Page 29

My stomach does something unpleasant at the thought of seeing Blaire.

“Yeah,” I say, pulling out of the parking lot. “I’m sure she’ll be there.”

“Mama had a date.”

My grip tightens on the steering wheel.

“I heard about that.”

I do my best to keep my voice neutral.

The kid repeats everything. The last thing I need is him carrying my reaction back to Blaire.

“Mama told Nana he was han-some.”

I stare straight ahead at the road.

Handsome.

Great.

“Did she?”

“Yep.” He nods enthusiastically. “And she said they gonna have more dates.”

My jaw tightens.

I can practically feel my blood pressure climbing.

I have absolutely no business caring.

None.

I have a girlfriend.

Blaire is allowed to date.

She's been allowed to date for years.

“An’ he buyed her dinner,” Theo continues helpfully.

“How about,” I cut in before he can tell me anything else, “you tell me about school?”

Thankfully, he changes gears immediately.

“We glued paper!”

I let out a slow breath and nod along to his chatter while I mentally prepare to see Blaire again.

***

I barely see any of Theo’s game.

Every time I try to focus on him at bat, my phone buzzes again and I spend more time hitting ignore than watching the field.

Veronica has completely spiraled.

Apparently our marathon weekend conversation didn’t reassure her enough, and now she’s convinced I’m not committed to the relationship.