Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 100612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100612 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
It’s not long before she lowers her phone and tucks it into the waistband of her skirt, meandering through the supplies and back in our direction.
“Okay, I’ve got enough footage.” She clicks her tongue. “Thanks for letting me crash your work session. I’ll be sure to give you guys a shout-out.”
Harper shakes her head. No.
She does not want a shout-out.
She really is adorable when she’s bent out of shape, and—Wait, why am I thinking about Harper right now? Maddie is right here.
Focus.
“Uh. Thanks.” I’m relieved she’s done filming so we can go back to fixing my fuckup.
“ ’Kay. Well. See ya.”
Maddie turns with a flounce—as if she knows I’m watching her departure, tossing her hair one last time for good measure, squeaking toward the exit.
The doors part as if by magic.
And then she’s gone.
The doors slam closed.
I exhale.
“You might want to pay more attention to what’s in front of you next time,” Harper says quietly, raising the tweezers again, expression unreadable.
I wince. I may be clueless, but I know she’s not just talking about glue.
“Harper, I—”
“Don’t talk to me.” She cuts me off, shaking her head and raising her hand. “I should make you do this.”
I nod, swallowing hard. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
She scowls.
It makes no sense; I did nothing to earn her ire. Not really. I haven’t committed a crime by looking at someone I have a crush on—it’s not my freaking fault that I got distracted when Maddie walked into the gym. So did a dozen other people! And Harper is the one who insisted we keep things platonic anyway. She knows I’m into Maddie—that my feelings for her are what got me into this mess to begin with.
Maddie said she was she was going to show up, and she did. She kept her word, period.
Harper needs to chill the fuck out.
She might like kissing me, but after today, it’s clear she doesn’t like me.
I should know.
The fact that she’s staring daggers at me right now says it all.
Chapter 25
Harper
Are you mad at me?
Lying flat on my back, I stare at the text from Easton, homework forgotten the moment his name popped up on my screen.
Things were going so well before Maddie showed up. We were joking around, teasing each other—flirting, even—and though we were accidentally glued together, it had been kind of fun.
Leave it to me to imagine that Easton and I were moving toward something more than just being…whatever we are. Friends? People who make out in their cars or their mom’s shed when no one’s watching?
But then Maddie walked in.
Her presence turned everything sour in an instant—for me, anyway.
I cannot forget the way she looked at me, as if I were a loser peasant with no business speaking to Easton—WHO, BY THE WAY, she barely speaks to or even acknowledges at school! Why now?
Why today?!
I type out a response to his text and then delete it.
Type again.
Delete.
“Ugh. Say something, Harper.”
My thoughts are a tangled mess of frustration and embarrassment. Why does Maddie matter? She doesn’t even like Easton. Not really—not the way I like him.
That’s exactly why you had to stop kissing him.
If I had any doubts about my decision, they’re gone now. The problem is, Easton is a guy who doesn’t realize Maddie is probably flirting ’cause she’s bored. She likes a challenge. Maybe she even wants to date down and he’s just another prop in her carefully curated life.
Am I mad?
No.
Not at him.
I’m mad at myself for falling into like with someone unavailable to like in the first place.
I text him back.
Me: Maybe I’m a little mad. But not at you.
It takes a moment before the bubbles appear again. I stare at the screen, my heart doing that stupid thing where it races whenever I see or hear his name. Stupid, traitorous heart…
Easton: Could have fooled me.
Okay, so he’s not entirely clueless.
Granted, I was acting like a B in the gym after you-know-who left, but it’s not like I could help it. I was frazzled! Shook! Jealous!
Easton: Who are you mad at, then?
I bite my lip, debating whether to tell him the truth or change the subject, like it’s nothing. But it doesn’t feel like nothing. On the other hand, I don’t want to involve him in girl drama. Guys hate that crap; it’s so different from guy drama.
Me: Maddie.
There! It’s out.
Let him figure out what that one word means!
Easton: Why?
Briefly I remind myself, Harper, he is a guy. Guys don’t understand jealously and stuff. He’s basically a baby with no understanding of how the world works and doesn’t get that Maddie is only speaking to him because it’s a challenge now that he’s giving me attention.
She sees me as a challenge. I feel it in my bones.
Could that be the truth?
I ponder this as I figure out a way to respond to him.