Page 141 of On the Breakaway

My phone lights up, and I almost fall out of my chair in my race to pick it up.

Pathetic.

Wesley notices immediately. “Who is that?”

Shit.

“Oh, no one.”

“You don’t smile like that for no one.”

I immediately wipe the smile away.

Becca sits upright. “Who texted you?”

“My mom.”

Three sets of eyes narrow, but I break contact, looking down at my text messages.

Grayson: Won. Barely survived the media.

Grayson: Miss you.

My heart does a violent somersault, and I respond before I can overthink it.

Me: Miss me already? Seems a little clingy.

His response appears almost instantly.

Grayson: Do you not want me to be?

Heat immediately creeps into my cheeks.

I stare at the screen. Grayson always makes it so damn easy. Every time I pull back, he gives me space, which only makes me feel worse.

“Okay, who is that really?” Wesley demands.

I lock my phone. “It’s my mom.”

They all groan.

Thankfully, Wesley decides to save me from the interrogation.

She tosses another piece of popcorn into her mouth and says, “I’ve been thinking about moving in with Nathan.”

Haley squeals. “Oh my god.”

Becca starts laughing. “You never do anything halfway, do you?”

Wesley rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling.

The conversation should be harmless, but my heartbeat gets loud in my ears. It’s only been a couple of months. People are wrong about each other all the time.

“A little fast, don’t you think?”

Three heads swivel toward me, and the room feels warmer as I shift uncomfortably against the pillows.

Wesley’s eyebrows rise. “Really, Avery?”