I shook my head, prepared to say no, hell no, when I flipped the paper over in my hand. It wasn’t old biology notes or a discarded syllabus—it was a picture of me and Peyton, taken around Easter. She must’ve printed it out and shoved it in here, because underneath the smiling photo she’d written: “Aren’t we cute? Thanks for an amazing time.”
Of course, Peyton meant the entire weekend… but the conclusion Lauren was drawing wasn’t wrong. Her jaw dropped and her eyes narrowed, and any chance of our relationship staying a secret was over.
Lauren loved gossip even more than she loved her designer shoes, and I’d heard her talk enough about that shit to last for years. I needed a distraction, quick, or the truth would be spread around school sooner than an ump could call foul ball.
That was the last thing either Peyton or I needed right now.
What if Coach found out? What would the guys say? All the reasons I’d had not to get involved with Peyton were still there, only now I had a million more. This morning was a wake-up call. We were playing with fire, and we were lucky to escape with only a singe.
Peyton deserved better than me, though she’d never admit it. She was too good. Too kind. Too addicted to her hopeless causes. She took them in at the ranch all the time, trained them up and loved them enough so they were rehabilitated. But I wasn’t a stray dog or a wounded horse. Love and a firm hand wouldn’t save me. I was a walking time bomb, and I couldn’t put her at risk anymore.
I reached into my pocket. “Actually, Lauren, there is something you can do.”
Her grin was instant, if not malicious, as I withdrew my phone and sent a text to Peyton.
PEYTON
FAIRFIELD ACADEMY CONCESSION STAND 12:52 P.M.
The whole dang morning had been a blur.
After seeing the words “not pregnant” on my pee-stick, I’d assumed the day would be amazing. We’d dodged a huge bullet, and now an entire summer stretched before us—no school, no baseball, no gossiping classmates to hide from. Justin and I were never closer… or we were never closer up until last night. If we could just get past this, the summer ahead promised endless days of laughter and kisses, and nights filled with even more. We’d just have to be more careful.
But Justin was acting so weird. I understood him freaking out over the unknown; heck, I turned into a snotty, crying mess myself. But now that we knew I wasn’t pregnant, that we weren’t having a baby, the freak-out should’ve ended. Right? Twenty-four hours ago, Justin would’ve twirled me around that bathroom, kissed me senseless, and made plans to meet up later. Today’s version acted like he couldn’t run away fast enough.
What was his deal? Did he want a baby? Even as I thought it, I knew he couldn’t, not after his big speech about his own parents. And we were fifteen. The second we read the words, we should have been celebrating.
So why does it feel like we’re breaking up?
I shoved the question away and pushed through the gym door. It didn’t make sense, and that was why it didn’t matter what Justin wanted to tell me, or why he’d asked me to meet him at our spot. I was going to remind him exactly why it was our spot. The concession stand was where we shared our first kiss… my first ever kiss. It was where I started falling in love with him. And even though he hadn’t said the words, I knew the truth.
Justin loved me, too.
Yeah, we were going to be fine. We just needed to clear the air and move the heck on.
With determination singing through my limbs, I picked up the pace.
Not for the first time, I cursed my weakened limbs. If it weren’t for GBS, I could move faster, even run like I used to. My limp was almost gone, though, and if I kept at it, really hard, my speed would return. Now that I knew I wasn’t pregnant, that’s all I’d do this summer. Focus on regaining my strength.
That, and get Justin to admit to his feelings.
Grinning, I lifted my face to the sun. It was June in Texas, so it was hot as Hades, but the rays felt good on my skin. Like a promise of good things to come. The smell of recently mowed grass filled my senses and I kicked off my sandals to feel the smooth blades beneath my feet.
The baseball diamond was deserted. It was weird to see because even when the team didn’t have a game, the bleachers were always filled. People read or dozed in the sun. They hung out and texted or made out. But today, the second the dismissal bell trilled, everyone beat a path to the parking lot. School was out for summer… and the entire field was now our playground.
Anticipation kindled under my skin and I hoofed it a little bit faster.
A minute or so later, I was a few feet away from the concession stand and I caught a glimpse of green fabric near the edge of the building. While in theory, it could’ve been anyone, only one guy filled out his uniform polo like that. My guy.
“Hey there, sexy!”
I was giddy. We were alone and I could call him whatever I wanted. I could run, or, in my case, walk very fast into his arms and kiss him senseless right here, in plain sight of the bleachers and parking lot, and no one would know.