he said and crossed his arms. “But this is strangely entertaining. I can’t wait to hear what you’ll say next.”

“Okay, I think I’ve got it.” I smiled. “Your grades are bad.”

Rhys’s brows lifted. “They are?”

I nodded. “Yes, like, really bad. You’re failing and in danger of being thrown off the team. Which,” I added before he could interrupt, on a roll now, “is why you need a tutor. Football is your life. But you don’t want anyone to find out about the tutor thing, so you need me to be your fake girlfriend.”

“That’s incredible,” Rhys said, sounding impressed.

“So I’m right?”

He shook his head. “Not even close. What’s incredible is how wrong you are.”

My lips turned down as I grasped what he was saying.

“Well, are you writing an article about how to lose a girl in ten days?” I asked.

“Nope.”

“Did you accidentally send letters to all the girls you’ve loved before?”

“What?” He laughed. “Good grief, Princess. Where are these strange theories coming from?”

I gave him a shrug. “Watched one too many movies, I guess.”

“I think it was more than just one.” Rhys put his hands on my shoulders, dipped his chin, and looked into my eyes. “Listen Princess, I want to date you. No bets, no BS, no hidden agenda. I just…like you. It’s that simple.”

“But—”

He shook his head, cutting off my question with a look.

“Do you react this way to all the guys who ask you out, or am I just that special?” he said.

Swallowing my pride, I lifted my chin a bit higher.

“I wouldn’t know,” I replied. “This is new for me. Guys don’t typically—I mean, no one’s ever asked…”

Rhys looked confused for a second before his face filled with understanding.

“Well, I’m asking,” he said gently. “Just so we’re clear.”

I gulped as I looked him over. My goodness, his sincere tone, how his eyes had gone soft, the way he was looking at me… I couldn’t believe this was really happening. He’d completely blindsided me. I still didn’t know what to say but knew I had to answer his question.

“I’ll…think about it,” I said—then immediately wanted to die.

For real, please Lord, take me now.

An amazing guy finally asks me out—and that was my brilliant response?

Total. Fail.

Rhys looked surprised for a beat, but then his lips tilted up into a half smile.

“All right,” he said. “Take all the time you need. No rush.”

As his hands fell away from my shoulders, my heart whispered, No, come back. I didn’t mean it. That was my brain talking. She sucks and overthinks everything. I’ll go with you anywhere, anytime you’d like.

“Honestly, I can’t say I have much experience with this, either,” Rhys added as my mind and heart battled it out.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I can’t remember a girl ever turning me down.” He folded his arms across his chest and sent me a grin.

I couldn’t help but smile a little at that.

“So, this is a first for me, too.”

“Technically, I didn’t turn you down,” I said. “I like you, too, Rhys. My mind just needs time to process.”

He nodded. “I get it, and that’s cool. I want you to be sure when you answer.”

My eyes closed with a sigh, thankful that he was being so kind about what could’ve been (and was) a truly awkward moment. As I reopened them, though, I couldn’t seem to look at him directly.

“Thanks for the movies,” Rhys said.

“No problem,” I mumbled. “I hope you like them.”

“I’m sure I will. But hey, I forgot something last night, too.”

“What was it?”

“This,” he said.

His hand moved to my cheek, and as our eyes met, Rhys leaned in closer, giving me plenty of time to pull away. But I didn’t. I wanted this more than I wanted my next breath.

Rhys kissed me like he’d been wanting to do it for a while. He took his time, too. His lips were warm, soft, and oh-so-talented. My mouth moved with his, and I could only hope it was as good for him as it was for me. Because gah. Kissing Rhys Castle was amazing.

Unable to stay still, my hands moved up to his shoulders and circled his neck. He kissed me deeper for a moment (or it could’ve been hours, who knew?) and then slowly pulled away.

“Something to think about,” Rhys said, his voice sounding rough, “while you’re deciding.”

I nodded, still in a daze as he took a step back.

“Also, my grades are good, Princess. I’m number seven in our graduating class.”

“Really?” I asked.

“Yep.”

“But the SATs…” My brain was recovering, albeit slowly, from that kiss, but at least I was forming coherent sentences. “I thought you were struggling.”

“I am,” he said. “I can’t seem to get past 1300.”

My eyes widened at the number. It was even higher than my own score.

He shrugged. “I was already accepted to my top college, but it’s a personal goal. Plus, I could really use a scholarship. To help offset costs.”

So he was smart, surprisingly nice, liked SJM novels, and could kiss me into next week? Why the heck had I asked for more time again?

“Have a great day, Princess.”

“You too,” I breathed as he walked back down the hall. “Thank you.”

Goodness, did that really just happen?

My pounding heart and kiss-swollen lips could attest to the fact that yes. Yes, it had.

I needed to get home fast and text Toni—or actually, no. News this big definitely required a phone call.

She was never going to believe this.