Kiss and Make Up Read online

  Kiss and Make Up

  (A Bayfield High Romance Book 2)

  By

  Madeleine Labitan

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2018 by Madeleine Labitan

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  The characters in this book are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  Dedication

  To Arya, Sansa and Ollie, we miss you every day…

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Table of Contents

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Sneak Peak: Perfectly Clueless

  About the Author

  Truth or Dare

  One

  “Josh hasn’t texted yet. I’m worried. Do you think he’s going to break up with me?” Lexi Santiago, my best friend, whines from across the table.

  She’s been complaining about her college boyfriend since this morning, so I just tune her out and continue playing with the fries on my plate.

  We’re having lunch at the cafeteria but I can barely manage to eat. Not by choice. My appetite has been low for more than a month now. It’s to the point that when I checked my weight this morning, I realized I’ve lost almost ten pounds. A few pounds more and I’ll be dangerously close to being skinny.

  I know I shouldn’t keep this up. But I just can’t force myself to gain my appetite back.

  Pathetic, but my health isn’t the only thing suffering. My grades are dropping and I’m in danger of failing. I find it hard to concentrate in my classes. I can’t count the times I’ve been called on by my teachers for answers only to end up staring blankly at them.

  Don’t even get me started on my extracurricular and after-school activities. As the president of the Community Service Club, I should be on top of our latest projects. But if someone asks me what those projects are, I’ll probably draw a blank.

  Even my usually thriving babysitting-slash-tutoring job is currently on a hiatus.

  I miss the kids I teach and look after a few nights a week. But what can I do? I’m distracted and miserable these days. I can’t be around them in both conditions, or else, I’ll just mess up. So I’m taking a break.

  And the cause of all of that? Well, he’s right across the room.

  Adam Hayes.

  The boy who broke my heart.

  Don’t look at him. Don’t look at him.

  But it’s too late. My eyes have already betrayed me, straying back to his table, for the third time since I walked into the cafeteria.

  Staring at him, a familiar ache twists in my chest. He's sitting with his best friends Sean Murphy and Brandt Thomas, along with a few guys, laughing and showing off those damn dimples.

  Ugh. I really hate those dimples.

  He’s not looking my way, thank God. Otherwise, he would’ve caught me staring. Again. The number of times he did in the past week alone makes me want to claw my eyes out.

  Mackenzie Brown, Sean's girlfriend, is also in the table with them. As always, the new couple looks to be lost in their own world. Their heads are bent close together, whispering to each other. The two of them are so cute together it’s practically nauseating.

  “Mads, are you even listening?”

  I peel my gaze away from their table, focusing back on my best friend.

  What is she talking about again?

  Oh, right. Josh.

  “Didn’t he just call you last night?”

  “But he said he’d text me today,” Lexi pouts.

  I stifle an eye-roll.

  If there’s a poster child for uber-clingy girlfriends, it’s Lexi. Sometimes I even wonder how her relationship managed to last this long. She’s been dating Josh for over two years now, starting when we were only sophomores and he was a junior.

  I thought they’d finally break up when he moved two hundred miles away for college, but they surprisingly stayed together. Lexi even told me she’s planning to attend the same university he goes to when we graduate next year.

  I’m a little skeptic but I don’t want to spoil her plans. She’s really excited about it.

  “Chill, Lex. He’s just probably busy with his classes. Why don’t you call him later when you get home?”

  “But what if he doesn’t want to talk to me?”

  Oh, for God’s sake. This time I don’t stop from rolling my eyes. “You’re being silly.”

  “I can’t help it!” she whimpers, then eyes the fries on my plate. “Are you going to eat those?”

  Lips twitching in amusement, I push my plate toward her. “Help yourself.”

  “I’m supposed to be on a diet,” Lexi says wistfully, but then shrugs and picks up some fries. “I’ll start again tomorrow.”

  Lexi is always “on a diet.” She’s not overweight, though. Far from it. But she’s always been conscious of her body.

  We’re about the same height—around five-nine. But while I have a willowy frame, Lexi has always been curvy—great rack, small waist, wide hips, big butt.

  Boys love looking at her. They literally trip over themselves just to get her attention. And she eats it all up. But there are times when she hates looking at herself in the mirror. She says as much whenever we go shopping and she struggles to find the "perfect” pair of jeans.

  She blames her mom—who was a beauty queen back in the Philippines before moving here—whose looks she inherited.

  Which is a load of bull, because she’s absolutely gorgeous. Aside from having an hourglass figure, Lexi has long, luscious black hair and naturally golden brown skin that doesn't require tanning to maintain the color. Lucky girl.

  I, on the other hand, have to spend some time under the sun just so I won't be pasty-white. And my ash blonde hair only emphasizes my pale complexion.

  "Anyway, what are you planning to do tonight?" Before I can open my mouth, she quickly adds, "Please don't say you're going to mope around again."

  I glare at her. "I never said that."

  She points a fry at me. "You're right. You just do."

  "I'm not moping around."

