Tessa quickly steps in for her best friend. "You're the expert Kelly. What do you recommend?"
Kelly smiles at me as if she knows something that I don't. "Well," she begins, "most of the pictures are pretty innocent. The ones on the beach you could easily dismiss as chatting with an old friend. However, a few are less tame. The image of you kissing while she's holding on like a spider monkey will not be as easy to explain away. We can go with the random hookup at a high school party speal and say that it was no big deal. But, something tells me that's not what this was, was it? If they spot you together again, which I'm guessing you will be, then they will put their own story out before we can. Either way, that pic is hot as hell and the bloggers are eating it up. They will be watching you closely to get more. It's only a matter of time before they figure out who Miss Delilah is and where she lives if they haven't already. I say we run with it. Tell them you're a happy couple, girls will be crying in their cheerios, but everyone loves a good romantic story. The headline doesn't get any better than "Liam Anderson Reunited with Hometown Sweetheart."I look at Delilah cautiously. She appears to be seconds away from a meltdown. "Can't we just ignore it. Maybe it'll go away?" She suggests timidly. I can literally see the gears turning in Kelly's head as she's making the connections while she studies Delilah closely. "You look familiar Delilah. You wouldn't happen to be The Delilah Jones, would you? As in Andrew Jones's daughter, Quarterback for the Carolina Panthers?"Lilah only nods while rolling her bottom lip into her mouth. I'm momentarily distracted as I think about how sweet those lips taste. Kelly's expression changes quickly, "I should get with your dad's team then. See how they want to handle this. I'm sure the press has figured it out by now. I've heard how sensitive your dad can be about his family being in the press."My phone starts dinging and I glance at an alert of a new article on Celeb Scoop Weekly that I've been tagged in. The title reads "Is Rocks Newest Badboy Off The Market? How the QBs daughter seduced Liam Anderson." Is there really no other news today? I'm used to outrageous headlines about me. I've had my share of them for sure, especially after our first single went platinum last year. However, Lilah's dad always worked hard to keep her out of the spotlight, especially after her mom got sick, which is why I'm not surprised when his publicist shows up to Tessa's house exactly three minutes later and quickly whisks Lilah away.My phone dings again and I cringe looking at it. "Delilah Jones and Liam Anderson: Love or Lust?" There's a picture attached of me pushing her up against the wall, her legs wrapped around my waist while I kiss her. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding and run my hand through my hair. Fuck. Her dad's gonna kill me.DELILAHMy fathers publicist Lisa took me straight to the Panthers practice field after picking me up from Tessa's place. The new football season is starting up soon, so right now my dad spends just about every free minute that he has here. I mentally prepare for the worst as I wait in an office for him and Lisa to arrive. I scroll through the pictures of me and Liam as I'm waiting for them. I guess it could have been worse. Thank God he stopped me from streaking. I can only imagine the headlines those pictures would've created. I shiver as a text message from Tess pops up on my screen. Tess: Liam is freaking out girlie. I think more is going on between you two then you're confessing. You've really done a number on him.ME: He'll survive. I'm sure I'm not the only girl he's currently hooking up with. ME: But, what exactly did he say? I can deny my feelings for him all day long, but I can't help but be curious, even though I know I shouldn't be. Liam is bad news. Trouble with a capit
DELILAH Later that night, I'm laying on my bed scrolling through my i***a feed when I hear a knock at my balcony door. My room is on the second floor of our house, and although it's a tough climb, I do know one boy in particular who was always brave enough in the past to attempt it. I hop up from my bed and look out the blinds to see Liam waiting patiently for me to let him in. His dark locks are tousled perfectly, hazel eyes trained on me with a mischievous smirk on his face. "Hey Romeo, what brings you here so late? You do realize my dad is sleeping just down the hall." I motion for him to come in and he plops down on my bed grabbing my hips and pulling me on top of him. "Hey Dels. I missed you." He coos as he starts trailing kisses down my neck. "I had to come see you. Besides, we both know that your dad sleeps like a log." I giggle, "Liam, you just saw me a few hours ago. We were literally together all day." I say placing my hands on his chest and pushing him back to get a lit
LIAMThe next morning I wake up before Lilah, so I decide to let her rest while I check the usual gossip articles for any new developments. I never really bothered to keep up with news about myself before, but I never really had a reason to care either. I want to keep on top of things for her though, to make sure that we don't get blindsided by something that I didn't see coming. There were a couple of posts about our practice with the Panthers yesterday and everyone seems to think it's great how her dad supports us being together.I'm caressing her smooth skin on her back while she lays with her head on my chest when I hear footsteps and a knock at her door. Oh shit. The reporters may think that her dad supports us, but I'm sure he'll still be pissed to find me in his daughter's bed. "Babe." I whisper as I try to nudge her awake. "Ten more minutes," she murmurs as she swats my hand away. "Babe, wake up. Your dad is knocking on your door.""What?" She whispers wide eyed. I motion
