Page 37 of Let's Call a Truce
I blinked up at him as the haze of my mind cleared.
“I should go change,” I blurted, running out of the pond and back to the group.
Once back at the school, I forced Gabriela to keep talking to me while Sophie said her long and tearful goodbye to Paris, like they wouldn’t see each other again on Monday. I could feel Ben watching me and fought the urge to turn his way, until he finally gave up and dragged Paris away.
Saturday evening was a blur of stories shouted over each other as Clara tried to tell me about her winning goal, while Sophie told Clara all about me falling in the mud at least a dozen times. I crashed as soon as they were in bed. All I wanted was a good night’s sleep, but I found myself replaying the day in my mind. I couldn’t control myself around Ben, and I fell asleep repeating the reasons we’d be a mistake.
Chapter 12
Sunday night came, and both girls were sound asleep in bed. Gabriela and Dani lounged on the couch with a glass of wine in hand, when Asia let herself in. I’d left the field trip yesterday confused. Well, confused and frustrated.So much frustration.But I’d spent the day working myself back up about the Paris situation.
“You sneaky bitch,” I said to her as she rounded the corner.
She raised her eyebrows and laughed. “What did I do?”
“You are one of his best friends. There is no way you didn’t know about Paris.”
“Oh shit, did he finally tell you?”
Gabriela busted out laughing. “No, they both showed up to chaperone my field trip. I’d met him at Meet the Teacher back in August, but I didn’t know he was the same Ben you guys always talk about. It was hilarious. I swear, I thought either Juliana’s head would explode or they would go at it in the mud. And I don’t mean fighting.”
I shot Gabriela a glare. “I invited you, so you have to side with me.”
“You invited all of us.” Dani lifted her wineglass in a toast. “And lord knows I’ve never agreed with you about Ben. That boy is fine.”
Gabriela and Asia nodded along, and I tossed up my hands in exasperation.
“Asia, why didn’t you tell me he had a daughter the same age as Sophie?”
“Why am I the only one in trouble?” she laughed. “Dani knew, too!”
“Because she,” I said, jabbing a finger in Dani’s direction, “is a little chaos demon who wouldn’t have told me anyway just for the joy of this moment.” I whirled my hands around me, and Asia laughed again.
“It’s touching how well you know me,” Dani said, taking a long sip of her wine. I threw a pillow at her and she squealed, lifting the glass above her head. “Watch it!”
I turned back to Asia. “You, on the other hand, arenota chaos demon. So why wouldn’t you tell me?”
My amusement faded, and I felt a painful squeeze in my throat. I didn’t know why this felt like a betrayal. Like there was a competition between me and Ben for her affection, and her keeping his secrets from me felt like a statement that he was more important than I was.
She shrugged, unaware of my internal spiral. “He asked me not to. At first, he thought you would think he was trying to weasel out of the asshole comments he made your first week at KMG, and then he waited too long and it got weird. I figured he’d tell you if you ever talked to him instead of just fighting all the time. And if you didn’t, it shouldn’t have mattered to you, anyway.”
She watched me closely, and whatever my face was giving away made her whole demeanor change. Her arms were wrapped around me a second later.
“You good?” she asked, too quietly for Gabriela and Dani to hear.
“No,” I said, dropping my forehead onto her shoulder with a thump. She let out a little laugh. “They’re in class together, Asia. Apparently, they’re best friends now.”
She pulled away from the hug, pushing my hair back as shefought a smile. “Itisa complication. I didn’t realize they were at the same school.”
I scowled at her. “You should have told me.”
“How would you feel if I talked to Ben aboutyourpersonal life?”
“You don’t?” I asked, feeling a wave of self-consciousness, and the words set off a light bulb behind her eyes.
“Juliana,” she said with the patience of a saint. “I love you both so much. You are my best friends in the world.”
“What the fuck?” Dani yelled from the couch, chucking the same pillow I’d thrown at her in Asia’s direction.