  Lexi arches a brow. "Then why did you make a breakup playlist on Spotify and listen to it every night?"

  "Sshhh. Lower your voice down."

  She's right though. I've been reduced to a pathetic mess ever since I broke up with Adam. No, scratch that. Ever since he broke up with me.

  My first boyfriend, my first everything. And my first heartache.

  It sucks.

  If this is what love always entails, then I'm going to swear off committed relationships for the rest of my life. Then I wouldn't have to get hurt and endure a broken heart again. I'll just be that cool middle-aged woman who loves to travel and remains romantically unattached, only entertaining casual relationships and having meaningless sex.

  God, that sounds depressing.

  I'm not a hopeless romantic by any means. That's all Lexi. But I've always known that I want to get married and have my own family someday. And I've always envisioned Adam to be my husband.

  Until the day he dumped me.

  Now I can't even stand to hear the word "wedding."

  "Is he still trying to talk to you?" Lexi asks, glancing over her shoulder at him.

  "Yeah."

  Adam tried to talk to me this morning. For the thousandth time. Bu
t just like his previous attempts, I completely ignored him. Once again, his lousy explanations fell on deaf ears.

  Did he honestly think I'd give him the time of day after he heartlessly dumped me in the locker hall for everyone to see? And then refused to listen when I tried to explain myself? Turnabout’s fair play, right?

  Besides, as far as I'm concerned, there's nothing to talk about anymore. I don't even want to see his face.

  Then why do you keep on seeking him out, you hypocrite?

  "Shut up."

  "What?" Lexi gives me a confused look.

  "Um, nothing."

  "Slut." A guy wearing a thick eyeliner coughs into his hand as he passes by our table. His equally emo-looking friend behind him snickers.

  "It wasn't her. Didn't you get the memo?" Lexi snaps, making them jump and scurry away. She even throws a few fries at them, causing me to choke out a laugh. "Jerkwads!"

  God, I love this girl. Drama queen aside, she's the bestest best friend a girl can ever have. She's been there for me when half the school shut me out and treated me like a pariah, pouncing at anyone who dared to talk crap about me. She’s been my rock through the whole ordeal.

  "I can’t believe you’re still getting hell for that." Our friend Amanda Hall sets her tray down on the table and sits next to me.

  "It's hard not to when there are pictures of her and Derek kissing," Carla Bennett chimes in, malice coating her voice as she settles down beside Lexi.

  I glare at her. "Not my fault. He mistook me for someone else."

  A simple case of mistaken identity and the root cause of my misery. Only it hadn’t been simple. Because when a very drunk Derek Matthis mistakenly grabbed and kissed me at a house party, someone took pictures and posted them online.

  Pictures that looked so damning Adam was convinced they were real.

  It’s almost amazing how fast I went from being one of the most popular girls to the biggest outcast overnight. From being dubbed as Bayfield High’s “Princess Diana” to being called the “biggest slut” in the planet. It only took a few malicious pictures to ruin both my reputation and relationship with Adam.

  I learned one thing though. That when it comes down to it, save for a few select people, the whole school would side with Adam without verifying facts. Hell, even some of the teachers had looked at me like I murdered their beloved son.

  Because my ex isn’t just any boy. He’s the senior class president who spearheads successful school programs left and right, the top candidate for valedictorian who’s believed to be a shoo-in for an Ivy League school, and the one voted most likely to succeed since freshman year.

  He’s also the most popular boy in school. And one of the hottest. His light blonde hair, baby blue eyes and dimpled smile give him that all-American good looks that girls swoon over. Even his prescription glasses add to his appeal.

  But more than his looks and his academic achievement, Adam possesses a winning personality that makes everyone love him. It’s what drew me to him in the first place.

  Golden Boy of Bayfield High, that’s what he is.

  And once you hurt the Golden Boy, you hurt the whole school.

  I wish I can say he made everyone hurl those whispered insults and dark glares at me. That would make him the bad guy, right? But I can’t. Adam may have acted like a jerk when he dumped me, but he’s far from being one.

  Even when he thought I cheated on him, he still went out of his way to defend me whenever he heard someone talk crap about me. He even landed in detention one time when he punched a guy for calling me a “cheating whore.” I personally witnessed that.

  So, no, even after what Adam did, I can’t find myself to hate him.

  If there’s any bright side to the whole thing though, it’s that I found out who my real friends are.

  "Your friend's a real piece of work, Carla,” Lexi says, dragging me back to the present.

  "It's really shitty of her to let Maddy take the fall.” Amanda tucks an errant lock of red hair behind her ear, her new layered bob looking so good on her.

  Wait. Are they talking about Erin Taylor? The same girl who Derek mistook me for?

  My expression hardens. It turned out she was the one hooking up with him. But instead of owning up to it, she let me become the scapegoat and continued on with their affair in secret, with everybody else none the wiser.

  I tried to convince Derek to tell everyone the truth. But Erin had so much hold over him, he wouldn’t even budge. He even pretended not to remember and said that I was probably the one who initiated the kiss.

  Please.

