Page 54 of The Lie
“You have a photo? His Instagram?” Everyone has Instagram.
Cadence is on it before I can even finish, and Sadie groans, her hands on her face.
“No, don’t get embarrassed. You pointed…now you need to tell me. How long have you had a crush on him?”
“Since I was a freshman.” My eyes meet hers and she smiles now. “He’s so cute and smart. I fell over in the hallway, and he helped me up. Asked if I was okay and smiled at me.”
Aww…that’s so sweet.
Cadence shows me his photo, and he is cute. He has that Harry Styles look about him—not the fashion, but his face and hair.
“Why don’t you ask him to the homecoming dance?” Sadie looks at me like she’s going to be sick. Shit. I hold my hand out to hers. “It’s okay, don’t freak out. Maybe we can ask Hunter.”
They both look at me with a puzzled expression.
“He knows, like…everyone.” I wave my hand around to emphasize it. “I can’t even walk to class without him saying hello to everyone we pass. I’m sure he knows Tyler.”
They give me looks like they don’t believe me, but I leave it. I’ll get Sadie a dance with Tyler. I’m going to be her wingwoman at the dance tomorrow.
The game gets off to a great start. Our offense starts, and Jace snaps the ball and passes it to Roman for a running play. I cheer, screaming out his name. He doesn’t get far, but that’s okay.
They set the play up again, and it’s the same. Roman runs, pressing past the Wildcats defense. “Go, Roman, go,” I scream at the top of my lungs.
Holy shit, Roman’s sprinting down the field, and the Wildcats can’t catch him. I’m holding my breath.Run, you got this.
Touchdown for the Rebels.
I jump and scream, hugging Cadence and Sadie. I’m so excited. With a start to the game like that, we’re gonna win…
The Rebels have this.
The Rebels didn’t have it. They lost, thirty-nine to seventeen. The Wildcats must have noticed the tension between Jace and Grady, and they played on that. As the game went on, Grady changed on the field. Whatever they said to him noticeably affected his game. It was hard to watch. I wanted to go out there and kick their asses.
“So, how many stars do you want on your cast?” Cadence asks as she finishes up drawing the moon on there. The silver looks amazing; she’s really good at this. Apparently, she likes to draw anime. She’ll have to teach me once my arm is healed. It would be fun to get back into drawing.
“Make it two. I only have one star-crossed lover.”
Sadie giggles. “I can’t believe you’re trying to hook up with Roman while you’re dating Hunter. Like, holy shit, you’re crazy. In all the best ways. I love this. Do you think he’ll show?”
I hope so because I want to see him. I want to dance with him and Hunter.
“I’m not holding my breath. It’s pretty much impossible to predict what Roman will do. Also, I’m not trying to hook up with him. He’s mine, like, as in theforevertype of mine.”
He just refuses to see it and keeps trying to sacrifice himself for me. I don’t need saving—he does.
There’s a knock at the front door. I look down to where Cadence is finishing the last star, and I jump up off the bed. With a twirl, I show the girls the cast as I walk out the door. “Looks amazing, thank you.”
I carefully walk down the stairs; my dress is long, and I don’t want to trip and fall. I smile, my heart overflowing with giddy happiness. I’m so excited to watch Hunter’s face when he sees me in this dress, but that better not be him now. He promised I’d meet him there. Sadie’s driving us…then he can drive me home after.
Opening the door, I find two red roses on the step. I freeze. My hand still on the door handle, I just stare at them. The last one wasn’t from Hunter, and I’d thought it might have been from Roman, but Hunter didn’t seem so convinced that Roman was sneaking over and dropping off roses on my doorstep.
Jace? I looked over at his house. The lights are on and his parents are home. I see Jace’s car but not Grady’s.
Fuck, I think Hunter might be right. But why the hell is Jace giving me roses? I take them inside and upstairs, and the girls squeal at them.
“Are they from Hunter?” Sadie asks.
I shake my head and place them on my nightstand. Sitting on the edge of my bed, I reach for my heels and start putting them on.
