Page 117 of Another Day (Every Day 2)

“And frostedness.”

“Yes. And frostedness.”

Talking like this, I am forgetting that this isn’t A. I am forgetting that we’re not on a regular date.

“Moving on…,” I say, taking us to the next aisle, and the one after.

We pick up a ridiculous amount of food. As we’re nearing the checkout, I realize there’s no way I am going to be getting home when my parents are expecting me.

“I should call my mom and tell her I’m eating at Rebecca’s,” I tell A.

“Tell her you’re staying over,” he says.

My phone is in my hand, but I don’t know what to do with it. “Really?”

“Really.”

Staying over. I think about the cabin. About what happened. I mean, what didn’t happen. And how that felt.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” I say.

“Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”

I want to trust him. But he also doesn’t know what it was like. And he might have the wrong idea of what a night might lead to.

“You know how I feel,” I say.

“I do. But still, I want you to trust me. I’m not going to hurt you. I will never hurt you.”

Okay. I look into his eyes and I feel like he knows. There’s a plan—there’s definitely a plan. But it’s not going to be a repeat of the cabin. He knows what he’s doing, and I do trust that.

I call my mother and tell her I’m at Rebecca’s and will be staying there. She’s annoyed, but I can deal with that.

The harder part is calling Rebecca.

“I need you to cover for me,” I say. “If my mom calls for any reason, tell her I’m over.”

“Where are you?” she asks. “Are you okay?”

“I am. I promise I’ll tell you about it later—I can’t right now. But I’m okay. I might not even be out the whole night. I just want to make sure I’m covered.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Really. It’s good.”

“Okay. But I expect a full explanation this time. Not your usual evasion.”

“I promise. I’ll tell you everything.”

She says to have a good time. I think it’s remarkable that she’s trusting me. But she is.

“You’ll tell her you met a boy,” A says once I’ve hung up.

“A boy I just met?”

&n

bsp; “Yeah. A boy you’ve just met.”