Page 71 of The Facade

“Because I don’t want to kiss Harden. I want to kiss Mack.”

Nash lowered his head, giving it a little shake of defeat. “Well, just try not to get your heart broken, okay?”

“I’ll do my best.”

He glanced around the empty corridor, as if he wasn’t sure what to do now that he hadn’t talked me out of wanting to kiss one of his best friends.

I wanted to end things on a slightly better note than we’d started on, so I looked at my brother who probably only had the best of intentions in all of this and said, “Since you’re already out here, would you mind walking me to my car so I don’t get kidnapped by any of the ghosts entering the human realm tonight?”

“Sure.” He chuckled and put an arm around my shoulder. “If I can’t keep you from all the guys with flesh and bones and raging hormones at our school, at least I can keep you safe from the ghosts.”

Nash made sure I made it to the safety of my Mercedes. After locking the doors and watching him walk back into the dormitory to finish the scary movie, I pulled my phone out of my pocket to text Mack before I lost my nerve.

Me:You still interested in showing me that final technique for distracting myself from unpleasant thoughts?

His text came through almost immediately.

Mack:Yes.

My heart fluttered.

Me:Is your hot tub still hooked up?

Him:It is…

My hands shook a little as I typed out my next text, knowing that I was setting myself up to possibly be hurt like Nash had said.

But since I was tired of playing the waiting game and waiting for the universe to just make things happen for me, I sent the next message.

Meet me there in fifteen minutes?

I held my breath as I waited for his response, my heart pounding so hard against my ribs.

If he says no, at least it’s through a text and not to your face.

My phone vibrated in my hands a few seconds later. I was so anxious that I dropped it in the cup holder in the console beside me.

I quickly snatched it back up and read the words that would have made my middle-school self think she’d died and gone to heaven.

Mack:Just use the gate to get to the backyard. I’ll be waiting.

22

Mack

I’d beenin the middle of getting ready for bed, thinking I might actually fall asleep soon, when Cambrielle’s first text came through. But as soon as I saw that she was inviting me to spend time together in the hot tub, I was back to being wide awake.

So awake in fact that it felt like I’d just chugged down several energy drinks.

And as soon as I saw the wordshot tub, I dug through my drawers, looking for the right pair of swim shorts for the moment.

It probably didn’t matter which pair I wore, since they were all basically the same and they’d be under the water most of the time, but it just seemed like it should matter. This moment could be important enough to warrant extra care in what I wore.

Because it felt different than the other times I’d planned to meet up with a girl. More important.

Because I cared about Cambrielle and wanted whatever happened between us tonight to be the start of something special and not the end.

And the fact that I actuallycaredabout how tonight went told me that this really might be different with Cambrielle.

---