Page 100 of Searching for Nova

“You told my dad I was with a girl. I asked you to cover for me and you fucking told him!”

“Yeah? So? You spent the night with a girl. Big deal. Your parents know you have sex.”

“That doesn’t mean they approve of it, and they wanted to know who I was with.”

“Tell them you got back with Paris.”

“I couldn’t. They would’ve called her parents to see if I was lying. My dad was going to call everyone’s parents if I didn’t tell him where I was.”

“So what’d you say?”

“I said I was with a friend. And now they’re trying to tell me I can’t see her.”

“Why? Who is this girl? You never said.”

“She’s just a friend.”

“A friend you spent the night with?” He laughs a little. “That’s more than a friend.”

“We didn’t do anything. We watched movies and fell asleep.”

“You slept? That’s it? What’s going on here? Who is this girl, and why are you keeping her a secret?”

“I’m not. I just don’t want to talk about her with you. You make everything about sex, and that’s not what’s going on with this girl. I’m friends with her. That’s it.”

“That makes no fucking sense. Guys our age don’t spend the night with a girl if she’s just a friend.”

“Well, that’s what happened. I don’t give a shit if you don’t believe me.”

“If you’re just friends with her, then that means you’re single, right?”

“Yeah, I guess. Why?”

“That new girl, Julia, was asking about you. She’ll be at Kevin’s party tonight. I told her I’d talk to you, see if you’re interested.”

“I’m not. I just broke up with Paris.”

“She doesn’t think it’s over. She’s telling everyone you guys are still together. If you go out with Julia, you could finally get rid of Paris.”

“I’m not going out with Julia.”

“Why? She’s fucking hot, and I heard she’s smart. She wants to be a doctor.”

“If she’s that great, then you go out with her.”

“I already have a girl.”

“That’s never stopped you.”

“She’ll be at the party tonight. Just talk to her. See if you like her. You’re coming, right? To the party?”

“Probably not. My parents will probably ground me for last night.” I check the time. It’s 8:30. Nova has to leave for work at 9. “Jace, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.” I end the call, then call Nova.

“Hey,” she answers, sounding happy. I love that she’s happy. I hope I’m part of the reason for that. “Did you forget something?”

“No. I just wanted to talk to you before you go to work.”

“About what?”

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