Rock and roll music played from the jukebox in the back of the retro café. As a waitress set two milkshakes on our table, I leaned backward to assess my boyfriend in the booth across from me.

Instead of staring at the physics problems he claimed we were here to work on, Juan looked out the window, watching the cars drive by. Normally, Juan and I attempted to suffer by figuring out how many feet the car would take to stop together, but today, he hadn't looked at his worksheet.

Tapping my fingers on the table, I wondered what it would take to get his attention. Reaching near him, I pulled a green bendy straw from a dispenser on the table and inserted it into the chocolate drink. Taking a sip, I smiled.

"Remind me to tell your sister that her milkshake recipe is amazing," I said.

Juan's older sister Lucia was the head chef at the family's cafe. She made most of the food in the back.

"Oh yeah," Juan mumbled.

"What did you get for question six?" I asked.

Juan glanced at the sheets of math problems sitting in front of him and wrinkled his nose. He usually claimed he wasn't a school person, but he wanted his grades to be good so colleges would want to recruit him next year.

"It's boring math," Juan rolled his eyes. "Easy to finish with a calculator. I'd rather be here with you."

Knowing we wouldn't get anywhere, I tucked the worksheet back into my backpack. I'd have to work on it later after rehearsal.

"So, how was practice?" I asked.

Juan ran a hand through his dark hair. "It's the offseason. We have to wait until football is over. Half the team plays both sports, you know."

Our school wasn't small, but it also wasn't large. There weren't limits on how many sports you could play. Many coaches helped with multiple sports, saving the school money.

Juan wasn't on the football team. He hadn't made the cut when he was a freshman and hadn't tried out again.

I just did cheerleading and dance. We only practiced on Saturdays and right before games. That left me with plenty of time for homework and theater production.

I took another sip from my milkshake. Juan and I had been going out for almost six months. We spent a lot of time here, and it was a nice place to hang out. Juan's house was often busy, and my apartment was too quiet since my brother had left for college this year.

My mother was always at the hospital. She worked as a surgeon and seemed to have taken more hours since Parker moved away. We had a movie night once a week, but beyond that, I never knew when I would see her.

Juan was my constant. We had a few classes together. He sat with me at lunch when he didn't have tutoring and joined the theater production to spend more time with me.

"We could hang out after the big game this week," I suggested, trying to break the silence. "Or see a movie."

Juan barely looked at me. "If we have time."

Hanging out with Juan was something I always looked forward to. It got me through droning algebra classes and tedious rehearsals.

He was the one person I could really talk to. He understood me better than anyone except maybe my brother Parker.

We'd both rolled our eyes as my cheerleading friends talked endlessly throughout lunch about Jack Garrison's break-up with Carrie Flores. Despite endless attempts to steer the conversation in another direction, I'd been unable to avoid the endless gossip and speculation about what Carrie had done wrong and whom Jack would date next.

Since middle school, Jack asked me to every dance regardless of whether he or I were dating other people. I always said no. It was annoying. I threw out his flowers every Valentine's Day. Once, he'd even asked me out in front of the entire school at a pep rally. Once the microphone was placed in my hand, I said no.

My cheer friends thought I was crazy. They thought Jack was hot, which admittedly was correct. He had that lasting tan, an athletic body, and golden hair that just barely curled. His blue eyes seemed to melt every girl, and everything fell in his lap so easily. I'd decided long ago that I would be the one thing that Jack Garrison couldn't have.

Juan thought Jack hogged too much of the school's spotlight since his father was on the school board, and Jack himself seemed involved in everything. Unfortunately, Jack was also the humblest guy in the school. He cared about everything and everyone, so my open animosity toward him made the other cheerleaders scratch their heads.

I didn't hate Jack for asking me out over and over. If any other guy were paying me that much attention, I'd have gone out with them at least once, but not with Jack. The pain Jack had dealt me was so old and deep that nearly everyone had forgotten the incident.

"You're quiet today, babe," I said, looking down at my gel manicure. "Lunch still bothering you? You were glowering in English afterward."

A scowl crossed his face, replacing his bored expression. "Everyone is so obsessed with him."

I knew the feeling. Sometimes, it felt like the whole school revolved around Jack Garrison. He lead the football team. Every girl wanted to be with him. He was popular, and it was hard to dislike the guy because he was just so dang nice to everyone.

Except I knew the truth. Jack Garrison was a wrecking ball, and he'd ruined my life. I wasn't about to let that go and fall at his feet.

"And now you have to play his love interest," Juan rolled his eyes. "His little prize."

We had both protested against the casting right when it was announced. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to play a character slowly falling in love with a guy I hated, and Juan had my back.

