O2 My Dirty Little Secret

"MY DIRTY LITTLE SECRET"

"You're positive you had your book in detention?" Cherry asked after I called her and told her to meet me at our usual spot.

There weren't many places in our small town where we could hangout without someone yelling at us to go away. So, Cherry and I stayed hidden on the roof of our favorite ice cream place, Cloud Creamery. The giant hot fudge sundae sign blocked us from view of the street below. The owner knew we sat up there and her only request was that we don't fall off and break our necks. Which Cherry and I agreed to.

After I got my phone back from Mrs. Payne, Cherry was my first call. She beat me to our spot and had already pulled our furniture out from under the tarp we hid up there. Just two mismatched folding chairs and a folding tv tray where we piled our snacks to share.

Today, Cherry had two single scoops of ice cream from the store below us. Cherry vanilla with strawberry sauce for me and mint chocolate chip with gummibears for her. I ate mine in record speed, but Cherry let hers sit. She liked her ice cream to have the consistency of a milkshake.

"Yes, I'm positive I had it," I told her, chewing my blue plastic spoon. "Remember, I showed you the new lyrics I wrote at lunch. Besides, I never leave home without it."

If one of my parents found out the things I wrote about it'd be over for me. My lyrics were my version of diary. My songs were heavy with metaphors, but they detailed my life in away I didn't want my parents knowing about. Like the day I lost my virginity. Or how I really felt about their separation last year. It only lasted six months, but it was the best six months of my life. I never understood why they got back together.

"That was lunch," Cherry said, now. "Maybe you left it in your locker?"

"No, I didn't!" I didn't mean to snap, but sometimes her eternal optimism was too much. "I had it in that classroom. I took it out my bag, read over the last song about Daniel and was about to make some changes when--"

"When what?"

"Peter effing Conway."

Her plump lips formed an "O" shape. "Peter Conway had detention?"

"No, he just wanted me to sign up for some daycamp thing."

"At the elementary school? My brother and sister are going to be there this summer."

I sat back in my chair. "Well, I'm not. But if my parents ask, I volunteered to teach piano."

Her face screwed up in thought. "Piano wasn't an option on the sign-up sheet."

"We're getting off topic," I said, waving my hand in the air like swatting away a fly. "Peter Conway was the only other person in that room. He had to steal it."

"Why would Peter Conway steal your song book?" She sounded doubtful. "I let him borrow a pen once and he accidentally took it home. The next day he gave me a box of a hundred pens and apologized."

She had a point. Stealing, like lying, wasn't something Peter Conway did. Then again, he did talk me into being his fake girlfriend. Maybe he took my notebook as an extra incentive to keep me in check. Either way, I had to have a chat with him.

***

Cherry had to get home so I was left to deal with my new "boyfriend" on my own.

The neighborhood I lived in was full of row after row of identical white two-story houses and artificial green lawns. I knew which one was my house only because of Freckles, our Dalmatian.

She ran up to fence, tail wagging as I undid the latch. She greeted me with kisses that tickled my cheeks. I reciprocated by scratching her behind the ears.

Our love fest was interrupted when my mom step out onto the porch. "Where have you been?" She demanded.

She still wore her business suit--a gray pants suit with a blue button up underneath the jacket. She worked as an accountant at some office downtown.

"Detention." I met her on the porch, matching her crossed arms stance. "Remember? We had a lovely chat about it earlier."

"Your detention ended over an hour ago, Faye."

"I took the long way home."

Her green eyes, the same ones I had, narrowed at me. Everyone said I looked like my mom. Most days I didn't see, but now, with her pissed off expression and auburn hair that was long and perfectly curled, I couldn't deny it. It was the face I saw in the mirror the day Daniel dumped me.

"You're grounded."

I dropped my arms. "Mom, we went over this. I have--"

"Piano lessons, I know. That's why I will be dropping you off and your father will pick you up everyday," she told me. "Outside of the daycamp, you are going to be in your room."

"For how long?"

"That all depends on you."

Having a chaperone this summer was definitely not in the plan. How was I supposed write new songs and make music videos if I was being watched by my parents? I had to figure out a way to convince them that their plan would be too inconvenient for the both of them.

But before all of that, I needed my notebook from Peter.

"Okay, but can I run next door before my banishment to my room? I need to go over some things with Peter."

My mom's expression softened just the tiniest bit at the mention of Peter. I held back the biggest eye roll. "That Peter is such a nice boy. The other day he offered to--"

"I'll be back in ten minutes," I said. I didn't care what angelic thing Peter did. He was holding my notebook hostage as  a way to blackmail me. Nice boys didn't do that.

My mom and Freckles went back into the house and I left my yard. Only I wasn't sure which direction he lived in. All I knew was that he was two houses down. It could've been left or right. I couldn't even remember what car he drove.

I took a left, examining each house for any signs of Peter Conway. Like a halo or twinkling harp music. As I got further down the street, I heard music, but not the heavenly kind. Dirty Little Secret by The All-American Rejects played from an open garage.

