Page 39 of The First Love Myth

“It’s not that. I want to meet your mom in a situation that’s going to be less stressful for you.” Evie pulls at her cuticles, something I’ve never seen her do. “Zoey. Your mom. Liz’s new life. And me. It seems like a lot.”

“Okay.” Her reasoning sort of makes sense, but it still feels like she’s stalling. “Well, my mom’s been pestering me to come for a visit. What if I can get her to fly out for the weekend?”

I’m not sure why I say it or where this sudden urge to push comes from. But Liz’s invite was addressed to the both of us, andin that moment, I decided. On Evie. On letting her all the way in. On introducing her to my mom. All of it.

“I’m going home this weekend,” Evie says, still not looking at me.

I swallow my pride and nudge Evie’s chin until her eyes meet mine. “Do you want me to come with you?”

Evie’s eyes widen, and her shoulders stiffen. I’ve surprised her. Good. We’re in uncharted territory, and now she knows it for certain. There’s a joy in this moment but also turbulence. She didn’t expect me to offer to go with her. She didn’t even mention it, and I realize, maybe too late, that Evie might never have told me about her trip home if not for this conversation. We don’t spend every weekend together. In fact, with my open-house schedule, we don’t spend most weekends together. How often has she gone home without me knowing? Her family knows about me, in the same way that my mother and Liz knew of my girlfriend, but Evie’s never invited me home. Not once. A fact that I appreciated since we never had to havethatconversation, but now, it seems intentional.

“I...” Evie swallows and then starts again. “I don’t think that’s the best idea.”

The words sit in the space between us, heavy and suspicious and laden with doubts. I take a breath to steel my nerves. I’ve been here before, and this tentative distance only ever leads to one outcome. Foolishly, I never expected it from Evie.

“What’s going on here?”

She looks at me then, her eyes bright and wide, searching. I barely blink as the seconds drag on. What is she deciding?

“My grandmother is going to be there,” Evie says finally. “And she doesn’t know...”

I straighten. We’ve had this conversation. We have to have had this conversation. There’s no way we got past the first date without being clear that we were both far from closeted.

“Your grandmother doesn’t know or your whole family?”

“My grandmother. She’s like ridiculously religious and old, and my mom didn’t want me to tell her when I first came out.” She reaches for my hand, and I let her take it. Her touch is gentle, tentative, and the vulnerability in it sends a shiver up my arm. “It sucked after getting up the courage to tell my parents, but it never mattered because I never had someone I wanted to bring home. And then I did, but you would never have come. I wasn’t expecting... It can’t be this weekend but soon, I promise. Okay?”

I cup her face with both hands and bring my lips down to hers. Understanding and compassion and love mingle in my veins. This is real. This islove.

“Yes,” I whisper. “That’s more than okay.”

Chapter 33

Zoey

Max clicks the stop button on the timer. Surprise colors his face as he holds the stopwatch out to me. It’s an impressive mile time and a huge improvement for Millie since the start of summer. Between me and Max, we might be able to mold Millie into Ardena’s next star.

I lean back against the fence. We’ve been watching the freshmen and sophomores run all day, event after event. This is the part of the summer where we identify those who can use extra training, who can move onto the varsity squad before their time. It’s time to find the next Zoey Reid—at least that’s how Max put it, a goofy grin wrinkling his brow.

I motion to the stopwatch. “Your diamond in the rough.”

Max laughs, and he’s so close that I feel his arm shake against mine. He looks down at me. And I swear there’s a spark of excitement in his gaze that isn’t related to the timer. There’s a softness as he takes me in—loose ponytail and red cheeks from the number of races I’ve run today to challenge the varsity hopefuls.

He tucks the strand of hair that blows across my face behind my ear, but his touch doesn’t linger. “Think you can get her to break your time?”

My time has already been broken. That’s the way it is with state records. There’s always someone, somewhere faster. It’s hard to hold on to records for long. But I still have one of thefastest times in state history and hold all the section, county, and school titles. Seeing someone break them will be bittersweet, but if I get to pick who it would be, Millie is my choice.

I glance at the timer again. It’s still far off. “Not by the end of summer, but I bet you can get her there before States.” I look up at him, narrowing my eyes. “Don’t rush her. Even getting close in the next few years will get her the scholarship she needs to get out of Ardena.”

“Always thinking ahead, Zee.”

My lips quirk in a half smile. That nickname. “Iaman Ardena Heat success story.”

“Yes, you are, Superstar.”

“Former superstar,” I correct. I haven’t matched my record-setting time in quite a while.

His brow furrows. “Why aren’t you running at Bellewood?”

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