She rolls her eyes. “Leave it to my brother to know websites that provide you with extra homework.”
I follow her to her room. “Well, I’m grateful.”
“So what do you think about him and Meredith breaking up today?”
I shrug. “I guess I kind of saw it coming.” Since I knew about it.
“Really? I didn’t. She got him to commit. I never thought that would happen.” She picks up the nail file and straightens the edge of her pinky nail.
“He’s changed.”
“How so?”
“I don’t know. He just seems different lately.” This might be the perfect chance to lay some groundwork for this weekend. Make her see what I see in Toby.
“You know he does play his guitar a lot lately. He’s gotten pretty good.” She puts down the nail file and looks at me. “Hey, did I hear him playing tonight?”
“Yeah. While I was taking that online practice test. The music helps me concentrate.”
“It’s weird because he doesn’t usually sing along. I’m surprised he’d sing in front of you.”
I shrug. “I guess he’s comfortable around me.”
“I thought I even heard him sing your name, but I must have been hearing things, right? I mean there’s nothing going on between you two. There couldn’t be. You both know how much that would piss me off.”
A lump forms in my throat. What am I supposed to say? I don’t want to lie, but she flat out asked. I swallow hard and clear my throat. “I wouldn’t want to piss you off.”
She nods, thinking I’m agreeing with her. Really, I’m letting her know I don’t want her to be mad at me for having feelings for Toby.
Chapter 20
“She’s going to hate us both.”
“No, she’s not. We’ll sit her down and make her understand.” Toby kisses me.
We’ve been meeting every day during fifth period again. I love the time together, but I can’t wait to get our relationship out in the open. I’ve had enough with hiding and keeping secrets, and I can’t take the thought of Tori never talking to me again. I need to make her be okay with this. Having the perfect guy shouldn’t come at the expense of my best friend.
I pull away and give him a stern look.
He groans. “Please don’t let her ruin the little time we have together.”
“It’s Thursday. The party is in two days, and we have no idea what we’re going to say to her.”
“Did you buy her a good present?” He leans in for another kiss, but I press my finger to his lips.
“Did you?”
He shrugs. “I got her a gift certificate for a spa treatment.”
“Wow. She’ll actually love that.” I’m impressed.
“What about you?”
“I got her those boots she’s been eyeing.”
“Nice. So, we’ll give her the gifts first, and then she won’t be so mad when we tell her we’re into each other.”
“You really think dangling presents in front of her is going to keep her from getting mad?”
He shrugs. “It worked when she was younger.”
“Maybe we should think about what we’re going to say, just in case she’s matured a little since then.”
He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me closer. “I’d rather talk about what you got me for my birthday.”
“Getting me as your girlfriend isn’t enough?” I pretend to be hurt.
“Good try, but I already have you as my girlfriend. You said yes the other night.” He presses his lips to mine.
I’m breathless when I pull away. “Okay, you need to stop playing dirty. We have to talk about this.”
“We have five minutes left in the period. Do you really want to spend it talking about Tori?” His fingers trace my collarbone, sending tingles through me.
“So not fair.”
“Then fight back.” He leans forward to kiss my neck, but I get to his first. He laughs, but it’s quickly replaced by a moan. The next five minutes fly by.
We leave the stage separately, just like always, but I run right into Meredith, who must have been waiting for me.
“What do you want?” I ask, picking up the pace and hoping she won’t follow. She does anyway.
“We need to talk. It’s about Saturday.”
“I think after the way you publicly humiliated Toby, you can consider yourself officially uninvited to his party.”
“I thought the party was for Tori. Or did you forget about your dear best friend?”
I stop and whirl around to face her. “What the hell do you want from me? I’m not in the mood for games.”
“Good, because I’m not playing around.” She grabs my arms and pulls me into an empty classroom.
“What the hell, Meredith?”
“I’ve been thinking.”
I cross my arms. “Then this should be good.”
She glares at me. “Shut up and listen.”
I drop my arms and advance on the door. “Forget it. I’m out of here.”
She blocks the door. “Not so fast. You need to listen to me.”
“What could you possibly say that is of any interest to me?”
“How about this? If you and Toby come clean to Tori, she’s going to dump your ass faster than you can blink. You think just because you’ve been friends forever that she’s going to let you date her brother? She doesn’t let her friends near him. I’m not sure how you got her to let him tutor you, but she’ll see this as a huge betrayal. Especially when I tell her how long this has been going on.”
“Why would you do that? You got what you wanted already. You got your precious little fan club back. You turned half the school against Toby. What else do you want?”
“How about my virginity back?”
I step back. I thought that attack was off the table. I thought Toby and I had been wrong about how evil Meredith was and the lengths she’d go to hurt him. “That was your own fault.”
“Let me know if you feel the same way after he steals yours.” She grabs the door handle, but I stop her, placing my hand over hers.
“I’m not you. I don’t throw myself at him. I don’t have to sleep with him to get him to date me.”
