Kiss List (Book I of the List Series)

Chapter 14 - The Set Up

Graham was surrounded by football guys. They were a hulking, raucous bunch. I thought Sam had a big posse but Graham put him to shame. Graham was the undisputed king of the school and he had a court full of jesters, strong-looking knights, and beautiful ladies to prove it. The only thing he was missing was his queen. Bad time for Missy to go on a college tour.

I didn't waste time flitting around the edges of the group like I might have done earlier in the year. I needed to do this quickly and forcefully or I would lose my nerve. I fixed my eyes on the tall, dark-haired male in the middle with the All-American college boy features and walked right up to him. Angry girls and curious boys watched me press past them but none attempted to stop me. No one was going to mess with me in this dress.

Graham was laughing at something one of his friends had said when he suddenly noticed me. He turned his head and angled it up and down to get the full view before letting his eyes settle unapologetically on my chest. If another boy had done that to me I might have slapped him or at least told him to stop being gross. I didn't mind Graham doing it today, however, as it served my purposes perfectly.

"Hi Graham," I said as I stuck out my hand. "I'm Sadie. I wondered if I could talk to you about the yearbook?"

"The yearbook? Uh yeah, sure," Graham said, shaking my hand while still staring at my chest. This one was a real Einstein.

"Well, Missy sent us in a beautiful picture of you and her kissing on the football field," I said and then waited to give him an opportunity to acknowledge his understanding.

Graham gave me a blank stare. This was clearly news to him and he didn't looked like he cared.

"It was absolutely beautiful," I continued, "and we want to put it on the cover of the yearbook and give it its own page. The only trouble is that Missy's shorts are a little low and, well, the people in the principal's office say they can see her butt crack, so they won't allow it."

That definitely got Graham's attention. "Uh, what photo did you say that was?" he asked

"It's nothing to worry about," I assured him. "We're just so fond of the photo – you look amazing in it, by the way – that we want to find a way to use it. We were wondering if you two could do a remake? Unfortunately, we have to get the photo in today, so we'd need to take the new one after school. We can do it right after your football practice finishes." Of course there was no deadline, but I was betting that Graham wouldn't know that.

"Oh, uh, Missy is out of town," Graham said, still sounding a bit mystified about what I was asking.

I gave him the saddest puppy-dog face I could. "That's terrible!" I cried. "We had already planned the photo for the cover and everything. If we can't get another photo of you two in that exact same spot we might not have any photo at all for the cover of the yearbook." Then I snapped my fingers as if having an epiphany. "You know, if we angled the photo just right, we might use another girl for the remake and hide the fact that she's not Missy."

Graham's eyes widened as understanding dawned on him. "Whoa now," he said. "I can't just kiss anyone. Missy would be furious. We're exclusive now."

I could see that his friends looked impatient to break up our conversation and steal him back. If I didn't hook him quickly I would lose him. I leaned in and lowered my voice like I was telling him a secret. "You know," I said conspiratorially, "if we play with the lighting and do a little photo editing Missy might not even know that it's not her in the picture. Heck, maybe we can even swap somebody else's butt into the photo of you and Missy so none of Missy's crack is showing. Of course, we'll have to try the shoot with a bunch of girls to make sure we get one close enough to Missy. Maybe my varsity girls' soccer team, even. Would you be willing to make out with the entire team to help save the yearbook cover?"