Jackson High School Logo for new YA series!

Ali & the Too Hot, Up-To-No Good, Very Beastly Boy Excerpt:

Ali

Counseling Office, “A” Lunch, 11:34 A.M.

I was in the middle of taking advice from a rabbit when a deep voice interrupted.

“Hey.”

I turned my attention from the “Hop into the Future with the Jackson Jackalopes” poster on the far wall of the counseling office to the open door where high school royalty, our star quarterback, stood. Dax DeLeon couldn’t be talking to me.

“How’s it going?” he said with a nod.

“You can see me?” Oh heck, I’d said that out loud. In this case, my surprise was understandable since usually no one in the “it” crowd noticed me. Which was exactly how I liked it.

“Do you think you’re invisible?” His eyebrows rose into the sun-streaked shaggy brown hair falling across his forehead. “Is that why you’re here for counseling?”  

I narrowed my eyes at him and he shrugged and leaned against the wall. I was busy deciding if I wanted to bother responding to him when P3 stuck her head into the office.

“Who are you talking to?” Perfect Popular Paige asked Dax. No question Paige was the most popular girl in school. She was pretty. She was a cheerleader. Duh. The fact that her father was the baseball coach gave her some extra clout. Like she needed it.

He slid his glance from Paige over to me. So of course, Paige’s attention whipped my way.

Gee thanks, quarterback dude. I didn’t want to be on anyone’s radar. Especially not hers. 

“Come on, Dax.” Paige tossed her long blond hair. “We’re all going to Randy’s for lunch.”

He held up a yellow appointment slip for her to see. “Can’t. My schedule’s messed up.”

“Oh! I’ll wait with you so you’re not bored sitting here alone,” she said.

Dax’s eyes flicked over to me.

I arched an eyebrow at him.

He frowned and his gaze took me in in all my quirky glory. From my two braids—the best way to control my wild curls—down to my baggy jeans and my aqua Chuck Taylor high tops.

“I’m not alone,” he said, waving his hand in my direction. “I’m with…with…”

Uh huh. I crossed my arms over my chest and waited because he’d proven my point. Invisible.

“Frosty? You’re telling me you’re turning me down for her?”

“Frosty?” he asked me.

I stared at him without replying. First, because I hated the nickname I’d been assigned. It was low-hanging fruit as my last name was Frost. It hadn’t taken many brain cells for some kid to come up with that one. Second, Dax DeLeon was easy to stare at and probably used to it. The guy was gorgeous. If a girl liked bad-boy jocks too hot for mere mortal girls like me.

He was hot…from his sneakers with some famous athlete’s name on them to his long muscular legs encased in perfectly-faded blue jeans…okay, I got hung up on his thighs, but, trust me, the rest was good too. Just go look up “hot jock” in the dictionary; it’s sure to have his picture.

“But, baby…”

Dax shook his head, his eyes still holding mine.

Something about his cockiness ruffled my feathers.

“Baby?” I asked, tilting my head, giving it right back to him. There was an awkward silence with Paige waiting for Dax to look at her but Dax’s gaze was fixed on me. What was his problem?

I met him stare for stare, hoping he’d get bored and I could go back to blending into the background but nope, still he stood with all his attention focused on me like I was Tom Brady scoring a Hail Mary touchdown with three seconds to go in the game. Was he trying to make Paige jealous? The two of them were an item last year. Were they in some fight? Ha! Like I wanted to be dragged into their drama. No thanks. I frowned at him and his lips tilted up into a crooked grin.

“Baby, we always go to Rudy’s. Pizza in our corner booth. Everyone will be there.”

“Not me. I’ve got to get Boyd to fix my schedule.” He settled into the chair next to me, looking like he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Nobody puts Baby in the corner booth,” I said and got two pairs of clueless eyes on me. Only Mrs. G, the secretary, snickered from behind her desk. “Thank you, Mrs. G. My generation has no respect for the classics.”

Paige gave me her “please go catch some Pokémon in traffic” look. Only the look didn’t come close to saying “please.” 

Ali & the Too Hot, Up-to-No Good, Very Beastly Boy

 Big Lebowski + Mean Girls + Friday Night Lights

What's a nerdy girl supposed to do when the hot quarterback claims you're his girlfriend?

1. Get into a stare-down and ignore him. (Ha! Dax DeLeon is hard to ignore!)

2. Snort and tell him to get lost.

3. Roll with it because I happen to need a fake boyfriend too.

The top three problems being Dax DeLeon's fake girlfriend:

1. His ex—who refuses to accept their breakup—is a mean girl and now I've got a target on my back.

2. Hanging out with the hottest, most popular guy in school isn't as fun as you'd think—kidding! It's fun. Too fun because...

3. Did I mention he's hot? And, turns out, not as beastly as I thought. How is that a problem? The more I'm around him the harder it is to remember...it's all fake.

Ali & the Too Hot, Up-to-No Good, Very Beastly Boy is a clean YA romance about a nerdy bowler, a hot quarterback, a possible case of mistaken identity, a bunny-napping, ransom notes, a failed ransom drop, thievery, and mean girls being mean. 

But mostly about a boy and a girl learning to trust.

*Warning: this book has a romance so sweet you'll get an urge to call your dentist.*

• badboy
• bowling
• clean
• contemporary
• fakegirlfriend
• football
• friendship
• funny
• highschool
• humor
• love
• lovestory
• nerdygirl
• quarterback
• redemption
• romance
• romcom
• sweet
• teen
• teenromance
• trust
• ya
• youngadult