The Best Laid Plans by Tamara Mataya Page B

Guy, and so far had met that goal. But he also hated when people showed up way too early and hung around being a pain in the ass. If he said he’d be there at seven, he was there at seven.
    Or eight-thirty p.m. as the case was tonight.
    “Malcolm!” David, in house producer for Dead True stood to greet him.
    “Hey.” Malcolm shook the hand he’d been offered, and nodded at the people around the room. Three women who made up the band, their manager, Eric, and David. “How’d it turn out?”
    “Perfect,” Deanna, the lead singer, answered, glancing at the other girls. They smiled and nodded, but Malcolm felt like he’d missed something.
    “Have a seat, Malcolm,” Eric gestured at a free chair. Malcolm sat. “The album sounds great. You were amazing, just a flawless job.”
    “But?”
    Eric vigorously shook his head. “No, no! No buts. The thing is, we’ve been discussing album art. And we had a concept going that requires, how do we say, a man’s man.”
    “Hot, sexy, with a killer grin,” Tanya, the drummer, added. “You remember the one track, Killer Grin?” Malcolm nodded. “Well, we want that to be our first single, and we want you to be in the album art as that guy with that smile.”
    “Oh.” He couldn’t think of any other words.
    “We have a photo shoot set up for next Thursday. Will you do it?” Tanya leaned forward. “Please?”
    The other girls joined in with the flattery and the begging. Malcolm blushed deep and viciously, but he nodded. The room erupted in happy shrieks and celebratory jumping up and down. When the band settled, they all listened to the tracks once more. By the time they’d done, Malcolm had to get going to a gig.
    It had been a surreal experience, to say the least. He sat at the bar, nursing a beer while the sound guy did his thing. What the hell had just happened?
    A man’s man with a killer smile. Him being a model for anything was secretly hilarious. Realistically, he knew that he was good looking, but it still blew his mind to look at how far he’d come. Especially after the attack that had left him less than pretty. The worst beating of his life, not just because of the extent of his injuries.
    That betrayal had nearly destroyed him.
    Oh, Jayne hadn’t done it, but her mouth, her mistake had set it all in motion. She was the reason the football team paid attention to him. But it wasn’t just the team who paid attention. Other guys wanting to be in tight with the team also noticed and did things to him.
    One who had a locker near his kept his eyes out and memorized Malcolm’s combination, then gave it to the team. Malcolm routinely found his things stolen, broken, or pissed on. They told him they’d have planted drugs in it, but he wasn’t worth the cost of an eighth, and besides, then they’d be out a punching bag.
    Once, when he ran away from the school, a guy tripped him, giving the team the chance to catch up to him. There were others who’d told them where Malcolm could be found, others who’d distracted the teachers while the team beat the shit out of him.
    But the worst was Ian. Malcolm never saw that betrayal coming.
    It was the day his friend Ian had invited him over to play some video games. Ian knew about the situation with the football team, but he had hung out with Malcolm a few times before, not caring about fraternizing with the enemy, so to speak. They made a quick, clean getaway in his car, and no one followed them. On the way to Ian’s, they swung into a drive through and picked up some fast food.
    By the time they pulled up to Ian’s house, Malcolm laughed along with his friend, feeling relaxed and normal for the first time in ages.
    “Will your parents be home?”
    “No, Dad’s at some conference and Mom’s not back for a couple hours.”
    Malcolm kicked off his shoes and followed Ian down to the game room in the basement.
    It took a second for the crowd of people to register.
    Six guys from the football team. Waiting.
    His