The Secret Life of a Dream Girl (Creative HeArts) Read Online Free Page A

before I figure out that that someone is me. If I don’t, we’re going to end up standing here gawking at each other until the dance is over and we get kicked off the grounds. And “Cherry: Trespassing Edition” is so not a headline I need right now.
    I start with a smile and an apology. “Look, I’m really sorry. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop or anything. I was just walking by and heard your conversation and butted in because I’m an idiot. Forget I said anything.”
    For a second, it’s like my words don’t even register, but then he asks, “How much did you hear?”
    “What?”
    “Of our conversation. How much did you hear?”
    “Oh. Not much, I swear. I heard Jacen tell you to stop being a wuss and go get the girl. That’s it.” It’s not exactly the truth, but it’s close enough that I don’t feel bad about lying.
    Plus, it was definitely the right thing to say, because Keegan’s face finally unfreezes, the freaked-out look fading into friendly interest. “And you think he’s right?”
    “I do. Not about you being a wuss, because it’s not like I know you well enough to say one way or the other. But I totally think if you like a girl, you should tell her.”
    He lifts a brow. “Even if she’s never given any indication that she likes me back?”
    For a second I can’t help wondering who this girl with the super-human self-control is. More than once, it’s been all I could do not to drool when Keegan walked in the room—in a purely platonic fashion, of course. It’s not my fault the boy looks really, really good in a flannel hipster shirt.
    “Are you sure about that?”
    “You sound like you don’t believe me.”
    “It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just…girls can be tricky, hard to read sometimes. And I mean, seriously, look at you.” I wave a hand up and down in a gesture that encompasses him from head to toe. “You have to know that you’re kind of a catch.”
    “Kind of?” he repeats with a laugh. “Wow, you really know how to make a guy feel good about himself.”
    “I wasn’t trying to make you feel good. I was just being honest.”
    “Honest, huh?” He steps a little closer, and suddenly I feel a little zing of electricity at his proximity. I mean, of course I do—the guy is one long, lean package of gorgeous. All laser-green eyes and sharp jaw and cheekbones you can hang the moon on. Plus he’s smart . And nice. Any girl with a pulse would feel a zing in this situation.
    Still, I tamp it down quickly. A quick sizzle of attraction to Keegan is normal. Letting myself think it matters is something else entirely. And acting on it…acting on it is absolutely out of the question. First off, because he likes some other girl enough to get all freaked out about so much as talking to her, and secondly because there’s no way I’m getting that close to anyone at NextGen. It just wouldn’t be fair when I’m lying to everyone about who I am. Not to mention the fact that Cherry’s life is a total and complete mess right now. The last thing some unsuspecting guy needs is to be a part of that .
    “Cut the crap, Keegan,” I tell him when I have control over my hormones again. “You know you’re hot. Plus, rumor has it you’ve got a pretty good brain to back up your looks. So what’s the problem? The girl would be nuts not to go for you.” But then something occurs to me. “She doesn’t have a boyfriend, does she?”
    “I don’t think so, no.”
    “That didn’t sound very confident.”
    “Yeah, well, isn’t that what started this whole conversation?” he says with a smirk. “The fact that you don’t think I’m confident enough?”
    I roll my eyes. “Nice deflection.” Something else occurs to me. “She’s not a teacher, is she?”
    He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. “That’s disgusting.”
    “I don’t know. Some of the teachers are pretty hot—like Ms. Torres or Mrs. Jackson.”
    “My mom is the vice principal. I’ve known both of