“Give him a few weeks. He’ll start getting bored, and I’ll bet you anything you do exactly what I did.”
“No.” I shake my head. “He never cared about you like this. It’s nowhere near the same situation.”
“You keep telling yourself that, but Toby Michaels is never going to change.”
I let go of her hand, not because I believe her, but because I want her to leave. I’m done listening to her lies. She’s bitter and hurt, and I’m not going to let her convince me that Toby’s a bad guy.
She walks out and the late bell rings. I head to trig, knowing I’m getting my second late in a matter of weeks. I may be getting my second detention soon too.
“Miss Daniels, nice of you to join us,” Mr. Rollar says.
“Sorry. I don’t suppose you’d believe I was held hostage in an empty classroom by the biggest bitch in school.”
Mr. Rollar glares at me and only then do I realize I said “bitch.” Out loud. To a teacher. Crap.
“I’m sorry to say that not only do I not believe you, but you’ll be spending this afternoon in detention for your poor choice of words.” He writes up the slip and hands it to me.
Wonderful. This day keeps getting better and better.
I raise my hand and participate as much as possible, trying to get back in Mr. Rollar’s good graces. But no such luck. When the bell rings, I’m still holding my detention slip, and Mr. Rollar is packing up for the day, not even looking in my direction. I go up to his desk and stand there, but he doesn’t acknowledge me.
“Um, Mr. Rollar, I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I’m having a bad day, and I didn’t mean to say that word out loud. But I really was dragged into an empty classroom. Meredith Ackles had a mouthful for me, and she wouldn’t let me go until I heard what she wanted
to say.”
“Be that as it may, Miss Daniels, I can’t lift your detention. This is your second tardy to my class and you used language that is not suitable inside school walls. The entire class heard you. What would it say if I didn’t enforce the rules?”
I should’ve known a math teacher would be all about following rules. That’s what equations are. Sets of rules to solve a problem. “I understand, and again, I’m sorry.”
“I appreciate that. Now you better go before you’re late for detention.”
I head straight for the detention room, afraid to stop at my locker first. I don’t want to end up in here tomorrow too. I take the same seat as last time. Only I’m pretty sure Toby won’t be stopping by to keep me company today. I pull out my cell under my desk and text him.
Becca: Meredith cornered me. Made me late. In detention.
Toby: That bitch.
Becca: That’s what I said. Aloud. To Mr. Rollar.
Toby: Hence the detention?
Becca: Pretty much.
Toby: Want me to pull the fire alarm or something? Get you out of there?
Becca: Pretty sure that’s a big offense. Not worth bringing in the cops.
Toby: Don’t say I didn’t offer.
I can’t help smiling. No guy has ever offered to bust me out of detention before. I’m about to text him back when Meredith walks in. She takes one look at me and rolls her eyes. How can she blame me for this? She’s the one who kidnapped me!
Becca: Guess who just showed up.
Toby: No way. Seriously?
Becca: Wouldn’t lie.
Toby: My offer still stands.
Becca: And I love you for that, but still no.
Oh, crap! I just said I love you. What have I done?
There’s a long pause, and every second that ticks by is like an eternity. I can feel my heart pounding in every part of my body, down to my toes. I scared him away. He wrote me that beautiful song and asked me to be his girlfriend, and I went and ruined everything by saying the L-word.
Becca: I didn’t mean it like that.
As I press send, his text comes through.
Toby: I didn’t want to say this over text for the first time, but I love you too.
No! I just took mine back, and then he said it! Damn it.
Becca: I thought I scared you off. Didn’t mean to take it back.
Toby: So you were lying?
Becca: About not meaning it.
Toby: Ask to go to the bathroom.
Becca: Why?
Toby: Just do it.
I raise my hand, but Vice Principal Davidson is too busy reading his newspaper to see me. “Excuse me, sir?”
He looks up, scanning the room to see who said that. I give a small wave. “Yes?”
“May I use the bathroom, please?”
“No bathroom breaks during detention. You’ll have to wait.”
“But it’s an emergency.” I can tell he isn’t buying it, so I pull out the only card in my deck. “It’s a female thing.” The guys in the room all groan, and I sink lower in my seat.
“Very well.” Vice Principal Davidson nods and looks away as quickly as possible. What is it about periods that freak guys out so much?
I grab my purse to make it look believable and walk out without meeting anyone’s eyes. I poke my head into the bathroom down the next hall. And sure enough, there’s Toby. “What are you doing?” I whisper.
“Probably something stupid, but I had to see you.”
“I’m sorry about the confusing texts. I—” Before I can finish, his lips are on mine. “What was that for?” I ask when he pulls away.
“For saying I love you first.”
“I didn’t mean to take it back. You just took so long to answer, and I thought I’d freaked you out.”
“Not a chance. I dropped my cell, and it shut off. I had to wait for it to turn back on.”
