Page 73 of Tell No Lies

“Waiting for me?”

I set my books down and pulled an apple out of my bag. “Nope.” I bit in and giggled as juice ran down my chin.

He brought his finger up and wiped it away. “Oh, so that wasn’t sheer panic I saw on your face?”

“Nope.”

“Liar.” He stretched his arms over his head. “You’re welcome to my humble bench anytime.”

“Thank you.” I tried to be more ladylike with my next bite and succeeded in not making another mess.

“I should start charging you rent if this is going to be a long-term thing.”

“We broke up, so you might want to start a tab for me. I don’t think my friends will be forgiving me anytime soon.” I took another bite and waited for his reaction.

His eyebrows rose, but that was all he gave away. “Well, that didn’t last long. Even we would have done better than that. Not that you belong with me. I mean, I’m a whole different type of crazy, but you deserve better than a guy like that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mike only wants a trophy.” He waited for my reaction, probably thinking of a slap across the face. When he saw it was safe, he continued. “No offense, but he liked the idea of you more than he liked you. He never even knew you.”

I threw my apple into the bin across from us with a little too much force. “Of course he did! I’ve known him since I moved here. I knew him just as well as he knew me.”

His hands flew up defensively. “I didn’t say that. I said he never knew you.”

The difference was blatantly obvious now that he’d pointed it out.

“Did you guys ever just talk like this? Have you told him about your dreams of becoming a professional dancer? No? And why not? Because he doesn’t take what you do seriously. Even though he’s seen how crazy talented you are.”

He seemed to think he was winning whatever argument was happening within his own head. “And you have?”

“Yeah, actually.”

I shot back. “What?”

“You told me about your first competition a while ago. I remembered, but I didn’t know if you did, so I came and watched you and left early. Way too much estrogen for me.”

“You came?”

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m not your Prince Charming. My friend invited me to something that’s important to her, so I went. It’s not a big deal.”

“It is to me.”

He ran his hands through his hair in exasperation. “Don’t make this into something, Aubrey.”

“You’re so cocky. I’m just really … honored that you came. That means a lot to me.”

He rolled his eyes, but I continued.

“Mike made a huge deal about him showing up and how great he was for coming to this one thing and supporting me. You did it without the notoriety. That’s pretty great.”

“Whatever.”

I pushed my shoulder into his. “It is. You’ve been a really great friend to me, Gage. I’m sorry I haven’t been one to you.”

He looked confused. “You’ve been the best friend I’ve had since middle school. We have fun together, but we don’t need to be together all the time. Contrary to what I let you believe, I’m a loner by choice.”

“Yeah, right,” I teased him, but he shrugged me off.