Page 60 of The Accidental Text

“I do,” he says.

I sigh. “But the jumping … there’s real fear there. I don’t know how to face it. I have to, though. I don’t have long to do it. I don’t like this new anxious me.”

I turn my face toward Chase, and he turns toward me. We’re both leaning back on our headrests, looking at each other.

“I was anxious about meeting you tonight,” I say.

“I think that’s normal anxiety. Anyone would feel that way.”

“Did you?”

He gives me the tiniest of shrugs. “Yeah, of course.”

“Anxious now?”

“Not even a bit.”

“Me either,” I say, and we both smile.

Once Chase has had his fill of the Lamborghini, we get out and return to the party. In truth, I had to bribe him to get out, promising that he could come back and see it during the day. I knew if I stayed in there any longer, Chelsea would get suspicious.

We enter back into the fray. Even more people are dancing now, and the volume of the music seems louder. I’m not sure if it’s because the party is ramping up or if it’s just such a contrast from the quiet of being in the car with Chase.

“Where have you been?” a voice I recognize says over the noise.

I look to my left, a few feet away toward the bar, to see a very annoyed Hannah. She’s in a dark-purple pencil dress with spaghetti straps, one of the ones we stole from her mom’s closet. She looks amazing. Devon is next to her and gives me a double eyebrow raise when I approach. He thinks he’s one-upped me somehow. I roll my eyes at him.

I walk over to her and Devon, Chase trailing behind me.

“I was …” what do I tell her? I decide to turn the question back on her. “When did you get here?”

“Like twenty minutes ago,” she says, her lips puckering like she’s sucked on something sour. She leans to the side a little tosee Chase standing behind me. She makes eye contact with me and points a finger at him. “Um, who’s this tall drink of hotness?”

It’s at this point I realize that I never expected Hannah to show up tonight and so I never thought I’d have to explain anything to her. I would have told her tomorrow, of course. I wouldn’t have been able to keep something this big from her. But I have nothing prepared to say to her right now. I also can’t explain everything in front of Devon. He wouldnotunderstand.

“I’m Chase,” Chase says, coming out from behind me. He leans in toward her, holding out a hand to shake hers. “You must be Hannah.”

Hannah side-eyes Chase while shaking his hand, her face oozing skepticism. I see the lawyer in her coming out, and that means the questions are about to begin. Which means I need to get her away from Devon as soon as possible.

Devon shoots Chase a quick wave. “Hey, man,” he says.

Hannah looks to me and then looks to Chase and then back to me. I watch as the wheels in her head churn, until her eyebrows lift high on her head and I know that everything has clicked into place.

“You’re … you?” She points again at Chase. “And … you!” She points at me, but it’s more of an accusatory pointing.

I open my eyes wide and shake my head in tiny little movements. Devon can’t find out who Chase really is.

“Who’s who?” Devon asks. He’s leaning his body against the bar, a glass of something in his hand.

“Nobody is who,” I say, loudly. Giving Hannah another warning glare.

Devon pulls his brows inward.

Before Devon can ask another question, I grab Hannah by the hand and drag her away from Devon, who starts to protest my taking her away from him.

“Never going to happen, Devon,” I say to him as we walk away.

Hannah lets me guide her inside the shop and to my office, Chase following us.

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