“Now we have to tell Tori.” This isn’t a crush or some passing romance. Toby and I love each other. No matter how difficult it’s going to be, we have to talk to Tori.
“I know. Maybe this is better. She knows I’ve never been in love before.” The words sound awkward, like they’re difficult for him to say, but considering he’s only said it once and through a text message, I can understand that.
“So you think that will make her take us seriously?”
“Maybe. Who knows for sure with Tori?”
“Well, isn’t this interesting?” Meredith steps into the bathroom. “I’m sure Vice Principal Davidson will be most disappointed to learn you lied to him, Becca. Don’t you think?”
What I think is this girl is out to get me. And the bad thing is, she has a lot of ammunition.
Chapter 21
Before I can answer Meredith, Toby laces his fingers through mine and leads us out of the bathroom. “Excuse us,” he says, pushing Meredith aside.
“What are you doing?”
“Going to detention.”
“Why? You don’t have detention.”
He smiles. “Oh, I’m sure I do now.”
“Um, you’re holding my hand.”
He looks down at our hands. “Oh. Guess we can’t do this in public yet.” He lets go and motions for me to go into detention first.
About ten seconds later, once I’m in my seat, he walks in. Vice Principal Davidson raises his head. “Can I help you, Mr. Michaels?”
“Well, sir, I’m afraid I let curiosity take over and I might have scared two girls from your detention.”
“Excuse me?” Davidson raises his brow in confusion.
“I heard some of the girls talking about how their bathrooms are much better than the guys and, well, I had to see for myself.”
Davidson rises and leans forward with his hands on the desk. “Are you telling me you went into the girls’ bathroom?”
“Yes, sir.” Toby doesn’t even look phased.
“I see.” Davidson points to a seat in the back of the room. “Then you came to the right place. In fact, I’d get comfortable because you just earned yourself a week’s worth of detention.”
Toby nods. “Yes, sir. I understand.” He walks down my aisle, giving me a small smile on the way. The boy took a week’s worth of detention for me.
Meredith stands in the doorway, shaking her head. She clearly doesn’t know what to make of Toby’s bold move. He left her with nothing to use against us. She wouldn’t tell people we were together because then she’d look bad. She’s utterly speechless.
As boring as detention is, I enjoy every minute.
***
Friday comes and goes, which means it’s D-day. The party. The day I have to come clean to my best friend. I’m so not ready for this. Toby and I went over the details last night, in between making out and him singing me my song again. We still haven’t exactly said “I love you” out loud in those exact words, but we both know how we feel.
My cell rings just as I’m waking up. “Hello?”
“So when am I supposed to show up, and where is the party?”
“You don’t get the meaning of surprise, do you?” I rub the sleep from my eyes and stretch.
“Details, girl. I have to tell Ryder when to pick me up.”
“Tell you what. I’ll have Toby text Ryder the details, and then he’ll know.”
“Then at least tell me how to dress.”
“Really? It’s a party. You know how to dress.”
“Ugh, you’re no fun.” She hangs up, and I text Toby.
Becca: You awake?
Toby: Yup.
Becca: Happy birthday.
Toby: Thanks.
As I’m typing my response, Toby calls. “Hey, birthday boy.”
“Good morning, beautiful.”
“Making eggs again?”
“Nope. Not even in the kitchen.”
“Well, in that case, thank you.” I sit up and hug my pillow. I’m not sure the butterflies in my stomach will ever go away. No matter how much time I spend with Toby, I�
��m always excited to hear his voice.
“Have you spoken to my lesser half?”
“If you’re referring to Tori, then yes. She wanted details about the party, but I told her you’d text Ryder.”
“Will do.”
“What time do you want me over there?”
“Now.”
“Why am I thinking it has nothing to do with the party?”
“Because you’re smart.” I can just picture the sexy smile on his face.
“Thank you again. Have Ryder get Tori out of the house, and then I’ll come over.”
“Deal. Text you when she’s gone.”
“I’ll get ready.” I hang up and take a long shower. As much as I want to see Toby and wish him a happy birthday, I don’t want to face Tori. We have to tell her today. We agreed on it, and this has gone on long enough.
I just finish wrapping Tori’s boots and Toby’s gift when Mom walks into the room. “You all ready?”
“I think so.”
She walks over and brushes my hair behind my shoulder. “You don’t sound very excited.”
“I am. I’m just worried.”
“Tori’s been talking about those boots for a while now. She’ll love them.” Mom knows how tough Tori is to please sometimes.
“I know.”
“Is it Toby’s gift you’re worried about?”
Toby’s gift was a challenge, but in the end I think I got him something he’ll like. At least I hope so. “It’s not that either.”
She cocks her head and sighs. “Let me guess. This is about a boy. Someone who was supposed to ask you to the party maybe?”
“I planned the party. No one was supposed to ask me.”
“But it is about a boy, isn’t it?”
“If I said I didn’t want to talk about it, would you let it go?” I can’t confess to Mom before Tori.
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