Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters Page A

together,” he said. “Doing something besides… you-know-what. Isn’t that what you wanted?”
    I exhaled a long breath. “Maybe tomorrow I can find time.”
    “Find time? For me, you mean?”
    I didn’t reply.
    He hung up.
    Great. I considered calling him back, but the thought was fleeting. I didn’t have the energy, or the motivation. Maybe I wanted him mad at me.
    I opened my calc book and paged forward to chapter six – Monday’s assignment. The number ran off the page. I was off the page. I needed to get out of here for a while.
    I changed into a clean long-sleeved tee and a pair of drawstring pants, then pocketed my billfold. I’d driven halfway across town before I realized where I was going. Yeah, a donut would taste good, but there were about a dozen Dunkin’ Donuts on my side of town.
    Who was I kidding? I needed to see her. I didn’t even know if she worked Saturdays. Didn’t have a plan.
    At Hott ’N Tott, I vanquished my fear á la Beowulf and boldly set forth. As I hopped up onto the curb, my eyes scanned the interior of the shop through the window, where I saw Cece sprawled lengthwise across one of the plasti-form benches, one knee clutched to her chest. My heart skipped a beat. She was wearing her gypsy scarf again, laughing at something the person across the table from her had said. The person made a wild hand gesture and Cece threw back her head and howled.
    I pedaled backward, away from the door. My butt hit the hood of my Jeep and inched its attached human remains around to the driver’s side. I reached for the handle, hoping, praying she hadn’t seen me. As I pealed out, my tires spitting salt and sand, the person with Cece twisted her head to look out the window. I didn’t have to see her face to know it was Brandi.

    ***

    That night I had a dream. An erotic dream. There was me in the pool, nude, and ahead of me another swimmer, just out of reach. I lengthened my strokes to catch up. Grabbed an ankle and pulled myself alongside. She turned and smiled. Cece. She was naked too, and instinctively our bodies came together. Our legs intertwined.
    I woke with a start, breathing hard, wishing I could get it back. Get her back. Finish the dream. Find out how far it would go and what was waiting for me on the other side.

    ***

    Cece didn’t show up at the pool on Monday. Not that I expected her to – hell, I don’t know what I expected. Upstairs, wrenching open my locker, I glanced in my mirror to see her just arriving, setting her breakfast down in front of her locker. She caught my eye and smiled.
    That smile.
    “Holl!” Seth’s voice whipped my head around. “Sorry I didn’t make it over yesterday. My dad needed help fixing the garage door after Mom backed into it – again. Then Coop dropped by to work on this physics project.” He loped up beside me. “You feeling better?”
    I remembered, with a hopeless sigh, that Seth never could stay mad.
    “What about we do it at lunch today since Olander’s out and there’s no student council meeting this week?”
    “Do what?” I asked.
    “The leadership conference?” He knuckled my head. “Olander’s going to want to know where we are on it by next Monday.” He caught a drip of water under my ear from my sopping wet hair. Guess I’d forgotten to towel it.
    I gathered books. “Yeah, okay.”
    Seth lifted my chin and inclined his head. “I love you,” he said.
    Don’t, I thought. Stop. Just stop loving me.
    “Holland?” His eyes bore into mine.
    I couldn’t do it. Couldn’t. “Yeah. Me, too.” I forced a smile.
    I let him kiss me, which he took advantage of and began to french. I wrestled away from him. “Seth.”
    He grinned and touched the tip of my nose. “See you later?” He swaggered off.
    I shouldered my bag and shut the locked.
    “Do you love him?”
    I jumped out of my skin. She was standing right beside me. “Who?”
    Her eyes widened.
    “Seth?” I peered over my shoulder at his retreating back. “Um,