“I’m not worried about it,” she retorted.
My speech was losing its punch, and I was pretty sure I was about to be the one to get punched. “If you’re not worried about it, that’s great. Because you’re young and have your entire life ahead of you. Don’t bend it to fit around a boy who doesn’t give you the time that you deserve.”
She reached halfway to her purse then stopped herself.
“You don’t have to be anyone’s doormat,” I said quietly. Several truck engines revved at that same time, so I wasn’t actually sure if she heard me or not.
“Do you think it’s different if he’s older? Maybe he is just more mature.”
Tapping my finger against my knee rhythmically, I took a calming breath before I answered her. “How much older?”
“Only a few years.”
I took a deep breath in through my nose. I could either ruin this and push her more toward this mystery boyfriend she was trying to hide, or I could come up with something wise and convincing and try to get her to break up with him. I could have really used Riley’s help right about then.
“Does he only have eyes for you when you’re in a group?”
“Erm...”
“Does he text you throughout the day?”
She glanced down at her purse, not bothering to answer me.
“Does he plan the next time to hang out with you? Does he introduce you to all of his friends as his girlfriend?”
She shifted.
“You’re almost an adult; this is a decision you make, but don’t settle for mediocre. It’s better to be happily single than miserably attached.”
“What if I’m the only one who’s single in my class?”
“Who cares? The only people who will give you a hard time for being single are insecure people. You definitely don’t want to be one of those.”
She nodded. “That’s true.”
“Give it a thought, at least. Oh, holy—did you see that truck get hit?”
We turned our attention toward the mudding field. A small pickup had been t-boned by one twice its size.
“Isn’t this great?”
“I thought this was a mudding event, not a demolition derby!”
“Accidents happen.”
I still couldn’t spot Riley, and Marni and Dean were long gone. I wouldn’t put it past those two to be out there testing out their truck’s four-wheel drive.
I pulled my phone out.
Nate: You need to talk to Dad.
Nola: What? What’s going on?
Nate: You need to ask Dad about Riley.
Nola: Dad’s not dying?
Nate: NO! Why would you think that???
Nola: Nvm. Why should I talk to him about Riley?
Nate: Everything isn’t like it seems, and you and I have been jerks.
Chapter ElevenRiley
I’d overheard him warning Wren about boys. I didn’t think I could like him more—until now. He was everything good and kind in the world. Trying to protect Wren, always protecting me—even from myself. He didn’t know I was standing right below the bleachers, close to where they sat chatting.
Luckily, the bleachers weren’t very tall, so it had been easy to eavesdrop underneath them. I juggled my armloads of fries and cheesy nachos as I climbed the steps. We sat four rows up.
Nate smiled at me, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. I passed Wren the fries and Nate the pretzel. I kept the nachos for myself.
Guilty pleasure. Plastic cheese on stale chips.
I sat down next to Nate.
“Do people ever get hurt at these things?” Nate asked as he reached over to steal a chip from me.
“No, never.”
“Then why is there an ambulance down there with a bunch of paramedics looking like kids in a candy shop?”
I glanced at the group of buff guys watching, “They’re just there for me to admire.”
A large hand covered my eyes.
Wren piped up, “Don’t believe her, Nate. She’s never actually been to a mudding event before. Usually, she’s too busy. I guess we should have asked you to come with us a long time ago. That must be the trick to getting her to come with us.”
I blindly picked up a cheesy chip, Nate’s hand still obscuring the beautiful scenery.
The cheese smeared across my upper lip as I tried to eat the chip. Nate moved his hand and dropped a thumb to my lips, gently rubbing off the cheese. His strong finger rubbing against my soft lips shot sparks down my spine. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from his.
A loud crunch brought our attention back to the pit below.
“Did that truck just split in two? Is that even possible?” Wren asked.
I felt Nate’s eyes burning into my skin and had to force myself not to look at him.
Marni and Dean made their way up the bleachers and sat down next to me. It was a surprisingly good time, and I discovered that there wasn’t anywhere I’d rather be than at that mudding event, sitting next to Nate and enjoying friends’ company.
When it was time to leave, we got separated in the crowd as everyone walked back to their own cars. Wren and I walked ahead of Marni and Dean, and Nate brought up the rear.
Wren leaned close to me so that I could hear her and said, “I might have over shared.”
“About what? To who?” I asked, the nachos settling heavily in my stomach.
“Nate. I might have mentioned something about his dad.”
“Wren!” My outburst surprised even me. “Why would you say that?”
“I’m sorry!” she wailed. “He was just so easy to talk to; it slipped on out.”
I stamped forward, regretting that I hadn’t brought my car. I’d wanted to make Nate uncomfortable cramming into a pickup truck with strangers. Instead, he owned it. And now I would be uncomfortable, knowing he knew.
Dean and Marni strolled toward us, hand in hand. “Hey there! Everyone ready to go?”
We piled into the truck, except this time, I made Wren sit on top of me. I wasn’t sure Nate would want to be touching me after he found out how I’d taken advantage of his dad. He deserved
