Page 78 of Tell No Lies

“Dance is going really well. I’m going to be doing my solo again in our next competition, and Brandon said there might even be some scouts there!”

Carter finally tore his gaze away from the show. “Aubrey! That’s amazing!”

“Yeah, I’m really excited but also way nervous.”

“Don’t be. You are an amazing dancer. I bet you’ll have your pick of schools to go to.”

I could only nod. This wasn’t what I wanted to talk about, but how could I bring up something like this?

“Anything else going on?”

It was an innocent enough question, but I couldn’t help but wonder if he already knew more. I decided to get rid of the elephant in the room and replace it with a bigger one.

“Mike and I broke up.”

I counted in my head until he replied. One-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight …

“Why?” His voice was barely above a whisper.

I exhaled and almost laughed. “Several reasons, actually.”

He met my eyes and waited.

“My psycho stalker sent him a picture of me and my friend, Gage, together, so Mike accused me of cheating on him. Even after I explained it, he didn’t want to believe me. He wanted me to give up dancing to be around him more. He didn’t think it was something I should be wasting my time on since I don’t have a future in it. Finally, he gave me an ultimatum and that was the final straw.”

“What an idiot.” He scoffed.

“Yeah, I think so.”

He was still shaking his head, deep in thought. “Are you okay?” Of course he thought about that. He was always concerned with how I was doing but didn’t realize I’d be so much better with him.

“I am now. Mike was my friend first, but dating ruined everything for us. He had so many expectations of how I needed to act and what being his girlfriend meant, but I couldn’t live up to any of it. I miss him, though.”

“I bet. He was one of your first friends here. I can’t believe he would be willing to throw all of that away.”

The girls had been right the other night. I owed it to myself and to Mike to try to make things right. “Maybe he can move past it, eventually. I want to stay friends with him.”

Carter looked surprised. “You do?”

“Yeah. Good friends are hard to find, and us dating was a huge mistake, which I know now. If he sees that too, maybe we can go back to our original relationship.”

“That’s very mature of you. Most girls would be cursing his name and refusing to admit they were wrong.”

I debated whether or not it was time to say what had been on my mind. There were only two possible outcomes. He would either agree that we belonged together, or crush my heart and says no. Luckily, the possibility of being with him was worth the chance of being denied. Again.

“Carter?”

His focused returned to me, and his eyes locked on mine. “Yeah?”

“Do you … I mean … is there?” This was one thousand times harder than I could have possibly imagined.

He chuckled and looked more confused than I was. “You can talk to me about anything, Aubrey. What’s wrong?”

My leg was bouncing uncontrollably. I glared down at it, willing it to get it together. I could taste my nerves. I exhaled slowly, trying to buy more time. This was what I wanted, the chance to talk and have him truly listen to me.

Ever so slowly, my gaze rose to meet his. “Carter, do you still … have feelings?”

Really, Aubrey? “Do you still have feelings?” No, he’s now a robot. I wanted to slap myself, but I knew that wouldn’t help my case.