The Romeo Club
by Rebekah L Purdy
Release Date: 04/08/14
YA CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Summary from Goodreads:
THE ROMEO CLUB is Hitch meets The Secret of My Success.
What happens when you agree to help your brother “de-nerdify” so he can catch the attention of the popular Chloe Anders, and to everyone's surprise, he actually lands her?
And what if his equally geeky friends come running with girl wish lists of their own, offering money for your services?
Well, if you’re sixteen-year-old, Delyla Denson, then you start The Romeo Club. A secret club where she’ll teach these guys how talk, act, and be cool around girls. It’s a win-win situation.
She’ll get enough money for the awesome prom dress she’s had her eye on, and the guys, well, they’ll get dates and maybe learn how to do something other than beat the next level on their video games.
There are only two problems with this plan. One, her quarterback/track star boyfriend is getting jealous of how much time she’s spending away from him and decides to try and figure out what’s going on. And two, Delyla is kind of falling for her brother’s BFF, Trey who she’s been hanging out with a lot more. And who thanks to her help, has caught the attention of the beautiful, perfect, and popular, Portia Rickard. With Portia and Trey heating up, Delyla realizes that maybe the person she’s meant to be with has been in front of her all this time.
But falling for Trey means she’ll have to take drastic measures including sabotage, with a capital S.
And what if his equally geeky friends come running with girl wish lists of their own, offering money for your services?
Well, if you’re sixteen-year-old, Delyla Denson, then you start The Romeo Club. A secret club where she’ll teach these guys how talk, act, and be cool around girls. It’s a win-win situation.
She’ll get enough money for the awesome prom dress she’s had her eye on, and the guys, well, they’ll get dates and maybe learn how to do something other than beat the next level on their video games.
There are only two problems with this plan. One, her quarterback/track star boyfriend is getting jealous of how much time she’s spending away from him and decides to try and figure out what’s going on. And two, Delyla is kind of falling for her brother’s BFF, Trey who she’s been hanging out with a lot more. And who thanks to her help, has caught the attention of the beautiful, perfect, and popular, Portia Rickard. With Portia and Trey heating up, Delyla realizes that maybe the person she’s meant to be with has been in front of her all this time.
But falling for Trey means she’ll have to take drastic measures including sabotage, with a capital S.
EXCERPT:
A few minutes later we arrived at Bogarty’s. We
went inside and found Kevin working the counter.
“Hey,” he said. “I thought you had a date
tonight?”
“I do. But I wanted to treat Del out for helping
me.” Trey took some cash from his pocket. “Can we get two chocolate vanilla
swirl ice creams?”
Warmth spread through my chest. He remembered my
favorite flavor. How is it he knew more about me than my boyfriend?
“Coming right up.” Kevin took his money then
gave him the change. He waved me closer to the counter then leaned forward.
“Melanie’s working tonight.” He nodded to a petite girl making milkshakes. She
had black hair with a shock of electric blue highlights. Her ears had numerous
piercings, and she wore dark eyeliner. She had the whole rocker chick thing
going on.
“She’s pretty,” I said. And to say I was
surprised was an understatement. She didn’t seem like his type, but then again,
who was I to judge.
He grinned. “Yeah. She is.” He handed us our ice
cream. “I’ll see you guys later.”
I licked the side of my cone to keep the
chocolate from dripping. Trey and I sat down in a corner booth and devoured our
food. When I finished, I wiped my mouth with a napkin. My eyes shifted to the
window. No way. Did he have GPS attached to me or something?
I shot to my feet. “Crap.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Rex is here with his friends. I told him I was
having a Science Club meeting today.”
Trey followed my gaze. “They’re coming in.”
We rushed toward the counter. Maybe there was a
back way out. “Kevin. We need to hide.”
“What?”
“Rex.” I nodded over my shoulder. “Please, Kev.
There’s gotta be a back way out.”
“I can’t let you go through the kitchen. I’ll
get fired.” He glanced behind him.
“Ah, I’m so dead.”
“Wait, I have an idea. Hey, Melanie can you
watch the register for a second?”
She looked up. “Sure. But hurry.”
“Thanks.” He came around the counter. “Quick,
follow me.” He led us down a narrow hall toward the bathrooms. But before we
got there, he opened a door and pulled out two costumes.
“Oh brother. I’m not gonna like this, am I?”
Trey took a giant ice cream cone costume from him.
“Nope. In fact, you’ll probably hate it. But
it’s the only thing I got.” He handed me a Poppy the Popsicle costume.
I groaned. “This day just keeps getting better
and better.”
“Hurry up, he’s coming in.” Kevin shoved the
giant popsicle over my head.
I put my arms in, while he tugged it down. He
then put big rubber shoes on me. I attempted to adjust the top so I could see
out the eyeholes. Next to me I saw Trey and giggled. His head looked like a giant
vanilla swirl ice cream. The cone part came down to his ankles so he had to
waddle while he walked.
Kevin, shut the closet. “Just go out in the
lobby area and dance around or something. When he leaves, you can get out of
here.”
“You owe me big,” Trey said from beside me.
Just then a group of elementary kids saw us.
“Look it’s Poppy the Popsicle and Icy the Ice Cream.”
In that moment, I wanted to die. Kids screeched
at our legs. I hopped around in circles, giving them high fives. I attempted a
booty shake dance and nearly toppled over, right into Rex’s lap.
“Hey, Rex. Looks like Poppy has a thing for
track stars.” Bart laughed and slapped his back. “If you want to dance with the
popsicle, I won’t tell Delyla.”
Rex grinned, grabbed my giant rubber hands and
twirled me around. “Hey, can I get my picture taken with you?”
Holy balls. This wasn’t good. “Sure,” I said in
a high-pitched Minnie Mouse type voice. He held up his phone and leaned in
close. Wow, this would be one for the memory books.
“I think the popsicle is melting at your touch,”
Bart said. “Maybe you should go for the ice cream cone instead.”
If he made one more popsicle comment, I was
gonna shove my stick somewhere where the sun didn’t shine. Behind me, I heard
Trey mutter something about a jack ass.
At last, Kevin called them up to the counter for
their order.
“See you, Poppy.” Rex patted my back.
“Yeah, see you,” I said in the same high-pitched
voice from before.
When they left, Trey and I raced to take the
costumes off.
“Remind me never to come to the ice cream shop
with you again,” Trey said. “I swear, if one more kid hit me in the crotch, I
was gonna shove them in a trash can.”
“At least you didn’t have to deal with my
boyfriend.” I laughed.
“Yeah, there’s that. But I think I’m ready to go
now.”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. Goodbye ice cream, hello
world.
Rebekah Purdy grew up in Michigan, where she spent many late nights armed with a good book and a flashlight. When not hiding at her computer and getting lost in her stories, she enjoys reading, singing, soccer, swimming, football, camping, playing video games and hanging out with her kids. She loves the unexplainable like Bigfoot, the Dogman, and the Loch Ness Monster (lots of good story material)! She admits to still having all the books she bought throughout her childhood and teen years, and she may or may not have an obsession with anything chocolate…
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