Chapter 13

Even if itwas a picture-perfect fall day for a football game—crisp air, bright blue sky, golden leaves floating in the wind—Rory couldn't shake her nerves as she approached the stands with Jay. He held her hand tightly on their climb up the metal bleachers, shuffling through the crowd to find their friends.

"IS THAT WHO I THINK IT IS?!" Blake screamed.

Jay let go of Rory and held up his hands. "Blakey boy!"

Blake sprinted down the steps toward her and Jay, hauling him into a fierce hug that threw off his balance. The two of them were chattering away as she followed them up to where Blake had been sitting with Zach, Melanie, and Calvin. Melanie caught her eye briefly, her eyebrows raised, before Jay forced her into a hug.

"Missed you, newbie," Jay said to her. He glanced up at Calvin and nodded. "Army boy."

Calvin nodded back, not flinching at the nickname.

Her eyes roamed the group, searching for the missing Scooper. "Where's Jess?"

"Working," Calvin answered. "She got called in at the last minute."

"Why does everyone work on Thanksgiving," she mumbled.

"Yeah, yearbook editor, why were you working?" Jay teased her, curling an arm around her waist.

She could feel the tension in the group as soon as he did it. Jay just smiled at her before glancing at the rest of them, his chest puffed up, looking mighty proud of himself.

"Did—did I miss something?" Blake asked, his eyes wide like saucers.

Jay kept smiling at them. "Seems my baby has been keeping secrets."

"Baby?!" Blake sputtered. He turned to Melanie, who was tucking a wavy strand of hair behind her ear. "You knew, didn't you?"

"Of course I knew," she said softly.

"Why am I always the last to know," Blake grumbled.

Calvin just crossed his arms, his eyes on Rory. "Huh."

Jay bristled. "Got a problem, army boy?"

"Nope," Calvin said, his eyes still on her. "Just surprised."

But she could sense it—there was something else. Melanie clearly hadn't told him anything about her and Jay, and her friend's loyalty made her heart swell. Calvin, however, looked displeased at this sudden turn of events.

"Wow, look at us," Blake said as they all sat down. "We're all in relationships."

Rory's eyes flicked over to Jay at the use of the big R word, but he seemed unfazed. He just kept smiling at the group.

"For now," Calvin murmured, his voice only loud enough for Rory to hear. He was watching her again as he placed his arm around Melanie's shoulders. Even if he wasn't speaking his mind, she was able to catch the gist of what Calvin was trying to tell her.

He didn't think whatever this was between her and Jay would last.

She shook her head and turned away. Then, she tightened the green bandana on her head with nervous hands and tried to avoid the way it gnawed at her during the rest of the game.

* * *

Jay wasdue at his abuelita's for dinner before the game finished, so he kissed her goodbye and left after the third quarter. Which was how Rory ended up in Calvin's truck with Melanie after watching Tyler and his team devour a turkey with their bare hands on the 50-yard line.

"Are you sure you don't want to come back with us to Sandy Cove?" Melanie asked as they pulled up to Misty Bay. "The Fletchers and Calvin's grandma are coming over as well, we're going to have a lot of food. And jam."

Rory shook her head, avoiding Calvin's gaze. His judgment toward her was reverberating off of him, and she needed out of his presence. Even if the idea of going back to Melanie's cottage was way more enticing than stepping foot in her sad, empty house.

"Thanks, but I have a lot of work to do," she replied. She would start to tackle the senior pages, maybe nail down a few design concepts, before flicking on Sleeping Beauty and heating up her leftover Thai takeout.

She reached for the door handle.

"Why are you with him?" Calvin asked abruptly.

Rory whipped her head around and glared at him. "Um, because I like him?"

"Even after all the ways he's hurt you and said horrible things about you?"

Melanie, sitting between the two of them, shook her head. "I haven't told him anything, I promise."

"She didn't need to," Calvin added. "I've seen enough at Scoops to know he treats you like dirt."

"He's working on it," she responded through gritted teeth. "He's trying to be better."

"And is that really what you want?" Calvin asked. "Don't you want to be with someone who treated you well from the beginning?"

Her face felt hot as she squinted her eyes. "He's in a relationship."

To her surprise, Calvin chuckled. "Come on, Rory, do you really think his feelings for you changed that quickly?"

"Calvin," Melanie interjected harshly. "Leave her alone."

He paused as if considering, then sighed, tilting his head back on his seat. "Okay, fine, I'm sorry."

She didn't bother looking back at either of them as she slammed the truck door, storming up to the house. As she secured the lock, that sickening feeling crawled up her belly again. She paced the room, angry at how invasive Calvin had been. Why, when he insinuated that she should be with Tyler, did she not tell him that she didn't like Tyler like that?

She dropped to the couch, shoved her face in her hands, and swore.

* * *

Rory was standingby the microwave waiting for her Thai food to heat up, staring out at nothing in particular as rain softly pattered against the window.

A fierce knock on the glass made her jump. She swiveled to find a slightly damp Tyler standing there, arms crossed, looking down at his shoes.

She slid open the back door. "Yes?"

"You here alone?"

She gestured toward the cold, lonely house. "Clearly."

"Gabi's working?"

"Unfortunately," she grumbled, making room for Tyler to enter.

Tyler brushed the rain off himself, then offered her a look filled with sympathy. "I'm sorry, Ry."

