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“Nice.” I nod, impressed by the guy. I like that he’s encouraging my girl this way. For a second, it makes me want to tell her about Ethan. About the awesome day I’ve just had—how he took care of me, nursed me through a hangover, made me forget about all the angst from the Sig Be house and just let me be myself.
That is why I called her, right?
But for some reason, I can’t get the words out, because then I’ll have to admit that I’m falling for him, and it’ll no doubt come to light that I’m supposed to hurt the guy and she’ll be totally ashamed of me.
“So, actually, I was going to call you today because I have some news,” Rachel says.
“Oh yeah?” I blink, relieved by the fact that we can focus solely on her.
“Yeah, um… you know how Mom’s leaving, and I was feeling kind of edgy about living on my own?”
I gasp. “Did you find a roommate?”
“Sort of.”
“What do you mean, sort of?”
“Well… Theo’s asked me to move in with him. And I’ve said yes.”
I stutter to a stop, my bare feet scraping on the pavement. “What?”
“He asked me to move in with him.” Her voice gets brighter and perkier. I can’t tell if it’s forced or if she really means it.
Dammit, why didn’t I video-call her? I need to see her face for this.
I nearly tell her I’m hanging up to call her back, but she’s gushing on about how great it is that everything is working out. The timing is perfect. Her mom will leave, they’ll rent out the house for extra income, and she’ll move in with Theo.
I really don’t want to kill her happy buzz, but surely I have to say something, right?
“Wow, that’s… really fast.” I say it softly, hoping I don’t ruin her happy vibe.
She doesn’t seem to notice my obvious trepidation over her big news, because she lets out this giddy laugh. “Well, when you know, you know, right?”
My stomach sinks as images of Ethan’s beautiful face flash through my mind. Crap. My heart totally gets what Rachel is saying, because today, when I let myself forget everything else, I swear I knew. I knew I was already falling for Ethan, and it was the easiest thing in the world.
And somehow, I’m supposed to shit all over it… sabotage this beautiful thing so I can get myself a free education.
I can’t let that happen.
So how do I get both?
CHAPTER28
ETHAN
It’s been four days, and I can’t stop thinking about Mikayla. She’s in my head night and day. And yeah, it’s driving me crazy.
Sunday was one of the best days I’ve ever had.
All we did was watch movies, play cards, and talk while time disappeared. No big deal. But I’ve never done that with a girl before, and it was epic.
It was epic because it was Mikayla.
She’s not just hot, she’s awesome.
Checking my phone, I grin at her latest string of emojis. Yeah, we’re still playing that game, and I’ve worked out that she’s telling me good luck for tonight. She said she was coming. I have no idea where she’ll be sitting, but I’ll be looking out for her.
“Okay, boys, let’s go! Five minutes!” Coach is clapping his hands, and I shove my phone in my locker, slapping it closed and trying to shake Mikayla from my mind.
