Page 38 of Celebrities Don't Date Bookworms

I wasn’t sure what I expected him to respond with, but nothing prepared me for him uttering the words,“You’re actually right, in a way.”Of course, that was then followed up with some stipulations.“I mean, we are technically exchange students. Kind of. We’ve all lived in Canada for a while, but Luca’s the only one actually from here-here. And the reason we’re here isn’t for an exchange program, if that makes sense. It probably doesn’t. It’s hard to explain. But yes, that is related to the reason we all live together.”

At least I was getting closer to the truth here. Every piece of information that he shared brought me just a little bit closer to understanding who these boys were. Before I could respond, another voice message came through from him.

“I should probably go to bed soon,”he said.“I mean, I don’t want to because I want to keep talking to you, but I’m also getting tired. But before I do… you have to tell me a secret too.”

I probably should have anticipated that since it only made sense for me to reciprocate, but somehow, I hadn’t even considered it when I asked him for a secret. And now here I was, once again, stuck trying to think of something on the fly. Justlike when we were on the phone, I knew the secret would have to be something stupid, and inconsequential, because I told Sloane all my big ones. Then I thought of the perfect one that I knew I had never told her, because she was the only one it affected.

“A few years ago, my best friend begged me to read her favorite book series. So I got all of them from the library and told her I’d read them over the weekend. But I couldn’t even make it through the first book because I hated it so much. So I just lied and told her that I loved them. And every time she talked about the books, I would just smile and nod. If I couldn’t get away with that, I would just change the subject. She still doesn’t know, and I feel like by this point, I have to take it to the grave.”

The problem with sending voice messages instead of being on a call was that when I sent a long one like that, I then had to wait in awkward silence while he listened, reacted, and then formulated his response. To pass the time—which only could have been a couple minutes, but might as well have been hours—I tried to imagine him reacting. I tried to remember what his laugh was like from the phone call yesterday. It was a deep laugh, I thought, one that sounded unusual for someone with a not-so-deep voice. And it was loud. Not a small giggle or anything, but a true deep, from the chest laugh that made me feel like he actually listened and cared. Of course, that might not have been how he was reacting to the story at all. I just liked to imagine that it was. I was so caught up in imagining that thedingthat accompanied a new voice note arriving almost scared me.

“I think you’re right, you definitely have to take that to thegrave. But I appreciate you trusting me enough to share it.”Warmth spread through me at the words, and I bit my lip. It wouldn’t have been a stretch for either one of us to think that I was just telling that story because I trusted he would never know who it was about; he didn’t know me, he didn’t know Sloane and he definitely wouldn’t be talking to her enough to casually tell her what I’d done. But I liked that he’d accepted it exactly how I meant it; that I trusted him enough to tell him something that I’d never told anyone else. Even if it wasn’t my most deep and dark secret (not that I had many of those), it was still special that I had chosen to share it. Just as what he had told me was special too.“Goodnight, love. Sweet dreams.”

I barely managed to send back a“Sweet dreams”to him too before I fell face first onto my pillow, and screamed into it.

Goodnight, love.

The memory of him saying that would be on my mind for a long time—I just knew it.

eight

Group name:I promise this isn’t a group chat, Dad

Members:Ni-Ni, Bay, Sharky, Tis Moi Luca, Not Zesty, Eggo

6:02 A.M.

Tis Moi, Luca

It should be illegal to wake up this early

Bay

Yes

Sharky

Don’t be so dramatic

Tis Moi, Luca

Sorry we can’t all be like you mr rises with the sun

Bay

Is there noraisin bread left?

Sharky

Ni ate it all

Bay

@ni-ni I’m coming for you

sleep with one eye open

Ni-Ni

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