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With the weather still hot for the middle of summer, the city is crazy. Finding parking is a pain. By the time I locate a spot, I’m almost ten minutes late.
“Hannah!” Stacey calls my name, and I find her seated at a table by the back. She stands as I approach. “Glad you could make it. How was traffic?”
I lean in for a hug. “It was fine. This place is super cute. The smells. I may have to order a ton of food.” I take a seat and grab for the menu. Missing out on the breakfast Levi promised me, I’m actually starving.
“You’re feeling better then?”
I lift my head. “Huh?”
“You’re feeling better? After you left last night…?”
The lie. Us leaving abruptly. “Oh, yeah! Fine. Must have been something I ate.” I lift the menu over my face. Don’t lie. This is your chance to come clean. I inhale deeply and drop the menu. “Okay. I wasn’t really sick.”
“I didn’t think you were. Want to tell me why you lied?”
It’s now or never. The faster I tell the truth and get this out in the open, the faster we can all move on. I love Stacey. I trust she’ll listen and help me. Not pass judgement before understanding. It’s why she’s so perfect for my brother. Once she hears how much we mean to one another, she’ll be on my side. “I lied because—”
“Shit, can traffic be any more intolerable!” My confession is interrupted as Rebecca nears our table. Of course she would pick the one place we’re eating to show up at. Hopefully they say quick hellos so I can get back to confessing. “Oh, how lovely. You’re eating with us. Clearly you’re not allowed to pick out any baby clothes.” She points to my outfit. “Do I need to say any more?”
My eyes shift to Stacey. She offers an apologetic expression, but stands to give Rebecca a hug. “Glad you could make it.” Make it? As in she was invited to this? My mood plummets, shaking the ground beneath us. “Sit, we were just chatting about dinner last night. I was about to tell Hannah what a good meal she missed.”
Rebecca rolls her eyes at me and takes a seat, throwing her purse and knocking over my glass of water into my lap. I jump, but not before it soaks my pants. “Oh, gosh. I’m such a klutz,” Rebecca says, though her laughter is anything but apologetic. Thankfully, a waiter walks by, offering me a pile of napkins.
“Come on, let’s have a nice lunch, okay?” Stacey says, trying to mediate. She should have known from the start this was going to be a bad idea.
“Whatevs. Speaking of dinner last night, what was your problem? Did you finally get your period or something? Had to drag Levi away from me?”
That gets my attention. “Excuse me?”
Her laugh is mocking. “What, you get jealous we were about to hook up and fake sick so he would take you home? Seems to happen that way a lot.”
My body shifts, giving her my full attention. There’s no hiding the mounting anger in my voice. “I’m not sure what you’re getting at, but you better watch it.”
“Hannah,” Stacey warns.
“Yeah, Hannah. It’s obvious you have a crush on Levi. But come on, you don’t think he would ever go for you, do you?” She laughs even louder. “Just before you played sick, Levi and I were about to get to know each other better in the restaurant bathroom. I couldn’t believe he wanted to be so careless. But who was I to say no to Levi Dent?”
She’s lying.
He would never.
Not with her.
“Rebecca, enough. Hannah has no interest in Levi. They’ve known each other since they were kids. They’re like brother and sister. Right, Hannah?” She waits for me to confirm what she just stated, and all I want to do is lash out and prove Rebecca wrong. Throw it in her face that someone like me can actually get someone like Levi Dent, and I already have. There would be nothing sweeter than putting her in her place.
But this is not how I want Stacey to find out. The words taste sour leaving my mouth. “Right. Friends.” Her satisfactory smile makes my stomach churn. I excuse myself to go to the bathroom, and the moment the stall door closes behind me, the tears begin to fall.
I’m upset for allowing Rebecca to get to me, but her words hold some truth. Levi is too good for me. He may see an us now, but what about all the pressure we’ll face once we come forward? How many other Rebecca’s are out there, ready and waiting to tell Levi he can do better? Convince him he’s too good for me? How long until the pressure of people’s opinions weigh so heavy on us, he starts to agree? I can’t wipe my tears away fast enough. They’re out of control, flowing like waves of sadness down my cheeks.
