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The look on her face is straight out of a cartoon. I wouldn’t be surprised if her eyeballs fell out of her head, attached by springs that bounced up and down. “What did you just say?”
“Ever since the night of my party, I’ve been talking to Tate Ramsey.” This is sort of the truth.
“You two are actually a couple?” she squeaks.
I nod, wringing my hands together, desperate to blurt out the truth. “I’m totally into him.”
Rachel is quiet for a moment, as if she needs the time to absorb what I’m saying. “What does Ian think about this?”
“Who cares what Ian thinks?”
“You do. You always do. He’s at the front of your mind at all times.”
“Not anymore.” I proceed to tell her about the dinner with Ian’s family. By the time I finish, Rachel is fired up, ready to slay the dragon lady, direct quote.
“Fuck that bitch!” Rachel’s face is red, she’s so angry. “Why was she so mean to you? Has she always treated you that way?”
“Not to my face, though now that I think about it, she did always treat me like I was invisible.” I never got much acknowledgment from his mother, and at the time, I didn’t take that as a bad sign.
But now the outward hostility is telling me she’s not a fan.
The sly smile on Rachel’s face makes me forget all about mean mothers and their weak sons. “My God, this is just... crazy. Tate? Ramsey? TatefreakingRamsey! I absolutely love it. You deserve all the public make-out sessions and private sex lessons that he gives you. Seriously! What a story to tell your grandchildren someday! That you had a relationship with one of the most popular members of a successful boy band!”
When she puts it like that, I don’t know if it sounds that great. “Like I’d tell my grandchildren my sexual escapades from when I was a teen.”
“God, you’re no fun! But you did say ‘sexual escapades,’ so you’re giving me hope.” Rachel laughs, and I can’t help it.
I laugh too.
“Tell me how all of this came about.” When I frown at her, Rachel continues, “You and Tate. Actually ending up together. Like I said, I need every detail. Don’t spare a single one.”
“It just sort of... happened. You know? After the kiss?”
I leap off my bed and start pacing around my room, picking up a bottle of perfume my mother gave me for my birthday before I set it back down. I haven’t even opened it yet. I have no idea what it smells like. I’ve been slowly losing my mind since the night of that stupid party, and I hate how stressed I feel. Restless and confused, the weight of the world pressing down on me, like I’m doing a very, very bad thing and I’m going to get caught.
And once I get caught, I’ll have to deal with the consequences.
“Like, did he text you constantly, and were you guys sneaking around the last few days in costumes so no one recognized you? Or really him. Truly the both of you. You guys are everywhere.”
“No costumes,” I murmur with a slight shake of my head.
“He came over here, then, and hung out. That’s how you two got to know each other.”
Tate came over once. And I promptly kicked him out.
But I probably shouldn’t mention that.
I remain quiet for so long that Rachel eventually lets out a big sigh, her gaze shrewd when it lands on me.
“No offense, Scarlett, and you are my very best friend in the whole world, but I’m finding all of this hard to believe—the two of you together. That you’re totally into Tate Ramsey and want to be with him.”
“You said I should be into him. That he’s sexy and irresistible and I should have a total fling with him,” I point out.
“Right, but Iknowyou. And despite my telling you that Ian is a big ol’ loser who doesn’t deserve you, you’ve still given him chance after chance. You always told me you were in love with him, and now, boom, you’re with some other guy you don’t even really know? Come on, be real with me for a second. This isn’t like you. You were complaining about Tate the night of your party, and now you two are a couple? It’s more believable thatIhooked up with him versus you.” Rachel shakes her head. “I don’t believe it.”
“Rachel, please.” I lift my chin, trying to keep it from trembling. I’m on the verge of tears. Like I could collapse and confess my sins at any moment. “Are you calling me a... liar?”
“No, of course not! I just—you have to admit this is kind of wild.”
