Presently Perfect (Perfect #3) by Alison G. Bailey Page A

ago.”
    “Well, my mouth is hurting pretty bad since you rammed into it,” I snapped back.
    We didn’t say anything while I wiped the windshield clear. I was about to start the car when out the corner of my eye I saw Beth on the verge of crying.
    Sitting back, my chest deflated, pushing out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry.”
    “Noah, we need to talk.”
    I didn’t respond. I knew what was coming.
    “When are we going to tell Amanda?”
    “Tell her what?” I wasn’t trying to be mean to Beth, I just didn’t want to tell Tweet what was going on between the two of us.
    “That we’re dating,” she said, sounding annoyed.
    “We don’t really go out on dates.”
    I never considered what Beth and I were doing as dating. I really didn’t know what to call it. What I did know was that I wasn’t ready for Tweet to find out. I never acted any differently around Beth at school. Our time together consisted of parking behind a closed store after hours making out.
    “That’s because of you.” She scooted closer to me and ran her fingers through my hair. “She needs to know. I’m tired of sneaking around. Besides, I don’t even know why Amanda finding out is even an issue. I mean, you can date whoever you want and so can she.”
    My head jerked in her direction. “Is she seeing someone?”
    “I don’t know. Maybe. Who cares?”
    Staring straight out the windshield, my fingers automatically tightened around the steering wheel, causing my knuckles to turn white. My pulse was racing at just the thought of someone touching Tweet.
    “Look Beth, we’ve only been at this for a month. There’s no need for her to find out just yet. I’ll be the one to tell her when the time is right. I mean, we’re just messing around.”
    “I’m ready to do more than just mess around.”
    With scrunched eyebrows, my gaze darted to hers.
    “Don’t look so shocked.” She chuckled. “Noah, I want you to be my first.”
    My response should have been, no, you deserve your first time to be with someone who loves you or at least likes you a lot. But being the pathetic selfish asshole that I was I said, “Okay.”
     

     
    A week later, I was regretting more than anything all that had happened over the past month. I had the strangest feeling come over me right before my last class. Walking to my truck after school I noticed that Tweet’s car was already gone. We didn’t always ride together because of my baseball practice and her working for the school paper, but we always parked beside each other. She had a free period at the end of the day but rarely went home early. I called and texted her several times with no response.
    As I pulled up to Tweet’s house, I saw that her car was the only one in the driveway. Our parents had already headed out to Myrtle Beach for their annual trip. Getting out of my truck, I headed to the back door. Ever since we were kids our back doors were always left unlocked when someone was home because we were in and out so much, going from my house to Tweet’s.
    Grabbing the doorknob, I twisted and pushed, but it was locked. I moved the large potted plant sitting right next to the door that hid the extra house key. When I lifted the pot the key was missing. I thought at first that it might have gotten kicked under the doormat by mistake. I looked all around but never found it. For the next fifteen minutes I went back and forth, knocking on the back door and then the front, still with no answer. I even drove to our spot to see if Tweet was there, but the table was empty. For the rest of the afternoon, I alternated between checking my phone and looking out the kitchen window hoping to see her waving at me.
    After a couple of hours I decided to head back over to Tweet’s. If I had to, I’d stay there all night pounding on the door until she let me in. I was about to walk out of my house when my cellphone rang.
    Shit!
    Beth’s number popped up on the screen. My thoughts had been so preoccupied with this weird