So Many Boys Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THRITEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Acknowledgements

  So Many Boys

  RAZORBILL

  Published by the Penguin Group

  Penguin Young Readers Group

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  Copyright © 2010 Suzanne Young

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  For my grandmother Josephine Parzych.

  This is for you.

  Always.

  SOS UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT

  Dear Clients,

  I’m happy to announce the re-forming of SOS. Due to a change in leadership, services were temporarily put on hold. But now we’re back and totally badass.

  If your boyfriend is acting suspicious, text a cheater-request form to our new number at 555-1863, but be specific. For us to catch him in the act, we’ll need to know exactly who he’s doing.

  Again, we’re psyched to help out the girls of Washington in their quest for a decent boyfriend. We’re currently updating our Naughty List roster, so text with any important information.

  There is now a fee schedule for our services, but for the grand reopening, we’ll offer a fifty percent discount to the first ten clients.

  We’re back. And we’re going to kick cheating ass.

  SOS—XOXO

  SOS

  Text: 555-1863

  Exposing Cheaters for Over Three Years

  ASSIGNMENT 1

  1:00 A.M., SEPTEMBER 12

  A branch splintered under the operative’s heavy boot, cracking loud enough to make her pause. After a quick look around Riley Richards’s back lawn, she continued her path toward his half-open bedroom window.

  Even from the yard, she could hear their soft murmurs. She crouched down in the wet soil of the flower bed, taking out the night-vision goggles she’d stolen. Silently she clicked on the viewfinder and peered in.

  The suspect, Riley, was in there along with his accomplice, Megan Wright. They were sitting on his bed (fully clothed), talking. Talking?

  The operative narrowed her eyes and shifted in the dirt. This was not what she’d anticipated. Proof might take longer than previously thought, and the black latex jumpsuit she’d snatched was getting filthy.

  When she’d found the SOS files and gone through them, the operative had seen a problem—a reason why SOS wasn’t as effective as it could’ve been. The society was set up to be secret, completely undercover. And that was the problem. It left no room for intimidation. And if the operative hoped to make SOS her own success—and outshine Tessa Crimson—she’d have to fix that. She had a plan.

  Clicking off a few stills, the operative listened patiently. Megan was looking sideways at Riley as they sat hip-to-hip on his navy blue comforter.

  “So, do you want to work on that chemistry lab?” Megan asked, twisting a long strand of blonde hair around her finger.

  The left side of Riley’s mouth twitched. “Not really.”

  “But I thought you said—”

  “I wanted to see you,” he interrupted. “But I knew you wouldn’t if I didn’t say it was for school.”

  Megan bit her lip. “Jenn’s my friend,” she whispered. “You know that.” She shifted uncomfortably, moving away from the suspect. “I shouldn’t even be here right now.”

  But when Megan didn’t get up to leave, the operative tensed, finger poised over the viewfinder. No matter how Riley got her to his house, Megan obviously wanted to be there. This was about to become a full-fledged cheat.

  “I’m sorry,” Riley whispered, reaching out to touch Megan’s arm. “I know this is hard, but…I like you, Meg. Don’t you like me?”

  The operative paused on the record button as she suddenly became fascinated with the developing relationship. Sure, Riley was propositioning Meg, but not really—not in a way that offered real proof. Liking someone wasn’t the same as adultery. Not unless Megan agreed to go through with it. Would she?

  “I…” Megan stopped long enough to make it clear she didn’t want to say what she was about to. “I should go.”

  “Please,” Riley murmured, taking her hand. “Don’t leave yet.”

  Outside, the operative watched, knots forming in her stomach as she waited to see if they’d cheat. In the SOS files she’d found the official tally sheets. Tessa Crimson had caught more than two hundred cheaters. The operative tightened her jaw. It would be hard to beat Tessa at her own game when she played it so damn well.

  Just then Megan’s ring tone filled the darkened room with the latest drama-club anthem, something by Journey. Megan reached into her pocket to look at her caller ID, then drew in a quick breath.

  “It’s Jenn,” she said.

  Riley let his hand drop from Megan’s as she clicked off her phone and slid it self-consciously back into her jeans.

  Riley sighed. “I’ll walk you out.”

  The operative was disappointed. She chewed hard on the corner of her thumbnail, lost in thought. If she was going to take over SOS and make it what it should be, she’d need to out-spy the former team. But this mission hadn’t offered the sort of evidence she’d need to confirm Jenn’s suspicions, and more troubling than that was the fact that Megan had resisted. Cheaters weren’t supposed to resist. Until now, there’d been a one-hundred percent infidelity rate. The operative was counting on
that to continue.

