Page 71 of Not Fooling Anyone

In this outfit, they’d assumed I’d picked up a shift at the bar, and I hadn’t corrected them.

A stab of guilt pokes at me as Ethan’s words from last night come back to me.Let me in. Just another example of how I keep others at bay. How I don’t invite them into my life. Doesn’t he realize it’s easier that way, though?

If he knew about everything in my past, about what happened with my mom, about Cody’s vile rumor and what he did to me… He’d want nothing to do with me. Who wants to be with the girl with baggage heavier than she can carry?

Oh, and let’s not forget about how he said I have unresolved issues with my dad about my childhood. How I have barely any friends or money. Every day I’m scraping by. I seriously don’t know why he even keeps hanging around me, Psych study or not.

Even Travis, the person I’m arguably the closest to in this world, doesn’t know any of the stuff that went on with my mom. Doesn’t know about all the shit she used to pull. What she put me through. Doesn’t know how I found her there, dead in our living room, her beloved needle still in her hand. She’d loved her highs more than she’d ever loved me.

And the truth about what happened with me and Cody? Yep, that’s between me, him, and his two teammates there with us that night, whatever their names were.

Travis was the only one who believed me when I said Cody was a liar. The only one who talked to me in school and on the bus the following year. He’d had his fair share of being bullied for being a quiet, effeminate boy in a school where jocks ruled. We were the two outcasts. And while he can look back at high school and laugh with Isaac about silly crushes, I’m not over it quite yet. Not if I’m here wanting to make Savannah jealous with what she can’t have, using Ethan yet again.

He claimed he didn’t mind, though. That he’d do anything I wanted to. How far does that offer extend? And how far do I want it to?

Savannah didn’t even show up to study group last night. Have I scared her off? Or was she temporarily retreating to come up with a new tactic?

I scour the crowd for a tall, dark-haired man, but I’m in a sea of them, each more generic than the last in their polos, chino shorts, and boat shoes. Can’t they get a new uniform?

There’s a touch on my shoulder and I turn around, Ethan suddenly there, my stomach filling with butterflies.

“I was half afraid you wouldn’t show,” he says, grinning down at me.

“I wouldn’t leave you alone with these animals.”

His grin widens. “Speaking of, a certain someone’s watching us. Should we give her a show?”

I nod, not exactly sure what he means until he leans down to give me a soft kiss, lingering for a moment. There’s mischief in his gaze as he breaks away, and I look around, wanting to see Savannah’s reaction.

“Where is she?”

“Hmm.” He glances over his shoulder, then back at me. “Could’ve sworn she was here.”

My brows pinch together. Well, I’m sure we’ll see her at some point.

“You want anything to drink?” he asks, holding up a red Solo cup.

“No, I’m good.”

And there’s that stab of guilt again. The one that reminds me I should let him in a little more. He deserves it after everything he’s done for me.

“I, um, actually don’t drink at all,” I tell him.

“No?”

There’s no judgment in his voice, only curiosity. It spurs me on enough to say, “My mom had substance abuse issues. So I don’t touch anything that could mess me up.”

He stares at me for a moment, but there’s no revulsion in his gaze, no disgust. No pity, either. Just understanding. “Thank you for telling me.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

“This is water,” he says, motioning toward his cup. “I’m not drinking either.”

“I won’t police what you do if you want a beer or something.”

“Nah, I need to cut that stuff out anyway.”

“Because of your upcoming match?”

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