Page 85 of Going the Distance
I sucked in a deep breath and prepared myself to plaster on a big, warm, and totally fake smile to go and say hi to Amanda.
She was shaking hands with Colin when I neared her. Noah was across the room, squatting to talk to Brad and Liam.
Amanda looked at me, smiling.
“Hi,” I choked out. I cleared my throat. “I’m—”
“Elle!” she exclaimed, with her fancy damn accent, her smile stretching wider. I was so shocked my own forced smile faltered. The smile even reached her eyes. It didn’t look fake at all. “It’s so wonderful to finally meet you! I’ve heardsomuch about you!”
And then she hugged me.
Shehuggedme.
Shehuggedme.
I stood there for a second before deciding it was probably best to hug her back. Noah caught my eye again, and then he looked away, obviously uncomfortable.
Well, that made two of us.
Amanda pulled away, still beaming. “It really is justsolovely to meet you, Elle. Howareyou?”
“Um, I’m…I’m great, thanks.”
My whole “I’m super confident in myself and totally over everything that happened because of you, you utter bitch” persona had vanished into thin air and I couldn’t find it again. I was floundering without it. She beamed at me, and suddenly all I could do was smile back and say, “How are you? How was the flight?”
“I slept thewholeway.” She laughed. She even had the same laugh as I’d expected—all high and tinkly and musical. “I don’t really like flying much, to be honest.”
“Oh, really?”
“Noah will tell you. I was awful during takeoff! How about you? How are you? You’re in senior year now, aren’t you? How are college applications going? I swear, I’ve never beensostressed out in my entire life as I was when I was trying to pick a university. Ugh.”
“Um, yeah, well, I’ve just sent off some applications. I think I want to be a kindergarten teacher or something.” I listed the colleges I’d applied for—because I was too dumbstruck by her reaction to do anything else.
Whatwas Idoing?
Talking to her like we could be friends? Like she wasn’t part of the reason I’d broken up with Noah? Okay, themainreason.
Why was she so nice? Why did she sound like she actually cared? And why was I still giving her this bland smile, nodding along likeIcared?
I wanted to think it was some ulterior motive on her part—to get all friendly with the ex-girlfriend so I wouldn’t try to get back together with Noah now that she was with him.
But she just seemed so genuine and so damnnicethat it was getting harder to hate her. She asked me more about how I was finding senior year, and what my plans for college were, and she shared stories of how her roommate was a totalnightmarebut had left college because she couldn’t hack it so now Amanda had a room to herself.
I was pretty sure that I hated Amanda for the fact that I couldn’t possibly hate someone so nice as her.
I stood there talking to her, stunned and unable to do anything but laugh and smile and chatter like we were really getting on (and maybe we were?) until June called that dinner was ready.
Noah came over and touched Amanda’s elbow. My eyes flickered to the gesture and he dropped his hand. I didn’t know what that meant. I glanced back up to his face, but he’d turned to Amanda. “Come on, it’s just this way.”
I clenched my jaw as he led her away, and balled my hands into fists so tight that my nails dug into my palms.
He couldn’t even look at me? Couldn’t even sayhello? Did he hate me that much?
Or was he so ashamed of himself for realizing that he’d brought his new girlfriend home to meet his whole family, all in front of his recently ex-girlfriend?
I kind of hoped he was. I wanted him to realize just how much this was hurting me.
A hand waved in front of my face, and Lee came into focus. “Earth to Shelly. What was that all about?”