  As soon as Riley’s bedroom door had closed behind the suspects, the operative stood up in the flower bed and slid her body through the open window.

  Ouch! She looked down to see that the fabric around her thigh had snagged on the sill and ripped a hole in her suit, leaving a long scratch. Irritated, she straightened, glancing around the room for Riley’s computer. When she spotted it, she walked over and inserted the CD she’d hidden in her cleavage.

  When it was in, the operative clicked Run. It would copy Riley’s entire hard drive—every program, every picture, every application. There must be something of value in there, something incriminating.

  The operative tapped her boot as she waited. The computer beeped, and she bent down to look at the screen. Wipe complete. She hit the space bar a few times, but nothing else came up.

  “Shit,” she murmured, reaching over to eject the CD. She examined the disc carefully. Oh, no! She’d accidentally inserted the data eraser. She shook her head, reaching up to bite her nail again as she considered her problem.

  She looked around the room for any other collectible data, hoping the mission wouldn’t be a total loss. Then she saw it. Riley’s phone was resting on his dresser.

  Walking over, she removed the battery and took out the SIM card, slipping it into her bra once she had it. With a satisfied sigh, she pulled a tiny listening device from her pocket, looking it over as she traipsed toward the open window. She brought it up to her lips and kissed it, leaving a tiny smudge of red across the surface. Then she peeled back the adhesive and stuck it under the edge of Riley’s desk as she passed.

  Riley and Megan might not have been cheating, but there was clearly intent. The operative needed this confirmation. She would just have to keep watching them, because sooner or later, they’d slip up.

  Cheaters always did.

  CHAPTER ONE

  I PLACED MY PALMS ON THE CUSHY PINK YOGA MAT on the floor of my living room. Stretching my legs out behind me, I pushed my body up into the triangular pose of downward dog. The dark waves of my hair hung down, tickling my face as I extended farther, feeling the pull that always loosened my tense muscles. Sigh.

  “Oh, I like that position,” Aiden called from the couch.

  I tumbled back to the floor. It was hard to hold the pose with Aiden in the room. “Be nice,” I said, glancing over at him. He looked adorable. His blond floppy curls had been cropped short, and his green eyes sparkled in the Sunday morning light. And to be honest, I loved that he loved the view.

  “Nice? You hate when I’m nice,” he said, tilting his head. “Now come over here and let me be naughty.”

  I laughed and sat back on my heels. When my parents decided to spend the weekend in Seattle to celebrate their anniversary, Aiden had graciously volunteered to keep me company. We were…working on our relationship.

  “You all flexible now?” he asked with a smile, holding his hand out to me. “Because I’d like a kiss.”

  Aiden and I had enjoyed a very relaxing weekend together, but I’d made it a point to set boundaries. For example, as long as we were together but not officially dating, there would be no… home runs. He’d said that was fine. Even though I missed the Pink Champagne toenail polish exchanges we used to have, it was less complicated this way.

  “One kiss,” I said. “But then I have to call—” When I slid my palm into Aiden’s, there was a small pinch in my lower back—a muscle spasm. It made my breath catch, and Aiden pulled me to him, looking concerned.

  “Everything okay?”

  I nodded, rubbing my back as Aiden leaned forward to kiss my neck. “See,” he murmured. “You’re still taking on too much.”

  I closed my eyes as his hot breath touched my skin. “No, I’m not.” I had no idea what this recent muscle spasm was about, but I doubted it had anything to do with helping people in the name of self-recovery. “Besides,” I said. “I can’t just abandon everything.”

  “You should,” Aiden said, pulling back before wrapping his arms around me.

  “Including you?” I asked, raising my eyebrow.

  He grinned. “Not me, baby. I’m a keeper. Remember?”

  I laughed. “That’s right. I forgot.” But my laugh was hollow. I couldn’t exactly keep what I didn’t have.

  “Now come here,” Aiden growled as he tackled me back onto the couch. Temporarily forgetting my doubts, I wrapped my legs around his waist (thank you, yoga) as he tried to tickle me.

  “Seriously,” I said after a few minutes, even though I was pretty sure that I was the one holding him to me. “I only have a sec.”

  “Then we’d better hurry,” he whispered. I closed my eyes.

  It had been three months, one week, and two days since I’d been a Smitten Kitten. I’d quit the squad (although I kept the uniform for personal reasons) at the beginning of the summer, leaving it in Kira’s perfectly polished hands.

