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“Um, hell yes I do.” Courtney breaks into my bout of self-doubt.
“And you think I should answer?” I stare at my phone, feeling the car slow to a stop. It isn’t until I look up that I see Courtney has parked on the side of the road in front of my house.
“What’s going on, Tess?” She turns in her seat, knowing me well enough to know that I’m about to have an internal meltdown.
“I just.” I sigh. “I’m not really cut out for someone like Sebastian,” I vocalize my fear. “Even if by some crazy twist of fate he’s actually interested in me that way, I don’t think I would hold his interest for long.”
“Stop doing that!” Courtney scolds. “Stop overthinking every single moment that happens in your life. Sometimes you just have to take the bull by its horns, Tess, and ride that motherfucker as long as you can.”
“That’s easy for you to say, you’re not afraid to climb on top of the bull.”
“And you shouldn’t be either,” she interrupts. “Look, the most popular boy in school just spent the entire night with you. Not only that, he took your number and told you he was going to call you later. You should be excited. Not sitting here looking like you’re about to vomit all over my car.” She sighs, shaking her head. “Do you like him?”
“I don’t know.”
“Tess, this is me.” She holds a hand to her chest. “Do you like him?”
“I do,” I admit, hating to even say it out loud.
“Then just see where it takes you okay? I know you’re in the business of doubting yourself at every turn, but I’m telling you right now—if Sebastian saw even a fraction of the girl I know you are, he’s already falling in love.”
“I don’t know that I would go that far.” I laugh, shoving Courtney’s shoulder when she leans into me and bats her eyes.
“Embrace it, Tess. I promise if you let your hair down, I think you’ll find you enjoy the wind in it.” She winks. “Now get the hell out of my car. Go get some sleep. And call me later.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I reach for the handle, pushing the door open before climbing out.
“And, Tess.” Courtney waits until I turn around before continuing, “For what it’s worth, I think you and Sebastian would be totally smoking hot together.” She grins, wide and excited. “Just imagine. You and Sebastian, me and Ant—
we’d be like the most popular foursome in all of school.”
“Just what I’ve always wanted,” I say sarcastically, laughing when Courtney flips me off seconds after I shut the door.
“Love you, bitch,” she calls through the open window.
“Love you more.” I throw her small wave before turning around and heading inside.
***
I wake with a start, my head swimming the second I open my eyes. I wish I could say that the first person who pops into my head isn’t Sebastian, but that wouldn’t be the truth. I stare up at my ceiling, recalling all the events of last night over and over in my head.
It isn’t until I hear noise coming from the kitchen that I snap out of my fog and look over at the clock. At first I think I’m seeing things—there’s no way it’s three o’clock in the afternoon. Reaching for my phone, the time is confirmed the second I tap on the screen.
Dropping it back onto my nightstand, I groan, stretching my arms above my head. I must have been exhausted, considering I crashed within thirty minutes of Courtney dropping me off and am just now waking up.
Peeling myself out of bed, I cross the small space of my room and step out into the hallway. The sound of my mom rustling around in the kitchen is more prominent now and I set off in her direction, assuming she’s probably making something to eat before work.
My stomach rumbles at the thought. God, when is the last time I ate something? Now that I think about it, it’s been nearly twenty-four hours. No wonder I feel so famished.
“There she is.” I barely make it around the corner before my mom speaks. She’s standing at the stove, clad in pink scrubs, her shoulder length brown hair pulled back in a small ponytail, stirring something in the pan in front of her that smells an awful lot like chicken stir fry. “I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to get up.”
“Sorry. Court and I stayed up late watching some weird movie.” I don’t feel the need to be specific, my mom isn’t much of a television person. Well, except for watching re-runs ofFriends—that she could do for hours.
“What time did you get in?”
“Around eight. Court had to work, so she brought me home early.” I hate being deceitful, but I’m not lying entirely. Courtney really does have to work today, just not until later this afternoon.
“Speaking of that, have you decided when you want to go car shopping?” my mom asks, glancing over her shoulder at me.
