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Inside, he started the engine and glanced at me. “Trust me?”
“That’s not a leading question at all.”
He grinned. “That wasn’t an answer to the question.”
“True.” Did I trust him? I wanted to. I really wanted to trust all of them. “Yes.”
“Thank you,” he said, then reached over to squeeze my knee once before he curved to glance back as he reversed to turn the SUV around. “You wanna talk about what happened that you needed Archie to come get you? It’s not like you to not just take your car and go.”
It wasn’t. Since I’d gotten the car, I’d craved my independence. Spring semester, sophomore year. It had beenawesometo be able to drive to school. Until then, the guys—sans Coop—had been giving us rides. Then I could take Coop.
“Mom told me about Mr. Standish,” I admitted. “It was—uncomfortable and weird. We kind of fought. I was just upset. I know you want to ask a lot of questions, but… I really don’t want to talk about it anymore. At least not right now.” I was kind of talked out. Especially the whole moving idea.
“No problem,” Jake said. “You need to talk about it to someone. You have too much stuff you sit and stew over.”
The characteristic bluntness was more of a comfort than I cared to admit. “I talked to Archie.”
His knuckles went white on the steering wheel, and I turned my attention back to the passenger window. We were heading toward the highway. Not my place. Not Jake’s.
After a long pause, Jake said, “Okay. I’m glad you talked to someone.”
“Do you want to talk about why you thought seeing Maria would get her to talk Sharon into taking the pictures down?”
“Not really,” he admitted.
“See, you should probably talk to someone, too. You know she still likes you. That’s kind of cold to use those feelings against her.”
“I didn’t lie to her,” he swore. “I didn’t tell her I was there because I wanted to see her again. I told her I needed her help. That was true. I thought she’d be more invested, considering she’s in some of those pictures.”
The topless ones? Yeah, I’d guessed. Had they had some kind of an orgy in the hot tub?
There was an image that wouldn’t go away.
“Frankie, you believe me, right?”
“You don’t usually lie to me, so yeah. I believe you. I just don’t get why you thought she’d want to help when… you dumped her.”
“She’s your friend.”
“Hmm…” I made a so-so motion. “A lot of my friends have fallen off the last year or so, I think that might be my fault.” As uncomfortable a truth as that might be to swallow. “And even if she was, I broke girl code.”
“Girl code?”
“You guys have a bro code, technically girls have a girl code. You don’t go after your friend’s boyfriend.”
There was a beat of silence.
“You didn’t.”
“Doesn’t look that way right now, does it?” I slid a glance at him sideways and he sighed.
“Fuck, I hate high school. When we graduate, we don’t have to do this crap anymore. I don’tcarewhat they think. I care whatyouthink.”
“Then I think they’re hurt, and they’re going to lash out at what they think hurt them. In this case—you guys and me.”
“But you didn’t do anything to them.”
“I’m dating you, Jake, and Maria wants to still be dating you. Ian made a big production of inviting me to Homecoming…” It had been so sweet. Tilting my head against the window, I laughed. “Everyone saw it, and I don’t think I’ve been more embarrassed or flattered in my life.” He sang in public for me. Ian, who kept his passion for music very quiet from the majority and rarely even performed in front of our friends, had done that so I would have an ask to remember.
