Clueless

Copyright Copyright © 2023 by Willow Thomas All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission. This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book. Cover design by Cate Ashwood Edited and proofread by Abbie Nicole Content Warning There are a couple of references about a homophobic parent, and a small confrontation scene. Dedication For Lark Taylor and Cora Rose My favourite cheerleaders. Contents 1. Lexi 2. Ryder 3. Lexi 4. Ryder 5. Lexi 6. Ryder 7. Lexi 8. Ryder 9. Lexi 10. Ryder 11. Lexi 12. Ryder 13. Lexi 14. Ryder 15. Lexi 16. Ryder 17. Lexi 18. Ryder 19. Lexi 20. Ryder 21. Lexi 22. Ryder 23. Lexi 24. Ryder Epilogue Also By Willow Thomas It's All About Me Acknowledgements Chapter one LexiAt this moment, I am cursing writers of rom-coms for making meet-cutes a thing. Way too many guys and girls have “spilled” their drinks over me and ruined my clothes in the hopes we’d hit it off and go on a date. Where are the people content to slide into your DMs instead of possibly risking third-degree burns and ruined clothes. I don’t get how that’s cute.It’s not gonna happen anyway.How could it when I’m happily torturing myself by being head-over-heels in love with my twin sister’s best friend?Ugh.Stupid Ryder with his stupid perfect face and stupid charming personality. Why does my brain always have to go to him? I’m fully aware he’s the reason for my grumpy-as-fuck mood this morning. Walking in on him and Kait talking about his sexcapades last night was torture. He doesn’t go into detail, but I’m still not a fan of knowing how many times he came with some guy who isn’t me.Not that he knows I like him.He and my sister are closer than my sister and me. There is no escaping him, but I’ve always managed to just up-nod as we walk past each other, kinda friendly.“Dude, another one?” Gio asks, pulling me out of my thoughts. I realize I’ve walked out of the coffee shop to the courtyard where I’m meeting my friends, Gio, Luke, and Perry, on autopilot. “You should wear a sign around your neck that reads: Unless you are Ryder Jackson, you aren’t getting this cock.”“For fuck’s sake, shut up,” I hiss, looking around to see if anyone’s within hearing distance as the others try and stifle their laughter.My friends know about my crush on Ryder even though I haven’t told them. I thought I kept that totally locked down, but apparently, I look at him a certain way.I can’t help it if my eyes are drawn to his body. He has a really great ass.It’s a good thing I love and trust these guys. There are ten of us on the FVU cheerleading squad, and you can’t help but bond over that. We mainly cheer for the football team, and even though a few of them are queer, we still get a few asshole fans throwing out slurs like confetti. Even the straight guys on the squad get shit. Maybe especially the straight guys since they are constantly having to defend their sexuality.“No one is paying us any attention,” Gio says, rolling his eyes at me. He’s been my best friend since freshman year. Gio is wonderfully blunt. I think it’s the Italian in him. He pats my shoulder before grimacing at the coffee stain overtaking half my white shirt. “This one was a little more enthusiastic than the others. Was he at least cute?”“I didn’t notice.”“Ouch, did you let him down gently?” Luke asks, crossing his arms. He doesn’t have the best luck with guys, so he’s always a little sensitive to how people let others down. One date asked him if he had a condom he could borrow so he could fuck their server.“Well, when he started apologizing, I cut him off and said, ‘No worries, bro. My girl will hook you up with a new coffee,’ and then I winked at the barista and left.”You know when people say the silence was deafening? I just thought they were exaggerating. Turns out silence can be really loud.The sight of their faces, mouths agape, eyes wider than a silver dollar coin, makes the urge to laugh stronger by the second.“Excuse me?” Perry is the first to regain his voice. Though it’s not usually quite so high-pitched. That’s a sure way to tell he’s pissed. “Did you pretend to be straight with that poor guy?”“Not exactly.” I can’t help but wince. “It was more that I pretended I had a thing with the barista.”“Lexi…” I cut Luke off before this goes anywhere else.“I’m sorry, okay? I won’t do that again.” I sigh, running a hand through my dark-brown cropped hair. “I was already in a mood because I had to listen to Ryder tell Kait all about his hookups last night. And it was so bad I had to resort to wearing my favorite shirt to cheer myself up.” Three pairs of eyes look at me in sympathy.“I’m sorry, man,” Gio says, wrapping me in a hug.“Group hug,” Perry yells, and I feel him and Luke wrap their arms around