I lie back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. “Are you going to say you told me so?”
“Do I ever?”
“No.” And I mean it. Beau always gives me his opinion of why something is a bad idea, but when I inevitably do it anyway, he’s there to pick up the pieces and put me back together again.
He is hands-down the best person I know.
“Jo?” He says, pulling me back to the conversation.
Clearing my throat, I reply, “Robbie cheated on me.”
“What?”
“Actually, that’s not quite right. He has a serious girlfriend, and I’m the one he was cheating with.”
He takes his glasses off and rubs his eyes. “How’d you find out?”
“His girlfriend told me.”
“Geez.” He looks shocked.
“She came to me, called me a homewrecker. We’re fucking juniors in high school, so I think homewrecker is pretty dramatic. But she told me they were happy, and I was going to ruin it.”
“Did you confront him about it?”
I look over at him and smile. “Of course. You shouldn’t even have to ask.”
He lets out a soft chuckle. “Yeah, duh. So, what did the asshole say?”
“I told him I wasn’t about to be some side piece, so he needed to pick between us.” I pause for a moment. “He instantly picked her, and he informed me she was the type of girl he could actually bring home to his mom, and I was just someone to have fun with.”
I fall silent for a moment before muttering, “Maybe he’s right.”
“That’s fucking bullshit, Jo.”
I look at him wide-eyed because it isn’t often that he drops two swear words in a row.
He goes on. “You’re not going to pay any attention to what that asshole says. Jo, you’re incredible. You need to stop going after jerks who can’t see that. If he can’t see how great you are, he’s not the one. And stop listening to Robbie Dickson–the kid who used to pick his nose and try to convince other kids to eat it.”
“Eww!” I squeal. “You couldn’t have told me that before I kissed him?”
“Jo, we were in the same class. I thought you knew that.”
“Meh. I only remember what I want to.”
“Don’t I know it?” He jokes.
I look over at him. Most girls in school would only see a nerdy kid who isn’t worth a second look. But I see how cute he is and how big his heart is.
And he’s the only one who has seen who I am under all the armor I wear and didn’t run in the opposite direction. He’s my best friend.
With a sympathetic look in his eye, he says, “You deserve so much better than Robbie or any of the other jackasses you’ve dated.”
I’m not sure that he’s right, but I love that he believes it with his whole heart.
“Thanks, Beau.”
I shove a pillow under my head and say, “Can you believe we are juniors? We basically only have another year until we are all grown up.”
