Page 57 of The Play

ME: Did you see Nico there?

HER: No. Was he there?

ME: Maybe? Someone says they saw him.

HER: Hmmm. Well I did leave kinda early, like around 11. Do you know what time he got there?

ME: No clue. But just to be clear, you didn’t see him when you were there?

HER: Nope.

I bite my lip. All right. So he wasn’t with Pippa. That doesn’t mean anything.

PIPPA: What’s going on, D?

ME: Call me?

She calls less than five seconds later. I carry my cracker and cheese plate upstairs to my bedroom, balancing the phone on my shoulder. “Do you think Nico’s cheating on me?” I demand in lieu of hello.

“Cheating on you? Is that a joke?”

“No. Someone saw him in a compromising position with another girl at the party.”

Pippa laughs. “Bullshit.”

A tiny sliver of hope pierces into me. “You think so?”

“I know so. Come on, babe. That boy isobsessedwith you.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s not cheating.”

“Trust me, there’s no way he would do anything to jeopardizeyour relationship. He’s constantly going on and on about how you guys are going to get married someday. I can’t see him throwing everything away for some random hook-up.”

I can’t, either. And, she’s right. Nico does have the tendency to boast about the amazing future we’re going to have. Why would he be planning a future with me if he’s hooking up with other women?

“Who told you about this?” Pippa asks.

“Hunter,” I confess.

“The hockey player?”

“Yes. He was at the party and he saw Nico leaving one of the upstairs bedrooms with a girl. Apparently he was zipping up his pants.”

A brief silence meets my ear. Then Pippa says, “No. I still don’t buy it.”

“You don’t?” The hope in my chest grows, joined by a rush of relief. “So, what, you think Hunter is lying?”

“Probably.”

“What’s his motivation to lie?”

“I bet he wants in your pants.”

“We’re just friends,” I say. And I can’t stop picturing the tortured expression on his face when he told me what he saw. It’s obvious he didn’t want to say anything.

Or…he could’ve been putting on an act, pretending that it pained himso muchto tell me, but really it was all a plot to, as Pippa said, get in my pants. I mean, Hunter fully admitted to having a sexual fantasy about me once.Andhe’s a self-proclaimed former manwhore. Why should I trust anything he has to say about women and relationships?

On the flip side, I’ve known Nico since I was eight years old. He’s my best friend.

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