Page 6 of Like You Know

I snapped a pic of them surreptitiously,justtilting my phone to get the right angle while still pretending to type. I was a master of the low-key snap. I sent it to Harlow, hoping I wasn’t interrupting her time with Easton too much.

Harlow was Donna’s sister and had decided to quit school just last week. What was it with people leaving and arriving with barely a few months left in the year? Very inconvenient for me. But Harlow had a good reason. She’d never been any good at school and only managed to scrape by with the help of her crazy-smart sister and her crazy-influential parents. After being blackmailed and going through hell, she’d decided life was too short and got herself a job in tech—one thing she was exceptional at.

Maybe I should ask her to dig up some info on Jet. Because I couldn’t think of a reasonable explanation for him starting at Fulton this close to the end of the year.

H: Oh damnnnnn! New guy is HOT!

A: I’m telling Mr. Monroe you’re perving on other guys while he’s incapacitated.

H: His name is Easton. He’s not a teacher anymore!

Harlow was in a serious relationship with Easton—who used to teach at Fulton. He’d been shit at it, so it was a good thing he quit anyway.

A: The man took a bullet for you and this is how you treat him?

H: Shut up. Why are you deflecting?

A: What? LOL! I’m not.

H: Yes you are!

H: OMG! You have the hots for new guy!!!

A: I do not. He’s not my type at all.

H: We all know you don’t have a type.

She wasn’t wrong. There wasn’t a particular look I was attracted to. I’d never been in a serious relationship, but I’d casually dated and hooked up with all kinds of guys and girls. From ripped fitness influencers I met on Instagram to shy nerdy girls. I went for personality and energy more than anything else. I liked interesting people—but I also tended to lose interest pretty fast.

A new text notification popped up. Harlow had texted our group chat, and it wasn’t long before Donna and Mena were throwing me secret looks as they all teased me about my “crush.”

Please. I didn’t have crushes. I had fascinations. And the jury was still out on whether Jet would be one of them.

CHAPTERTHREE

Jet and Nicolawent on their date that weekend, immortalized in several pictures posted to social media. As predicted by literally everyone, it didn’t go anywhere. By Wednesday of the following week, she was back with Donnie.

“You know, sometimes guys just need to see what they’ve lost before they can appreciate what they had,” Nic told me wisely in English. We had seats in the back, and Ms. Murphy was pretty easygoing as long as we did the work, so most of the class chatted while pulling quotes to memorize for essays. “And I kid you not, Donnie was at my front door waiting for me when I got back from my date with Jet.”

“Mm-hmm.” I nodded. We’d all heard some version of this story countless times. The date pics had clearly been a strategy to get this exact result. Those two were addicted to the drama and heartbreak and emotional reunions of their push-and-pull relationship.

We couldn’t be more different. When I was done with someone, I wasdone.

“Not that Jet isn’t great. We’re just not right for each other. And honestly, I was probably not in the right headspace for dating so soon after my breakup. But Jet wassosweet. He was super understanding, and he still made sure I had a good time. He’s so easy to talk to. And he’s funny! And you know, I feel bad about how things went down between us, so I told him—I said I’ll set you up with someone. But he already has another date lined up with Tess! That’s exactly who I was going to set him up with too. He’s totally fine, which makes me feel better because ...”

Nicola droned on through the rest of class, with very minimal input from me. She told me in detail why Jet and Tess would make the perfect couple and about what a gentleman he was on their date and how he hadn’t even tried to kiss her. She was convinced he was being sensitive to her situation with Donnie. I was pretty sure he just hadn’t been able to find a break in her constant talking.

As I headed to equestrian, I wondered why he hadn’t asked me out. Why Tess? Not that I’d have said yes. Although I might have—just to dig underneath that layer of unaffected casual cool and figure out what his deal was.

But as I passed through the hall where all the senior lockers were, I saw him walking by with Sara. They were clearly flirting. So was he going out with Tess or Sara?

I momentarily dropped my guard and frowned. Jet caught my eye over Sara’s head and winked.

I shot off a few texts as I got into my horse-riding gear. Harlow had been in this class with me, and I found myself checking the door to the locker room, waiting for her to walk through it, before I remembered she’d quit. I missed the little troublemaker already.

Riding Harriet—Harlow’s favorite horse before she went and abandoned me—and running through drills and tricks in the sunshine and fresh air for a double period helped get my mind off everything. When I checked my phone after, I had the answers I wanted.

A few junior girls had found out the gossip for me. Turned out Tess had asked Jet out and not the other way around. But apparently Sara had been planning to, and her friend got in first. They both liked him, and it seemed to be putting a wedge in their friendship.

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