Burning Up by Susan Andersen Page B

But he had quicklypushed for far more than she was willing to give. And for the first time since coming to Sugarville, she’d refused to rein in her time-honored defense against being an outsider—her zero tolerance for taking crap. Instead, she’d fought her way upright and put a halt to the make-out session in no uncertain terms. He’d taken it like a gent, though, and driven her home, so she’d assumed that was the end of it.
    Until the following Monday, when sniggers had followed her down the hallways of Sugarville High and she’d discovered her once-idol had told all his friends she was a pushover in the backseat of his car.
    And the rush to date her began.
    She’d known better than to think anyone would believe her over a guy who was the high school equivalent of royalty. So, except with Janna, she hadn’t even tried to set the record straight. What was the point? Once an outsider, always an outsider.
    But enough with the trip down memory lane. Impatient with herself, she joined in the conversations swirling around her. It had been a long day, however, and given a choice when dinner ended she would have retired to her room in a heartbeat. But Adam was there. Not feeling like dealing with him, however, she quickly offered to help with the dishes. Hey, a girl could always hope Inconvenient Guy would take off if she just stayed busy long enough.
    Her aunt dashed that dream by waving her off and her nebulous alternate plan to invite her cousinto hang out with them vanished when Janna said she ached after her afternoon out. Macy didn’t have any real hope Adam would disappear while she helped settle her cousin in their room, and sure enough, he was still lounging against the library/game room doorjamb when she came out a short while later. Sighing, she decided only the direct approach would do and walked up to him.
    In the rec room behind him she saw Gabe bending over Grace as he showed her how to line up a shot on the pool table and got a funny pang in her chest.
    Irritated, she shoved it aside and, pulling her gaze away from the couple, looked at Adam. “What do you say we go out on the porch?”
    “Sounds like a plan.”
    On the covered porch that wrapped around two sides of the house, he moved in on her, bending his head with the clear intention of stealing a kiss.
    She stepped back. “Not gonna happen, pal.”
    He straightened up. “I suppose I didn’t really expect it would. Still, a guy’s gotta try.” He studied her in the dappled light filtering through the wisteria leaves. “You’ve changed a lot since high school.”
    “I certainly hope so. It’s been ten years.”
    “I think it goes deeper than that, though. And has to do with more than your MTV success. You seem…happier.”
    She blinked at his insight, surprised in no small part because she hadn’t expected any from a guy who’d go to his son’s game and flirt with anotherwoman in front of the kid’s mom—a situation she would’ve had no part of, had she realized up front that’s what was going on. But she shrugged. “That happens when you remove yourself from a place where people either hate your guts or treat you like a slut.”
    After her reputation went down the loo with a big, resounding whoosh, she’d decided if you can’t beat ’em, give ’em what they expect. She’d discovered the protective covering of a really good costume and in-your-face flirting. She’d also put herself out there on the dating front for a while, hoping that more guys would tell the truth about their so-called experiences with her than the ones who’d lied through their teeth.
    That latter thing hadn’t panned out so great. But it’d taught her a lesson that she retained to this day: keep your relationships brief and fun, then move along before they can bite you in the butt.
    She shot Adam a genuine smile. “You didn’t.” He raised an inquiring brow and she added, “On our one and only date, you were one of the few who didn’t treat me