I drop the gaze of one of my best friends, trying to come up with an excuse. Any excuse. I can’t summon one.
“There’s a guy,” I confess.
Sarah’s expression immediately shifts from concerned to delighted. “Oh my god! Seriously?!”
I nod.
“Who? Is it Matt?”
“What? No! Why would you say that?”
“Maeve, he’s had a thing for you forever. Didn’t you hear what Sam said at lunch last week?”
“Yeah, I did,” I admit.
“So? Who is it, then?!”
I take a seat on my bed next to her. “I don’t want to tell you.”
As expected, Sarah looks even more intrigued. “Maeve! Tell me!”
“You have to swear you won’t say anything to anyone else. Not even Maggie and Brooke.”
“Are you serious?”
“Sarah!”
“Okay, okay, I promise. Tell me!”
I pick at a stray thread on my navy comforter. “Weston Cole.”
“Maeve, I promised, okay! Be serious. Who is it?”
I look her straight in the eyes. “I already told you.”
Both Brooke and Maggie cheer, so Sarah is my only close friend who doesn’t play a sport. Who’s never faced Alleghany and the barrage of bad blood head on. She also tends to be amenable. Pragmatic. There’s no trace of either trait right now.
Sarah looks absolutely floored. “Weston fucking Cole? WESTON FUCKING COLE, Maeve? Please tell me you’re joking. WESTON COLE?”
“Stop yelling his name,” I hiss. “My dad is home. Probably Liam, too.”
“I seriously can’t believe this is happening. Is this even happening?”
I roll my eyes. “You don’t believe me?”
“You’re just saying his name to make whoever you’re really secretly seeing seem totally fine, right?”
“Why would I lie to you about this?”
“Maeve, I was certain you hate Weston Cole as much as every other person in this town. More than most people. After the last three years… everything that he represents. Not to mention your dad. Liam! And I could maybe,maybesee Brooke or Maggie telling me something like this. Especially Brooke! She always talks about him, and she never thinks things through. But you think things through. You’re loyal. And you’re telling me you’ve been—what? Seeing Weston Cole? That you like Weston fucking Cole?”
I gnaw on my bottom lip. “I more than like him.”
Sarah gasps. “Oh my god! Have you kissed him?”
One of my favorite things about Sarah is how unassuming she is. I know Maggie or Brooke would be much more blunt. I embrace the boldness Wes seems to pull out of me and tease my reserved friend a bit. “Yes. And a lot more.”
Sarah looks at me, wide-eyed. “This isn’t happening. This isn’t happening,” she chants, leaning back against the wall my bed is pushed against.