Little White Lies (10 page)

“Really?” Paige took the clothes from me and slid into them. “You like it?”

I nodded as she checked out her reflection in the mirror. “You look gorgeous. It's perfect for a group night out. Not too dressy or too casual.”

I pulled on my own date clothes—a black capped-sleeve
shirt, a ruffled black skirt, and pink peep-toe ballet flats.

“I'm
so
nervous!” Paige said. She stood in front of our closet mirror and applied a peachy coat of lip gloss.

“Don't be,” I said. “I'll be there and so will Callie. It's just a group thing. Not even a date. We're all just … hanging out.”

“Hanging out.” Paige repeated my words, then smiled at me. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

I'd been hiding my own nerves all night. I didn't want to blow this for Paige. It was her first shot at a chance with Ryan and I wasn't going to let my worries about being around Jacob affect our night.

But no matter how tonight played out,
I
knew I was hiding Jacob's e-mails and texts from Callie, and even Paige. I couldn't help but feel the guilt growing in my stomach. Plus, if the guys were weird to each other, the night would go on
forever
.

It was twilight when Paige and I made our way across campus. Lightning bugs sparkled through the air and lit up the lawn.

“You'll be great,” I told Paige. “Don't be nervous. Ryan already really likes you—it's so obvious.”

“Really?” Paige tucked her hair behind her ear. “I hope so. I just want to have fun.”

“We will.”

And I actually started to believe it myself. I'd barely seen Eric since school had begun and my excitement about seeing him was beginning to ease my tension about the night.

When Paige and I walked up to the front of The Slice, Callie was already waiting outside. She looked perfect as always these days: black patent leather ankle boots, black tights, a purple mini, and a black ruffle top.

“Hey,” she said, hugging us. “The boys obviously ditched us.”

We laughed. “Totally,” Paige said. “They went out for a guys' night instead.”

“As long as we have pizza and soda, I think I'll survive,” Callie said. “School was a
killer
this week.”

Paige nodded her head in agreement. “This was the most intense ‘welcome back' week ever. The work was crazy even for Canterwood.”

“Ohhh, how was your English quiz?” Callie asked. “I forgot to ask Sasha how it went. She said she was nervous about that yesterday. It's crazy that you guys had a quiz the first week.”

Omigod.

Paige looked over at me. “What English quiz? We didn't have a quiz today.”

I played with a lock of my hair, trying not to panic. “Ugh, I was so tired. I got the dates mixed up. I totally thought we had a quiz on
The Secret Garden
today and I told Callie that we did.”

Callie laughed. “I get it. I almost went to English instead of math because I got my schedule confused yesterday.”

We giggled and I ran my fingers through my hair, hoping they wouldn't see how much I was sweating. I knew Paige and Callie didn't suspect that I was lying—they honestly believed I'd made a mistake. And while I was glad they didn't guess that I was lying to them, I realized they believed me because they trusted me, which made me feel awful.

“Hi,” Jacob said, walking up to us. Callie slipped her fingers through his.

I took a tiny step away from Callie and Jacob, moving closer to Paige. I did not want to do the weird small-talk thing. Jacob and I had nothing to say to each other and I didn't want to talk to him at
all
in front of Callie. But I didn't have to wait long—Eric and Ryan showed up right as I was getting ready to text Eric.

“Hey!” I said to both of them a little too enthusiastically.

Eric smiled at everyone—even at Jacob.

“Hi,” Ryan said. His eyes went right to Paige. He stepped in front of her and pulled open the door, motioning her to step inside first.

We all walked into The Slice, waited for a hostess and then followed her to a round table near the back. Eric was next to me, then Callie, Jacob, Paige, and Ryan.

The smells of pizza, buffalo wings, and mozzarella sticks were mouthwatering. Plus, the place was adorable—all of the tablecloths had red and white checkers on them. In the center of our table, an old-fashioned lantern gave off a soft glow. The restaurant was quiet and didn't have the same level of sugar-high chatter that the Sweet Shoppe had. It was low-key—just the kind of atmosphere I wanted for tonight.

“I love it here,” I said.

“Me too,” Ryan said.

