only one who knows my secret. And Beau, but he doesn’t count since he doesn’t go to our school, or even live in the same state.
“Mrs. Katz said we were just going to pretend.”
“She said we could pretend, or we could really kiss if we wanted to.” Liam leans back a little and I look up at him. I’m trying really hard to look at his eyes and not his lips, but his lips.
“Don’t you want to?” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.
I look away for a second, but when I glance back up, Liam is leaning toward me. I can’t believe this is about to happen. I hope Sofia is seeing this. Actually, maybe it’s better if she doesn’t in case I don’t do it right. I hope I do it right. His eyes are closed and he’s getting closer. My heart is beating faster than the music. And then—
“Cecelia!”
No, no, no. Please, no.
“Cecelia,” my dad says again. “In the car. Now.”
I drop my arms from around Liam’s neck and step back. The whole room has gone silent except for the whispers. This can’t be happening.
“Say goodbye, Cecelia.”
To my social life.
Chapter Five
Alexis
I can’t believe she lied to us,” Tommy says as he joins me outside, letting the front door fall closed behind him.
“I can’t believe you fell for it.”
He gives me a sideways glance as he sits beside me on the front porch swing, my favorite part of this old house. I lean over and kiss his neck. “There’s no way in hell Sofia would give up going to the party of the year just because CeCe wasn’t allowed to go.”
“But they’re best friends.”
“Even best friends have to draw the line somewhere.” I put my hand on his leg, hoping my touch comforts him. Thanks to my parents, I learned early in life that it’s easy to be let down when your expectations of people are too high.
“Was it really the party of the year?”
“Oh yeah,” I say. “I mean, a party at Liam Donnelly’s is already pretty awesome, but a party at Liam Donnelly’s when his parents are out of town?”
“What’s the big deal about this kid?”
“He’s a junior, and she’s a freshman with a crush.” I smile, happy to be the one with an inside scoop for once. Our regular mani-pedi dates have become somewhat less regular, but last week as CeCe and I got our fingers and toes pampered, it was “Liam this” and “Liam that” and “Liam said.”
“Interesting,” Tommy says. “Did I tell you they were slow dancing when I walked in?”
“How slow?”
He shakes his head. “Real slow.”
“Show me.” I stand and reach for Tommy’s hand. He resists at first, but eventually gives in like he always does. I put my arms around his neck and he brings his hands to my waist. “Were they standing like this?”
“A little closer.”
“Like this?” I take a step toward him and start swaying even though there isn’t any music and the neighbors might be watching.
“Like that,” Tommy says with a sigh.
I sigh, too, but mine is a happy one, because there’s no place I’d rather be than here with him, slow dancing under the moonlight. We should dance more often; the last time might have been at Jack and Blake’s wedding last fall. Too long ago.
I start humming “It Had to Be You,” the song we declared as ours. He joins in and I’m standing in the arms of the man I love, wondering if life can get any better than this. “I love you,” I whisper into his neck.
“Then will you marry me?”
“Never.” I smile, resting my head on his chest. “But thank you for asking.”
Tommy laughs and the vibrations pass through his body into mine. But then the laugh becomes a fit of coughs and I pull back. “You should see a doctor about that cough.”
“I have,” he says, catching his breath.
“Did he give you a Z-Pak?” Tommy’s eyes meet mine for a second, but he quickly looks away and I get a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. “Babe?”
“There’s something we need to talk about.”
Every cell in my body is suddenly standing at full attention. “Should I sit down for this?”
“Maybe we both should.”
He takes my hands in his and keeps holding them as we sit back down on the swing. The swing where I curl up with a novel on lazy Sunday mornings while Tommy reads the paper or does a crossword puzzle. The swing where I rocked CeCe