Page 40 of The Perfect Play

Chapter 31

Jake

I’d never felt more miserable than I did over the next few days. I wracked my brain, trying to think of some way to prove to Penny that it wasn’t me at the party kissing some other girl. I hadn’t kissed anyone but her in months, and I wasn’t planning on kissing anyone else. Ever. None of the other girls I’d kissed had made me feel the way she did.

“Who rained on your parade?” Dax asked, slamming me in the shoulder with his own.

We were in the locker room, getting ready for an away game, and I wasn’t in the mood for anything but sleep. It was going to be a long night if something didn’t change.

“I still don’t know how to tell Penny I wasn’t the one making out with another girl at that party last weekend. She thought she saw me. Do I have any doppelgangers that go to this school?” It sounded weird to think about it like that, more conceited than actually helpful, but I didn’t know another way to phrase it.

“Not that I know of,” Dax said, pulling off his t-shirt and throwing it onto the growing pile of clothes in his locker. He turned to Ben and asked, “Is there a guy who looks like White at the school?”

Ben shook his head, shrugging. “None that I know of. But maybe in the sophomore or freshman class? I don’t know many of them since most of my classes consist of juniors and seniors.”

Colt spoke up. “I might know of someone. Let me check, and I’ll let you know.” The tone of his voice gave me an odd sense of hope, even if it was only a sliver. If the kid looked like me, I wasn’t sure how I’d be able to convince Penny he was the one at the party except by dragging him over to her at some point and explaining the whole thing. But I’d just have to wait and see if Colt was even able to locate someone semi-close to my appearance.

We won the away game, and I even made a few great plays despite my brain not being completely focused with every pitch.

Even with the win, Coach Maddox was brutal in practice the next day, keeping us over three hours in what had turned into unbearable heat. I’d been through some rough practices, but this one seemed to top them all. And he kept yelling out my name, making sure I knew he was watching. When it was finally time to head home, I walked back to my Jeep, feeling like my feet had turned to cement.

Up ahead, I saw a dark-haired girl who looked somewhat familiar. She turned and smiled at me, waving a bit. Great, she was probably someone I’d made out with at some point, and now I couldn’t remember her name. Several other students milled around behind her, a few I recognized. It must have been one of the groups working off tardies. Something I still needed to do.

I nodded and averted my eyes, hoping she wouldn’t try talking to me. A nice convertible pulled up with the top down and a guy with dark brown hair in the driver’s seat.

“Hey, Jake. That guy could probably pass as you.” Dax slapped my back, his loud words drawing the attention of the driver.

Colt came up next to me, out of breath. “Hey, I saw that guy at the party. He’s the one I was thinking of yesterday.”

Without thinking, I walked over to the car and asked, “Were you at a party this last weekend? Down by Chester Street?”

The guy gave me a look like I’d lost all my marbles but nodded. “Yeah, I was at a party this weekend. That’s where I met this bombshell.” He motioned to the girl, who opened the door and slid into the passenger seat. She leaned forward, and he met her with a kiss to the lips, lingering longer than made even me feel comfortable.

“You didn’t happen to be sitting out on the patio when you met, did you?” It was a long shot, but I might as well give it a try.

The girl looked at me, biting her bottom lip with her eyebrows drawn together as if I was going to reveal I was some cop and she was under arrest. “How would you know that?”

Breathing a sigh of relief, I said, “So, it was you? Yes?” I raised my thumbs like I’d officially lost it.

“What of it, man?”

“I just need to know. My girlfriend thought she saw me making out with a brunette at the party, but I wasn’t there at the same time she was. I just need to prove it wasn’t me.”

The guy grinned like he knew exactly how I was feeling. “Yeah, that was us. A few people dubbed that the make-out deck. Sounds like a fitting spot for our first hangout, don’t you think, Shari?”

She giggled, and I groaned, wondering how many times I’d done something just like that. Even knowing her name didn’t ring a bell.

“What’s your name? I haven’t seen you around here before,” Dax asked the guy, bringing me back to the goal of this encounter.

“Carl Sumner. I’m a senior over at Tristan Prep. A few of my friends wanted to crash the party, and it turned out to be a great night for me.”

“Can I get your number?” I asked.

When the guy gave me a weird look, I shook my head. “It’s not like that, man. I just need some way to prove to Penny that I didn’t cheat on her. When I think of something, I’d call you to help me out. Is that all right?”

“Sure, man. I got you.” He took my phone and typed out his number, giving it back to me after. “Good luck.”

He waved, and they took off, leaving tire marks next to the curb where he’d peeled out.

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