Free Better than Perfect by Simone Elkeles Page B

hair . . . and those eyes? Oh, my God, those blue eyes could make any girl melt.”
    â€œHe needs a haircut and was totally showing off his body,” I counter.
    â€œI, for one, am grateful for his body. It’s beautiful to look at. I’m going to ask him if he wants to hang out tomorrow night. Maybe I can get a look at those abs up close and personal.” Bree practically skips over to Derek in haste, as if another girl will steal him away from her if she doesn’t act fast.
    Soon she’s laughing at something he says.
    â€œGirls are gonna be all over him, huh?”
    Monika nods. “Oh, yeah. He’s no Trey Matthews, but he’s super cute.”
    â€œI don’t know.” I put my hands up when she looks at me like I’m nuts. “Okay, I’ll admit Derek’s kind of attractive if you’re into that California surfer-slash-cowboy look, but he’s not my type
at all
.”
    I look down at my charm bracelet, a reminder of my boyfriend. It doesn’t escape my attention that I haven’t heard from Landon since Friday night when he dropped me off. I should miss Landon more than I do. I don’t know why I don’t. The past few days have been a whirlwind of change, and it’s like I’m trying to catch up but I’m moving in slow motion.
    â€œWhat’s going on with you and Landon, anyway?” Monika asks. She’s got a sympathetic look on her face as if she expects me to break down and cry any second. I feel more like screaming at the top of my lungs. “For a minute I thought you two were breaking up on Friday night.”
    I ignore the feeling in the pit of my stomach, because I’m not sure what’s going on with us. I know he likes his space when he’s stressed out, so I’ve left him alone, but every day we don’t talk I feel more distant and disconnected.
    â€œLandon and I will be fine. We’ve just hit a rough patch.”
    Monika tilts her head to the side. She gets that look when she’s overanalyzing something. “Do you and
Derek
have something going on?”
    I can feel my face getting hot just thinking about it. “No way. Why would you say that?”
    â€œI don’t know.” She shrugs. “I just sense a strange vibe between you two, and it’s weird that you’re hating on him so much.” She looks back at Bree and Derek, talking to each other. “Looks like Bree is staking her claim on him already. Look, did you see that? She touches his arm every time she talks.”
    â€œShe’s perfected the art of flirting,” I mumble. “And he’s totally falling for it, although maybe she’s the one being sucked into his fake charm. I have a feeling that nothing that guy does is sincere.”
    â€œYo, Bree!” Monika yells. “Get back here so we can show Ashtyn the routine.”
    A car pulls into my driveway and honks, delaying the cheerleading show once again. Monika squeals in delight when Vic parks his big SUV in my driveway and she sees Jet and Trey are in the car with him.
    â€œEpic,” Jet says, completely amused as he steps out. He’s wearing a baseball cap backward and he’s got cutoff sweats he probably cut himself. “That’s all I gotta say.”
    â€œWhat’s epic?” I ask.
    He looks confused as he brushes his perfectly styled hair to the side. “You mean you had nothing to do with it?”
    â€œDo with what?”
    â€œI told you it wasn’t her,” Vic says. “She doesn’t have the balls to do it.”
    That is so insulting. “I have balls, Vic!”
    â€œI
knew
it!” Jet wags his eyebrows and reaches for my waistband. “Let’s see ’em, Ash.”
    I roll my eyes and slap his arm away.
    â€œYou need to stop having a life and go online more.” Trey pulls out his phone. “Someone created this bogus profile named Payton Walters and posted pics of Bonk and