  If it weren’t for Sean and Kenzie, nobody would know the truth. I’d still be a social pariah. Oh, there are still some people—like those two emo jerks—who believe I really cheated on Adam. But it’s only a few of them so they don’t bother me much. I just ignore them and let Lexi do her protective bestie thing.

  "I know. Erin is sorry about the whole thing, Madison." Carla gives me a faux sympathetic smile.

  Ugh, she's so fake. Why do we even put up with her?

  Like Lexi, Amanda stood by me during those dark times. Carla? Not so much. I even heard her telling someone that she once saw me making out with a soccer player in the boys’ locker room.

  Obviously, she mistook me for her twin sister.

  "Yeah, right," Lexi scoffs. “Erin is only sorry she was caught. She doesn’t care about Maddy.”

  “That’s not true. Erin—”

  "What are you even doing here, Carla?” I finally snap. “Shouldn't you be following her around like a good minion?"

  Amanda chokes on her soda can while Lexi laughs shamelessly.

  "I'm not her minion!" Carla sputters, her cheeks reddening.

  I just roll my eyes and look away, my gaze wandering back to that table.

  Big mistake.

  Because my eyes lock with his right then. How long has he been staring at me? And why does he always give me that look? Like I did him wrong. Like I was the one who hurt him.

  "He looks like a lost puppy," Amanda comments, apparently staring at him as well.

  Carla clucks her tongue. "Poor Adam."

  Lexi turns up her nose. "Serves him right, if you ask me."

  Like the true best friend she is, Lexi started hating on Adam when he broke up with me. Especially after everybody gave me the cold shoulder.

  "Can we not talk about him, please? As far as I'm concerned, we're done."

  Carla turns to me with a calculating gleam in her eyes. "If you don't want anything to do with him anymore, then you wouldn't mind if I go and cheer him up, right?"

  Amanda whips her head to her. "Seriously, Carla?"

  "What is wrong with you?" Lexi practically yells.

  Carla simply ignores them, her attention still focused on me, waiting expectantly for my answer.

  "He's all yours, “ I tell her with a cold smile. Then I pick up my tray and rise from the table, painfully aware of a particular pair of eyes watching after me as I walk away.

  Two

  I nod my head and shake my butt in time with the lyrics of Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato, singing every word full of emotion.

  Lexi thinks I'm moping.

  Nope. No moping going on here.

  Well, okay, maybe there was.

  But not tonight. I may still be listening to breakup songs. But I'm no longer crying into my pillow and mourning the three-year relationship I just lost.

  I'm done being a pathetic mess. I'm done pining over him. This is me moving on. Screw Adam Hayes and his lame attempts at apologies.

  He broke my heart once. I'm not going to give him another chance to do it again. And he can shove those puppy-dog eye looks up his own butt, because I'm not going to fall for them ever.

  Even though I’m sorely tempted to give in and listen to what he has to say whenever he manages to corner me. Ugh.

  Honestly, I thought he was done trying to talk to me after I yelled at him over the phone last night.

  Just lik
e the first time he tried to apologize. It was a couple weeks ago and it took place right here in my room. I was lying on my bed and listening to my breakup playlist when he climbed up my window...

  "Maddy."

  I scream and jolt up the bed, before recognizing the boy sitting on my windowsill seat. "Adam?"

  He gives a weak smile. "Hey."

  "W-What are you doing here?" Remembering I'm only wearing an oversized shirt and boy shorts, I grab a pillow and put it on my lap.

  Crap, how's my hair like? It has to resemble a bird's nest from lying in my bed for hours. I haven't even had time to put on any makeup yet.

  But then I remember.

  Derek Matthis. The picture circulating on Facebook and Twitter... Adam breaking up with me.

  My face darkens. "Get out!" I shout, clenching my fist.

  Before Adam can respond, a knock sounds on the door. Then Mom's muffled voice comes out. "Honey, is everything okay?"

  "Yes, Mom," I call out, quickly thinking of an alibi. "I just accidentally tripped on something."

  "Okay, honey, good night."

  "'Night!"

  "Maddy—"

  “You should go. Mom isn’t your greatest fan at the moment. She won’t be happy to see you.”

  He winces. “I don’t blame her.”

  "Then all the more reason for you to leave. You dumped me, remember? Or did you already forget that?" I bite out bitterly.

  "I-It was a mistake. I know the truth now. Sean told me."

  “What truth?”

  He adjusts his glasses nervously. "That you didn't cheat on me. That it was Erin who had been hooking up with Derek all along."

  "What?" I stare numbly.

  "Sean and Kenzie saw her with him at Jason’s party. I confronted her about it and she confessed to the whole thing. She said she was there when Derek kissed you. She heard how he mistook you for being her. When somebody took pictures of it and uploaded them online, she decided to use it as a cover to keep secretly hooking up with Derek. To make sure that Sean wouldn’t know about it.” Adam rakes a hand through his hair, remorse plain in his eyes. "God, Maddy, I'm sorry. I'd been so damn stupid." He looks so miserable, I have to keep myself from walking over to comfort him.