Addison picked up her fork and looked at me curiously. “I don’t think you ever said who you were taking, Scarlett. Who is this mystery guy?”
Yeah… About that…
My cheeks suddenly felt hot as I realized it was time to tell Hunter and everyone about my arranged date.
Would it be weird to tell them that my dad had basically forced me to go with Xander?
Or should I make it sound like I was excited to go with him?
Hunter had said going with Addison sounded super fun… Should I keep the “super fun” parade going?
If only I could be sure that those words would come out of my mouth sounding believable.
But since I doubted my ability to seem that enthusiastic, I just said, “I’m taking a guy from my church. He did an internship sort of thing with my dad last summer and…” I picked up my water bottle, my mouth suddenly feeling dry. “And he seemed like a good guy to take to the Valentine’s dance.”
“It’s someone who did an internship with your dad?” Hunter searched my face as I downed a big gulp of water, my face becoming more flushed under his scrutiny.
“So he doesn’t go to our school then?” Addison asked, looking between Hunter and me.
“Yeah.” I nodded and pushed back some stray hairs that were sticking to my clammy forehead. “He’s actually in college right now. But his dad is good friends with my dad.”
“You’re takingXander?” Hunter asked, piecing all the puzzle pieces together. “That’s who you’re going with?”
“Uh huh…” I studied my best friend’s face, trying to pick up on any clues as to how he felt about hearing I was taking Xander.
Was he just surprised? Or at all jealous?
Please be at least half as jealous of Xander as I am of Addison.
But Hunter was so good at hiding his emotions and keeping his expression blank sometimes that I couldn’t tell how he felt—even after knowing him for most of my life and being his best friend for the past two years.
“So you’re going with an older guy?” Addison’s eyes lit up, seeming oblivious to the game of hide and seek I was currently playing with Hunter’s body language. “That’s kind of hot.”
You think dating older guys is hot, Addison? Because if you want to trade dates, I’ll do it in a heartbeat…
But since I couldn’t really offer that, I just said, “He’s a few years older than me and I don’t know him super well, so I’m not sure how much we have in common, but I hope we’ll have a good time.”
I glanced back at Hunter, and when our gazes met, I tried to tell him with my eyes what I couldn’t say out loud. That my date with Xander meant nothing. That I didn’t want to go with him.
That Hunter was still my number one…
5
SCARLETT
“Wanna study in the library today?”Hunter asked as we walked out of the great hall after dinner. “Or should we risk the noise in the common room?”
“I think I’ll need a quiet place today,” I said.
If I was going to have a chance at memorizing everything I needed to know for my AP English test tomorrow, I needed to concentrate.
“So the library it is,” he said.
We walked side by side through the school’s halls, passing students headed toward the great hall for a later dinner. Our school was over a century old with stone walls, high ceilings, and two-story windows.
When I first came here my freshman year, I was used to being around old buildings since the church and parsonage I’d grown up in were pretty old, too. But where our cottage-like home on the church’s property was just big enough for my dad, stepmom, and me, this school— with all of its classrooms, bedrooms, and other amenities for hundreds of students—felt more like a castle.
When we made it to the library, Hunter and I walked to our usual table at the back. Most evenings we had a few other friends join our study sessions, but since several of them were involved in the school play, we would most likely be on our own tonight.