We asked for sodas and told the waiter we needed a couple of minutes to decide what to order.

“How about we get three different pizzas to share,” Ryan suggested. “That way we all get a ton of options.”

“Yes! I love that idea, Ryan!” Paige blurted out. Even
the low lighting couldn't hide the pinkness that spread over her face.

“Me too,” I said, jumping in. “Cool with you guys?” I looked at Eric, Jacob, and Callie.

“Let's do it,” Callie said.

Eric slid a menu into the middle of the table and we all leaned forward to decide.

Under the table, I felt Eric reach for my hand. He squeezed it and I looked over at him. When our eyes met, I wanted to kiss him. In front of everyone—I didn't even care. But guilt about hiding Jacob's messages settled immediately into my stomach. Suddenly, I wasn't so hungry anymore.

“You know what we want, right?” Eric asked.

“Absolutely,” I said, forcing a smile.

“Sasha and I are going to get pepperoni and extra cheese,” he said.

Callie, Ryan, and Paige nodded.

Jacob laughed. “Extra cheese,” he muttered. “Perfect.”

“What does
that
mean?” Eric asked. He let go of my hand, his shoulders tensing.

“Nothing, man. Whatever.” Jacob shook his head, smiling to himself.

Callie looked at him, her face showing her embarrassment. Our eyes met.

Sorry,
she mouthed.

I shook my head.
It's fine,
I mouthed back.

“Um,” Callie started. “Jacob and I are ordering Hawaiian.”

Jacob, Callie, and I looked over at Paige and Ryan. Their heads were bent together and they were talking in tones low enough that I couldn't hear them.

“What are you guys getting?” I asked Paige.

She looked up as if she was confused that someone was talking to her. “What? Sorry.”

I smiled. “I just asked what you guys want to order.”

“Oops,” Ryan said. “We didn't even decide yet.” He turned to Paige. “What would you like? I'll eat any kind of pizza.”

“Veggie okay?” Paige asked.

“Veggie it is,” Ryan said.

The waiter came over and pulled a notepad from his apron. “What can I get for you?”

We all looked at one another, deciding who was going to order. Everyone's eyes just seemed to settle on Eric.

“Okay,” Eric said. “We'll have the—”

“I guess someone appointed himself the one in charge,” Jacob interrupted.

Omigod. Why was Jacob being such a jerk?!

“Jacob,” I snapped. “What's your deal?”

I closed my mouth, surprised that I'd just called him out like that. Callie glanced at me and shot me another
I'm sorry
look. She turned and glared at Jacob.

Eric sat back in his chair, arms folded. “Jacob, this is obviously important to you, so go ahead. Please.”

I'd
known
this group date idea was bad. But I'd really thought the guys would be able to at least fake coolness with each other. This was ridic! Paige and Ryan, looking up, finally seemed to catch on to the tension. They fell silent, which was the last thing I wanted for Paige's first date. This night was supposed to be about getting Paige and Ryan together and for us to have fun as friends.

Jacob stared at Eric for what felt like hours before looking at the waiter. He placed our orders and the table was quiet.

“So,” Callie said, her tone too cheery, “Sasha and I were saying the other day how we've had zero time to hang out with friends this week. I was delusional thinking that Canterwood teachers wouldn't drown us with homework on the first week.”

That made everyone laugh. Phew—something everyone could agree on.

“I know,” I said. “Paige is my roommate and we
barely got to see each other this week. That's def got to change.”

Jacob sipped Coke from his plastic red glass and set it down. “I actually got to see Callie a lot this week, but I haven't seen much of my other friends.” He looked at me. “Besides Sasha. We saw each other at lunch on Tuesday.”

I nodded once, then I looked over at Ryan. “How's your first week back?” I asked Ryan.

He smiled. “The same as every year. Completely insane until I get used to my schedule. But I think it'll be calmer next week.” His eyes shifted over to Paige for a second. “I'll have more time to go out.”

Paige smiled and I forced myself not to cheer. Ryan
sooo
like-liked her. I gave them five seconds alone before he asked her out. Perfect! Across the table, Callie had picked up on Ryan's comment too. She winked at me.

