Thayer squints. “Lying Game?” He says it like he’s never heard of it before. But I know he has. I’m sure Laurel’s told him about it, if he didn’t already know from school. I feel paralyzed. I want to somehow put on the brakes, make this all stop, but the words won’t come out of my mouth. Everything is happening too fast.
Madeline straightens and whirls toward me, her blue eyes shining like gemstones. “Sorry we interrupted before you had a chance to invite him to the picnic, Sutton,” she says. “But when we saw you guys dancing, we knew you were going to seal the deal tonight. We just couldn’t hold back.”
Thayer looks at me. “Seal the deal? What are they talking about?”
Madeline puts her hand on her hip. “What do you think we’re talking about, Thayer?”
Charlotte guffaws. “You don’t think Sutton would actually go for you, do you?”
Dark realization dawns on Thayer’s chiseled features. He stares at me, his eyes wide. “Sutton?” he asks. “What the hell is going on?”
“I …” It comes out of me like a burp. Just say it, I tell myself. Just tell your friends that you really wanted to kiss him. But my mouth can’t form the words. The moment I say it, my friends will lose all respect for me. What was I thinking, dancing with Thayer for real, for keeps, in front of everyone? How could I have thought they’d just accept this? And it’s all my fault. If I’d have fought harder to stop the prank, this wouldn’t have happened. Even if I’d had to pull back from Thayer, pretend I didn’t like him, at least it would be better than this.
Charlotte gasps. “Oh my God. He really fell for it! He actually thought she liked him!”
“This is better than we imagined,” Madeline says. “You really thought you were so hot that the most popular girl in school would want to go out with you?”
Thayer steps back as though we’ve punched him. “Sutton, is this true?”
A wave of nausea ripples through me. No, I want to say. Of course not. But then my stomach lurches. I know what I have to do. I have no choice.
I thrust my hands into my pockets and work to keep my voice steady. “It was a prank, Thayer,” I hiss, mustering up every bit of scorn I possibly can. “You needed to be knocked down a few pegs. You can thank us later.”
Thayer’s brows knit together. He balls his hands into fists. “You’ve got to be kidding me?”
“Nope!” Charlotte crows gleefully.
He staggers backward, almost barreling into a cactus. “So, everything we talked about? That moment we had at your house? Those texts? None of it was true?”
I can’t even look at him. “No.”
Thayer shakes his head slowly. “God, Sutton. You’re an even bigger bitch than everyone says.”
I feel dizzy, the air rushing from my lungs. I know what people say about me, of course. I know what they think. It’s just, I don’t care about their opinions.
Only Thayer’s.
“It’s okay, Baby Bro,” Madeline singsongs. “We can find you someone more your speed. Maybe a middle schooler?”
But Thayer barely hears her. He’s still staring at me. “That would be better than getting involved with you,” Thayer says, his voice thick with disgust. “Have you ever been honest a day in your life?”
Inside, I reel, but my expression is totally controlled. “With guys I like, Thayer. Not with you.”
Thayer’s face contorts into an ugly grimace, and he whirls around, kicking clouds of dust up from the gravel of the Banerjee front drive as he runs into the middle of the street.
A lump forms in my chest. I want to follow him. I want to fix this. But with my friends standing here, watching me, I can’t.
Charlotte cackles, doubling over. “Oh my God, Mads, I think he’s actually crying.”
Still giggling, Madeline straightens up and claps me on the shoulder. “That. Was. Amazing. Good work, Sutton.”
“Uh-huh,” I say woodenly.
“I can’t wait to send that picture around,” Charlotte exclaims.
“We knew you could bag him,” Madeline says.
And then my best friends link arms with me, one on either side, and lead me back to the party. Not that I’m in the mood for it anymore. Right now, there’s only one thought running through my mind: What did I just do?
13
REGRETS ONLY
“Sutton, can you please stop bogarting the Twizzlers?”