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“Do tell.”
I didn’t get a chance to, not before a voice called up the stairs. “Maisie? Is that you?”
Recognition blazed through me.Alex.
The suddenness of his voice—the instant fear of being caught—had me stumbling. My sneaker caught on the lip of the stair, and right before gravity sucked me down the staircase, Connor latched onto my arm.
The reaction was instantaneous, no room for hesitation before his fingers wrapped around the skin above my elbow. He yanked me back, his other hand wrapping around my waist to steady me further.
Connor’s chest pressed flush against my back, the world still caught in an uneven tilt-a-whirl. My brain quickly became aware of each point his ten fingers touched me. Even though he’d quite literally saved my life, the way his body was pressed against mine almost felt intimate, the way someone would hold the person they cared about.
Someone’s heart was beating fast—I couldn’t tell if it was his or mine.
As quickly as they’d risen to catch me, Connor’s hands fell away. With the connection severed, clarity bolted through me.Alex.
Without turning back, I left Connor and hurried down the stairs. My heart still tripped even when I rounded the landing, finding Alex on the third stair from the bottom.
“I thought that was your voice,” he said. He stopped when he saw me, one hand on the rail. It was the first time I’d seen him all morning, and he’d gelled his dark hair this morning so the curls were frozen off his forehead. From here, I could see the blue bandage on his upper lip. I guess hewasshaving every four days. “Who were you talking to?”
“Some kid had a question about the English homework,” I said hastily, hurrying down the steps. I needed to corral him away so Connor could come down. “We’re late for lunch.”
But Alex didn’t come off the staircase, though he did pivot around. “I was waiting for you to come down. I want to say sorry, Maisie.”
Lord, I didn’t want to do this here. Not with Connor above us on the stairs, no doubt able to hear every word. Whatever conversation Alex and I would have about our relationship didn’t need prying eyes or listening ears. “Let’s walk and talk—”
“You ignored my calls all weekend.”
So weweregetting into it. Fine. “You only called once.”
“I wanted to give you space. I knew you must be angry.”
“You humiliated me. Of course I was angry.”
“I know.” He at least had the good graces to pretend to be mournful, ducking his chin closer to his chest. “I feel awful about it.”
I couldn’t gauge the sincerity of the words, or maybe I didn’t want to. Apologetic or not, it wasn’t the sort of situation to beg for forgiveness. It definitely should’ve fallen under theask for permissioncategory. “Tell me, was sitting with the Top Tier the chance you always dreamed of?”
Alex didn’t answer right away, weighing his words while biting his top lip. The fact that he wasn’t gushing about Friday night hinted that no, ithadn’tbeen everything he’d hyped it up to be. He just didn’t want to admit it. That made me feel slightly better. “They talked about you.”
Of course they did, because what else would Jade talk to Alex about? His super cool, super powerful tuba?
Alex came off the bottom stair and looked me in the eye, the curious sort of seriousness making me wary. “Did you really try out for the cheer squad back in freshman year?”
His words triggered an avalanche-like reaction within me, like little dominos tumbling over inside my brain. “W-Who told you that?”
“Jade said something. Said that you tried out but didn’t make the cut.”
A severe buzzing built within my ears, the hallway fading into pure background noise. Being friends wasn’t a deep and dark dirty little secret that I’d been fighting to keep, sure, but my stomach dropped anyway.
“Me, a cheerleader?” I asked, and though my heart was beating fast, my voice was calm. Level. I glanced toward the staircase, but Connor still hadn’t appeared. “Can you imagine me trying out for the cheer squad?”
“Well, if I’m being honest, I didn’t buy it at first,” he said, one corner of his mouth quirking up. “With how much you dislike sports events, you would’ve been a depressing cheerleader.”
The buzzing in my ears moved into my throat, the vibration closing off my airway.
“It’s weird, though. Why would Jade say you tried out then?”
It was the big question. Jade telling Alex about our history didn’t make sense, and when things she did didn’t make sense, it was never good. “She probably mistook me for someone else.” Or maybe she tried to stir up conflict, her specialty. “But, uh, we should get to lunch. Before we run out of time to eat.”