Beside me, Eric frowned. He shifted in his seat and looked at me. “Jacob said he saw you at lunch on Tuesday?”

I nodded. “Yeah. For, like, five seconds.”

I had no idea where Eric was going with this. He
couldn't
be jealous that I'd seen Jacob at lunch. If only he knew how much I'd been avoiding that scenario. I'd done nothing wrong—I'd told Jacob to leave and he had.

Eric turned in his seat, staring at me. “Callie and I had to have a later lunch on Tuesday because of science class. Didn't you text me that you skipped lunch that day?”

Did I?

I felt the burning panic in my chest. I'd lied and had forgotten about it. I
had
told him that I'd skipped lunch. That was the most unnecessary thing to lie about, but I'd done it to avoid telling Eric that Jacob and I had been alone together for even five minutes.

I turned to Eric, my mouth hanging open. I couldn't come up with a lie fast enough! “I—”

“I'm an idiot,” Jacob interjected. “It wasn't lunch.” He paused, thinking. “I saw you at the vending machine and I joked about how
that
was your lunch.”

Our eyes met for a brief second, then I looked down at the table.

Ten minutes ago, I'd been a jerk to Jacob and he'd just saved me. He knew I'd lied and he covered for me anyway.

“Right,” I said. “I got a gross package of stale cheese crackers.”

Eric's gaze shifted back and forth between Jacob and me. “But two minutes ago you didn't deny seeing Jacob at lunch.”

I felt like we were one of those couples fighting in front of friends and making everyone else uncomfortable.

“It didn't seem important to say ‘Hey, I saw you at the vending machine and not the caf.'” I shrugged and sipped my drink.

Eric looked at me for another second as if he wanted to say something else, but the waiter appeared at that moment with our pizzas. We all took a slice of each and started eating. Callie, Eric, Jacob, and I kept our eyes mostly on our food while Paige and Ryan continued their bubbly conversation. I didn't want to ruin the night for Paige and have her feel sorry for me—someone else had to start talking too.

“The weather's been awful lately,” I said. Lamest. Topic. Ever. “I'm always a mess after lessons.”

“Yeah, at least I get one coolish lesson in the morning,” Callie said. “Afternoon lessons are beyond gross.”

Callie and I looked at the guys, waiting for them to at least say
something
. But they stared at their glasses and Eric swirled his straw in his Coke.

It was Friday night.

And we were talking about the weather.

FORTY EXCRUCIATING MINUTES LATER, WE
split the bill and left The Slice. We walked outside and stood in a ragged circle outside the restaurant. I was glad it was dark outside—it helped hide whatever lingering stress was showing on my face from dinner.

“So, Jacob and I are going to catch a movie,” Callie said. “Tonight was so much fun!” I knew my BFF well enough to realize when she was being fake-cheery.

“Yeah!” I chimed in. My own excitement was as real as hers. “So much fun.” I glanced at Paige and Ryan. “Eric, want to walk to the courtyard with me?”

“Sure,” Eric said, taking my hand. I waved at Callie as she as Jacob walked off toward the media center.

Ryan turned immediately to Paige. “Can I walk you back to your dorm?”

Paige's wide eyes darted to me. I nodded slightly and raised my eyebrows.

“Sure,” Paige said. “That would be great.”

Ryan and Paige started down the sidewalk and Paige looked back over her shoulder at me. I smiled and waved her on.

Seeing Paige so happy made the entire uncomfortable evening worth it.

“Paige is hilarious,” Eric said. “She's a TV star and a great girl who has always given you good advice, but she couldn't be more freaked out about being around a guy.”

“I know. But she'll relax once she gets to know Ryan. She does give great advice, but it's different when it's
you
.”

Still holding hands, Eric and I walked down the streetlight-lit sidewalk. The campus was quiet tonight; only a few students were walking around.

“I'm glad we have time to go out just by ourselves,” I said. “I missed you this week.”

“Me too,” Eric said. “Things
will
settle down, though. And hey, sorry about the weirdness over the lunch thing. I wasn't trying to make a big deal out of it, but I know it came out that way.”