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"It's not you. It's Daniel."
"What?"
He hesitated and seemed ready to brush it off, then backed up, putting more distance between us, cracking his knuckles. "You and Serena drew straws to see who would ask Daniel to a dance a couple of years ago, right?"
"Yes, but--Wait, who told you that?" Only Serena and I had known about the game.
"She told Daniel."
"What? No. Why--?"
"You drew straws and you let her win."
"Whoa, wait. No. I never told her that I let--"
"But you did, right?"
I paused. "Yes, because she was crazy about him."
"And you weren't. He was just a friend."
"Exactly."
Rafe nodded, as if it was what he expected. So why were we even having this conversation?
"Wait a second. Serena told Daniel that I let her win?"
He nodded.
"Why would she do that?"
"Because she knew he'd only go to the dance with her if he knew you weren't asking him and that you weren't asking because you didn't want to."
"I . . . I don't understand."
"Don't you?" Rafe's voice softened. "Daniel wanted you to ask him to the dance. I don't know why he agreed to go with Serena. The obvious answer is that he hoped to make you jealous, but that doesn't sound like him. I think he agreed because they were friends and it would be rude not to. That sounds more like Daniel."
"No." My heart beat so fast my words came out breathy. "It wasn't like that."
"Yeah, it was. He went to the dance with her because he felt he should. And maybe, a little bit, because you broke his heart."
I looked up sharply. "No. I never--"
Rafe held up his hands. "Not on purpose. Corey said it wasn't like that. Daniel didn't go out with Serena because he was mad at you. He just . . . I don't know. Corey figures he was killing time, maybe trying to show you he'd be a good boyfriend, maybe even hoping you'd realize you did have feelings for him. Only you didn't."
I thought of what Daniel had told me a few days ago, about his relationship with Serena. We were doing fine. But it wasn't . . . going anywhere. When she first asked me to that dance, I didn't feel right saying no. She was a friend, and--
And . . .
He'd stopped there. Just stopped and looked away.
And you didn't want to ask me.
No, it wasn't like that. Rafe was wrong. Corey was--
"Corey told you this?" I said. "When did he tell you? Why would he tell you?"
"It was at Salmon Creek, after you and I started getting together. He was trying to scare me off. If you dated summer guys, that was fine. But this didn't look like a summer thing and he wanted me to know, in no uncertain terms, that you were taken. I ignored him. Sure, I could tell Daniel liked you, but if he hadn't made a move, that was his problem. You snooze, you lose. I thought he couldn't have been serious about it or he'd do something. But then, when we were hanging outside that helicopter, and I saw his face--he was going to hold on to you even if it meant he fell out that door with us. . . ."
