Page 37 of The Facade

I rolled my bottom lip between my teeth before saying, “I guess I wasn’t expecting you to laugh so much over the possibility of us ever dating.”

“Oh.” She said the word slowly, like she hadn’t considered it.

Which of course she hadn’t.

We had only ever been friends.

Sure, I’d known about her crush on me in middle school. And yes, I teased Carter all the time about taking her out. But I had never once been serious about following through with that threat.

I’d only ever seen Cambrielle as a friend.

But if I only saw her as a friend, why was my heart suddenly beating so fast right now? Why was I noticing how smooth her skin was and wondering what it would feel like to run my thumb across her cheek?

Why was I noticing how soft and full her raspberry-colored lips looked and wondering what they would taste like?

Our eyes locked, and I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath until she slowly relaxed her grip on my arm and pulled her hand away.

Did she know I was thinking about kissing her?

And did that thought scare her?

Her eyebrows knitted together. “Us secretly dating is a crazy idea, right?” she asked, her eyes darting between mine, like she was worried I might actually be considering something like it.

And since I wasn’t—at least I didn’tthinkI was interested in dating Cambrielle—I blinked, gave my foggy head a slight shake, and said, “Of course that would be crazy. We would never do anything like that.” I swallowed. “Y-you like Ben and I, uh, I’m still waiting for Ariana Grande to show up on my doorstep.”

“Right.” She leaned back and narrowed her eyes at me, as if she wasn’t sure she believed what I was saying.

“Anyway.” I cleared my throat. “It’s getting late and we have school in the morning, so I better let you get to bed.”

“Good idea.” She scooted back toward the left side of the bed where she usually slept while I climbed under the covers on the twin-sized trundle bed below.

She used a remote to switch off the twinkle lights above our heads, and after rustling around on her bed to get comfortable, she said, “Goodnight, Mack. I hope you can get some sleep tonight.”

I sighed, letting my body relax into the mattress and pillow. “Goodnight, Cambrielle. Thanks again for letting me stay in here.”

11

Cambrielle

I wokeup early Wednesday morning and Mack had somehow slipped out of my room without me noticing. I showered and got ready, and when I didn’t see him downstairs at breakfast, I started to get a little worried.

I brought my savory crepes to the table. “Have you seen Mack yet today?” I asked Carter who was just finishing up breakfast.

“Yeah,” he said after swallowing his bite of food. “He said his dad texted him that they’d be back this afternoon. I think he decided to take his stuff home before school so he could just spend time with his parents after school today.”

“Oh.”

Carter took a sip from his water then picked up his plate to take back to the sink. “I think he’s planning to spend more time at home over the next month. Get as much time with his mom as he can.”

“Makes sense.” I nodded.

“Anyway, I’m gonna head to school. Ava wanted me to help her review for our Stats test before school.”

I considered pulling a Nash and asking Carter if his study session was code for a make-out session, but instead of doing that, I just asked, “Things still going well there?”

And the smile that he got on his face at my mention of his new relationship told me everything I needed to know. He was smitten. Happier than he’d been in a long time.

“Things are great. Ava keeps me on my toes, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

---