Page 116 of Drama Queens Don't Fall For Charming Boys

“Who doesn’t?”

She laughs. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She gets out of the car, waves, then enters her house. Before she shuts the door, she looks at me. I look at her. Then she smiles, waves again, and goes inside.

I’m still thinking about her adorable smile—the one that lights up her face—as I drive to my apartment. I go to my room, plop down at my desk, and get started on my homework. I’ll need to finish everything and then tackle math. Something tells me I’ll be up for hours studying. I’m not looking to get the top grade, but I’d like to do well.

About an hour passes before the door opens and shuts. A few minutes after that, footsteps head to my room. I guess Chase is home.

He leans in my doorway, arms crossed over his chest, his hair falling into his eyes like mine always does.

“I know what you’re up to,” he says.

I give him an innocent look. “What?”

He makes a face like I’m BSing him. “Saw your car out front. Seems to be working perfectly.”

I roll my shoulders like I have no idea how that happened.

“Don’t play dumb. You tricked me into picking you up. You know, I was suspicious on Friday. What were the odds that Tori was at Mikey’s the same night we decided to go?”

“She always goes to Mikey’s on Fridays.”

“Hmm. So we just happened to go there at the exact same time she was there?”

“Looks like it.”

He steps into the room, dropping his hands. “I know when I’m being played, man. I’m not an idiot.”

I hold up my hands and sigh dramatically. “Fine. You’re right. We didn’t mean to butt into your love life, but you’re a moron. I’m sorry, but you are.”

“‘We?’ You dragged Mia into this?”

“Stop deflecting. It’s so obvious you and Tori like each other, so why aren’t you asking her out? She’s waiting for you to ask her, Chase!”

He crosses his arms again. “I don’t…I mean…”

“You see the way she looks at you. Same way she looked at you all those years ago. Like you’re special to her. It’s like time hasn’t passed. She still has feelings for you.”

He sighs. “It was a long time ago. We’re different people now. We can’t just pick up from where we left off like nothing happened.”

“Why are you so hesitant? I mean, people don’t really change that much, do they? She’s the same Tori I remember and you’re the same. Why can’t you guys try again?”

He puffs up his cheeks as he sits down on my bed. “We hurt each other. Well, I hurt her.”

I lift a brow.

He sighs again. “Before graduation, we thought about trying long distance, since neither of us wanted to break up. I was going to college far from home and she was going to New York City to try to make it on Broadway. We figured long distance was best for us. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I would hold her back. She would start over in New York. She’d live this glamorous life. Why should she be tied down to a boy from a small town in Alabama that no one even knows about? I was a nobody. She’d be in New York City, meeting so many people. So many guys. I didn’t want to hold her back, so I broke up with her.”

“Did you tell her why?”

He nods. “She refused to listen to me. She told me she wanted to be tied down to me. She didn’t want to break up. But I told her I already made my decision. I didn’t want her to resent me one day for holding her back. I told myself she’d be happier if she were free to date whoever she wanted without worrying about me. She told me she was part of the relationship and she also had a say in what happens to us. We fought over it. Next thing I knew, I told her…” He takes a deep breath. “I lied and told her I didn’t love her anymore.” He hangs his head. “It was a terrible thing to do, but I convinced myself it was the only way to sever ties with her. I honestly thought I was doing her a favor. We graduated and didn’t speak for years.”

“And then you found your old high school yearbook and called her.”

He nods again. “I hadn’t stopped thinking about her all these years and figured using the yearbook was an excuse to catch up with her. I was surprised she still had the same number and that she didn’t block me.”

“What happened today?”

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