Page 183 of The Fake Date Agreement

“I could, but it wouldn’t be right to do it any other way than face-to-face.”

Dread forms in my gut. They want to end things with me. I should be glad it’s this way instead of me walking in on them cheating on me like Marc.

I tell myself I’m wrong. Last night with Caleb was amazing, and Javier wouldn’t be offering to send me a dress. They wouldn’t be inviting me to this fancy party at all. But doubt has a way of polluting the things you were so certain about a second before.

“Okay.”

“To the party?”

“Sure.”

“And the dress?”

“Javier will do better than I ever would.”

“I better go. Coach wants me back on the ice.”

“And you’re sure you can’t tell me what this is about now?” I ask, my fingers tightening around the phone.

“It’s a good thing, Tobie,” he says softly. “Well, I hope you think it’s a good thing. Reid, Javier, and I have been talking, and it’s important for all of us.”

We say our goodbyes and hang up.

I stare into space, trying to convince myself that things will be okay. And I can’t even talk to Max about it. I guess I could, but she’s finished with her classes and left to go home for spring break early. There’s no one else’s opinion I would trust other than hers, and this isn’t a conversation I would want to have on the phone. I wish she were here.

When someone knocks on my door two hours later, I’m still at my desk.

I get up to answer the door and can barely see around the large white box someone is holding in their arms.

“Miss Myers?”

“That’s me.”

“If you could sign here?”

I sign where the delivery guy tells me to sign and carry the box into my room, closing the door with my hip.

I set the box on my bed, open it, and want to cry when I take in the most beautiful dress with matching heels and a bag inside it.

Color always scared me.

When you’re a girl with big hips, you quickly learn black can cover a multitude of sins. It becomes a shield.

This dress is a deep, rich, vibrant emerald green, Grecian style with a deep V and braided straps. It’s full-length with a deep slit in the front. Two weeks ago, that slit on the front would have made me want to throw this dress out my window. The heels are gold, platform style with a strap around the ankle and the toes, giving me height with support.

It’s the sort of outfit that belongs on a goddess. Not me.

Definitelynotme.

So who is this girl giggling as she eagerly snatches up the dress? Because it sure as hell can’t be me.

Chapter 43

Caleb

“She sounded worried.”I hang up the phone and lower my voice as I return my cell to my locker. We don’t have much of a break. Just thirty minutes, then it’s back on the ice for more drills.

I haven’t been able to look at Coach’s table the same way since I walked into the locker room. I wiped it down before I took Tobie back to her room and showed her I was paying attention to the book with the hot pink tabs.

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