“This is my fault,” Reed says. “I’m the one who lied and sent you out with A.J. today. It’s just…you’ve gotta understand. No one has ever ridden with A.J. Most girls don’t come back around after they meet him, and if I’d thought for a second that you’d really get on there with him, I wouldn’t have sent you out there.”
“I’m not most girls,” I say. I push him out of my path with my shoulder, but he spins around and stops me again.
“I know that. Most girls don’t care about paper stars. I know there’s more to it with you, but I can’t do anything about it,” he says.
This time I don’t try to leave. I don’t know what he knows about North Carolina or paper stars or Colby Taylor’s trip back home to interrupt my boring little world, but he knows I’m here to find surfer boy.
“You’re just doing your job, right? Keeping the naïve teenage tourists away from your guy? Well, you can tell Colby Taylor he needs to think about that before he drags a random girl off to watch cover bands and talk about chasing forever and then leaves paper stars behind because he’s too damn scared to show up the next day like he said he would,” I say.
The summer sun blazes through my veins again. Warmth burns my cheeks, and I bet I look like Medusa on fire with my snaky hair sprouting from its clip and my black swamp creature eyes pouring down my face. I’d turn and run toward the parking lot if I weren’t afraid of tripping over my own feet and making a bigger fool of myself.
“Haley, I’m done,” Reed says. His eyes go sad, like how I’d imagined Dexter’s if someone stole that hot pink Frisbee. “You don’t have to fight me anymore. If you can get through Alston and A.J. and – Get through the other guys then Taylor’s yours. I’m not standing in your way.”
If Reed is surrendering, I’m another guy down. Alston is so preoccupied with Linzi that I doubt he even cares about fighting me off. He’s totally in this “just for the chicks.” I think I’ve proven I can handle A.J. more than anyone thought I could.
“Who is the fourth guy?” That’s the real question.
Reed inhales and looks past me. “You can meet him tonight. I owe you anyway. There’s this really awesome diner on the edge of town. I’m paying. Meet us here at seven?”
“It’s a date.”