Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 76436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76436 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
I keep my face neutral, not wanting her to see the surprise that’s definitely written there.
“You’re not saying anything,” she says, sounding slightly worried. “Do you think it’s weird?”
“No,” I quickly say, shaking my head. “No, it’s not weird. We’ve all had one-nighters. And you like who you like. It’s not like you can control who you’re attracted to.”
“But he tried to blackmail you.” She wrings her hands in her lap.
“He did.” I shrug slightly. “But that’s between me and him. You shouldn’t let it affect your feelings.” A pang of pity for her shoots through me. I can’t imagine how she must be feeling right now, being caught between her feelings for Ralph and the fact that he tried to blackmail her friend. “You can always talk to me,” I assure her.
“You can talk to me too,” she says.
I smile.
Nope. Still not giving it up. Not until I’m sure I can trust her.
“I guess I’ll get over Ralph,” she says. “I mean, it was just sex. We didn’t have any classes together last semester, so I hardly saw him, but now, with lab… And he and Eli are lab partners and all.”
“Listen,” I say. “You can do a lot better than Ralph. Sure, he’s decent-looking, but think about Eli. He’s really cute in a nerdy kind of way.”
“Nah,” she says. “That’ll never happen.”
“If you say so. But Ralph…”
She holds up a hand. “I get it. You think he’s a dick, and you have a valid reason for thinking it.” She pauses a moment. “You can talk to me, you know.”
Gads.
She really wants me to spill it.
I sigh.
“He saw me…kissing someone,” I say.
She wrinkles her forehead. “So what? He wants to blackmail you over that?”
“It was…”
“Go on…” she urges.
“It was someone who’s…in a relationship with someone else,” I say, scrambling. “He threatened to tell the other woman.”
“Oh my God, who was it?” A devilish grin curls across her lips. “And what were you doing kissing somebody else’s boyfriend?”
I clear my throat, struggling to find more words. “I don’t want to add fuel to the fire, so I won’t say who it was. But Tabitha, you have to believe me. I didn’t know he was in a relationship.”
She drops her jaw. “Was it Jonathan Baxter? He’s so hot, and I think he just started dating someone.”
Jonathan Baxter? I don’t even know who the hell that is.
“No. It was someone else.”
“You know you can trust me.”
I shake my head. “I can’t say any more. Please understand.”
She scoffs. “I thought we were friends.”
Friends? We hardly said two words to each other before we became lab partners.
“You remind me a lot of my sister,” I say, smiling.
She cocks her head. “I hope that’s a good thing.”
“Yeah, it’s a good thing. We’re twins. Not identical, but we look a lot alike. But she’s way more outgoing than I am. Always wants to pounce on the latest gossip. Becomes besties with people within about five minutes. You’re just like her, Tab.”
“See?” She pokes me in the shoulder. “We’re friends. You’re using a nickname.”
“I can’t possibly be the first person to call you Tab.”
“No, but most people—my family—call me Tabby. Which I hate. My dad calls me Tibs, which I would hate from anyone else, but from my dad I don’t mind.”
“Well, I’m happy to call you Tab. But you need to give me a few more days. I’m not like Sage.”
“Sage?”
“Yeah, that’s my sister.”
She nods. “That’s a really pretty name.”
“Yeah. She was named after a friend of my grandmother’s who died when she was young. My mother really liked the name.”
“Who were you named after?”
“My mother. Her first name is Angela, but she goes by her middle name, Marjorie.”
“Sage and Angela are both beautiful names.” She wrinkles her nose. “So much better than Tabitha.”
“Tabitha’s a great name.”
“Yeah, if you like being named after a character in an old TV sitcom.”
I raise my eyebrows. “You were seriously named after an old TV show?”
“Yeah. From an old sitcom called Bewitched. My sister’s name is Samantha.”
“Oh, that’s a gorgeous name.”
“Yes. Much better than Tabitha.” She shrugs. “But I’m used to it. You want some more coffee?”
“No, I’m good. But I can get you a cup.”
“No.” She sighs. “I should get going. I have so much studying to do.”
“You can study here if you want. We can help each other.”
She smiles. “I’d like that. If we spend more time together, maybe you’ll start to trust me.”
“It’s not that—”
She gestures me to quiet. “It’s okay, Angie. It takes you time to make friends. I get it. Once you get to know me, you’re going to love me.”
I laugh then. “You know what? I think you’re right.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jason
I don’t go back to see Angie again.
Even though I know we need to talk, I can’t bring myself to do it. To have the conversation that has to be.