I walked back into my house after kissing Carter bye. My dad had come back and already left for work. Carter was going to train today. Hannah owed me an explanation, so I called her and asked her to come over by noon, which meant she'd be here any minute now.

I went up to my room and switched out his boxers for my pajama shorts and hung the dress back up. By the time I made myself something to eat, the bell rang. I went and answered it with toast hanging between my teeth. I stepped aside and let her in.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked, "How's stuff with you and Carter?"

"It's great. He asked me to be his girlfriend," I said while pouring the milk into my cup of tea before putting it back in the fridge.

"Oh, wow. That's great. That must mean you really like him," she said absentmindedly as I turned around and found her on her phone, texting someone.

"What about you?" I questioned.

"What about me?"

"How's everything with you and Connor?"

"We went on a date yester- wait what? Connor?" she laughed awkwardly.

"Yeah, you went on a date last night with Connor. Didn't you?" I smirked.

"Who told you that?" "Answer my question and I'll answer yours," I shrugged.

"He asked me to hang out, that's all it was," she shrugged.

"Liar," I retorted.

"I'm not lying," she huffed.

"His dad told me. He was attending the party that Carter took me to last night. He said Connor wasn't there because he had a date with a girl named Hannah who he thought was really nice. You got a date and met his parents all in one go, good job," I laughed.

"It wasn't like that," she whined, "First we just planned to meet to finish the English assignment, but then he said we should hang out. After the assignment. So we finished it at his house and then he just asked me to hang out and go to dinner. He didn't even tell me it was a date till we were leaving," she explained.

"Well, did you have fun?"

"Yeah."

"Do you like him?"

"Maybe."

"What about Jake?"

She didn't know what to say. "I mean, technically, I wasn't his girlfriend anyway," she shrugged.

"Hannah," I chuckled, "You and him had been going out for a month. I think you owe him an apology with an explanation. Girlfriend or not, you kind of cheated on him," I replied.

"I know, I just don't know how to tell him," she facepalmed.

"Call him and ask to meet him. I just hope for your sake he's mature enough to have a conversation about it. I never liked him anyway," I shrugged.

"You didn't?"

I shook my head, "Nope. Not for you. Just go tell him," I said.

"Now?"

"Why not? Get it over with," I said before glancing at her phone. "I can't believe you went out with Connor and you didn't even tell me. Sneaky bitch. Call him and ask him to meet you. Now," I said while pointing to her phone.

She sighed in defeat and picked it up to call him. "Hello, Jake? Can I meet you?"

◆:*:◇:*:◆:*:◇:*:◆

I strolled around the kitchen looking for something to eat. I opened cabinets as I tried finding something good to eat. I was craving something spicy.

This feels like a treasure hunt.

I stood on my toes, looking up before clicking my tongue in disappointment and closing the cabinet. I opened the pantry and looked around, once again going on my toes where I spotted a Takis packet at the back on the highest shelf.

"Who would even put that there?" I mumbled while trying to reach up but failing. The bell rang and I huffed before going over to answer it. It was Carter. "Hey," I grinned while letting him in.

"Hey," he said, leaning down and giving me a quick kiss.

"What are you doing here?" I asked while walking back to the kitchen.

"I didn't have any plans after training, thought I'd drop by," he said while following me.

"How was training?" I asked while standing on my toes, trying to reach the packet.

"It was fine," he chuckled before walking over to me.

"Need a little help?"

"Yes please," I chuckled.

He grabbed the packet for me and opened it before handing it to me. "Where's your dad?" he asked as we headed up to my room.

"Still at work. I think he'll come home late today. There are a few clients he has meetings with and even a few meetings online with some clients in California and one from France. He's not coming home for a minute," I said while sitting on my bed. "Have you spoken to Connor?" I asked.

He nodded while sitting beside me and twirling my hair around his finger. "Who would have thought?" he asked.

"I did, actually. I should have asked her when I suspected it."

"What about her boy toy?" he asked.

"Jake? She talked to him earlier today. I haven't heard from her but I think she'll figure it out. She usually does," I shrugged, "Anway, what do you wanna do?" I asked.

"Eat Takis," he said while taking some from me.

"Right after training? That sounds like a good idea," I said sarcastically.

"Let's talk about something other than training," he mumbled.

"Why? I thought you said it was fine," I turned to him in confusion.

"It was but there was just this weird tension in the air," he sighed.

"Tension?"

"Probably because of last night. He knows that I know his dad was trying to get him to take you. I think he felt guilty. I don't know, it was just weird. I'm glad he wasn't stupid enough to listen to his dad though," he explained.

"Guilty? He didn't do anything. Why would he feel guilty?" I asked in confusion.

He shrugged, "I don't know. Zach is confusing. And normally right about everything he says. Which is why I asked if he said anything to you."

My mind flashed back to what he said when I first met him. When he was talking about Carter's immaturity and my heart getting broken.

Would he be right about that too? I sure hope not.

"Hello, where'd you go?" he asked, tapping my forehead.

"I'm here, just thinking," I said.

"About what?" he asked.

"Nothing," I shook my head, "So, do you wanna watch a movie?" I asked.

"I don't mind," he replied, still eyeing me suspiciously. "Are you sure Zach didn't say anything to you? I don't just mean last night."

"Huh?"

"When I took you to the gym. Did he say anything then?"

Should I tell him? I don't want to hurt his feelings and make him think I don't trust him because I do trust him. I just can't let Zach's words get to me. And anyway, Zach even said I'm going to fall in love with Carter. I should seriously stop thinking of Zach as a fortune-teller.

"No, nothing. I was just thinking about Hannah. She didn't tell me what happened with Jake," I lied. I hated lying to him. It wasn't such a big lie but I still hated it. We've always been so open and honest with each other.

"Alex," he persisted and I cracked.

I sighed in defeat while sitting up. "When we were at the gym and you went to take a shower and change after your training session." He nodded. "Zach came and sat with me for a minute. Started talking to me."

"What did he say?" he questioned.

"He was saying that you told him about me when I moved here. Like four years ago. Is that true?"

He groaned into his palms, "Maybe."

"Carter."

"Yes. Did he tell you what I said?"

I shook my head, "No. But I wouldn't mind hearing that from you."

He cleared his throat while dropping his arms into his lap. "I wouldn't stop talking about this um- about this cute new girl that joined our school and how she would come to the same cafe as me. That's really all it was. Just me. Freaking out. About a cute new girl," he mumbled.

I bit back a laugh and smiled. "You thought I was cute?"

"I still think you're cute," he replied.

I giggled, "Aw."

"Don't 'aw' me," he rolled his eyes, "What else did he say?" he questioned.

My smile slowly disappeared before I cleared my throat, hesitating to tell him. "He was saying that he doesn't think you can handle a relationship. He thinks you don't have the maturity for that." I looked up and his face didn't give away any distinct emotions.

He had almost no reaction as he stared ahead.

"He said you'd break my heart."

His eyes snapped to mine and he asked me one question. "Do you think I'll break your heart?"

I thought hard, trying to see things from a different point of view, but my answer came to my head loud and clear and nothing could change it.

"No."

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