Perfectly Misunderstood (The Perfect Series Book 4) Read online

  He’d made a good life for himself after his parents died, overcoming so many challenges, beating all the odds. And he worked hard to make sure that my mother and I had a good life, too. That’s why I’d never express my frustrations over downtime, or my disappointments over not learning more about Cuban culture. It’s also why I’d never complain about how much pressure I felt to be perfect.

  MIKE

  “Hurry, bro,” Brady yelled out the window as I walked away from the bus stop. Getting the twins ready and on the bus meant I’d be cutting it close for school. I didn’t want to be late because my AP English teacher was a mean old bat. Plus, it was spirit week, so she’d be extra grumpy about the student council taking ten minutes of class to pass out flowers or candy or whatever it was they were selling.

  “Thanks for waiting, man,” I greeted as I hopped in the passenger side and buckled.

  “No worries. How long do you need me to meet you here?”

  “Probably the next two weeks.”

  “Yikes. Let’s hope the bus isn’t ever late.”

  “Right? My mom would flip her lid if I left Thing One and Thing Two by themselves.”

  “I don’t blame her.” Brady chuckled. “Joy could burn a neighbor’s house down with even five minutes unsupervised.”

  I laughed. “Nah, she knows not to play with fire. But she might convince someone else to do it. She can be very persuasive.”

  “You’re telling me. Last time I was over, she begged me to let her paint my fingernails but conveniently forgot to tell me she was out of nail polish remover. I had to borrow some when I got to Beth’s house. Bianca gave me endless crap for, and I quote, picking a shade so close to her own.”

  I howled with laughter. “That’s your problem. You’re a sucker for pretty girls. Even if they’re only six,” I added with a smirk. “You need to learn when to say no.”

  “I can’t.” Brady shrugged. “Pretty girls are my Kryptonite. Speaking of pretty girls, you found one for homecoming yet?”

  “Yeah. I think I’m going to ask Becca Adams.”

  “Coach Adams’s daughter?” Brady choked out.

  “Uh huh. Do you have a problem with that?” I couldn’t gage his reaction.

  “No way, she’s cute. But you better make sure she has a good time. I’d hate to be on Coach’s crap list.”

  “I hadn’t even thought about that. Maybe I shouldn’t ask her.”

  “Forget I said anything.” Brady’s words rushed out. “If you’re finally going to ask someone out, then I’ll protect you from whoever her father is, even Coach Adams. Does this mean you’ll come with me and Cam and the girls?”

  “Cart before the horse, dude. She has to say yes first.”

  “Why wouldn’t she say yes?”

  “Because she’s Jayden’s best friend. You know, the giant pain in my neck who hates my guts and likes to bust my chops.”

  “You think Jayden will tell her to say no?”

  “Who knows? Girls are mean, and they don’t make any sense.”

  “How are you going to ask her?” Brady waited for my grand proposal.

  “Hadn’t gotten that far yet.” I shrugged. “Maybe I’ll pass her a note in Spanish.”

  “That’s lame, Mike. You’ll have a strike against you before you even go out with her.”

  We’d parked and were walking into the school lobby when I saw the student council reps at their sales table. An idea hit me. It was fast and easy. Plus, what girl didn’t like flowers? “Hey Brady, can I borrow ten bucks?” I begged.

  “Are you going to pay me back?” he asked skeptically.

  “Probably not. But it’s for a good cause.” He narrowed his eyes while he thought. “Hurry, man,” I pushed, “they’re cleaning up. I’m going to be late to first hour. Ms. Cutter will give me the stinky cheese face all day…after she gives me detention.”

  “Fine. But you have go with our group to homecoming.” Brady pulled a ten from his wallet and held it out. I reached for it, but he pulled it back. “Promise first. That’s the deal.”

  “Dude, you’re such a chick. You want to pinky swear while we’re at it? You spend too much time with your woman.” I snatched the bill from his hand and took off.

  “You’re welcome!” Brady hollered behind me as he walked away.

  “Hold up!” I called to the girl who was putting the last of the flowers in a vase. “Is it too late to get flowers delivered? If not, how much will ten bucks get me?”

