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

feeling I couldn’t shake, that I had forgotten she was coming over. Since my parents were gone for the weekend, Beth and I had decided that tonight would be the night we would have sex. I was seriously messed up. What guy in his right mind forgets he’s going to have sex for the first time?
    “Hey,” I said, trying to sound excited.
    “She knows.”
    With those two words my heart plummeted deep into my gut.
    “What do you mean, she knows ?I told you I would be the one to tell her if there was anything to tell,” I growled.
    “She didn’t find out from me,” Beth snapped.
    “Then how the fuck did she find out?!”
    “Don’t yell at me.” Her voice was shaky as if she were trying to hold back tears. “She said Stacy and Kim told her.”
    I breathed in several times and kept my tone steady, trying not to sound as pissed off as I was. “I thought we agreed not to say anything to anyone for a while. How the fuck did those two find out?”
    “I haven’t told anyone. Apparently, they saw me trying to hold your hand at the movie the other day.”
    Christ, the one time we go out on an actual date and I get caught.
    I paced back and forth in the family room several times, running my hand through my hair. Stopping in front of the window, I noticed that a light was on over at Tweet’s. I was in a trance as I stared across the yard, hoping to get a glance at her.
    “Noah? Are you still there?” I heard Beth’s voice faintly through the phone.
    “Yeah.”
    “I guess you should to talk to her. She didn’t want to listen to me.”
    “Alright. I will,” I answered robotically.
    “You should have told her a long time ago.”
    “I know.”
    I was getting more irritated with Beth for pointing out the obvious and at myself for letting this happen. A shiver of electricity ran through my body. I turned my head and saw Tweet standing in the middle of the room. I was so focused on that damn window I hadn’t even seen or heard her come in. We exchanged quick smiles. Beth was telling me something but all I heard coming through the phone was blah, blah, blah.
    “I need to go.” Beth’s voice trailed off as I lowered the phone, pressed the end button, and slipped it into my pocket.
    “Hey Tweet.” I tried to sound cheerful.
    “Hey, hey, hey,” she countered, attempting to sound carefree and happy. She was a terrible actress.
    “Everything okay?”
    “Yep,” she answered nonchalantly.
    She walked behind the sofa and leaned back on it. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. It was like watching one of those nature shows where the female panther slinks around all stealth-like, looking beautiful, and sexy. Then bam! Out of nowhere, she gouges your eyes out, rips your chest open, and eats your heart.
    “Whatcha wanna do tonight? Since both our parents are gone for the weekend, the world is our oyster. We can hang out the whole time.” She threw a slight smirk in my direction.
    The tightening in my chest made it hard to breathe. This was it. I had to tell her. The only thing worse than hearing Tweet was hurt was being an eyewitness to it.
    “Pepperoni with extra cheese good for you?” She was looking directly at me.
    The sound of her voice broke through my haze and I noticed the cellphone in her palm. “What?”
    “On our pizza. Pepperoni and extra cheese?”
    “Yeah. That’s fine.”
    She tapped out the number then raised the phone to her ear. A tingling sensation crept down my arms and legs. I closed my eyes and inhaled a calming breath. It didn’t help. My heart felt as if it were going to burst from my chest at any second. Rubbing the back of my neck, I knew this happy-go-lucky best friends hanging out charade was over.
    “Um… Tweet… I kind of have plans tonight,” I choked out. The inside of my mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton.
    “What kind of plans?” she asked innocently, putting her phone in her pocket.
    Time stopped, all the air was sucked from the room, and we stared at each other. We