Page 52 of One Spicy Summer

“I’m sorry, dear, did you just say your boyfriend dumped you?”

Oh my God. Ididsay that out loud. I shoot up from the chair. “I, uh, I have to go. I’m fine. Really.”

Her hand lands gently on my shoulder. “My husband of thirty-four years left me for someone half my age," she says quietly. "I didn’t think I’d survive. But I did. And you will, too.” She smiles, soft and sad. “And when you’re ready to hear more of my story, when you’re ready to let someone in, I’ll be here.”

Then she winks. “And if you want that solo in the winter showcase, you’d better get back in shape.” With that, she turns and walks away, leaving me shell-shocked.

First of all… what just happened? Madame Dupanchane, the woman who terrifies half the school, justopened upto me. And hinted that I might get my dream solo.

Maybe, just maybe, Rihanna had it right:It’s only up from here. No more downward spiral.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Presley

September

Another two weeks have crawled by and I still haven’t heard from Rygaard.

Rafe’s been quick to offer updates, all of them lies, not that he hides it well. It's written all over his stupid face.Like the time a video surfaced of Rygaard slurping jello shots out of his new fling’s belly button while his frat brothers cheered him on.

Or the clip from football practice, where someone caught him on camera about to get a blow job in the locker room. It’s goodto know he moved on so fast while I'm left here picking up the goddamn pieces.

Crying myself to sleep every night since the first photo surfaced, Rygaard kissing someone else's lips that weren’t mine. He once told me my lips were the only ones he'd ever kiss because they weremadefor him. What a steaming pile of horse shit. And the most pathetic part?I believed him.

“Fucking hell!” I screech as I hit the ground hard.

“Oh! Are you okay?”

I look up into Keifer’s worried, kind eyes.

“Yeah. Just a little clumsy,” I mumble, placing my hand in his and letting him pull me up. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” He looks around, like he wants to say something but isn’t sure if he should. “Can I walk you to class?”

Why is he so damn adorable?

Cool it, Prez. He’s just being nice. Everyone knows you’ve been a trainwreck since Ry left.Hell,Iknow I've been a train wreck.

Smiling up at him, I say, “That would be nice. Clearly, I’m not too steady today.” We both laugh at my lame joke, and he offers his arm. I loop mine through it without hesitation, letting him guide me down the hall.

We walk in silence. It's actually... nice.

Outside my classroom, he stops and turns to me. “Here you are.” He gives my hand a little squeeze before letting go.

“Yep, this is me. Thanks again, Keifer.”

“Of course. I’ll be around if you need anything.” He smiles, warm and genuine, before walking away.

“You betcha,” I say softly, a rare, little smile tugging at my mouth.

Lately, I've been all sharp edges, biting heads off for no reason. An underclassman complimented my sneakers earlier and I toldher to fuck off without even realizing what she’d said. Tried to apologize, but she practically ran away.

“Care to explain whatthatwas about?”

Of course Agatha’s there, always lurking, always seeing more than she should.

“I fell, Keifer helped me up, and walked me to class. End of story.”

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