  The girl looked at me, then looked around the table and down at the vase. “Tell you what. These are the last of the flowers, so I’ll probably end up throwing them away. It’s a random assortment, but I’ll give you the hodgepodge special. All the flowers and the vase for ten dollars. Just don’t tell the girl you got a deal, and you’ll look like a big spender.”

  “Sweet.” I handed over the money.

  “Who am I sending it to, and what’s her first period class?” the girl asked as the tardy bell rang.

  “Dang. I’m late.”

  “I’m sure your teacher will forgive you.”

  “Doubt it. I have Ms. Cutter.”

  “Oh, boy. I’m only a freshman, so I haven’t had her yet, but I’ve heard the rumors. Word on the street is she sends more kids to detention than all the other teachers combined.”

  “100 percent true.” I laughed. The girl smiled politely and waited. “Oh, sorry. Her name is Becca Adams, but…shoot. I have no idea who her first-hour teacher is.”

  “You’re in luck!” The girl grinned excitedly and clapped her hands. “I know Becca. She has choir with me first hour.”

  “What are the odds?” I mused in relief. Maybe I shouldn’t be asking Becca. I barely knew her. What if we didn’t get along? Of course, I knew Jayden well enough to know that Becca must be the nice one in the friendship. There’s no way she was as ornery as Jayden.

  “You want a message on the card?” the girl asked as she wrote Becca’s name on the top in bubbly letters.

  “Um, yeah. Can I write it, though?” I didn’t want to sound like a loser fumbling for words. The girl nodded and handed the card over. What to write? What sounds like a Mike pickup line? I had standards to live down to, after all. There wasn’t enough time to make up a rap or something good like that, so I scribbled the first thing that came to mind.

  Wanna get crunk with me on the dance floor Saturday night?

  Not exactly eloquent, but it’d get the job done…I hoped. I handed the card back to the girl, and the first thing she did was read it. Figures.

  “Don’t you want to tell her who it’s from?” she asked.

  “Oh, yeah, right.”

  The girl giggled and grinned. It was the first indication she’d given that she was probably only fourteen. She’d been very articulate until this point. Then she surprised me by taking her pen and writing my name on the bottom with a little heart next to it.

  “How’d you know my name?” I asked.

  The girl blushed. “I’m Noah’s little sister.”

  “You’re related to Noah?” Noah was on the cross-country team with me and in my Spanish class. He was, like, the biggest slacker I knew. He only joined cross-country because he wanted to impress his new girlfriend. But after the season started, she dumped him. He decided to stick it out, though, because his parents eased up on him about being a putz when he made the team.

  “I know. It’s hard to believe, since I have drive and motivation and whatnot.” She blushed again and bit her lip before continuing. “Noah pointed you out once and said you were the fastest guy on the team. I’ve been to some of your meets. Your times are really impressive.”

  “Uh, thanks,” I said, awestruck that this cute, non-ditzy girl knew who I was and appeared to be flirting with me. That never happened. Too bad she was a freshman. I was eighteen. That basically made her jailbait. I shook my head. “I should probably go.”

  “Yeah, probably.” She paused, as if she wanted to say something, and I turned to leave. I
’d only made it a few steps before she called out to me.

  “Oh, wait.” She reached into her back pocket and thrust a piece of paper at me. “Here, take this.” It was a blank hall pass signed by the vice principal. I looked at it, then looked back at the girl and blinked slowly, waiting for an explanation. “Everybody helping out today got one at our morning meeting. I don’t need it. My choir teacher knew I’d be late anyway. Now you won’t have to spend your afternoon in detention.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked. Why was this girl being so nice to me? I was popular enough, but not superstar status like Brady or Cam. Or even B-list popular, like some of the other guys on the basketball and baseball teams. I was D-list popular, at best.

  “Yeah, take it.” The girl got shy and cast her eyes toward the ground.

  “Thanks…uh… Sorry, I never got your name.”

  “Natalie.”

  “Thanks, Natalie.”

  “You’re welcome.” She smiled and took a big breath before blurting out, “If Becca doesn’t say yes, you know where my first hour is now.”

