Page 82 of Nerdy or Nice
This made him frown. "No, it wasn'tme."
"Yeah, right." I glared up at him. "Tell me something. Wasthatpart of the spectacle, too?"
"Meaning?"
"Meaning you obviously planned this. Just admit it. Youwantedto cause a scene." I started to throw up my hands, only to suddenly stop when I realized that if I let go of my robe, I'd end up flashing the whole neighborhood.
I knewthisfrom experience – not from doing it, but from watching it two summers ago when Mom broke up with our mailman.
In front of me, Drake said with a completely straight face, "Maybe one of the cats opened it."
I smirked. "Oh sure, blame it on the cats."Jerk.
Just then, the guy with Lexie called out, "Hey Buddy!" When Drake and I turned to look, he was striding toward us, looking as ticked off asIfelt.
Drake replied, "Yeah?"
In a tight voice, the guy asked, "Do you want the coat or not?"
Drake wanted the coat, alright.But what hedidn'twant was me. I could tell by the way he claimed the duffle, yanked it on, and turned away without saying a single word to anyone including yours truly.
I watched with Lexie and the neighbor guy as Drake stalked up to my aunt's front door, walked into the house on his own, and walked out less than a minute later, leading Cash away on his leash.
Good.
I was glad he was leaving.
Really, I was.
Chapter 47
Gwen
In the living room, Lexie locked the front door and turned to face me with a sympathetic look. "Do you want to talk about it?"
I was sitting on the sofa, feeling cold and dejected in my bathrobe and winter boots. I shook my head. "I don't think I should."
Lexie moved toward me to ask, "Does that mean…you don't want to? Or you can't?"
Swimming in despair and confusion, I bent down and buried my face in my hands. "What's the point? It's not like you can help."
I heard the sounds of soft footsteps followed by the sensation of Lexie settling herself onto the sofa beside me. In a gentle voice, she asked, "But why not? I mean, I can try, right?"
With something between a sob and a sigh, I sat up and turned to look at her. "You know that old saying, curiosity killed the cat?"
She frowned. "Sure, why?"
This wassohard to put into words. This whole thing had started long before tonight, when I'd felt that first twinge of curiosity, wondering what it would be like to dance until dawn without worrying about tomorrow.
Turns out, it was wonderful – until it wasn't. But if I talked about itnow, I was pretty sure I'd break down and cry.
This was the last thing I wanted.From what I'd seen outside, Lexie and the neighbor guy were on a definite upswing. As for myself, I was spiraling to a place so low, I dreaded the thought of dragging anyone down with me.
When I replied with only a shrug, Lexie waited a long moment before asking, "So…with the curiosity thing, who's the cat? Do you mean you?"
I couldn't stop the groan as I replied, "Oh, yeah."
"And…you were curious about what?"
