"You were that good!"
His dimples made a rare appearance. "Yeah, she was into PDA. Which was one of the reasons I wanted out."
Silence fell between us. Awkward and painful, especially since my heart thumped against my ribs.
"I don't know, Maddie." He pushed off the wall, sculling into deeper waters. "I want to help you out, but it's kinda weird, you know? And what would Alec think?"
I was ready for that. "He wouldn't know. It would be our secret. But even if he did somehow find out, well, he couldn't be mad. It's not like we're official or anything. And," I added, "I'm trying to do this for us." (Which wasn't a lie. Depending on which guy was implied in the us.)
Mrs. Puglisi strolled out to check on Nana, and that was that. But as I stood and wrapped myself in a towel, all I could think of was texting Linzee. Hayes might not have said yes, but he hadn't said no, either!
"MADDIE IS PRESIDENT?" HAYES spoke to Mrs. Puglisi, taking long strides to the front of the classroom. "I thought this was the first meeting."
"It is," she responded, her voice a little strained.
"How'd I miss the election?"
This was crazy. Not only had he showed up for this ridiculous club, but he actually cared who was president? But then another thought struck me, more like an evil whisper in my head. Was he making this scene because he didn't want someone of my low moral quality to lead the club?
"He can have it," I blurted. "Hayes can be president. If he wants."
Mrs. Puglisi pushed her glasses higher on her nose. "The fair thing to do is vote, of course, I'm sorry, Maddie, but I guess I was too hasty. So anyone who'd like to be considered for club president or has anything to say on the matter, please state your case."
Both freshmen shook their heads.
I stood beside my desk, blowing off the loose strands that had escaped my clip. "I vote we elect Hayes," I forced out. Then I glanced his way. For the first time in months, our gazes connected. It was brief--but crackling.
"Hayes?" Mrs. Puglisi said.
"All right." His dimples made a fleeting appearance. "But maybe she'd like to be co-president?"
I shook my head.
"Then how about VP?"
What in the world was going on?
"All in favor of making Hayes the president and Maddie the vice president?" Mrs. Puglisi asked.
The whole room--well, the four of us students--sounded with "yea," marking the first official action of the Hometown of Applewood Club. Which was arguably the smallest, lamest, most pointless club on campus, but with Hayes included, was suddenly a lot more interesting.
I tried to stay focused during the meeting, to act as if I cared. Hayes's attention seemed to waver a bit, too, but who was I to judge?
When Mrs. Puglisi called adjournment, I shuffled out behind him. "Hayes," I said, falling into step. "Come clean with me. The Hometown of Applewood Club? Really? Why?"
After a pause so long I could have grown another inch, he cleared this throat. "I got talked into it."
Oh, of course. Mrs. Puglisi had twisted his arm, too. Although why she'd made me prez over him made no sense, since Hayes had far more of a social draw. "Yeah, what can you say to her but yes, when you spend the summer in her pool?"
"No, Mr. Last," he responded, referring to the guidance counselor. "He told me to get some diversity for my college apps, so I wasn't only about baseball. And being a senior, he figured I could land a leadership position, which would also look good." He shrugged. "But I didn't want to take anything from you, which is why I suggested co-presidents."
I would have loved it if he'd wanted to work with me because he thought me principled or clever or awesome, but I still appreciated that he thought of me at all. It was a world away from where we'd left things. "Thanks. College applications aren't an issue for me. I'm going to the CC."
He took a moment to digest that. "Right, your dad's business. How's that going?"
My body tensed. I hated talking about my dad's camera shop. But anyone with a cellphone camera and access to a laptop (and that would be everyone in Applewood these days, from first graders on up to Nana) knew his business was drying up. Not to mention that the last time Hayes and I talked about this--how I didn't know if we could afford to keep our house much longer, let alone swing college tuition--we had been in each other's arms. It was all too raw and personal now.
"No change," I simply said.