"No. I'd only learned it tonight, and besides, I shouldn'thaveto tell Lexie.Sheshould be tellingme." On impulse, I added, "And I'm not planning to."
"But why not?" Gwen asked.
"Because I want to hear it fromher." I blinked away sudden tears. "He'ssucha monster. He already ruined her career. What if he breaks her heart? And why won't Lexie tell me?"
"Well…" Gwen said, as if trying to make sense of it herself. "Maybe she doesn't want to upset you."
"It shouldn’t be aboutme," I said. "It should be abouther." I considered the monster in question. "C'mon,weknow the type. He thinks just because he's hot and rich, he can do whatever he wants regardless of who it hurts."
I gave Gwen a penetrating look. "You know how it is with guys like that. They act likeyou'rethe only one they ever wanted, and then, before you know it, they're running off with the homecoming queen."
ThisI knew from experience.
As I spoke, it wasn't lost on me that I hadn't quite learned my lesson. Today, while ice-skating, I swear I would've kissed that guy if only he'd made a move.
And if we'd been alone, I might've done more.
I'dwantedto do more.
What was wrong with me, anyway?
The guy was a total player.He'd called me beautiful, as if I were too dense to realize I wasn't.
Cute, I could've accepted. But the guy had pulled out a practiced line, going with the "You're so beautiful" thing, as if I didn't know any better.
On the upside, his smooth delivery had brought me back to Earth where I belonged.
It was a good reminder – and one that I was willing to share. When Gwen still remained silent, I told her, "I just think it's a good lesson for all of us, you know?"
For some reason, this made her smile.
What the hell?With growing agitation, I said, "It'snotsomething to smile about."
She wiped the smile from her face. "I didn't mean to smile. I'm just thinking."
"About what?"
"Just relationships in general, I guess."
That word – relationship – sounded way too ominous. If Lexie had a fling with the monster, that was one thing, but a relationship was something else entirely. A guythatheartless would smash her heart to smithereens.
I almost groaned in despair. "Oh, my God. You don't think they're in anactualrelationship, do you?"
"I don't know much of anything," Gwen said. "This is the first I've heard of it."
"I know, but just do me a favor, alright? Don't tell her that I know."
Gwen frowned. "But why not? Or better yet, why don'tyoutell her?"
Desperately, Iwantedto. But strategically it would be a mistake. "For starters, I don't want her to think that I’m spying on her. That's one reason I didn't tellyouuntil just now."
"But youarespying on her," Gwen said. "I mean, you looked up his middle name."
"Oh, please. I'm spying onhim, not her. And if you want the truth, I'm a little worried."
Totally missing the point, Gwen said, "I know. You already said that."
"Yeah, but what I meannowis let's say I tell her that I know she's seeing him. What if it only makes hermoreinterested? Like, what if he becomes her forbidden fruit?" I swiped at my stupidly wet eyes. "And besides, I reallydowant to hear it from her."
