“Listen, nothing will change with us. I promise you right here, right now, that I’ll be there for you through good times, bad times, friend issues, boy issues, teacher issues, whatever issues. And you’ll always have a date to any social event that requires a male companion. I hear I clean up nicely.”
“I wouldn’t trust your sources.” A smile was now on her lips. “And what makes you think I couldn’t get my own date?”
I shook my head at her. “For the record, I don’t think you’d have a problem finding a date. I just imagine every guy will pale in comparison to me and never live up to your clearly heightened expectations.”
She looked at me flatly. “The only thing heightened around here is your ego.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll go stag, then.” I dropped my head.
“Okay, fine. If neither of us has a date, we should do things like homecoming together. Why not? Everybody thinks we’re a couple
anyway.”
“Why not? I guess I’ll take that as a yes. Sound good?” I held out my hand.
She shook it. “Sounds perfect.”
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I was kinda perfect. And you didn’t seem that horrified when I took you to homecoming freshman year.
That was fun. Freshman year was really great, actually.
Pretty easy transition. We both made some new friends. No
emotional trauma that wasn’t solved with a Buggy and Floyd marathon.
And then you had to get a boyfriend.
It was only a matter of time before I was snatched up,
especially when you can bake a brownie like I do.
Oh, is that what the kids are cal ing it these days? Baking brownies?
Gross. But don’t forget that you got a girlfriend at the start of sophomore year.
Yes, I did.
But did the questions stop about whether or not we were a
couple?
No, they did not.
C H A P T E R N I N E
If I could’ve talked to my eighth-grade self, I would’ve told
her she had nothing to worry about. Freshman year was
easy. Admittedly, having a boyfriend who’d already spent a
year there helped a lot.
“Are you cold?” Ian put his arm around me.
“Why do I have a feeling that was just an excuse to get
closer to me?” I leaned into him.
He gave me a little squeeze as we sat in the bleachers during the JV football game at the beginning of sophomore year.
Of course, Ian had assumed Levi and I were dating when
high school first started. I couldn’t really blame him. Not
only did Levi and I go to and leave school together (unless he
had practice), we sat together at lunch, went to homecoming
together, and did pretty much everything together.
I got it. I really did. But that still didn’t mean I was going
to stop spending time with my best friend.
I guess Ian figured it out because he asked me on a date
the Saturday after Thanksgiving. By the time the JV game
came along, we’d been together for ten months, and not once
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had he ever complained about Levi to me. Sure, he’d tease
me, but I knew I deserved most of it.
“Have I ever told you that you’re too good a friend?” Ian
laughed.
“There’s always a chance that he’ll get in.” I hoped the uni—
verse heard me on that one.
We were at the football game to support Levi, even though
he’d never made it to the field. Ever. Not as a freshman, not
during the first two games of sophomore year. It wasn’t the
running he struggled with; the coach repeatedly told him he
was the fastest on the team. It was catching the ball that was
the issue.
So Levi sat on the bench. But he was a part of a team.
And Levi was a part of my life, which is why I was also sitting on a bench.
“Do I need to remind you that I come to all your track
meets in the spring?” I nudged Ian.
“Do I need to remind you that Levi’s also competing? So let’s not pretend you’re there just for me.”
I opened my mouth in shock. “Exactly what are you
implying?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. I’m certainly not questioning
your allegiances. I know I’d lose that battle. Plus, you know I like him . . . except for the fact that he’s getting close to beat-ing my times.”
I hid my face. I was grateful that the only time my boyfriend and best friend got competitive was during track. The
varsity track coach, Mr. Scharfenberg, had already told Levi
110
he was pretty much a shoo-in to be on the varsity team
this year.
Ian and I sat through the entire game. I tried to pretend to
be interested in what was going on, but honestly, if Levi
wasn’t playing or the players weren’t wearing green and gold,
I couldn’t have cared less.
I did spend a significant amount of time avoiding eye contact with the cheerleaders. Emily performed like she didn’t
have a care in the world, and she probably didn’t. She’d dated
Troy for a bit, followed by Keith, then James, then Mark,
then Dave. Despite all her concerns, she never struggled to
fit in. She had an even bigger circle of friends now.
Danielle had gone with me “in the divorce,” which was
good, because I’d really needed her dry sense of humor to help
me after the breakup. Whenever Emily and I had class