Page 69 of My Fault

With a look of superiority, she replied, “Twenty. And in a year, I’ll be done with college.” So she thought she was better than me.

“I’d have never guessed,” I responded, provoking her indignation. Nick shook his head vigorously while Jenna tittered.

“Tell me something, Noah, where’d you learn to drive so well?” Mario asked, changing the subject. I knew that subject would irk Nick, reminding him of how he’d lost his car.

“Nowhere. It was just good luck that I won the race,” I said,shrugging my shoulders. Then I dug into the chips and salsa and nervously started chewing. I didn’t want to get into it.Let’s say some things are better left dead and buried.

“Get out! It was amazing!” Jenna said. “It had been forever since anyone beat Ronnie, and you left him in the dust, even Nick…” She realized where she was going and seemed to decide to trail off.

“You actually want us to think you just happened to win?” Anna asked with false friendliness.

Nick leaned both forearms on the table and pinned me with his blue eyes.

“Spit it out. How’d you learn to race like that?”

The question was so direct that only the pure and simple truth would do. But I wasn’t willing to give him that. There were things in my past I didn’t want to talk about. So I lied.

“My uncle was a NASCAR driver. He taught me all I know.”

I saw surprise in his face and a little bit of doubt, but just then, the waitress showed up with our order. I had always liked Mexican food, especially tacos, and I used the distraction to chat up Mario. He was always easy to talk to. At some point, I started cracking up at something he’d said that no one else had heard because everyone was wrapped up in their own conversations.

After calming down, I bent over to take a sip of my soda and looked up at Nick, who seemed furious and uninterested in talking with Anna, Jenna, and Lion.

I couldn’t imagine what had happened, but I wasn’t going to ask, either. Our truce over these past few days seemed as fragile as a thread, and I knew I could break it if I said or did anything that got under his skin.

“The party at your place was great, Nick. We should try to throw an even bigger one and get everyone over to celebrate the end of summer,” Jenna said.

The whole table nodded, but all I could think about was whathad happened between Nick and me there. It had been the first time we’d really hooked up.

“Noah, you’re red as a tomato,” Jenna said.

I wanted to die, especially when I looked up at Nick and saw he seemed to be thinking exactly the same thing as I was.

“It’s the salsa,” I said, taking a sip of my drink.

Soon afterward, we asked for the check. I’d forgotten I needed to borrow money from Nick, and that made it weird when Mario said he wanted to pay for me. Nicholas interrupted him:

“I’ve got her.”

I could tell Mario was going to argue, so I jumped in. Anna was pissed, too, especially since Nick hadn’t said a word about paying for her.

“I lost my wallet,” I said, trying to sound indifferent.

“Okay, that settles it. I’ve got her, Nicholas,” Mario said.

“Sure you can afford it?” Nicholas asked maliciously. “I wouldn’t want you to blow all your tip money on one meal.”

I couldn’t believe what he was saying. There was an uncomfortable silence, and Mario tensed like a dog under attack. I knew there was about to be a confrontation, and I had no idea how to avoid it.

Before Mario could respond, I grabbed his hand under the table. He was surprised, but he squeezed back a second later.

“Pay it if you feel like it,” he said, standing up and pulling me along with him. He dropped a twenty on the table and turned toward me. The fact that we were holding hands was lost on no one.

“How about I treat you to an ice cream?” he said. I liked how he hadn’t let his rage get the better of him. Mario wasn’t a violent guy, even if he had the muscles to tangle with Nick. I smiled.

“Hell yeah!”

Jenna gawked at me at first and then smiled knowingly.