Lydia stood in the computer lab doorway, grinning. She wasn’t wearing any workout gear, which meant she hadn’t stopped by the gym, and she didn’t have a book in her hand, which meant she wasn’t here for book club. Not that I would’ve thought thatLydiawould’ve been a part of book club, but there was no reason for her presence.
Which put me on edge. I still smiled, giving away nothing. “Hey.”
I didn’t realize Lydia had been intentionally hiding her hand behind the wall until she brought it out, gripping a hot to-go cup. “I brought you a little surprise,” she said cheerfully, bringing it past theNo Food or Drink Allowedsign. “A caramel latte. You like those, don’t you? I remember you ordering them all the time.”
I did not order them all the time. I had no idea who she was confusing me with.S-U-S-P-I-C-I-O-U-S.“Well, aren’t you a sweetheart?” I said lightly, watching as she set it down on the tabletop in front of me. “What are you doing at ADP?”
“My mom came to book club tonight,” she said, settling into a desk chair beside me. She gave her eyes a theatrical roll. “She’s trying tobroaden her interests. I was wandering around, bored out of my mind, until I remembered you usually tag along with Jamie.”
“You didn’t get a drink?”
“Coffee this late would keep me up all night. That’s the problem about being so petite—caffeine hits mesohard.”
My phone buzzed on the table, drawing Lydia’s gaze to it.
She folded one leg over the other, kicking her foot in an almost impatient movement. I watched steam rise from the small hole in the to-go cup, waiting for her to broach the subject she actually came for.
It finally came. “Texting a certain Pembleton?”
I nearly chuckled at her predictability. “I don’t havehis number,” I said, and even though the words were true, the insinuation was a lie. No, I didn’t have his phone number, but yes, we did DM on Instagram. “It’s just Daisy.”
“You went out with him last night, didn’t you?”
I wondered how word had spread so easily, and then remembered how Beck had ducked his head toward hers at Senior Night. Beck’s presence in her Instagram carousel. “Yeah, I did.”
“Well, comeon. Don’t leave me in suspense. Tell meeverything.”
“We went to Crushed Beanz to listen to their poetry night.”
Lydia waited. “And?”
“And?”
“Are you being secretive on purpose?” Some of the friendliness ebbed from her expression. “You know, noteverythingneeds to be a competition.”
I fought the urge to scoff. “I’m not competing with you.”You’re the one competing withme.You always have been. “It’s just personal, that’s all.”
“Personal,” she echoed, and I looked at her carefully. She wasn’t very good at manipulation, not if she was trying to be sneaky about it. I could practically read the thoughts on her face. “Be honest—you knew Carter before Senior Night, didn’t you? That wasn’t your first time meeting him.”
I glanced at my phone. “It was, though.”Technically.
“Well, it wasn’t mine.” She lifted her chin high. “I’vemet him before, through our parents. His mother loves me.”
Carter’s mother. No mention of Dr. Pembleton. “That’s great?—”
“If you lay off now, I’ll play nice.” Despite the threat, Lydia gave a light smile. “Tell him you’re not interested, and we can go back to being friends.”
Lydia had never been so outwardly offensive before, which meant she felt backed into a corner. Threatened. Over the thought of losing whatever dibs she thought she had on Carter Pembleton. “You can appeal to Dr. Pembleton’s good graces without dating his son.”
Lydia’s expression screwed up. “Is that why you think I’m interested in Carter?” And then, as a light dawned, her features smoothed out. “Is that whyyouare?”
C-R-A-P. “Of course not,” I answered easily, grappling for a strategy for this conversation. “Considering how close you’ve been with Beck since he’s been back, I figured you had feelings forhim, that’s all.”
Once again, Lydia’s forehead wrinkled. “Beck?”
I thought about how she’d so easily slid into Beck’s lap the other day at the pickleball court, her arm propped against his shoulder. The two of them had looked so natural, as if they’d done it a million times before. “You two seem closer than I remember you being.”
“We weren’t close at all before. No one liked him at all when we were kids. Only you.”
