Bad Boy's Baby Girl

Compliments

*Cade's POV*

When Monroe is a good distance away I smack Xander hard in the chest, and say, "What the fuck was that, man?"

"Um, first of all: ouch. Second: you're welcome. I know you wanted to know if she was coming and I could tell you weren't gonna ask her."

"Was all the flirting necessary?" I don't even try to hide the irritation in my voice.

"Chill, dude. It's harmless. I'm not gonna steal your chick. But you know, it might be easier to get her if you actually speak to her."

I just roll my eyes and start walking to the locker room.

The four of us head to a pub near the old trailer park where we know the bartender won't ID us and Brett and Jason buy the first round. As I drink my beer I can't help but replay PE class and how she was so quick to return Xander comments and how nice she was to him. She treated him completely differently to how she treated me when I tried talking to her in philosophy. Then again, I was a bit of dick to her. I'm not paying attention to the conversation as I drink my beer when I hear Brett say, "Yo, Cade, what's got your panties in a bunch? You haven't stopped scowling since we left school."

Xander pipes up and says, "He's just jealous that Monroe likes me better," with a grin plastered on his face. I just give him the finger but say nothing.

It pisses me off that he made the comment, but even more so that he's right. I have no claim on this girl, so why do I care if she likes Xander? If they like each other I should just let him have her. At the thought of them together, my blood boils. This is really not healthy. I take a few deep breaths to calm myself down.

The next day once again passes quickly and when I take my seat beside Monroe, I decide I should try and be nicer to her. It seemed to work well for Xander. When I take my seat I look to her and say, "Hey."

She looks at me and says, "Hey," back. She's looking at me through her silvery-blue eyes and I momentarily forget how to speak. She raises an eyebrow at me, and once again she's looking at me like I'm a puzzle she hasn't quite figured out. Before I can figure out what to say, the teacher walks in to start the class. Jesus, I'm an idiot. I turn my attention to the front in an attempt to conceal my embarrassment.

When the bell rings, she's packed up and gone before I can process what's happening. Oh well, I'll see her in the gym anyway.

When Coach Woods whistles and tells us to take our places on the court, Monroe looks at Parker and jokingly says, "You ready to get your ass kicked again?" He says, "Nah, I have a good feeling that today is the day you'll finally be de-throned."

"I wouldn't bet on it!" She yells back. As she's walking to her spot I see Parker's eyes on her ass and I glare at him but he's too busy checking her out to see it. When she gets to her spot and turns around he raises his eyes to meet hers and smiles at her. Prick. I don't have too much time to dwell on it because the other team serves the ball right to me.

We end up losing the first set, which pisses Monroe off and she calls a team huddle.

"What the hell was that? Our communication was shit out there. So many of those mistakes could be avoided if we just talked to each other. Fucking call it out if you got it, yeah?"

Everyone nods in response and then heads back to their spots but I hang back and lean down to whisper in her ear, "You're super hot when you take charge." When I look at her face, I find a mix of confusion and annoyance. Strange. This is not usually the reaction I get when I give a girl a compliment. I don't give her time to reply before I head back to my spot.

The second and third games are close but we end up with the victory. Thank God. I have a feeling Monroe wouldn't react so well to losing.

Xander turns to her and says, "So, have you made a decision about Saturday?"

"Yup. We have decided to make an appearance," she says with a smirk. Xander flashes her a smile and says, "Awesome! I knew you couldn't resist the chance to hang out with me."

She snorts and rolls her eyes and just walks away.

I shoot him a look and he just says, "What? Now we know she'll be there."

"Whatever," I reply and walk to the locker room.