kneecaps. âLiv, you know how much I love you.â
And I know what heâs asking, but I just canât say yes.
âThen, tell them,â I say. âStand on the coffee table, and tell the whole party how much you love me. Tell them you are so sorry being on the football team made you forget that.â
He hangs his head. âI canât.â
âThatâs what I thought.â
âBut we couldââ
âWe could what? Have a relationship on the DL? Keep me as your dirty little secret? Your friends may think thatâs all Iâm good for, but I know Iâm better than that.â
He opens his mouth and closes it. Opens it again. âIâm sorry,â he says.
I remember when I was little and pretty much anything could be fixed by those two magic words. Itâs too bad weâre not little anymore. âIâm sorry too.â
âSo, this is it for us then?â
âYes.â I didnât realize one little word could hurt so much. âMaybe you could call me when you graduate, though.â
âYeah. Yeah, okay.â
He walks out of the laundry room utterly defeated. I put my head in my hands and cry. I made the right decision, didnât I? I donât deserve to be called a slut. Or to be someoneâs secret, on-the-side girl. So, why do I feel so horrible right now?
âHey,â says a deep voice.
I jump. I didnât realize I wasnât alone. Itâs that guy Rey from earlier.
âOh, um, hi.â Crying in front of a total stranger. Exactly how I want to spend my Friday night. Rey must have noticed too because he winds his big fingers together in supreme discomfort.
âHeâs really torn up about having to break up with you,â he finally says.
âYeah? Well then, maybe he shouldnât have done it,â I snap. And then I feel guilty because this guy doesnât seem like the ones that were talking about me. âSorry.â
He shrugs. âItâs okay. From what your friend was saying, it sounds like youâre pretty torn up too.â
Remind me to have a chat with Peyton about sharing my feelings with football players.
âYou need to know, he didnât want to do it,â Rey says. âHe felt like he didnât have a choice.â
I frown. âBut he did have a choice. He could have picked me. He could have told them no.â
âIf you saw the email, it might not seem like such an easy decision to you either.â
âWhat email?â Thereâs an email? Hopefully, one that will explain why my life sucks so much right now.
âI shouldnât be talking about this.â He pauses, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. âLetâs just say you werenât the only girl this happened to. There may have been . . . a list.â
âAre you kidding me?â A spark of anger sizzles through me, effectively cauterizing my tears.
His face is kind, but serious too. âI shouldnât have said anything, but Trevorâs my friend. You canât tell anyone.â
âYou have to forward it to me.â
âI canât do that.â
âDo the other girls even know the football team made their boyfriends dump them, or do they think their broken hearts are just a coincidence?â
âI donât know,â he says in a way that makes me think the other girls have no idea.
âThis is ridiculous.â
I jump off the dryer. Worry flashes in his warm brown eyes.
âWhere are you going?â
I put a hand on his shoulder, stretching to reach it because he towers over me. âDonât worry. Iâm not going to tell anyone you told me.â
But that doesnât mean Iâm not going to tell anyone.
UNCORRECTED E-PROOFâNOT FOR SALE
HarperCollins Publishers
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Saturday, August 15
MELANIE JANE
âA re you serious right now?!â I