Page 13 of The Truth About Love

“It’s Summer, right?”

Her expression morphs from suspicious to quizzical, the silent accusations that were written there before having seemingly disappeared.

“Yeah.”

She stares at me as she thinks something over in her mind before coming to a decision. “You can sit with me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” She motions towards the chair I just vacated and nods her head reassuringly. “So long as you’ve not been sent here to fuck with me.”

Her statement gives me pause.

“Who would send me to fuck with you?”

Her gaze moves slowly to somewhere behind me and I follow it over my shoulder, spotting the table where Auden sits with some guys from the football team and a couple of cheerleaders still in their uniforms.

She’s as distrustful of people as I am, it seems. It makes me think that maybe she’s had similar experiences growing up as I have.

“Why would they sendmeif they wanted to mess with you?” I ask, turning back around to face Marlowe.

She shrugs. “You’re close with Auden, aren’t you?”

I frown. “What makes you think that?”

There’s no way she could know that we’ve texted back and forth this weekend and that he’s plagued my every thought since I first set eyes on him and that I dream of his lips every night even though I’ll probably never actually taste them, but… close? Not enough for somebody else to notice, surely.

“He spent all of Anthropology class this morning trying to get your attention,” she says. Ah, I forgot that she sits in the desk directly between Auden and me.

“You noticed that, huh?”

“Yep.” She pops the ‘p’. She’s surprisingly sharp-tongued for someone who appears so meek. “That, and I heard him talking to Freddy Haines about you in Psych earlier.”

My cheeks heat and anxiety churns in my gut. “What did he say?”

She takes a bite of her sandwich, chewing thoughtfully before saying, “Nothing really. Just that he asked you out. So, is it true?”

“Is what true?”

“That he asked you out.”

“Kinda,” I say, eyes trained on my bowl of chilled pasta in front of me. “I don’t think I’m gonna go though.”

“Why?” Her mouth falls open. “It’s Auden Wells, the quarterback of the football team, the guy every single girl in senior year wants to date. Why wouldn’t you go?”

I look up at her then. “For the same reason you didn’t want me sitting here just ten minutes ago. What if he only asked to fuck with me? You said yourself he’s the damn quarterback. There’s no feasible reason why he would want to go out with me.”

“Nah.” She shakes her head. “Auden doesn’t date. Ever. I mean, I’m pretty sure he’s slept with a couple of girls on the cheer squad, if the rumours are true, but he’s never taken anyone on a date. Besides, I don’t think he’s the sort to play with someone like that.”

I swallow down the bile that inexplicably burns my throat at the mention of his sexual history. “Sorry, but how can you say that when a minute ago you accused him of sending me over here?”

“Guess I’m just a cynical bitch like you.”

A surprised snort escapes me.

I’m not even offended by her words. If anything, I’m impressed with her audacity and want to see more of it. “Fair enough.”

“Go on the date, Summer.” She sighs. “Don’t be an idiot.”

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