Page 3 of Exposed

No, I just needed to get out of here. I pushed out the doors of the auditorium and hurried back outside.

The homecoming parade was still going on.Shit.How was I going to tell Kennedy what I just did? I was the worst friend in the history of friendship. Seriously…what was wrong with me? It was like I’d stepped into Empire High and turned into a dumb, naïve teenager all over again.

I walked in the opposite direction of the stadium. I just needed a minute alone. I stopped when I reached the front steps of Empire High.

Jacob and Tanner were standing there. Like they knew exactly where I’d been. And by the smile on Tanner’s face, it looked like he knew exactly what I’d been doing. He wanted Matt and me to get back together. He wouldn’t be smiling so brightly if he knew what Matt had said to me before walking away. Matt didn’t want anything to do with me. And I didn’t want anything to do with him either.

I ran my fingers through my hair, hoping that no one could actually tell what I’d just done.

“Mommy, Mommy,” Jacob said and hurried over to me. “The game is about to…” his voice trailed off. “Why are you crying? Remember, Daddy doesn’t like when you cry.”

The present tense.God, my heart couldn’t take any more pain today. I crouched down in front of Jacob. “Sorry, sweet boy.” I wiped my tears away. “How about we get out of here?”

“But the game.”

“Jacob…”

“Nooooo,” he said in that adorable drawn out way.

I couldn’t go back into that stadium. I couldn’t sit there and watch Matt and Kennedy on the field. My stomach twisted with guilt. I’d put on a brave face during the whole first half. But now? I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t face Matt again. But I also didn’t know how to say no to Jacob when he was finally smiling again.

“How about I watch the little man,” Tanner said. “Give you a bit of time to yourself, if you’d like. To think things over.” He kept smiling at me.

I didn’t need to think anything over. I’d made a mistake. And now I needed to unwind this mess. I’d figure out a way to apologize to Kennedy. And then I’d stay far, far away from Matt forever. A little time alone sounded like a good idea though. Because I definitely couldn’t watch the rest of the game.

“Are you sure that’s okay?” I asked.

“Certainly. We can make a day of it. I’ll bring him back after dinner. What say you, Young Jacob?”

“Yessie,” Jacob said.

“You want to stay here, Jacob?” I asked.

“Sí. I’ll stay with Abuelo.” He grabbed Tanner’s hand to make his point.

Okay then. I gave him a hug and then stood up. “Thanks, Tanner.”

“No need to thank me. I just want you both to be happy.”

It seemed like when he saidyou bothhe meant Matt and me. Not Jacob and me. I was definitely not thanking him for setting up that blast from the past homecoming show. I was thanking him for watching Jacob so I could take a few hours to try to make my heart stop hurting.

Tanner pulled out his car keys and tossed them at me. “How about you take the car.”

“Oh…um…” I stared at his futuristic car in the parking lot. “I’m not sure I know how to drive that.”

“It’s just like any other motorcar.”

Motorcar? Is that what that fancy vehicle is called?

“Everything is going to be okay now,” Tanner said and put his hand on my shoulder. “You trust me, don’t you?”

I nodded. I did trust him. He was a really sweet guy. But I didn’t trust his crazy matchmaking skills at all. He was seriously bad at this. Being reminded of homecoming from 16 years ago wasn’t going to make me go running back to Matt. I bit my lip.But…hadn’t it?I’d literally ended up in Matt’s arms, probably before the end of that song. Wait, was Tanner actually really good at this?

“Great,” he said. “Go do what you need to. And we’ll have a little chat tonight. After the little one retires to his bedchambers for the evening. Ciao.”

Ciao?He and Jacob walked away. I turned back to the car. I hoped Tanner wouldn’t mind if I got a little dirt on his leather upholstery.

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