Secret Girlfriend Read Online Free

cleared the end of the road, I turned onto the old
trail that cut through the conservation wetlands knowing no truck, no matter
how old, was going to follow there. Behind me, I heard the pickup slow before
it over-revved and drove away.

 
     
    Chapter 3
     
    “You’ve reached the middle of nowhere. Leave a message after
the beep.”
    BEEP.
    “Hey, Rachel. It’s me. Haven’t
talked to you in days and I’m hoping
your day off is coming up. Only another week of being a camp counselor and then you come home. Yay for me!
Things are a little crazy right now. I really wish you were here. Everything
with Chris is weird and… and… crazy. Yeah, babbling. Sorry. Stay safe. See ya soon.”
    I am a horrible friend. I am a super-amazing-life- alteringly horrible best friend for being annoyed she was
where she needed to be instead of with me. If I weren’t, I’d totally get that
this summer working at the wilderness camp was the best thing Rachel could do
for her college apps.
    I did get that. Really. But I’d
never been in this situation before… in this boy situation. Even if Rachel couldn’t stand Chris—or Ego Boy, as
she called him—and didn’t get my six-year-invisible-loyalty thing, I could have
used her advice. Rachel was a pro at handling social things. She could blow off
drama like a starlet breezing past the paparazzi.
    I was even jealous of Rachel’s tightness with her mom and
how she could discuss anything with her.
    One week. I only needed to last one more week on my own and
she could return to being my life-organizing whirlwind of a best friend.

 
    # # #

 
    The phone rang at 1:09 am, the light from its screen
lighting up my bedside table.
    Took her long enough.
    “Where have you been? I called you three times this week.” I
know, a little pushy, but I was tired—it was the middle of the night—and anxious since I hadn’t heard from her.
    “Babe, you saw me today at practice.”
    I practically fell out of bed as I shot up and pulled my
phone away to check the caller ID.
    “Chris. Sorry. I thought you were Rachel.”
    He kind of chuckled on the other end. Any time I brought up
Rachel he evaded. I think that heat-of-a-thousand-suns thing was a little
obvious.
    “I just wanted to call to say good night and tell you how
much tonight sucked.” He breathed out, the quiet behind him letting me know he
was finally alone. “I could have used the downtime with you.”
    “Oh.” I grinned to myself. Good. Let it be not-easy being
with her. Let her be a pain in the butt.
    “So, I was just calling to say good night.”
    I wasn’t really sure what the right answer was. Was I
supposed to tell him how much I’d missed him tonight or just say good night
back? When I opened my mouth, my polite gene took over.
    “Thanks.”
    Chris chuckled again. I wish he did that more often. “You’re
welcome.”
    Before I could say anything else, the line went dead. I held
the phone a second longer until the screen light flicked off and rolled over to
try to fall back asleep.
    Try being the operative
word.

  
    Chapter 4
     
    Second session tryouts were not my friend. It had already
been a long day and the bike ride back to school was grueling in the early
evening heat. I locked up my bike and headed into the building, breathing in
the cool air of the darkened hallway. My keys landed with a heavy thud at the
bottom of my official stats girl locker. I could hardly wait to get to the
restroom to wash and put on a clean tank top. Basically, girlify myself in my standard fashion.
      “Babe.”
    I tried not to spin around, but as the boy who went with
that voice leaned past my locker door, my heart sped faster than when I’d hit
the third hill on the way there.
    “Hi, Chris.”
    He bent down to pick up my backpack and surveyed both ends
of the hall. With a grin, he leaned in and brushed my hair behind my ear. His
warm hand cupped my cheek and I thought, Kiss me. Kiss me,
already!
    “Did you see that attack I made