“Yeah, damn him for actually having some taste.” Summer threw her hand over her mouth. “Oops. I shouldn’t have said that. It was mean, and I’m trying not to be like that.”
“Last I knew, there was no crime in telling the truth,” Ashlyn said. Buddy whimpered, and Ashlyn reached down and scratched his head. “Looks like Buddy’s done, and if you have time, I’d like to play a few more albums for you.”
“You better be careful tempting me with music. I might never leave your house again.”
Ashlyn’s eyes lit up. “Fine by me.”
By the time Summer got into her car to head home from Ashlyn’s, Kendall had left a couple voicemails and several texts. Apparently Lexi had called Kendall and told her all about seeing Summer and Ashlyn on the beach. Kendall wanted to know why she’d been ignored all weekend. Scrolling through message after all-caps message, Summer wondered how she was going to balance everything without losing all her friends in the process.
Chapter Ten
“Hey Baby,” Summer heard. She told herself to be strong. She knew Cody would come crawling back, asking for forgiveness, and she decided it would be okay to forgive him. But she could not—would not—take him back.
She took a fortifying breath and spun around. Just in time to see Jenna lean against Cody and stick her tongue down his throat. His hand slid down, into the back pocket of her jeans. Apparently they didn’t care about the fact that they weren’t the only two people in the hall.
Summer’s heart squeezed into a tight knot. She’d been told they were a thing now, and she thought she was okay with it. But she wasn’t. No matter how badly she wanted them to, the six months she’d spent caring about Cody didn’t just go away. If he’d cared about her at all, though, it would’ve taken him more than a day to move on. That stung worse than watching it happen. Actually, watching it happen hurt pretty damn bad, too.
Oh, holy crap, don’t start crying. Don’t start crying. Summer hugged her books to her aching chest and headed to chemistry.
Troy glanced up as she neared his desk. “I parked next to your car today. What happened to it?”
Her stomach dropped. “Did someone hit it? My dad will never believe I didn’t do it, and I’ll never get to drive anywhere ever again.”
“I meant that it’s got something brown all down the passenger side.”
“Oh, that.” Summer sank into her desk with a sigh of relief. “Ashlyn’s soda had some issues, and I didn’t get a chance to clean it off.”
“Sounds like you two hit it off,” Troy said. “And you thought she hated you.”
“She did. I had to use my awesome personality to win her over.” The memory of the hours she and Ashlyn spent laughing and talking this weekend helped chase away some of the pain she felt over seeing Cody and Jenna in the hall.
Then she remembered the incident at the beach. “I ran into Lexi over the weekend.” Summer ran her thumbnail across the edge of the desk. “She, uh, wants to know why you’re not calling.”
“Did you tell her what I said about her?” Troy asked with a wicked grin.
“Of course not! You think I’ve got a death wish?” She shook her head, trying not to smile, since it’d only encourage him. “Can I just tell her that you’re interested in somebody else?”
“I am interested in somebody else.”
“Even better. I won’t have to lie.” Summer picked up her pen and doodled on the front of her notebook. “So, how was the rest of your weekend?”
“Nothing to brag about. As usual, it ended too quickly.”
“I’m actually looking forward to today.” Seeing her ex and his new girlfriend in the hall sucked, but at lunch, she planned on hanging out with her new friends and forgetting about all her other drama.
Kendall stepped in front of Summer, blocking her path. “Okay. I don’t know what’s up, but this is an intervention.”
“What are you talking about?”
Kendall put her arm around Summer and sat her down at the table she used to frequent. From here, she could see Cody and Jenna. Jenna sat on his lap, feeding him his food like he couldn’t do it himself. What were they, birds?
“We’re all worried about you. I know you’re going through something, and I know it’s hard since Cody moved on so fast.” Kendall looked over at him and Jenna, wrinkling her nose at the grotesque display of affection. She turned back to Summer and lowered her voice. “But it’s social suicide to be hanging out with that Reject Group all the time. They’re odd people.”
Summer glanced toward The Misfits’ table, noticing the empty space next to Marcie—her place. “I guess I’d rather kill my social life than ignore the cool people I met. I don’t understand why it has to be one or the other. I should be able to hang out with both. In fact, you should give them a chance. They’re cool.”
“Ew. The nerdy twins are so weird.”
“Yes, they’re a little…unconventional. But Aaron and Darren are two of the nicest guys I’ve ever met.” In fact, she felt bad she’d ever thought of them as nerds. Although, she was starting to think nerds were the new cool.
Kendall threw up a hand. “Look. You need to remember the people who’ve been your friends since you got here. You didn’t even call me back yesterday.”
“I was busy.”
“I know. Hanging out with your new friend at Dog Beach.”
“I don’t see why I can’t be friends with everyone.” Summer’s attention accidentally drifted to Cody again. With him right there, it was hard not to look at him. “I can’t be over here with that going on.” She jerked her chin toward the making out duo. “I’ll catch up with you at practice.”
“Then go to the other side of the table.” Kendall lowered her voice, so only Summer could here. “Trust me, you need to hang with us at lunch today. People are starting to think you’re turning your back on us, and I can’t keep sticking up for you. Don’t mess everything up now.”
Not wanting to piss anyone off, Summer decided she should spend some time with Kendall. She moved to the other side so she wouldn’t have to witness Cody and Jenna making out.
“So guess what?” Lexi asked. “I heard Allie McKay’s dad is sleeping with her little brother’s nanny.”
Summer took out her Oreos, deciding to attack them before eating her sandwich. She pressed them together, watching the delicious frosting ooze out. “Aren’t her parents divorced?”
“Yeah, but the nanny’s like twenty-five.” Lexi glanced from face-to-face, obviously hoping to see the shock.
Summer didn’t have it in her to fake it. “So what?”
“Oh, that’s right. It doesn’t bother you because your dad likes younger girls, too.”
Summer dropped her Oreo. Heat was rising up, burning through her veins. She glared at Lexi, fighting the urge to lung across the table and strangle her. “Tiffany’s not that young.”
Two creases formed between Kendall’s eyebrows. “I thought you didn’t like her.”
“If she makes my dad happy, who cares?”
“Hypocritical much?” Kendall put her hand over Summer’s. “Come on, we’re only talking. Don’t get so worked up.”
Summer slid her hand free and picked her Oreo back up, even angrier at Lexi when she discovered most of the frosting was now smudged on the table.
The conversation moved to the new shoes the girls had gotten at the mall. Kendall and Lexi described their new purchases in excruciating detail. The whole time Summer kept wondering what was going on at The Misfits’ table. When she’d first sat with them, she’d longed to get back to her old friends. Now that she was here, all she wanted to do was go talk and laugh with her new ones.