Page 36 of No One Else

Natalie turns to me, fidgeting with her hands. “Did you tell Sarah?”

“What?”

“That you’d be kissing other girls today?”

“Oh, um, no.” Oh God, I forgot about that. This is it, though. The perfect time to tell her we’ve broken up or something. I’m so tired of getting caught up in this stupid lie.

Wait, would she think I’m a jerk for breaking up with a girl right around Valentine’s Day? That’s a pretty dick move.

“Because it’s not like it was cheating,” she assures me, although the intensity she says it with makes me think she might be trying to convince herself. “It was for charity. It didn’t mean anything.”

“Listen, about that-”

“Natalie,” a tall, skinny guy with a mop of brown curls interrupts us. “Olivia and Chloe want to have a meeting right now with all the heads of the booths and tally up the money. Can you come?”

“Oh, sure. I’ll be right there, Mark.”

She goes to follow him and then turns back toward me. “Thanks again, Evan. It would have been a disaster without you.” She steps forward, slightly raising her arms as if she’s going to hug me, then thinks better of it, turning around and following Mark.

I stuff my hands in my pockets and watch her walk away. That’s the second time I haven’t been able to finish telling her Sarah’s not an issue anymore. I’ll tell her next time I see her, first thing. Third time’s a charm.

9

Natalie

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ICAN’T GET THAT KISSout of my head, even days later. It was somehow better than the first time at Empire, and that’s saying something. The way he pressed me against the side of the booth, the kiss turning heated like he couldn’t get enough of me. I could tell he was holding back too, so much strength contained as his lips moved over mine. I wanted him to unleash that reserve and show me what he could really do, how he would kiss me if we weren’t in public, if he didn’t have... a girlfriend.

Bad Natalie. Why do I keep forgetting about her until it’s too late? For that matter, why does it seem like he does too? He’d jumped on the lame excuse I’d given him about kissing for marketing purposes, but we’d continued it well past the point it should have stopped. Evan’s a stand-up guy. He’d never mess around behind a girl’s back. So why does he keep skirting the line with me?

Maybe if I knew more about her, I could get a read on the situation better, but he’s been so close-lipped, hardly ever mentioning her. I mean, it’s his girlfriend. Shouldn’t he be talking about her more often?

I think back to last semester when Samantha hadn’t even realized I’d had a boyfriend. Apparently, I’d never mentioned Carter to her for like the first month we knew each other. I can’t really blame Evan for keeping mum about her then when I’d done the same thing.

Maybe he just doesn’t talk about her to me because he’s afraid it’ll be awkward. It’s considerate of him not to rub Sarah in my face, but that leaves me with nothing.

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