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“I’m not super hungry, so I think I’ll head to bed.”
“What? No parties to run off to on a Saturday night?” Marie asked, taking my plate as she stood.
“Nah. I think I’m over that,” I said with a shrug. Last year, they wouldn’t have caught me home like this on a Saturday night. If it wasn’t a party, it was a date. But this year felt different. “Guess I’m maturing.”
“Oh my word, we can only dream of having such hope,” Dad said, grasping the front of his chest in mock despair.
I laughed mockingly as I walked out of the living room. He thought he was so funny, but I really had this all under control. I had the job that would open doors everywhere for me. I had the guy that girls everywhere would kill for to date. And I was going to pass that quiz. Everything was going my way. There was no fighting it. The tidal wave of Lexi was going to sweep everything out of the path, until life had no choice but to go my way.
I gave a satisfied smile down at my phone screen as I unlocked it, but the message wasn’t from Zane. It had been from Charlotte. The very appearance of her name made my gut reel with a wave of guilt.
Charlotte: Hey Lex. Chick flick night at my house. Come over!
Beth is already on her way.
And no boys allowed!
My fingers hesitated over the keyboard. A Friday night with the girls sounded fun, but woul
d I be able to keep my secret from the two gals who were quickly becoming the closest friends I’d ever had? They were too good at getting the truth out of me. I was sneaking around with Zane. Maybe we were just friends, but we were still sneaking. One glance at my face and they’d know it. And then they’d try and talk me out of it. I couldn’t face it.
Me: Actually, I’m not feeling so hot.
Maybe it was the fruit I ate on set today.
Raincheck?
There, now I wasn’t in danger of spilling my secrets anymore. I held the phone tightly in my hands as I went into my bedroom and shut the door behind me. It was late and Dad and Marie were probably getting snuggled in on the couch for one of their boring movies. If Zane didn’t call soon, I was in serious danger of crawling into my bed and falling asleep way too early on a Saturday night for any respectable teenage girl.
My phone buzzed again, immediately setting me alight with energy. I looked down to see Zane’s name. Finally. Flopping backwards on my bed, I answered it and pressed it up to my ear.
“Hi, you. What’s up?”
“I’ve got a surprise for you,” he said in a low voice.
I sat up, a smile blossoming on my lips. “Oh, yeah? What’s that?”
“Come to your backyard and you’ll see...”
The line went dead and I rushed to the ground level window. My room looked out on the neighbor’s house, so there wasn’t much to see. I pushed it open and took out the screen. Hesitation made me pause at the sill. Thanks to the muddy soccer game today, I was already makeup free and ready for bed. Did I want Zane to see me like this? To see the real me beneath the concealer and powder and falsies? Was he really a friend I could trust?
Yes.
Without a doubt. I was ready to take that next step to trust another human being with my insecurities.
With a little bit of effort, I dropped myself over the sill and onto the grass. Excitement and anticipation darted through my abdomen as I rounded the house. Light flickered through the darkened sliding glass doors on the back porch. Sure enough, I could see the backs of Dad and Marie’s heads as they sat on the couch, watching one of their shows. No way would they know what was going on in their own backyard, not with the extreme volume at which my dad watched his shows.
I glanced around at the pool and the rest of the backyard, and spotted a dark hooded figure sitting in the grass on the far side of the house. Zane! This was a million times better than a phone call. He sat on the same flannel blanket from our study date this morning. A lit candle stood next to it.
“Sorry if this is too much.” He gestured at the candle as I approached. “But I couldn’t end today. Not yet. Not without continuing our study date for just a little while longer.”
Taking a spot on the blanket next to him, I shot him a tentative smile. The backyard was dark, but there was probably still enough light for him to get a good look at me and my clean cheeks. “This is the best two-part study date I’ve ever been on.”
“Then the bar is set pretty low.” He laughed and tugged a handful of candy from his hoodie pocket. There was no flicker of disgust or shock as he gazed steadily at my face. “I brought more sugar. Only stuff from the vending machine in the hotel. Anything else, and my dad would get suspicious. What’s your poison?”
His lack of initial reaction had me relaxing a bit. I took the Skittles bag and happily popped a couple in my mouth. “I hope you know, today was torture. It’s not easy pretending not to know you. It’s about as easy as watching you flirt with Janelle, even if it’s for the camera.”
He grimaced and slid closer to me on the blanket. Only two inches remained between our pinky fingers and I could practically feel the heat of his body.