LIAMAn hour later I pulled up to Delilah's in the red Jeep Wrangler that I bought with my signing bonus, to see her and Tessa waiting for me with their beach gear. Being the gentleman that I am, I quickly hop out of the car to load up their things. Delilah gives me a kiss on the cheek before hopping into the front passenger seat as Tessa climbs in the back. She smells like vanilla and sunshine and I want to bury my face in her silky brown hair and stay there forever.The beach that we are headed to is about twenty minutes away. The weather is perfect today, sunny and 85 degrees outside, without a single cloud in the sky. Delilah is quick to commandeer my radio, putting on their current favorite song from One Direction.I can't stop myself from rolling my eyes. Is it bad that my girl's favorite band isn't the one I'm in? I'll have to work harder on making her a fan. Delilah's taste in music has always been varied though. She likes a little bit of everything from punk rock to country. S
DELILAHThe town we live in is on the small side, so once again we find ourselves at Lulu's Diner. I'm not complaining though, the retro vibe and 90's music is just what I need after a long day in the sun. R.E.M. is playing in the background as we walk in and just as we're sitting into the shiny red booths, our phones all start dinging simultaneously. If I've learned anything in the last few days, it is that rapidly dinging phones are not a good sign. Ever. I wonder what it is this time."So, how bad is it?" I ask, refusing to look at my phone at all. I order cheeseburgers, fries, and milkshakes for all of us while everyone else quickly scans through their notifications. "Depends on what you consider bad." Tessa chirps and smiles at me questioningly. "The good news is that you look gorgeous as always. I don't know why you stopped modeling. I mean, I know why, but cameras just love you." I nod thoughtfully. She's not lying. I'm very photogenic, but I haven't modeled since mom died. It
DELILAHThis week has been rough. Despite it being our first week of senior year Liam's manager called to let them know of an event back in LA that they could not get out of. They have been in LA for three days, doing photo shoots and concerts. Meanwhile, I'm stuck in Mr. Wright's Physics class debating putting my sharpened pencil through my eye just to be able to get out of here early. He's been droning on for thirty minutes about particles, but I just can't seem to make myself care. I was up until 3 AM last night on FaceTime with Liam and it's taking everything I have just to keep my eyes open. Beside me, Tessa nudges my elbow and my forehead hits the desk with a thunk. "Ouch," I hiss at her."Late night?" She teases. I roll my eyes as the bell finally rings releasing me from this prison. Tess and I both have lunch now and today we're having pizza and I am here for it. Sitting across from Tess, I pick up my piece of cheesy goodness and bring it to my mouth. "Mmmmmm so good." I mo
DELILAHTwo flights and twelve hours later, Tess and I are on a mini girls trip at a tiny island in the middle of the Caribbean. My Aunt Rose, my dad's younger sister, moved here a few years ago and agreed to let us crash with her for a few days to escape the craziness that has become my life back home. While we're here I have a small swimsuit modeling shoot scheduled as well. My mom's former agent contacted dad yesterday after seeing my photos with Liam making their way around the internet. I decided to give it another try. I have been modeling since I could walk. It's fun, and I love being on photo shoots. Not to mention I am all about keeping my schedule busy right now, that means there won't be any time to think about that Asshat.We are currently at a little beach side diner named Lolitas getting breakfast when I spot the first photographers lurking behind some bushes. My dad had some of his security team come with us, so I'm not worried, just a tad annoyed that even on this t
DELILAHMy alarm blares at me and I groan while slapping at it until it shuts off. Today is the first day of senior year with the guys being back at school with us. It's also the first time I'll see Asshat since his photos with all those girls in LA and my mini trip to the Caribbean with Tess for a much needed girls trip. I pick out my favorite cami and sweater and put on a pair of skinny jeans, checking myself in the mirror before heading out. I pull up to Ridgedale High and mentally prepare myself for the worst. Hopefully, I won't have any classes with Liam. If I do, I've decided to do what I did the time we got into a huge fight in fifth grade. I ignored him, pretending like he was not even there. It drove him insane. If that doesn't work, I'll just act like it doesn't bother me that he's there. Maybe even find some other guy to flirt with to make sure I've really driven my point home. There's always Jeremiah. He wouldn't mind me flirting with him.Tess meets me at the door. "Hey g