Pool Boys by Erin Haft Page B

forced a chuckle, smoothing the folds of her white tennis skirt. “Do you guys want to be alone?”
    “No,” Georgia said, a little too emphatically. Maybe it was the golf or the gossip or her hunger—but she just wasn’t in the mood for Caleb’s odd brand of humor right now. She took Valerie’s arm and dragged her over to Caleb’s sad excuse for a hiding place. “There’s nothing Caleb can tell me that you can’t hear as well.”
    Caleb hung his head, biting his lower lip. “Okay. Fine. Whatever. This is gonna sound really weird, all right? But, G, I want to…I want to…know if you’d go to the Midsummer Ball with me,” he said all in one breath—so fast that Georgia wasn’t certain if she’d heard him.
    She narrowed her eyes, her heart rate increasing. Georgia Palmer had never had so much boy drama in her life. “Huh?”
    “I know, I know,” he added apologetically. “It soundscrazy. I mean, because nobody really brings dates, anyway, and it’s just this dumb induction ceremony—”
    “You’re asking me to be your date to the Midsummer Ball,” she interrupted.
    He tried to keep smiling. “Uh…yeah. That’s pretty much it.”
    Georgia’s sloppy bun suddenly felt very tight. She yanked out the band, allowing her blonde hair to tumble down over her shoulders. In her tennis shoes, and with Caleb barefoot, she had a good three inches on him. “Why are you doing this, Caleb? What’s really going on? Is this a practical joke?” The words spilled out before she could stop them.
    “It’s no joke,” Caleb muttered miserably. “I swear.”
    All at once, just as fast as she’d gotten angry, a lump formed in her throat. How could she be so stupid? He’s doing this to make Charlotte jealous. He’s afraid to admit his feelings for her, the feelings he’s always had. A sad smile broke on her face. If only Ethan could take a cue from Caleb. Yes, insanely enough, she found herself wishing that Ethan would pull what Caleb was trying to pull right now—asking Charlotte or Brooke or even Valerie to the Midsummer Ball. Because that would prove that Ethan still had feelings for Georgia. That would mean that he cared enough to try to make her jealous.
    Caleb pushed his shades back up his nose. “Hey, listen, G. I’m sorry. Forget I brought it up, all right? It’s no big deal.”
    “Hey, Caleb?” she said softly. “I would go to the ball with you; I mean it. But somebody else already asked me.”
    “Ethan?” Caleb asked, sounding increasingly miserable.
    “Yes,” she whispered. “Ethan.”
    “So are you gonna go with him?” Caleb yanked the glasses off, no longer even pretending he wanted to continue this conversation. “Wouldn’t he have to quit first?”
    “He would, yeah. But he said we’d go as friends. And I said I’d think about it. Honestly, though, I don’t want to go with anybody. I mean, it’s not really a date type of scenario, you know? And I’m flattered you asked me—”
    “I’ll go with you, Caleb,” Valerie interrupted. “I mean…if you’re looking for a date.”
    Georgia stiffened. Whoa. She sure as hell hadn’t seen that one coming. Her eyes darted between the two of them: Valerie, in her tight tennis whites, with her perfect blonde curls (even after eighteen holes of golf), and Caleb, in his soggy bathing suit and borrowed shades clutched in his hand. Valerie had said Caleb was cute…but was she really that into him?
    “I…uh, well—sure. That would be cool.” Caleb began backing away from them and he quickly shoved the glasses back on. “Thanks, Valerie. We’ll talk later, okay?” His face was so red it was almost scarlet. He turned and scurried toward the far side of the pool, where the Robby Miller posse was lounging.
    “So what was that all about?” Georgia cried, utterlybewildered. “Do you like Caleb? I thought you liked Marcus.”
    Valerie drew close to Georgia. “Listen, there’s something I need to tell you,” she whispered. “I asked