Page 33 of In Too Deep

“Your mom is going to get mad if you fall asleep on the phone again.” He’s fallen asleep with me on the phone every night since our nightly conversations started. Every night, I fall asleep to the sound of his even breathing. Every morning, his mother comes in his room furious he kept the line tied up all night.

“I don’t care. I like falling asleep knowing you’re there.” I want to tell him I like it too, but I stay silent, feeling guilty for even having the thought. “Hey, Cat?”

“Yeah?”

“I think I’m going to break up with Caroline.”

“Why?” I ask, panic seeping into my high-pitched tone.

“Because I’d rather spend the night watching a movie with you than talking to my girlfriend. I think that should tell me something.” My mouth goes dry as I sit up in bed. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know…don’t you think that would cause a problem with us being friends?”

Caroline is my best friend, yet here I am, only worried about what the end of her relationship means for me. I should probably be trying to talk him out of breaking up with her. But I know she’s still pining after Andrew. She doesn’t really care about Lawrence. Not the way I do.

“How so?” he asks.

“What if I’m not allowed to keep being your friend? You know girl code and all that jazz.”

“Not allowed? Screw that. Nothing or no one is going to keep me from you. Got it?”

I nod, even though he can’t see me. “Yeah…” I breathe.

“It will probably get a little complicated, though. I wish I’d never asked her out. She wasn’t the person I really wanted to ask.”

My breath stills, the line going dead silent as I try to convince myself he isn’t saying what I think he’s saying. He can’t be.

When I hear him yawn again, I pretend to do the same, even though the thundering of my heart has me feeling wide awake. “I think we should get some sleep.”

“Okay…” he says through another yawn. “But don’t hang up.”

I sigh. “All right. You’re the one who is going to get in trouble. Good night, Lawrence.”

“Good night, Cat.”

20

Lawrence

We’re all a little quiet as we walk into the movie theater, filing down the dark aisle one by one. Right after Cat broke things off with Robbie, Caroline and I decided together to end our relationship. We all know it’s Andrew she wants to date, not me. Even though it’s been over a month, things are still awkward with our little foursome. Robbie watches me like a hawk around Cat, and she seems to avoid me as much as possible around Caroline. But every night, she’s mine.

At this point, I’m trying to bide my time until I can be honest about my feelings for Cat. Dating her is not an option yet. Robbie is still clinging to the hope she’ll take him back, and I know Cat would worry about upsetting him and Caroline. She has feelings for me too, though. I’m certain of it.

Robbie heads down a row of seats, followed by Cat, then Caroline, leaving me on the end. I hate that Cat will be sitting next to Robbie, even more that Caroline will be sitting between us, but I don’t dare say a word.

As soon as the open credits begin to roll, Caroline taps on my shoulder, and I lean over. “Will you switch seats with me? I like to be on the end.”

I nod and try to keep the excitement off my face, standing to allow Caroline to scoot past me. Cat watches me with cautious eyes as I slide into the seat next to her. “Hi,” I whisper.

Her lips twitch as she tries to hold back her smile. “Hi. What are you doing?”

“Caroline wanted to switch seats.”

She makes an oh face then turns her attention back to the movie. A few seconds later, her smile makes an official appearance as she briefly looks at me out of the corner of her eye. Once she’s focused on the movie, my gaze falls to her arm on the armrest next to me.

My breathing is labored as I rest my arm next to hers, pretending to be watching the movie playing in front of us. She jerks slightly when our arms touch, but she doesn’t pull away. My palm is sweaty as my hand moves closer to hers, my pinky hooking around hers as I hold my breath.

Her eyes shoot over to mine, and even in the dark light, I can see her cheeks turn red. She curls her fingers as her gaze slides back to the screen, holding onto my pinky. It’s not holding hands, but it’s one step closer.

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