Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“Is anything going on with you guys?” I asked, desperate for a subject change.
Grant shrugged, still lost in thought, but Ian sat up straighter.
“I forgot to tell you guys that I got that housing stipend. The one that pays for housing next year.”
My stomach sank as I watched my friend’s excitement.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Grant said. “But congratulations.”
“Yeah, congratulations,” I echoed. Did Hailey know? Was she upset? I’d never considered this possibility when I told her about it.
We talked for a bit more, but things were a little tense. Then Ian said he needed to hit the books—something we all knew to be true, but still—things were a bit tense.
“I should get going, too. You coming, Grant?”
He shook his head. “I’ll stay out a little longer. It’s a nice night.”
We said goodbye and I followed Grant through the suite and out into the hallway. “Wait a minute,” I told him.
“You should know that she told me,” he said. “She told me that she had something going with you but that you were just friends. I didn’t know it was the room service thing, but she was upfront with me, she wasn’t trying to get away with anything.”
I appreciated that, but it also hurt me that Hailey thought we were just friends. Of course, ever since I found out that my contest win was fake, I hadn’t been myself. “I understand. But we have to talk about Hailey.”
“That’s what we’re doing.” Ian sounded confused.
I let out a sigh. “Not about that. About that housing stipend you got.”
“What about it?”
I sighed again. “Let’s walk and talk.”
22
HAILEY
Theo was waiting outside Miller Hall after my next class. I did a double-take, seeing him there.
“Have you come to visit Sunny? I knew you were sweet on her.”
He laughed. “I’m sweet on you, too, to borrow your old-fashioned expression. What are you, ninety?”
“My grandfather always said that.” It was kind of funny that I knew more old-person slang than I did for people my own age.
“Are you headed over to see Sunny now?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Can I walk with you?”
“Sure.” That was a nice surprise, but I sensed there was something Theo wanted to talk about. And I wasn’t entirely sure it was something I wanted to hear.
We walked through the quad, and I had the surprising urge to hold his hand. Before I could, he made me laugh when he pulled my bookbag off my shoulder and carried it himself.
“What?” he asked. “I thought you liked old-fashioned stuff. There’s nothing more old-fashioned than carrying your best girl’s books after school. And if you want, I’ll buy you a penny candy at the corner store.”
I giggled. “That’s from even before my grandfather’s time. That’s like Little House on the Prairie.”
Theo grinned. “What can I say? I know what the ladies want to hear.”
His tone was relaxed. His smile was genuine. And yet—I wasn’t buying it. “So why do I get the sense that you have something to say that I won’t want to hear?”
His grin faded. “Shit, am I that transparent?” He put his hand on the small of my back and steered me through a crowded area at a narrow section of sidewalk near the science building.
I shrugged and took a step away from him when we got free of the crowd. “I’ve spent a lot of time watching you.”
“Because I’m hot?” he said, making me laugh again.
“Because you’re hot,” I confirmed with a flirty smile. But we both knew we were putting off the inevitable. So when we passed by a stone bench in front of the auditorium, I tugged on his arm and led him over there. “Just tell me.”
He set my bag down and sighed. “I know that Theo got room service, too.”
Oh shit. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
He held up his hand, quieting me. “That’s not the issue I wanted to talk to you about. I just wanted to get it out in the open for the next part. We’ve had too many secrets this summer. Too many lies. I understand why you didn’t want to tell us about school, but we don’t have that much more time together. At least not living under the same roof. So we need to be honest with each other.”
“Okay.” I still felt awful. I’d never meant for him to get hurt.
Theo looked in my eyes and sighed. “Honestly, Hailey, we’re okay with it. He was hurting, and you helped cheer him up. Just like you did for me.”
“Wait, he knows that you know?” My sentence hardly made any sense, but I rushed on. “Did you guys talk about me?”
“Yeah. A little. It was the other night.”
“Why?”
“Because something else came up. Ian knows you’re a student, Hailey.”
My eyes narrowed. “Because you told him?”
“Yes, I did.”
A mixture of betrayal and anger washed over me. “Next time you decide that there shouldn’t be any more secrets between us, how about checking with me before you tell mine?”