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“Even? For what?”
“You’ve kept my secret, and I’ve kept yours,” she said.
Right. Her secret. I was the only person in the world who knew what had really happened the night her brother, Charlie, ran away. I knew that Sha
“Do you . . . did Charlie ever . . . ?”
“Come home?” Sha
So that made two secrets I now knew.
“Where is he?” I asked.
“Arizona. Eric Toricelli went to school out there, so he’s crashing with him, taking classes and working,” Sha
“I know,” I said. “I know how to keep a secret, Sha
Sha
“Ladies! Are you waiting for an engraved invitation?” Coach shouted at us. “Let’s go!”
We turned together and walked toward the opposite end of the gym. For the first time since I’d been back, I felt comfortable being in the same room with Sha
It wasn’t much, but I would take it.
jake
I used to think there was nothing worse than having my mom’s voice pop into my head when I was hooking up with a girl. But I was wrong. There is something worse. It’s when I’m hooking up with a girl and my mom’s voice and Ally’s voice and the voice of my stupid fucking SAT tutor all pop into my head at the same time.
“Jake? What’s wrong?” Lisa Freckles asked as I pulled away for the fifth time. Her name wasn’t really Lisa Freckles. It was just that I couldn’t ever remember her last name, and she had lots of freckles on her shoulders.
“Nothing,” I said.
“Good.” She smiled. She had a nice smile, especially now that she’d gotten her braces off. “Then come back.”
She pulled me to her and kissed me. All around us my friends were partying like the rock stars they thought they were. It was Chloe’s seventeenth birthday, and her parents had rented out the entire Houston Hotel in New York. We all had rooms to go back to after the party so we could drink as much as we wanted and they wouldn’t have to worry about us getting home.
Yeah. That was Chloe’s dad for you. If he’d lost some of his money with Ally’s father like everyone else had, he probably still would have found a way to throw this party. Chloe was the center of his universe, or so he was always telling her. It was just too bad that Chloe was freezing Ally out even though her family hadn’t been affected. Because otherwise Ally would be here and maybe I could be making out with her instead of Lisa Freckles. Except that Ally would be making out with David Drake. Was that what they were doing right now? Hooking up at some party? Dorkus Drake got to kiss Ally Ryan whenever he wanted. In what universe was that okay?
And now I was thinking about her again. Sonafabitch. I pressed Lisa Freckles back into the couch, trying to concentrate on her and only her. She was a cool girl. We’d gone to a concert together last summer and actually had fun. She deserved some concentration.
Conflagration is to fire as tsunami is to what? my SAT tutor said in my ear.
I kissed her harder, trying to shut out the voice. Lisa moaned a little.
Kissing Lisa Freckles is to kissing Ally Ryan as what is to what? Ally’s voice teased.
I shoved my fingers into Lisa’s hair.
You have to break thirteen hundred this time, Jake. Fordham does not accept scores beneath thirteen hundred, my mom snapped.
I pulled away again, faked a cough, and grabbed my drink, downing half of it in one gulp. It didn’t stop the voices. And Lisa was tugging on my shirt. I took a deep breath and sighed. This was going to be a very long night.
A peal of familiar laughter caught my attention, and Sha
“This is the best birthday ever!” she cheered, throwing her arms up. Champagne sloshed over the rim of her glass onto my leg. There’s a reason Chloe hardly ever drinks. She gets sloppy and loud.
“You know it!” Sha
“Oh, but I wish Ally was here.” Chloe stuck out her bottom lip and leaned her head on my shoulder. My heart skipped at the mention of Ally. I shot Lisa a look of apology for the interruption. She sat up straighter and smoothed her hair.
“You so do not!” Faith countered, shoving Chloe’s knee. “We hate Ally.”
“Exactly,” Sha
“Yeah, but . . . don’t you feel kinda bad for her?” Chloe said, blinking rapidly. “I mean, she lives in a condo, her mom’s all depressed, and her dad’s, like, a waiter . . . ” She sipped her champagne. “It’s just sad.”
Sha
“Wait. What?” Sha
“Her dad’s a what?” Faith added.
Chloe’s hand flew to her mouth. She looked at me, wide-eyed.
“I thought no one knew where her dad was,” Sha
“I don’t. I mean, they don’t. No one does.” Chloe got up, steadied herself on her high heels, and looked around. “Where’s my cake? I want my cake now. Mom!?” She waved her hands over her head, trying to get her mother’s attention from across the room. Her mother looked over disapprovingly.
Sha
“No.” Chloe shook her head.
“Yes, you do. You said he’s a waiter,” Sha
Chloe hesitated. “I can’t talk about this.”
“Chloe—”
“No. It’s my birthday, and I don’t have to talk about this if I don’t want to.”
At that moment, Chloe’s parents arrived. Chloe looked up at her tall, broad, seriously intimidating father.
“Can we do the cake now?” she pleaded.
“Of course! You’re the birthday girl!” he said in a booming voice.
As her parents whisked her away, Sha
“Sha
“What?” Her eyes flashed angrily. “No, Jake, you don’t understand. This is huge.”
I’ll bet. And I had a feeling that whatever Sha