  Since the incident at Aiden’s house last year—including the unfortunate stitch to my forehead—my parents suffered from terrible bouts of guilt. Their career had taken off, forcing them to tour most of the summer, leaving me home alone. And with the school year just beginning, it didn’t look like that was going to change anytime soon. They offered to quit and get regular day jobs in order to stay home with me more, but I wouldn’t hear of it. I was happy for them! After all, I was the one who needed to figure things out, not them.

  Even after ending SOS and taking a break from Aiden (sort of), I still felt like I had more to learn about myself. Here it was, the start of my senior year, and I was completely stressed out and unable to focus. In fact, the only time I felt remotely like myself was when I was with Aiden—working on our relationship.

  My yoga teacher had said that to really find my inner Tessa, I had to get away from everything, including cheerleading. She also told me that not-dating-but-still-dating Aiden was bad for my chi. I had promised to work on that. Maybe after this weekend.

  “Time’s up,” I murmured, putting my hands on Aiden’s shoulders as I gently pushed him off of me. “I have to meet Kira and the squad for practice.”

  “Why?” Aiden’s kissable mouth frowned as he straightened up on the couch. “You’re not a cheerleader anymore.”

  My back flinched again. I stood up, twisting from side to side, hoping it would help the tightness.

  “I may not be a Smitten Kitten, Aiden, but Kira asked for my assistance. Homecoming is only a few weeks away, and, well, I’m a retired cheer expert. In fact, I had this spectacular routine—”

  The phone rang. Pickles and ice cream! That was probably Kira wondering where I was. Even though I wasn’t due at the gym for another half hour, I’d forgotten to call her back on Friday. And today was Sunday. Being with Aiden tended to make me lose track of time.

  Careful not to further irritate my muscle, I slowly began to limp toward my phone.

  “Shit, Tess. You really did hurt yourself,” Aiden said as he helped me to the kitchen.

  “I’m sure it’s nothing.” I waved him off, although each step sent white-hot splinters of pain down my leg. Once we reached the kitchen, Aiden let me go and walked to my fridge, opening it and ducking his head in. He was so cute when he rummaged for food.

  I sighed, leaning up against the cool counter as I clicked on the phone. “Hello?”

  “Tessa! Thank God you’re home!” Leona said in a quick breath.

  My heart sped up. “Everything okay?”

  “No. Not even remotely. Kira’s on the line too.”

  “Hey, Tess.” Kira spoke up, sounding awful. She was captain of the Smitten Kittens; she wasn’t allowed to sound glum.

  “K,” I said, completely concerned, “did something happen?” I really hoped this wasn’t about her boyfriend. After she’d found out Darren had cheated on her last year, she’d finally rebounded this summer with a nice guy! She was overdue for some good karma. My pedicurist said so during our last session.

  “I told Leona not to bother you,” Kira
said apologetically. “I have it under control.”

  “You so don’t,” Leona began. “Now zip it and let me bring Tessa up to speed.”

  Well, I was glad to hear that it didn’t sound relationship related. Kira and Leona were probably arguing about proper skirt length again. I swear, if I didn’t know those two had been friends since kindergarten, I’d think they hated each other. But I knew better. Smitten Kittens didn’t hate. We were like sisters.

  I tucked the phone into the crook of my neck and hobbled to the fridge, reaching above Aiden’s bent-over frame to grab an ice pack from the freezer.

  “I would have gotten that for you,” he said, taking the pack from my hands to soften it up before handing it back. “You don’t have to do everything yourself, Tess—like leading someone else’s cheer practice.” He intentionally said that last bit a little louder.

  I narrowed my eyes at him, hoping that Kira and Leona hadn’t heard. Aiden wasn’t a big hit with the squad lately. They seemed to think that he was the reason for my sudden decrease in pep. But I denied it wholeheartedly. I was plenty peppy! Especially when Aiden was around.

  Before walking away, I leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the lips and then put the ice to my back. I limped to the kitchen table, and when I sat down, Aiden motioned with his finger for me to come back over, but I shook my head and refocused on my phone call.

  “Sorry, girls. What were we talking about?” I tried to turn in my chair so that I couldn’t see Aiden anymore, but when I did, my muscle clenched again.

  Butterscotch! I really hoped this wasn’t a true pulled muscle, one that would require physical therapy. I had always been very careful about stretching before any athletic exertion. Maybe I was just getting old. After all, I would be eighteen this year.

  “Have you even been listening?” Leona asked with a heavy sigh.