Page 118 of One Night

Leah hops off the bed. "Let's get out of here."

"And go where?" I ask. "Nothing's open."

"Movie theaters are. So let's go. Why sit around here, moping and crying all day? We need to get out of here. And besides, we missed our Thanksgiving movie tradition." She smiles at me. "Except for Amber, who went without us and took her boyfriend."

I smile back. "That doesn't count. We didn't even stay for the movie."

"Because they wanted to hurry home so they could do it," Britt says, a smile creeping up her face.

"That's not why we left," I say, tossing a pillow at her. "We left because it was too crowded and we were stuck in the very front row."

"So what'd you guys do after you left?" Leah sits back down on the bed. "You never told us. Was Britt right? Did you guys do it?"

My face heats up. "Let's go. A movie sounds good. And let's get popcorn. The big bucket. We can each get our own."

"She totally did it," Leah says, nudging Britt.

"Totally." Britt smiles.

I didn't want to admit this to them, or talk about my love life at all, but it's getting their minds off Mom and Dad and making Britt smile, so what the hell?

"Okay, yeah, we did it," I admit. "He stayed at my place that night."

Britt's eyes widen. "Did you do it all night?"

I point at her. "You're way too young to know this stuff. Or talk about it."

"I'm 16, almost 17. My friends and I talk about this all the time. And I'm the only one who's not doing it."

"And you shouldn't," Leah says. "You're too young."

Britt rolls her eyes.

"So was that your first time with him?" Leah asks.

I never told them about my one-night stand and I'm not going to. They don't need to know.

"Yeah," I lie. "That was the first time. We didn't plan on it. It just happened." I look at Britt. "And we were careful. We used protection, which you should always do, even if you're on the pill."

"Seriously?" Britt rolls her eyes again. "Like I don't know this? They teach sex ed in like fourth grade now."

"I'm just reminding you," I tell her. "In the heat of the moment, it's easy to forget to use one. But don't. You have to be careful."

"How was it?" Leah grins. "The sex?"

"Good. And that's all I'm saying. I'm not telling you guys any more than that. It's private."

"Do you love him?" Britt asks.

I hesitate. "It's too soon to say."

"You've dated him for over a month," she says. "Wouldn't you know by now?"

I do know, but I'm not ready to admit it. And now, after finding out my parents are divorcing, I'm not even sure what love is. Maybe what I feel for Dylan isn't love, and if it is, I have zero faith it will last. We're too young. We haven't figured out what we want in life. We haven't known each other long enough.

I could come up with a million reasons why it can't be love that I feel for Dylan. And yet deep down, I know that it is.

Chapter Twenty-Four

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