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“I’d better get to bed,” I said, glancing toward the door.

“Right,” Chase said, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”

“I’ll see you then,” I agreed.

I rushed from his room, tracking silently back to my own. It was cold out in the corridor, and the crisp air seemed to wake my mind from the fog it had been in. I had some serious thinking to do because falling for Chase wasn’t an option if I wanted to go through with the plan. I was going to have to make a choice, and to do that, I needed to figure out my feelings.

When I searched my heart, I no longer found any hatred toward Chase, and the connection growing between us felt so intense and real. I was starting to like him, but could I forgive him for the things he’d done in the past? And, even if I could, there was no guarantee it would work out between us. If it didn’t, I’d be back to square one with Chase, and I had to decide if that was a risk worth taking.

21

Ally

“I don’t knowwhat I’m doing,” I admitted as I got into Tessa’s car the next morning. I’d messaged her as soon as I woke up and told her to pick me up for school so we could talk. I’d barely had any sleep, which probably wasn’t helping my troubled thoughts.

“What do you mean?” She turned to me. Her eyebrows lifted as she took me in. “And what are you wearing?”

I glanced down at my jeans and T-shirt. I might have just thrown on the first thing I could find in my dresser, but I saw no problem with my outfit. “My clothes are fine.”

“Ally, you’re wearing yourmomjeans,” she groaned. “And you haven’t done your hair or your makeup.”

“I thought messy ponytails were in,” I grumbled.

“I’m pretty sure that doesn’t mean ponytails you’ve slept in,” she replied. She started rifling through her bag before pulling out several items. “Here, brush your hair and put some lip gloss on. It’s the least you can do.”

“All right, all right,” I agreed. It was sometimes easier just to go along with Tessa’s demands rather than to try to fight them. She took fashion very seriously. I was just glad she hadn’t sent me back in the house to change. I’d somehow managed to avoid Chase all morning, and I wasn’t prepared to go back into the house and risk facing him.

“So, what’s up?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about getting The Three C’s to readTwilightfor our next book club,” I said.

Tessa rolled her eyes. “Please don’t tell me that’s the emergency you were talking about…”

“Oh, no, that’s not the emergency.”

She let out a small laugh. “I swear, I never know with you. So, what’s the problem?”

I paused as I tried to find the perfect words to tell her what had happened last night between Chase and me. I had no idea how my best friend was going to react, but I really needed her advice. In the end, I figured the easiest way was to just blurt it out. “I kissed Chase last night!”

“That’s great, Ally!” she exclaimed. “Did your Dad catch you?”

“No. I went to Chase’s room in the middle of the night to talk to him, and the kiss kind of just happened.”

Tessa started to frown. “So, you weren’t trying to get caught when it happened?”

“Hence the emergency meeting,” I replied. I took in a deep breath before I continued. “I think I liked it.”

Tessa smiled. “Well, that’s hardly surprising. Chase is hot, and I’m sure he’s a great kisser.”

It was more than that though. I’d been starting to like him before the kiss, and kissing him had only done more to convince me that there was something between us.

“But now I don’t know if I want to go through with the plan.”

Tessa sat back in her seat and her eyes grew serious as she looked at me. “You don’t want to get him kicked out because he’s a good kisser?”

“I don’t want to kick him out because I think I might like him.”

Tessa sighed, looking slightly disappointed in me. “You can’t let one kiss throw you off your game,” she said. “This guy has been the bane of your existence for years, and are you forgetting what he did to you at the dance?”