Peter Conway was inside, lugging a heavy looking box into the trunk of a car. His arm muscles flexed in away I kinda hated myself for noticing. He defied logic by being a sexy do-gooder. I didn't like it. It was confusing.

"Faye?"

I snapped out of my lust filled fog at the sound of my name. Peter walked down the driveway to meet me. Then, like he purposely wanted to confuse me even more, he lifted the hem of his Fall Out Boy shirt and wiped sweat from his brow. Showing me his well defined stomach muscles and the briefest flash of a golden happy trail that disappeared into the waistband of his boxers.

Why did I come over here again?

His shirt fell back into place and broke whatever spell he had on me seconds ago.

"I need my notebook back," I demanded.

His brow creased. "What notebook?"

I placed my hands on my hips. "Don't play dumb. I knew you have it."

"The one with all the stickers?"

"Exactly. I knew you stole it!"

He held his hands up in defense. "Woah. I didn't steal anything. I just see you writing in it all the time."

"Stop lying, Conway. You were the only other person in the detention room. That's the last place I saw it."

"Faye, I promise you, I don't have your notebook." His light eyes looked sincere, but there was no one else in that room besides Mr. Johnston and he was asleep.

"What happened to 'I don't lie'?"

His eyes flashed dark for a second. "I don't have it."

"Stop--"

"Baby bro!"

Peter and I looked up at the guy who just came out of the garage. He had the same blond hair as Peter, except his was down to his shoulders. Unlike Peter, he had brown eyes that looked golden in the late afternoon sun.

"Who is this?"

"Faye," he answered, giving me a hard look. I really got under his skin calling him a liar. "Faye, this is my brother, Chris."

"Faye?" Chris's brows shot up. "The same Faye who--"

"Chris." Peter's voice was full of warning as he glared at his older brother. What was he going to say?

Chris simply chuckled, ruffling his little brother's curls. "I can take a hint. Nice meeting you, Faye."

I tilted my head as I watched Peter's face flood with color. "What was that about?"

"Nothing," he said all too quickly. "And I don't have your notebook. I swear."

Weirdly, I believed him. But if he didn't have my songs, who did?

"I can help you look for it," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "I don't have to turn in the keys to the school until next week."

"You have keys to the school?" I said, slightly impressed. "What am I saying? You're Peter Conway. You probably have keys to the city."

"Not yet, but the Mayor did say something about making July second the official Peter Conway day."

Who knew he could tell a joke? Unless he wasn't joking...

"Tomorrow?" He asked.

"I'm grounded."

"So, you can't go?"

"I can go. We just have to be sneaky about it."

***

Later that night, after dinner, I called Cherry to video chat. She had her braids wrapped up under a scarf and a white face mask over her dark brown face.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, that Bea Lopez comment was a fake."

I was hardly disappointed. Of course it was a fake. Why would the real Bea Lopez comment under my video?

"It for the best." I sighed. "I don't even have my lyrics anymore. If a real record producer wanted to meet with me, I'd have nothing to show them."

"Don't say that. I'm sure it'll turn up," she assured me. Optimistic as ever. "It was nice of Peter to offer to help."

"Yes, I get it, Peter is so nice." It was all my mom could talk about over dinner. Even my dad was rolling his eyes by the end of it.

"I mean, he is," Cherry said. "And cute."

Peter and his abs popped into my head again. Just then I remembered I hadn't told her everything that happened in detention.

"Well, lucky me, I guess, because he's my boyfriend."

My best friend froze like her brain had to reboot. "I'm sorry, what?"

I filled her in on the deal I made with Peter. Repeating it now, it sounded ridiculous. I didn't even know how to be a real girlfriend, let alone a fake one. What if I was too...intense. Would he even want to claim me in front of his brothers? He didn't even introduce me as his girlfriend to Chris. I was just Faye. The same Faye who...Ugh it was going to bug me not knowing what his brother was about to say.

"His brothers sound like jerks. So what if he's never dated? Being with someone doesn't define your worth."

Cherry spoke from experience. She hasn't dated anyone since middle school and that only lasted a day because all Zander wanted was to touch her breasts. Which she punched him for trying to do.

She's had other guys ask her out since then, but she turned them all down. She swore it was because she wanted to wait to date in college, where the boys were more mature. But I always wondered if she was scared guys only wanted her for her body and didn't want a Zander repeat.

"Well, don't tell Peter that. I still need him so I can have some semblance of freedom this summer." I was only half joking.

"Hey, maybe you can start a new song book based on your time with Peter."

That was a terrible idea. Peter Conway only inspired eye rolls for me and nothing else. His flexed biceps crashed my thoughts as if to remind me that there was more to Peter than his humanitarian ways.

But no matter how hot he was, it didn't change the fact that our personalities were too different to mesh. We were polar opposites. Two people who could never be friends, let alone date each other for real.

Peter Conway was nothing more to me but an excuse to get out of being grounded for a few hours.

***

Hey! Thanks for reading this chapter! We got a tiny look into Peter's home life and some of Cherry's back story. I'm already loving these characters so much and I hope you love them too!