Page 26 of Bad Boys Don’t Date Clumsy Girls

Joel shakes his head. “They just want to move out.”

“Exactly. It’s normal. Don’t feel guilty.” I dip my head until I’m in Joel’s line of sight as he stares moodily down at the floor. “Hey, you can make up for it by inviting me over. A lot.”

He laughs. “You sure you want to sacrifice time at Sam’s to hang out with me?”

I lift my hands. “See? Between the two of you, I’ll rarely have to be here anyway.”

“You’ll let me know if it gets worse, right?”

I roll my eyes. “How could it get worse?”

Joel’s expression grows stormy. “Too many ways, Ava. But don’t think you have to keep it to yourself or that you are bothering me with it. Got it?”

Unexpected tears burn behind my eyes. My voice feels trapped inside my throat, so I can only nod.

“Need any other help with your homework?”

“No thanks, it was just that last problem I couldn’t figure out.”

“Okay. I’m beat. I’m going to bed.”

After Joel pulls my door closed, I pack my homework into my backpack. Seeing the cover of the algebra textbook, as I slide it into the pack, reminds me of the notes I found in Teresa’s book about Dylan.

I change into my pajamas, while I consider what I read. Again, I try to recall whether I heard that Teresa and Dylan were dating or if I’ve seen them together and assumed it. But I can’t even remember seeing Dylan before. We’ve always gone to school together, so I’ve clearly seen him around, but nothing stands out like seeing him with that sophomore, the other day, does. That image is clear in my head. Probably because we volunteer together now. It gives me a reason to remember. I wonder if I’ve always seen him around, but never made note of it because I had no reason to care?

I snatch my phone from the bed and open the text string with Sam and Bek.

Me: Do either of you know if Dylan dated Teresa Walberg?

Bek: No idea. He’s sweet though. And she isn’t.

I squint at the message. Is Bek messing with me? It’s always so hard to tell with my space cadet friend.

Sam: Why?

Sam: OMG – you are NOT starting to like him. Are you?

Me: What? NO!!!

Me: I had to borrow Teresa’s math book today and she had a bunch of stuff written about him. Some of it was XXX-rated.

Sam: [wide eye emoji] Do tell!

Me: There’s no way I’m typing that kind of stuff out.

Bek: According to Sarah W, they never dated.

Sam: Why do you text with the school gossip?

Bek: Class project.

Me: Thanks for checking. That’s even more interesting. Why would Teresa know the size of Dylan’s manhood if she’s never dated him?

Sam: [three wide-eye emojis] [three laughing/crying emojis]

Bek: She probably wants to know. She has a crush. Like you.

Me: I don’t have a crush! Don’t even say that!

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