[Excerpt] Accidentally Perfect

Chapter Two: Perfection and the Douche

It had been almost three weeks since Roman and his mum had moved in next door.

I'd spent the first week trying to get Hadley over the fact Roman had moved next door to me. I'd spent the next week trying to get her over the fact that we caught the same bus to and from school on the days he bothered to show up. I'd spent the third telling her there was no way I was going to be taking advantage of his proximity. I'd spent the whole time reminding her that it was not swoon-worthy that he'd shown up at my door beaten and bruised and brooding bloody murder.

And, I was starting to think she'd finally accepted it as fact and we could move on with our lives.

Hadley popped a bubble. "Remind me again why I'm wasting my Free here?" she asked, her caramel skin and the highlights in her dark brown curls shining in the sun.

"Because," I answered, "Mason suggested he wanted me to come to his lesson and you wanted to perve on the other boys."

I smiled as Mason waved and bowed to me from the field.

Mason was – in the eyes of every girl at school – pure perfection. He had light brown hair that he would flick out of his deep blue eyes like Prince Charming. With his almost six-foot height and definite six pack, kids either wanted to be him or be with him. But, none of that went to his head; he was nothing but nice and kind to everyone.

Hadley snorted. "Well, that does sound like me. But..." I could tell that something else had caught her eye. I watched her dip her sunglasses and bite her lip. "I've seen something far more to my taste..."

Unable to supress a grin, I followed her gaze and saw Roman and a couple of his stoner friends wandering past the bleachers. Roman had his trademark skateboard in one hand and a cigarette in his other. He was everything Mason wasn't; right down to his almost black hair and those eyes like two black holes. And, of course he was probably something ridiculous like at least six-foot-five. He was conceited, obnoxious, annoying, rude, and all that detracted massively from the unequivocal fact that he was gorgeous.

Or he would have been, if he wasn't such a douchebag.

Mason Carter was not a douchebag. As if anyone even needed a reminder, Mason Carter was just at that moment busy checking one of his classmates was okay after he'd been knocked over.

Hadley sighed dramatically. "Shame he only has eyes for someone else."

"Who does what now?" I asked, chewing on my finger as I watched Mason run around the field.

"That is not helping," Hadley commented and I looked over at her.

"What's not?"

Hadley sighed again and looked at me like I was a poor, unfortunate albeit lovable idiot. "Piper, you cannot suck your finger while a guy is already undressing you with his eyes."

My eyes darted to Roman – not that they had any reason to. The corner of his mouth twitched as he looked at me and my finger popped out of my mouth. I pulled my eyes away from Roman and back to Mason.

"I wasn't sucking on anything," I muttered, feeling my cheeks go red.

Hadley snorted. "Well, while you're busy denying the fact that you remain Roman Lombardi's Everest–"

"I am not his anything."

"He's been eyeing you for years."

"He's done nothing of the sort." Much.

"And, it's only got worse since he moved next door."

"There is nothing to get worse." Really.