Page 59 of Sincerely, Your Enemy

“Could be anything. Serial killer with a thing for teenage girls, maybe? Or they could all be runaways.”

“Doubt it. He said she was the third this month. That’s a whole lot of runaways,” Dia points out.

She’s right. It would be a weird coincidence for so many girls in the same age range to just up and leave simultaneously.

I make a mental note to keep a close eye on Sierra just in case, and Dia mutes the radio to order the coffee.

We’re exiting the drive-through fifteen minutes later. Getting coffee with the girls after school sounded like a good idea until I realized I could barely sleep these days, and that’swithoutcaffeine. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the clusterfuck that was my date with Aaron.

From making out with TJ in the locker room, to Chance nearly walking in on us, to having to do the walk of shame back to my table and finish my date with Aaron—all the while, TJ was watching us like a hawk from behind the bar.

I did everything in my power to act normal, but I was still a mess over what had just happened, something Aaron definitely noticed because he asked me if I was okay three times.

Are you sure you’re okay? You look a little flushed.

I then proceeded to eat two bites of my meal and cut the evening short under the pretense that I was tired and had class early in the morning.

Lame move, I know.

Aaron hasn’t texted me since, and that’s a relief. I think he got the message from our first two dates ending early. TJ texted me the next day, asking when our next lesson was going to be. I haven’t answered him yet.

Might be a reckless decision on my end, seeing as he lost his shit the first time I went silent on him. In my defense, he was such an unpleasant dick that night. An infuriatingly sexy one, but still. And I don’t like the way that kiss made me feel.

So… powerless and needy.

And I certainly don’t like the flashbacks I’ve been getting of that wicked smile on his face while he was playing with my?—

“Chance told Finn something crazy yesterday.” Dia’s comment steals my breath.

I nibble at my bottom lip. “Really?”

“Yup. Something about you and TJ groping each other in the Grill House locker room.”

“That’s bullshit,” I protest. “We weren’t groping each other.”

Chance walked in just as I was leaving, so there’s no way he could’ve seen anything. Although, itwaspretty obvious what we had been doing.

“But wait, that’s not even the juicy part,” Dia adds.

Here we go.

“He said you were on a date with Aaron. And after he caught you with TJ, you went back to him.”

Aveena raises her seat back immediately and whips her head around to give me a look that says, “Bitch, you did not!”

“You and TJ? I thought you were faking it,” Aveena says.

“We are.” I pause. “I mean, we were.I mean, I don’t know. TJ kept blowing up my phone during the date, asking me to meet him in the locker room.”

Aveena squeals. “Look at you, making out with your fake boyfriend while on a date with another guy.”

I cover my face with my hands. “I know, I’m a horrible person.”

Dia laughs. “Girl, what? You never even kissed Aaron. And he was all over Heather after your first date. As far as I’m concerned, you don’t owe him anything.”

“Still, that was a shitty thing to do. I shouldn’t?—”

“Skip the guilt trip. How was it?” Aveena urges, making me chuckle.

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