Sadly, Jack's uncle was the director. He was an actor taking a break from Broadway. The school had hired him to put on a production at the state festival. I auditioned, but I didn't realize that Jack would be as well.

He was a good actor. That was probably why Anton wouldn't change our parts. I didn't picture him in the theater, but he was a natural.

"I know you'd feel better if Jack didn't take every chance on stage to flirt with me," I swirled my straw around my milkshake in a half-hearted attempt to stir the drink.

"Don't let Jack get under your skin," Juan said. "He's a jerk. He loves pushing your buttons and laughing at your reactions."

"Well, I can't encourage his flirting, can I?" I glared at my milkshake. "We'll have to be lovers in the play, but we can ignore him outside the theater."

Juan reached out and took my hand. "I'll be there. You are my girlfriend. I won't let him touch you, babe."

He shoved his homework in his backpack. Then he scooped up my backpack and his and led me out to his truck.

We drove to the theater. It wasn't too far, and we had time to sit in the car for a few minutes once we arrived. I fixed my mascara in the mirror. Then Juan leaned in close and kissed me.

It was easy to lose track of time with his arms around me. He was a perfect gentleman and never asked for more than I was willing to give him. His fingers twisted around my neck and into my thick, dark curls.

Juan was the one who came up for air first. His lips were swollen, and he was gasping for breath. He moved his hands back to his sides. Then he looked at his watch.

He cursed. "We're late."

My heart started racing, and it had nothing to do with the fact that Juan was still close to me. Anton hated it when people weren't on time. He always claimed rehearsal couldn't start without everyone, bringing the entire production to a halt.

"How late?" I asked.

"Five minutes," Juan shrugged. "Maybe ten since you probably don't want to walk in there looking like a ravished maiden. Although I wouldn't mind that."

He winked, and I blushed. Pulling a compact mirror out of my backpack, I assessed the damage. My hair was a mess. Lipstick was smeared outside my lips. The mascara I had touched was smudged, giving me lovely raccoon circles around my brown eyes.

Pulling out my makeup bag, I rescued my skin with a spare makeup wipe. No matter what kind of satisfaction Juan would get out of me walking into rehearsal looking like he'd just adored me, I was not letting Jack Garrison, of all people, see me like this. Makeup was like armor against his snark and wooing.

"You look lovely, babe," Juan said as I replaced my mascara. "Really, you do. No one is going to care about how you look."

"I care," I said, ignoring him.

Setting the mascara wand down, I touched up my pink lipstick. Then, I pulled my dark curls back into a messy bun to hide the rest of the damage.

"You heard that Tasha quit, right?" Juan asked.

"No," I said as I tied a scarf over my bun. "Why?"

"Her mother pulled her because she has the flu," Juan said. "Anton's going to have to recast Celia."

"How's he going to do that?" I asked.

Tasha was one of the nicest girls I'd ever met. She was a great Celia. We didn't even have any understudies for the production. I didn't know what would happen now.

"I guess we'll find out," Juan said. "Almost ready?"

Snapping the makeup compact closed, I felt satisfied. Juan zipped up my makeup bag and got out of the car.

He walked around and helped me out on my side. We walked into the theater hand in hand. Juan hung his leather jacket in the lobby, and we entered the theater where the cast was gathered.

Anton gave us a cross-look as we joined the group. "Nice of you to join us, Juan, Shayna."

We'd just missed something big. Anton had probably just explained his plan for replacing Tasha.

"We lost track of time. We were at the malt shop, and the clock in the shop doesn't work..." Juan lied.

Anyone could have seen us in the parking lot, so I interrupted him before he could lie again. "Sorry, we're late. Heard about Tasha. What's the plan?"

Anton smiled. "Samantha will be playing the role of Celia."

An involuntary snort came out of my mouth. Samantha wasn't an actor. She helped out with the lights. Not to mention she was the worst.

"You're not..." I glanced at Juan, who was staring at the ground, looking nonplussed.

Kai spoke up. "He's serious."

So, the plan was to add Samantha to the cast. It made sense. I didn't see how she'd be better than Tasha, but maybe she'd surprise me.

"So yeah," Jack shifted from one foot to the other. He didn't meet my eyes. "We're reblocking a bunch of scenes."

I glared at Jack, daring him to say something else. "Great."

Anton clapped his hands. "I want to give Samantha a day to look at the script," he paused and looked from me to Jack. "So, I want to run the show from the top."

And naturally, Jack opened his mouth. "We will perform 'As You Like It.'"

The pun was so stupid that I couldn't bite back my next comment. "You leave your brain on the football field or something?"

Anton ran his hand down his face. "Let's get this over with."

And with that, the cast took their places for the opening act of As You Like It. As the lights came up, Jack winked at me from the wings just before he followed Novah onstage. I started the scene and hoped he'd leave me alone.