She shrugged, crossing her arms. "Why are you here?"

"Because my mom wanted to know if you'd like to come over for dinner."

The microwave beeped.

"I, um, I'll be good," she responded.

"Let me guess…leftover Thai."

She grinned. "You know me so well."

Tyler chuckled, but it didn't last long, his eyes and face growing darker as he gazed down at her. "I saw you. With him."

She pulled the warm plate from the microwave, fanning her hand over the food as they stood there in silence, not saying a word.

"Why won't you talk to me about this?" he pleaded.

She set her plate on the counter. "Ty, have you seen yourself lately? All you do is get mad and yell at me. Remember the movie theater?"

"Yeah, because I care about you, Rory," he admitted, stepping closer to her. "I don't want to see you get hurt."

Her heart began hammering in her chest. "Why?" she stammered. "Why do you care so much when you have a girlfriend?"

"Because—because—dang it," he muttered, rubbing his hands on his face. "Because we're best friends."

"Are we? Because it sure doesn't feel that way."

"You told me you wanted this, Ry," he said, his wet sneakers squeaking as he stepped closer to her, his face earnest. "You said you wanted things to go back to normal. I'm trying to do that."

"Nothing feels normal," she whispered.

"You're right about that," he said, his face even closer to hers now. "Especially if you're with him."

He spun around and left the house. Rory's heart was beating at the speed of light, blood pulsing through her veins. She was so mad at him, so angry he'd moved on and left her behind.

Before she could even think about what she was doing, she followed him out into the rain. His fists were clenched by his sides as he continued home despite hearing her door slam open.

So she kicked off her sneaker and raised it, forcing all of her anger into her throw and watched it land right between his shoulder blades.

Tyler stopped, his back straightening. He slowly turned toward her, his eyes wide with shock.

"You're an idiot," she said.

She half expected him to leave her there and keep going, back to his perfect life with his perfect family dinner and his perfect new girlfriend.

But he didn't.

He came rushing forward and closed the distance between them, wrapping his strong arms around her waist and lifting her up. For a brief moment, he just stared into her eyes, longing and anguish etched on his face. It was still there. He still cared for her.

She nodded, letting him know she understood. That she saw him, every bit of him. And that she was okay with whatever he was about to do next.

So, he leaned in, and he finally kissed her.

She'd kissed boys before, had even kissed the one boy she'd always had a crush on. But never in her life had a kiss caused what felt like an electrical shock to course through her entire body. Kissing Tyler was like turning on a switch. Everything was darkness before, and now, it all made sense.

She threw her arms around him and kissed him back, his soft lips rolling against hers, his hands holding her tightly to him, grasping this wild, perfect moment. Even as the rain picked up, her hair getting soaked, she wrapped her legs around his torso and tilted her head, deepening the kiss. He moved a hand to the back of her thigh, the other still firm at the small of her back, holding her steady. Just like he always did.

Then it hit her, what they were doing. How wrong it was, yet how right it all felt.

She broke away. "Tyler, we should—"

"Mm-mm," he mumbled, shaking his head as he pressed his lips to hers again. So she let it happen, melting into him, savoring the taste of his tongue, the breath they shared.

When they finally slowed, she nipped at his bottom lip before pulling away and staring into his eyes. He pressed his forehead against hers and sighed, droplets of rain sliding down his cheeks. He was still holding her.

"You're really strong enough to keep me lifted like this?"

"If I put you down then it's over," he whispered. "I don't want it to be over."

Butterflies danced around in her stomach. She felt her cheeks flush. "I—well, at some point my food will get cold."

"That's what microwaves are for."

She smiled, shaking her head at him. "Tyler…"

He groaned, letting her down gently but shielding her from the rain.

"Sooo," she said softly. "What now?"

"I have no idea," he whispered, stroking her cheek with the back of his hand.

"You're still with Zoe."

His hand froze. "And you're with Jay." She felt his muscles stiffen when he said the name.

"Do we…break it off with them?"

"I…" He trailed off. Then, to her absolute dismay, Tyler let her go and stepped away, running a hand through his hair. "I can't."

She felt like she'd been hit with a hammer. "What do you mean you can't?"

"I can't break it off with her, Ry."

She glared at him. "Why?"

"It's hard to explain."

She crossed her arms, in complete disbelief that he was doing this to her. "Is it because I'm not as popular as her? Will I ruin your royalty status?"

"You can't honestly think it's about that."

"Fine, then is it because I'm not blonde and pretty?" she asked, not hiding the venom in her tone.

"Ry, don't," he said, reaching for her. "You're the most stunning person I've—"

"Stop," she said, holding up a hand. She pushed him away, losing her balance from the slick grass beneath her and almost toppling over. He tried to steady her, but she twisted out of his grasp. "If you're not going to break it off with her, then I don't want to hear it."

"P-please, I—" he stuttered. "I need you to trust me."

"And what? Secretly date you so you can keep this weird high school royalty facade you've got going on?" She stormed away from him, grabbing her sneaker as she went.

Tears rolled down his cheeks when she spared him a final glance. "Ry, I don't want to hurt you. I don't—"

"You already have, Tyler," she said coldly.

She stepped into the house, throwing her wet sneaker at the bookshelf across the room, watching a few books crumble to the floor. Just like her heart.