Play Nice

I'm the funny guy. The nice guy. The friend, not the heartthrob. And definitely not the one who gets the girl. So when I snag one of the most popular girls at school, my friends on the baseball team are shocked. Talia Smith is beautiful, and dating her is the highlight of my high school experience — until she cheats on me and dumps me. As much as I try to play it off, to be the funny guy everyone expects me to be, I'm heartbroken. One person understands my pain: Ashley McIntosh, the girl whose boyfriend hooked up with Talia. But as bad as I feel for Ashley, I know better than to get involved with her. She'll chew me up and spit me out. It's what she's done with almost every guy on the baseball team. But the more I get to know her, the more I think I've misjudged her. The more I see a side of her I never knew existed. A softer side. A side I'm drawn to, against my better judgment. I'm the nice guy, and I'm falling for the mean girl. I only hope I don't get burned in the process.