She came to a halt several feet away from him when he stopped and turned toward her in the center of the glade. For a few seconds, they just looked at each other.
“Your hair—it’s getting longer.”
She raked her bangs out of her eyes self-consciously. “Yeah. It’s a wreck.”
“It looks good. It’s getting lighter in the sun, too. I like it.”
Alice shrugged uneasily, studying the long grass swaying around their feet. She needed to color her hair again, but hadn’t had the opportunity here at camp. Not only were the telltale red-gold roots starting to show, the sun was bringing out highlights even through the dark brown color she usually used. It made her feel naked somehow—vulnerable—knowing Thad noticed her emerging true color.
“There’s something I need to talk to you about. Something important.”
She glanced up, snagged by Thad’s somber tone. His gaze was so warm on her. So caring.
Why can’t things be simple? Why can’t things be what they appear to be? God, her life was a seriously fucked-up mess.
“It’s okay,” she said huskily. “I know about you and Brooke.”
“What?”
“I saw you two together in the woods yesterday.”
He appeared dumbstruck.
“It’s all right, Thad,” she assured, inhaling for strength. “You probably didn’t want to tell me because . . . well, because it’s pretty obvious Brooke and I aren’t the best of friends. What’s between Brooke and me shouldn’t matter to our friendship, though,” she reasoned, gesturing between them. She hesitated when he just stared at her. “At least I hope it won’t,” she added doubtfully.
“God, no. Of course not,” he said, reaching out and gripping her upper arm. “I’m sorry.
I just wasn’t expecting—”
“Me to know already about you and Brooke?” she laughed mirthlessly. “Yeah, I figured.”
His hand tightened on her arm. “I want you to know that if things had been different between us . . . if you had shown any interest in me . . . I mean, I’ve known Brooke since we were four years old. We’ve hooked up once in a while for nearly ten years now, but it’s not like she’s the one or something—”
“You don’t have to explain, Thad. I understand. Really, I do,” she assured, his obvious discomfort paining her.
“No, Alice, listen,” he insisted, stepping closer to her. Alice stared straight ahead at his chest when he moved his hand on her arm, stroking her. Her heartbeat started to thump loudly in her ears.
“I do have to explain,” he said hoarsely. “Because the thing is, I think you might be the one.”
Her chin went up sharply. Her eyes widened when she realized how close his face was to hers. A robin keened loudly in a nearby tree and went abruptly silent.
“I know,” he said dryly, obviously seeing the shock on her face. “Pretty lame on my part, to say that when I’ve been sleeping with Brooke. I’m weak. What can I say? I’ve always been weak. Spoiled rich kid. That’s what most people would say, right? It’s certainly what my father says,” he added bitterly. He shook his head in obvious frustration at himself. “And I deserve it. Every word. I was feeling lonely. Rejected, because I knew you didn’t feel the same way about me as I do you. And Brooke was there. She’s pretty. Attractive. Familiar. My parents love her. And she has some good points, believe it or not. I know she’s never bothered to show them to you, but—”
“I’m sure she does,” Alice said bracingly. She gave him a determined smile. “And you know what? I’m going to try harder to get to know her. You’re right. If you like her, she’s got to have some good—What?” she interrupted herself when Thad’s expression turned hard and he grasped her other arm.
“You don’t get what I’m saying,” he bit out, leaning down toward her so that his breath struck her lips. “I don’t care that much about Brooke. I’m an ass. I just started up with her when I realized you were involved with Dylan Fall.”
The name seemed to echo and vibrate in Alice’s ears in the silence that followed.
“How . . . how did you know . . .”
“Do you think a guy doesn’t notice when the girl he’s fallen for is completely in love with someone else?”
“I’m not in love with Dylan,” she denied automatically. Inside her head, an alarm started to blare. A flash of heat went through her, a prelude to panic, because it wasn’t like a lie she’d ever told before. This lie mattered. It felt utterly wrong, like a breach of nature, saying what she’d just said.
“You’re crazy about him,” Thad stated, his mouth twisting in bitter anger. He stepped closer. “And that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. You need to be careful of Fall. He’s manipulating you. He’s hiding things from you, Alice.”
“No he’s not,” she defended Dylan automatically, her voice going high. The front of Thad’s body was brushing against her now, and she was so confused. “Not anymore, he’s not!”