Page 78 of The Facade

And there it was.

The truth.

Which I couldn’t really blame her for, could I? Since if I ever learned anything in my history class, it was that history usually repeated itself. And if you took a quick trip into my past, you’d find the same patterns repeated over and over again.

But how in the world could I convince Cambrielle that thisfeltdifferent to me this time—more real and more solid—when I couldn’t really explain it myself?

I didn’t know.

But I had to at least try.

So leaning a shoulder against the wall, I said, “I know my past isn’t exactly the best example of me being great at dating and relationships.” I peered cautiously into her eyes. “I’ve been living day to day for so long, it seems that thinking too far into the future just brings more anxiety than I can deal with.”

She nodded, looking like she understood but was also disappointed.

I reached for her hand. “But even though I’m not sure what my life will look like a year, or even a month from now, this thing we have—” I rubbed my thumb across her knuckles. “—whatever it is, it feels different than things I’ve had before, and I…” I sighed, thinking I was probably just messing this up even more the longer I spoke.

Because I was nervous.

So nervous because I’d never felt this way about a girl before.

Never wanted to consider trying to stick around for longer than a night or a weekend.

“And I don’t know,” I continued. “I think it would be nice to try something different for a change.” I dared meet her gaze, feeling my cheeks flush. “Maybe try to see if those rumors we have swirling around about us secretly dating could actually have something to them. See if everyone else knew what I was too blind to see.”

“Are you saying you aren’t going to forget about me in the morning?” she asked cautiously. “That you might actually like me?”

And the hope that I heard in her voice made me even more sure of my answer than I’d been a moment ago.

“I do, Cambrielle,” I whispered. “I think I might like you a lot.”

I was just leaning closer to kiss her and show her how I felt in a way that words couldn’t say, when headlights from a vehicle flashed from the front of the house.

“That must be Carter or Nash,” Cambrielle said, alarm filling her expression.

I looked down the drive. The headlights seemed higher—like they were on Carter’s truck. “It’s probably Carter,” I said, my heart-rate ramping up speed. Looking back to Cambrielle, I asked, “Ready for him to find out about our hot-tub rendezvous?”

“Oh no!” she yelped, putting her hands on her cheeks. “He can’t find out about that.” She shook her head as panic filled her expression. “He would…” She shook her head again. “Like, I don’t think he’d kill you, but I definitely don’t see that going over well.”

“So I’m guessing that’s my cue to slink off into the woods?” I asked.

“Yes, sorry.” She grabbed my arm and all but shoved me away from her. “I mean, I don’t regret what happened. Like at all.” She looked up at me. “But, like, you need to go. Now.”

The lights from Carter’s truck flashed on the trees just before he turned the corner to get to his garage. In the few seconds of time I had before he would catch us, I bent down, pressed a quick kiss to Cambrielle’s cheek, and said, “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Yes, tomorrow.” She nodded, pushing on my chest again. “Now go.”

Right before Carter’s truck lights could become a spotlight on me, I darted across the driveway and hid behind a bush.

By the time I had turned around to watch Carter’s garage door lifting, Cambrielle had disappeared inside.

Man, that was close,I thought, breathing hard.

Then once Carter’s truck was in the garage and the door had closed behind it, I wandered back through the woods to my house, thinking that tonight might have been the most exhilarating night I’d ever had.

And sneaking behind my best friends’ back to see their sister might be my new favorite activity.

25

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