Page 24 of The Flirty Forward

“Oh.” She groans. “That explains everything.”

“Yep,” I say, popping thep. “Just call me Brielle.”

She grins and punches me lightly in the arm. “You wish, Bestie. All right; I need to head to my classroom. See you at lunch?” I nod.

The day passes quickly. At the end of the day, a police officer escorts me to my car again. There’s a smaller crowd now, though. I think they’re starting to get the idea that they’re not going to get a chance to talk to me.

The next morning, there are even fewer people gathered at the school. I’m still escorted inside, but I have hope that this means it’s settling down and everybody can get back to life as usual. I haven’t been blind to the side looks I’m getting from my associates. I really want things to get back to normal.

After school, Brielle meets me in my classroom. “Are you ready for tonight?” she asks.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I tell her without looking up from my laptop. I finish what I’m inputting and close my laptop. “Are you going tonight?”

“No. I’m tired, and Aiden wasn’t too keen on me going by myself after last Friday.”

“I’m sorry, Bri. You could have gone with me.”

“Oh, I know,” she says, waving me off. “But you’re going to be with Sebastian’s family.”

“I could have still driven in with you.”

“I’m exhausted; I just want to watch the game from home tonight.” Her eyes widen. “I should have thought about going in with you, though, so you didn’t have to go by yourself.”

“I’m fine. I just want to get tonight done and over with.”

She nods. “I get that; I’m hoping you have a good time. His family seems very nice.”

“Have you met them?”

“No, but I always see them on camera, and I’ve seen them from time to time after Sebastian’s game.” She shakes her head.

“What?” I ask warily.

She grins. “They’re a loud, crazy bunch.”

I grimace. “So like a bunch of Sebastians?” I ask, not really liking the way this is going.

“Yep. Exactly.”

I groan, and she laughs. “It’s okay. Maybe it won’t be as bad as you’re thinking.”

“It will probably be worse.”

She pats my shoulder. “You’ll make it through. Just remember why you’re doing this.”

“Because I’m an idiot?”

She scowls. “No, so you can get your life back. So people don’t show up carrying signs and calling you...well, what they were calling you.”

I sigh. “I hate hockey.”

She laughs. “You’ll be fine.”

When I stand up, she looks at my outfit. “Please tell me you brought clothes to change into.”

“Nope.”

“Stephanie,” she practically wails.

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