Roman proclaimed it a free day; guests were free to come and go as they pleased, switching between hosts when the whim struck them. The beach towels where Roman and Kris held court were both overflowing; Marcus's, though full of giggling girls, was the emptiest, and the twins were only ahead by a few girls.
Aaron was solidly in the middle, every empty place taken but nobody fighting for a place on the towels. He was happy with that, since most of the girls were content to watch him laugh and talk without input.
Aaron catalogued the girls in front of him with a glance, the way the boys had taught him so he could instantly play to their sweet spots if needed.
The girl to the left was Nova Cassien, his long-time guest and the daughter of a famous fashion designer. Her pale blonde hair, cutting green eyes, and classically beautiful features were the envy of most Sherwood girls. Adventurous, independent, and a bit reckless, she was one of Cara's followers. She had also been the one to interrupt Cara's ridiculous flirting on the second day of school. Aaron liked her spunk, and since she was a lesbian who only came to laugh at the swooning masses, her company came with no pressure.
The girl on the right was Elizabeth Allen, called Lizzy by people who cared to know the loner with trust issues. Her red-brown hair and delicate features made her look younger, but there was an agelessly sad look in her brown eyes. She said she liked the heroic type, but she always asked for Aaron or Marcus; they were steady, reliable, very unlike the father who cheated on Lizzy's mother before the divorce. Aaron was the only person she trusted other than her little sister, and he cared for her more than he should.
Having taken stock of the situation, Aaron relaxed- he didn't need to worry about wooing either of the girls.
"So, Aaron, who are you taking to homecoming?" Nova asked, grinning at his exasperated sigh when the question had the other girls talking over each other.
Aaron ran a hand through his hair and gave them all an insecure smile, playing the shy intellect. "Well, I didn't really think about it. I guess I just assumed the host club would make an appearance together," that said, he lowered his eyes, peeking up through his eyelashes, "And, of course, I would never be able to pick just one of you to go with."
Girls sighed and fanned their faces and cooed over how cute he was while Nova rolled her eyes.
"What about you, Nova?" Aaron asked, a hint of mischief in his smile; as far as he knew she hadn't even told her brother, who was her idol and confidante, that she was a lesbian, "Who are you going to homecoming with?"
She scoffed and waved a dismissive hand in the air. "Oh please! Why would I go to homecoming when I could go to my mother's party and meet a gorgeous model instead?"
The other girls sighed, no doubt imagining a shirtless male model; Nova looked wistful, too, but her fantasies were likely to be of the buxom brunette variety.
Aaron gave up on Nova, who had become lost in her daydream, and turned to Lizzy. "And who's lucky enough to get to take you to homecoming?"
Lizzy flushed bright red, and Aaron smothered a smile at the thought that he might have finally found someone who blushed worse than he did. "I, uh, I don't have a date yet," she stammered.
Aaron cocked his head slightly to the side, perplexed. If she didn't have a date, she didn't need to be so embarrassed. Unless she had somebody in mind. "Well, if you could have anybody, who would you want to be your date to homecoming?"
"I... I... couldn't say," she shook her head fiercely.
The crowd offered up chants of "Tell us!" and "Come on, Lizzy!" which only seemed to make it worse for the girl in question. Other girls gravitated toward the group, drawn by the drama.
Lizzy grew flustered with each new audience ember, until she finally spat out a name. "Jarrod Hollister!"
The chanting turned to the ooh'ing that meant Lizzy had said something daring. Aaron frowned, more confused than ever; it was the sudden appearance of Roman that saved him. "You mean Cara's boyfriend, don't you?" Roman shook his head and clucked his head, folding his arms over his very bare, very tanned, and very toned chest, "I hate to say it, but I don't think even we could make that happen."
"I know," Lizzy sighed, dropping her eyes while her shoulders slumped with defeat.
Aaron looked up at Roman, surprised. They had snuck a girl out of her hospital bed to listen to her friend, who also wasn't supposed to be there, sing to her. Surely getting somebody to ask out a pretty girl wouldn't be that difficult.
Then Aaron remembered the first day of school, the bruises on his arms and the sound of his bag tearing, and blanched. Cara wasn't the garden variety bad girlfriend. She was the queen bee with an uncontested throne, and messing with her boyfriend would mean war. Aaron wasn't sure he wanted that.
Although Cara did deserve it. What kind of modern teenager called a boy a peasant? Or found money such an important factor she won't speak to the school's 'elite' since they made Aaron a host? Anger simmered in Aaron; seeing the sad, resigned expression on Lizzy's face was all it took to solidify his resolve. “There must be something we can do."
Lizzy's mouth dropped open, and she looked at Aaron with a mixture of shock and disbelief. "Cara's the golden girl; as far as Jarrod is considered, she can't ever do anything wrong. We'd need something really big to get him to realize what she is."
"I have that!" Nova shot a hand up, her fantasy apparently over, "We just have to tell Jarrod she's cheating on him."
It was a good idea, and Roman opened his mouth to say so, but Aaron spoke up first. "We can't stoop to her level and lie to get what we want."
"But it wouldn't be lying," Nova said, eyes innocently wide, "She really is cheating on him!"
Shocked murmurs passed through the room- by then, everybody was paying attention. "How do you know?" Lizzy asked skeptically.
"You mean you don't know?"" Nova ruffled the hair at the nape of her neck and grinned, "She's dating my brother."
A plan was quickly set in motion; if they couldn't get Jarrod to go to the dance with Lizzy, they'd get her at least one dance. Aaron and Nova did most of the planning, but their plan centered on Nova's brother, Quinn, with a little help from tech savvy Kris and charismatic Roman. With the plan set it stone, Roman gathered the guests to make the announcement that was his part of the plan.
"Ladies, the vote for homecoming royalty is today during lunch, so I'll make you a deal," he paused for dramatic effect. Aaron found it irritating, but even Nova waited with bated breath as Roan adjusted the cuffs of his jacket before looking up and putting on his most charming smile, the one that lit up hi eyes and affected even Aaron.
"I want Lizzy Allen and Jarrod Hollister to be our homecoming king and queen," Roman said, his smile growing impossibly brighter at the murmur of surprise that came from the gathered girls, "And if you guys make that happen, I'll open up my house and throw a masquerade ball this winter!"
Aaron sucked in a breath, shocked; Roman didn't even let the host club boys visit. The vote was assured, and the smile Roman gave Aaron said he was doing it all for him. Aaron's heart did a funny flip in his chest. His face felt warm, but he didn't look away, not even when Roman's eyes smoldered with a need he couldn't satisfy when Aaron was across the room.
"Thank you," Aaron mouthed.
That was too much for Roman; he strode across the room, throwing an arm across Aaron's shoulders, his mischievous smile almost worthy of the twins. "Don't thank me," he said, his lips close to Aaron's ear, "You'll be doing all the planning for that damn party."
Aaron got past the effect of Roman's nearness enough to laugh. "It'll be worth it to see Lizzy happy."
Watching Lizzy argue with Nova about her dress should look like, her brown eyes glimmering and a small smile touching her lips as she resolutely refused anything ball gown, Roman couldn't help but agree.
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