The Romeo Club
by Rebekah L Purdy
Release Date: 04/08/14
YA CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Summary from Goodreads:
THE ROMEO CLUB is Hitch meets The Secret of My Success.
What happens when you agree to help your brother “de-nerdify” so he can catch the attention of the popular Chloe Anders, and to everyone's surprise, he actually lands her?
And what if his equally geeky friends come running with girl wish lists of their own, offering money for your services?
Well, if you’re sixteen-year-old, Delyla Denson, then you start The Romeo Club. A secret club where she’ll teach these guys how talk, act, and be cool around girls. It’s a win-win situation.
She’ll get enough money for the awesome prom dress she’s had her eye on, and the guys, well, they’ll get dates and maybe learn how to do something other than beat the next level on their video games.
There are only two problems with this plan. One, her quarterback/track star boyfriend is getting jealous of how much time she’s spending away from him and decides to try and figure out what’s going on. And two, Delyla is kind of falling for her brother’s BFF, Trey who she’s been hanging out with a lot more. And who thanks to her help, has caught the attention of the beautiful, perfect, and popular, Portia Rickard. With Portia and Trey heating up, Delyla realizes that maybe the person she’s meant to be with has been in front of her all this time.
But falling for Trey means she’ll have to take drastic measures including sabotage, with a capital S.
And what if his equally geeky friends come running with girl wish lists of their own, offering money for your services?
Well, if you’re sixteen-year-old, Delyla Denson, then you start The Romeo Club. A secret club where she’ll teach these guys how talk, act, and be cool around girls. It’s a win-win situation.
She’ll get enough money for the awesome prom dress she’s had her eye on, and the guys, well, they’ll get dates and maybe learn how to do something other than beat the next level on their video games.
There are only two problems with this plan. One, her quarterback/track star boyfriend is getting jealous of how much time she’s spending away from him and decides to try and figure out what’s going on. And two, Delyla is kind of falling for her brother’s BFF, Trey who she’s been hanging out with a lot more. And who thanks to her help, has caught the attention of the beautiful, perfect, and popular, Portia Rickard. With Portia and Trey heating up, Delyla realizes that maybe the person she’s meant to be with has been in front of her all this time.
But falling for Trey means she’ll have to take drastic measures including sabotage, with a capital S.
EXCERPT:
A
few minutes later we arrived at Bogarty’s. We went inside and found
Kevin working the counter.
“Hey,”
he said. “I thought you had a date tonight?”
“I
do. But I wanted to treat Del out for helping me.” Trey took some
cash from his pocket. “Can we get two chocolate vanilla swirl ice
creams?”
Warmth
spread through my chest. He remembered my favorite flavor. How is it
he knew more about me than my boyfriend?
“Coming
right up.” Kevin took his money then gave him the change. He waved
me closer to the counter then leaned forward. “Melanie’s working
tonight.” He nodded to a petite girl making milkshakes. She had
black hair with a shock of electric blue highlights. Her ears had
numerous piercings, and she wore dark eyeliner. She had the whole
rocker chick thing going on.
“She’s
pretty,” I said. And to say I was surprised was an understatement.
She didn’t seem like his type, but then again, who was I to judge.
He
grinned. “Yeah. She is.” He handed us our ice cream. “I’ll
see you guys later.”
I
licked the side of my cone to keep the chocolate from dripping. Trey
and I sat down in a corner booth and devoured our food. When I
finished, I wiped my mouth with a napkin. My eyes shifted to the
window. No way. Did he have GPS attached to me or something?
I
shot to my feet. “Crap.”
“What’s
wrong?”
“Rex
is here with his friends. I told him I was having a Science Club
meeting today.”
Trey
followed my gaze. “They’re coming in.”
We
rushed toward the counter. Maybe there was a back way out. “Kevin.
We need to hide.”
“What?”
“Rex.”
I nodded over my shoulder. “Please, Kev. There’s gotta be a back
way out.”
“I
can’t let you go through the kitchen. I’ll get fired.” He
glanced behind him.
“Ah,
I’m so dead.”
“Wait,
I have an idea. Hey, Melanie can you watch the register for a
second?”
She
looked up. “Sure. But hurry.”
“Thanks.”
He came around the counter. “Quick, follow me.” He led us down a
narrow hall toward the bathrooms. But before we got there, he opened
a door and pulled out two costumes.
“Oh
brother. I’m not gonna like this, am I?” Trey took a giant ice
cream cone costume from him.
“Nope.
In fact, you’ll probably hate it. But it’s the only thing I got.”
He handed me a Poppy the Popsicle costume.
I
groaned. “This day just keeps getting better and better.”
“Hurry
up, he’s coming in.” Kevin shoved the giant popsicle over my
head.
I
put my arms in, while he tugged it down. He then put big rubber shoes
on me. I attempted to adjust the top so I could see out the eyeholes.
Next to me I saw Trey and giggled. His head looked like a giant
vanilla swirl ice cream. The cone part came down to his ankles so he
had to waddle while he walked.
Kevin,
shut the closet. “Just go out in the lobby area and dance around or
something. When he leaves, you can get out of here.”
“You
owe me big,” Trey said from beside me.
Just
then a group of elementary kids saw us. “Look it’s Poppy the
Popsicle and Icy the Ice Cream.”
In
that moment, I wanted to die. Kids screeched at our legs. I hopped
around in circles, giving them high fives. I attempted a booty shake
dance and nearly toppled over, right into Rex’s lap.
“Hey,
Rex. Looks like Poppy has a thing for track stars.” Bart laughed
and slapped his back. “If you want to dance with the popsicle, I
won’t tell Delyla.”
Rex
grinned, grabbed my giant rubber hands and twirled me around. “Hey,
can I get my picture taken with you?”
Holy
balls. This wasn’t good. “Sure,” I said in a high-pitched
Minnie Mouse type voice. He held up his phone and leaned in close.
Wow, this would be one for the memory books.
“I
think the popsicle is melting at your touch,” Bart said. “Maybe
you should go for the ice cream cone instead.”
If
he made one more popsicle comment, I was gonna shove my stick
somewhere where the sun didn’t shine. Behind me, I heard Trey
mutter something about a jack ass.
At
last, Kevin called them up to the counter for their order.
“See
you, Poppy.” Rex patted my back.
“Yeah,
see you,” I said in the same high-pitched voice from before.
When
they left, Trey and I raced to take the costumes off.
“Remind
me never to come to the ice cream shop with you again,” Trey said.
“I swear, if one more kid hit me in the crotch, I was gonna shove
them in a trash can.”
“At
least you didn’t have to deal with my boyfriend.” I laughed.
“Yeah,
there’s that. But I think I’m ready to go now.”
He
didn’t have to tell me twice. Goodbye ice cream, hello world.
Rebekah Purdy grew up in Michigan, where she spent many late nights armed with a good book and a flashlight. When not hiding at her computer and getting lost in her stories, she enjoys reading, singing, soccer, swimming, football, camping, playing video games and hanging out with her kids. She loves the unexplainable like Bigfoot, the Dogman, and the Loch Ness Monster (lots of good story material)! She admits to still having all the books she bought throughout her childhood and teen years, and she may or may not have an obsession with anything chocolate…
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