Page 108 of No Headlines Please

When Devon gave a panicked nod, Sierra turned back to me. "And as far as the summer guy, if I wanted him, I'd have him." She gave a toss of her hair. "But that's not what this is about."

Bullshit. I crossed my arms. "Oh, yeah? So, what is this about?"

She shrugged. "Just old friends catching up."

I was done being polite. "Except we were never friends." Sure, I'd seen her around campus. Everyone had. But that's like saying I was friends with the statue in front of the library.

She looked to Devon. "Hey! Are you gonna let her talk to me like that?"

He hesitated. "Um…"

"Oh, forget it." She turned back to me and asked, "You know what I'm starting to think?"

"No. But I'm sure you're gonna tell me."

She smiled. "I think there's a reason Maisie ditched you."

I almost flinched. Maisie hadn't ditched me at all. In truth, I'd been the one to break off contact. Still, the barb found its mark, and I opened my mouth to say something sharp, only to shut it yet again.

What could I even say?

If I explained that the lack of contact was my own doing, not Maisie's, I'd be throwing Maisie under the bus. This was the last thing she deserved.

So, in the end, I only shrugged. Let Sierra think what she wanted.

But Sierra wasn't even done. "I can see why, too." She gave me a sneering once-over. "Her new best friend is a huge step up."

The words felt like a stab to my heart. New best friend?

Okay, maybe I was being a little unfair. After all, I'd had no contact with Maisie for over a year, which made me the crappiest best friend in the universe. And yet, somewhere in the back of my mind, I had always figured that after everything settled down, Maisie and I could talk it out and get back to where we used to be.

But that wouldn't happen if I'd been replaced.

Sierra was still smirking. "And here's a little hint. She's someone you know."

My heart clenched. Someone I know? Like…a different friend from college?

When I glanced at Devon, he looked away.

Something inside me snapped, and I gave Sierra a hard look. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"You mean here in Chicago?"

"No, I mean right here." I pointed down at the sidewalk. "I saw you on this same exact block just a couple of months ago. What do you do? Parade back and forth until you can find someone to yammer at?"

"Hey! I don't yammer."

"Really? That sounds like yammering to me."

"And for your information, Daddy has a condo two blocks away that he lets us use any time I want. So maybe you should get off my block." She flicked her head toward Devon. "Go ahead. Tell her."

Devon looked from Sierra to me and back again. "Uh…I'm not sure we can do that."

Call me childish, but I couldn't resist telling Sierra, "Yeah, well Maisie's 'Daddy' owns a home on an island, and I can visit there any time I want."

She stared like I was crazy.

I laughed. "Yeah, it sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?"