  Dude! The girl had guts, for a freshman. I was too shocked to be smooth. Then I realized that she was still watching me and waiting. Way to be cool, Mike. “First-hour choir. Got it.” I winked and left for class, wondering if I should have just asked Natalie to the dance instead. Then I remembered the reason I was asking Becca in the first place. Because she didn’t have a date, and Jayden had been a jerk. And I wanted to stick up for her, like I’d always wished someone would do for me. Nope, it had to be Becca.

  “How’d it go?” Brady asked me at lunch. Last year the basketball team ate together, just the guys. This year, all their dumb girlfriends invited themselves to join us. Some of them were cool, but some weren’t. Unfortunately, it was deal with them or have nobody to sit with.

  “How’d what go?” I replied.

  “Did she say yes?”

  “Oh, that. I don’t see her until fifth period.” I tried to sound casual, because I’d been stressing about it all morning. Becca was a junior, so none of our classes were by each other. I didn’t even know if she’d gotten the flowers.

  “Did who say yes?” Beth asked, butting in. If she weren’t Beth, I’d have told her to mind her own business.

  “What? Mike asked someone to the dance? And she actually said yes?” Bianca taunted from across the table.

  “Yo, Cam. Tell the ball and chain ta mind her own biz,” I answered. Bianca was hot, but she wasn’t nearly as sweet as Beth, so the same rules didn’t apply to her. I was allowed to be as rude as I wanted because she constantly gave me crap. Though, I didn’t fight back very often, because underneath the dumb jock façade, I was still a gentleman—most of the time. If I was being honest, her attitude was one of the reasons I found her so attractive. The girl was feisty. She was a lot like Jayden that way.

  When Bianca and I first started hanging out last year, I annoyed her. She barely tolerated me for Beth’s sake, since Brady and I were a package deal. Now, the rude ribbings and nicknames were more in jest than anything. Once I’d grown on her a little, she warned me that she teases everyone, even Cam and Beth. She also warned me that if I wanted her to lay off, I’d have to stop giving her so much ammunition. I wasn’t about to tone down the act, so I never took her insults personally.

  “Touchy, touchy.” She clicked her tongue at me and looked offended, which I knew was for show. “She must not have said yes.”

  “Bea,” Beth warned with what everyone affectionately referred to as the mom voice.

  “Bebe, babe. Mind your own business,” Cam ordered, but it didn’t sound bossy. We all knew who wore the pants in that relationship. And it wasn’t Cameron Bates.

  Bianca looked at Cam and said as sweet as arsenic, “Cam, babe. You gonna make me?” She batted her eyelashes in a challenge.

  Cam sighed. “If I must.” Then he lunged for her and swept her over his knee, planting a giant swat right on her butt. Those two made me laugh and made me sick all at the same time. They took PDA to a disturbing level. Half the time they were kissing, and the other half they were beating each other up. Last year they were voted couple most likely to get married. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

  “Ignore them,” Beth leaned over Brady, whispering to me. Though, she didn’t need to whisper. Cam and Bianca were now causing such a commotion that most of the cafeteria was watching. All thoughts of my potential date were forgotten. “Whoever she is, I hope she says yes. Does that mean you’ll come with us on Saturday?”

  Jayden had been getting on my case about the way I act. Very few people got to see the real me. Over the past year, Beth had become one of those people. When I realized that Brady’s relationship with her was going to stick, I figured if he trusted her, then I should, too. Besides, Beth had never judged me or treated me differently when she thought I was dumb. Same thing applied after she found out I wasn’t. Beth was just like that.

  “I don’t know. If she says yes, and if she wants to, maybe. It depends on what you guys are doing. I don’t have much money, so if you’re planning a limo and fancy dinner and all that, I’m probably out.”

  Beth frowned. “I don’t know what we’re doing, because the guys won’t tell us. But I’m sure if you’re limited by funds, they’d be happy to change plans and include you.” Oh, Beth, ever the optimist. “Right, Brady?” She elbowed him in the side. He’d been half listening, half watching Cam and Bianca make a scene.

  “Huh? Oh, yeah. Of course, bro. If Becca says yes, we’ll do whatever you want. Plans aren’t set in stone yet.”

