“Gavin? No. I’m more sure of him than I’ve ever been of anything. These two weeks he’s been home visiting his family have been the longest of my life.”
She looked so radiant, talking about him and the future she saw unfolding for them. It was hard not to get caught up along with her.
“I’m happy for you, Sel.”
“I’m happy too.” She joined me on the floor. “I’m a college dropout, sharing a room at home with my baby sister, working a minimum-wage job. My parents think I’m throwing away my future, and I’ve literally never been happier.”
“You’re living the dream.”
She grinned. “What about you? Anything new with Nick?”
I hung my head, wishing she hadn’t asked. “I kind of broke him.”
“Oh no, really? When?”
“About a week ago. It was awful. I’m a terrible person, and he’s way too sweet for me.” I’d seen Nick at school, and while he wasn’t hiding from me anymore, the quick looks away when our eyes met and awkward shared Biology classes made it feel like he was.
“That sucks,” Selena said. “I am sorry, but I could kind of tell you weren’t super into him.”
“I wanted to be.”
“I’ve been there.” She rubbed a circle on my back. “I can only tell you that trying to like a guy you don’t have the right kind of feelings for will only make you both miserable in the end.”
“You also end up miserable when you tell him the truth and he barely talks to you anymore.”
“Eek.” Her hand fell away. “But then, who have you been going out with so much recently—and don’t say Jessalyn, because you did not use up half my favorite lip gloss to look pretty for her.”
“That lip gloss looks way better on me.”
She gave me a look. “So who’s the guy?”
I inwardly winced. Bringing up Chase could be tricky. “Just someone I met. It’s not serious.”
“Does Mr. Not Serious have a name?”
My brain told me to shut up but my mouth said, “Chase.” I got to my feet and grabbed more of Selena’s clothes, but she followed me.
“You’re not getting out of telling me about him. Spill.”
“I kind of don’t…want to.”
“Oh, then in that case.” She shrugged in a way that made her look exactly like our mom before pinning me with a stare. “You still have to spill.”
I dropped onto the bed. If I was careful, I could tell her a little. I wanted to tell a little. Apart from everything with Dad and Brandon, thinking about Chase was becoming too easy.
“He’s a guy. I don’t know. I like him, but…”
“But what?”
“There’s just stuff.” I clasped my hands between my knees. “I don’t know if it’ll work out.”
Selena rose to her feet and resumed putting her clothes away. “But it might?” She was trying to offer casual encouragement without all the pesky facts getting in the way. It was a nice attempt, but that’s all it could be.
I gave her a bright smile. “Sure. Anyway, we’re just hanging out for now.” I didn’t want to field more questions about Chase. The few she’d already asked were way too depressing. “But hey, if it doesn’t work out, maybe Gavin has a younger friend he could set me up with?”
Selena pounced on that suggestion and immediately dropped the subject of Chase in favor of Gavin’s plethora of awesome single friends. I only half listened, hoping that somehow, in ways I couldn’t yet figure out, maybe Chase and Icouldwork out.
CHAPTER 26
