Story Saturdays - The Playbook

Here's a WIP (work in progress) called The Playbook. The story-line follows Skylar Jameson and Luke Rader and a bet. Here's an excerpt from the first chapter:

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EXCERPT:

     Chapter One

Luke bit his lip as his fists furled. Maddox was beginning to get on his nerves. It was taking every ounce of his self-control to keep from punching the punk's face in.

Also known as his best friend.

Which, at the moment, was getting difficult to remember.

Maddox put his hands up in a defensive, hey-calm-down gesture - something that just annoyed Luke even more. "Look, man. I'm not saying anything one way or the other. I'm just saying you got dumped - for the first time, I might add, and I just wanted to say you might be looking your touch."

Luke knew exactly what Maddox wanted to say, and it wasn't advice. It wasn't like he took the relationship seriously. Sure, he'd cared for Ashton, but his pride was more wounded than his feelings. If he was honest, he couldn't have really cared less, but Maddox' s goading was just pouring salt on the wound. "Bull," he spat, simply because he couldn't think of anything else to say at the moment. For a second his brain went blank. Then, it came back on with a vengeance. Was he losing his touch like Maddox said?

Maddox must have seen the inner conflict, because he smirked. "Really?" He cocked his head to the side in a silent challenge. "Then prove it."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Easy. I'll just pick out a random chick and smile and shell swoon." Now it was his turn to smirk. "I wrote the book on making girls fall in love."

"Perfect! That's genius!"

Maddox' s slow smile made Luke wary, then he realized what Maddox was planning and his wariness turned to annoyance and something akin to horror. "Dude! No. Way. You're insane!" Luke couldn't even believe Maddox had even remembered the Playbook, let alone have guts to bring it up. "Does your thick skull remember what happened the last time we used that piece of crap?"

Maddox laughed and Luke wondered how in the world his best friend could find anything humorous in this topic. "Best day of my life. So, whaddya say? Think you can do it?"

Luke glared at him. "Screw you. I don't need a stupid book to help me get a girl. You, on the other hand," he eyed Maddox up and down pointedly, "May need all the help you can get."

Maddox' s cocky stance became even more pronounced. "You're hysterical," he said dryly. "Look, thirty bucks says you can't get just any random girl even with the help of the book."

He smirks and Luke felt his finger nails biting into his palm. He really didn't have patience for this. "Dude, I'm saving your pockets. Keep your thirty bucks and don't waste my time." He was done with this pointless conversation. He turned to leave.

"Fifty bucks. First girl you cross paths with tomorrow. Woo her and use the book. I. Dare. You."

Luke stiffened in the hall between the showers and the lockers. He told himself that this was a bad idea. Stupid. Immature. Idiotic. He knew better than to take a dare. But, for some reason he couldn't explain, a part of him wanted to go for it. If for nothing else other than the cash. Maybe he needed a challenge, a distraction from the break up. Maybe it was because he knew that, if he agreed, it would get Maddox off his back. Maybe it was because he felt he needed to prove himself. Maybe it was because Maddox' s voice was so annoying, so cocky, that it grated on his nerve and refused to leave him alone. Whatever it was, it was enough to make him stop in the middle of the varsity locker room, turn around and say, "Deal."