Page 91 of Something Rad
“Ithasto be with her, Cooper. It has to be with everyone. If your best friend won’t believe it, who will?”
“Are you crazy? I can’t keep this from her. I won’t. I’m going to tell her right now that this isn’t what it looks like–”
I don’t even get to fully spin around before Robbie grabs my hand and yanks me in the opposite direction, dragging me behind him.
“What the hell are you–”
I don’t get to finish my question before Robbie shoves us both through the door of the nearest janitor closet. The door shuts behind me and we’re instantly plunged into darkness. I throw my hands in the air, feeling around for a string to turn on the light. I do after a few seconds and yank it, the singular light bulb barely illuminating the dingy space. But it’s enough to see Robbie standing right in front of me.
“What is thematterwith you?” I ask.
“The matter withme?” Robbie retorts, pointing a finger at his chest. “You were about to blow our entire operation!”
“Alice is mybest friend.”
“Exactly!”
“I can’t lie to her,” I say.
“Well, you can’t tell her the truth.”
I lean back, raising my brows. “And why not?”
“Because,” Robbie says, throwing his hands in the air. “This is all or nothing, Cooper. It’s never going to work if we pick and choose who thinks we’re dating.Youwere the one who was so concerned with people finding us out and looking like a fool.”
My shoulders fall. “But this is just Alice… She wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“You can’t know that,” Robbie says, shaking his head. “And even if she doesn’t tell anyone else, what if someone overhears you talking about it? It’s too risky, Cooper. We’ve come this far. We have to see it through.”
I can feel how red my cheeks are. “I strongly dislike you,” I say, crossing my arms like a child. I strongly dislike even more that I know he’s right.
Robbie laughs. “You’re not my favorite tool in the shed either, Cooper.”
“What does that even mean?”
He puts his arm up on the shelf to our side, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Just…don’t tell her, Cooper. You can’t.”
I shake my head, staring back at him for several seconds. He raises his head, staring right back at me, not breaking my eye contact. A single strand of hair falls onto his forehead, perfectly curling right above his right eye. The ridiculous movie star-ness of it all makes me desperately want to reach up and shove the hair away, but I resist, following the rules.
I blow a breath out of my nose. “Fine,” I say. “I won’t tell her.”
Robbie stands up straighter, his brows raising.
“But I do need to talk to her right now.”
His brows instantly fall.
“She’s been sick at home the last several days. She doesn’t know about any of this. The last time we spoke, I was telling her how much you nauseate me.”
“So you’ve talked about me before?” Robbie asks, a self-satisfied smile creeping its way onto his face.
“Not positively.”
“You’re so sweet to me,” he says, rubbing a knuckle against my cheek. I reach up to swat at his hand, but I’m a second too late, waving at the air.
“Baby,” Robbie fake frowns, fighting a grin.
I roll my eyes, done with this game. “I’m going to talk to her,” I say.