  “Becca?” Bianca perked up at the mention of a name. I don’t know how she’d heard me, because the cafeteria was so loud. “Becca who?”

  “Becca Bug-off-cuz-its-noneya-bizz-ness. Dang, girl. You straight-up nosy.”

  “Yeah, Bebe. Stop being nosy.” Cam grabbed her and put her in a headlock while tickling her side.

  “Cam, stop!” she shrieked.

  “Tell me you love me.”

  “I’m going to punch you in the nuts if you don’t let me go.” Bianca wiggled and squirmed, trying to escape.

  “It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” Cam said confidently, though he angled himself in a way that protected his man parts.

  “Fine, you big bully. I love you,” Bianca huffed as she stopped struggling. Cam let go of her head and turned her to face him. Then he leaned over and gave her a brief but blush-worthy kiss. It used to make me uncomfortable when they did that, but now it just makes me envious. I’d never admit it to anyone, though.

  “Seriously, Mike. If she says yes, you have to come with us.” Beth smiled sincerely and waited for me to agree.

  “All right.” I gave in.

  “Yay!” Beth chirped.

  “What?” Brady snapped his head back in my direction. “How come you said yes to her, but not to me?”

  I grinned. “Guess pretty girls are my Kryptonite, too.”

  Brady’s face scrunched up like a random thought had just occurred. “By the way, how are you getting home today?” he asked.

  “Good question. I guess I’ll have to see if Becca can take Jayden and me home. I hope she says yes, because it’ll be awkward asking for a ride if she doesn’t.”

  Brady winced, but Beth smiled. “Cheer practice doesn’t start until four. I take Bea and Cam home after school, then come back. If you need a ride, text me and we’ll squeeze you in.”

  “Hopefully it won’t come to that, but thanks.” I smiled.

  “No problem.”

  I stayed quieter than normal as I finished my lunch, taking in the people around me. Juniors and seniors had the same lunch hour, so I looked for Becca. But she and Jayden were nowhere to be found, which made me nervous. Hopefully Becca hadn’t skipped school after getting my flowers so she could avoid letting me down gently.

  No sooner had I finished that thought than my phone dinged with a text message from Reina Mocosa. I changed the name to Jayden so she wouldn’t kill me i
f she ever saw my phone.

  Jayden: Did you ask Becca to the dance because of me?

  Mike: No, I asked her because I needed a date and she’s cool.

  Jayden: Oh. I thought maybe you felt bad after overhearing our fight.

  Mike: It’s not a pity invite, if that’s what you’re hinting at.

  I wasn’t stupid. Neither of them were in the room, which probably meant they were together. For all I knew, Becca was reading my message over Jayden’s shoulder. The last thing I wanted was Becca to think that I’d only asked her because I felt bad for her. Even if it was partially true.

  Jayden: Well, thank you.

  Mike: Thank you for what?

  Jayden: For asking her. She’ll kill me for telling you, but she was excited. And hers was by far the biggest flower delivery in a class of eighty girls. Everyone was jealous.

  Jayden’s confession made me smile. I hadn’t intended for the flowers to make a big scene. But if that’s what happened, then good. Becca’s self-esteem needed a little boost. I should remember to thank Natalie for the hodgepodge deal next time I saw her.

  Mike: You’re welcome? Still not sure why you’re thanking me.

  Jayden: Because it was cool of you.

  Jayden: And you helped me clean up my mess.

  Jayden: And you made one of my best friends happy. She’s got perma-grin right now.

  I knew exactly why Jayden had been thanking me. I only played dumb because I wanted to see how she responded. I was a little surprised by her answer. She’d admitted she was wrong when I cornered her after the fight. But she didn’t sound all that sorry. Even in a text, she sounded sincere this time.

  Mike: Does that mean she’s going to say yes?

  Jayden: Don’t go there. My butt is toast if I answer on her behalf.

  I laughed out loud, and Brady looked up at me. He watched me text Jayden back out of the corner of his eye, but I pretended not to notice.

  Mike: Maybe you should give me a hint, because I forgot that I need a ride home. Brady has swim practice. It’d be weird to ask Becca for a ride if she planned to tell me no…