TMI by Patty Blount

her eyes. “Jesus, Meg, are you my mother now?”
    Chase arched an eyebrow in her direction.
    Meg drew in a deep breath. Okay. Maybe she was being a little overprotective.
    â€œWe just want to know if he’s our age—that’s all,” Chase said.
    â€œHe’s seventeen and he’s homeschooled and grew up on a ranch in Montana.” Bailey’s face lit up like it was Christmas morning.
    Meg pressed her lips together.
    â€œWe play video games all the time.”
    Great .
    â€œMeg, are you gonna say something?”
    Meg looked to Chase, but he just shrugged and challenged her with a smile. She sighed. “Um…yeah. When do I get to talk to him?”
    Bailey’s face froze for a second. “Talk to him?”
    â€œWell, yeah. Maybe we could all play a match online or something.”
    Bailey twisted a blond curl. “Um…yeah. Maybe.”
    Meg narrowed her eyes at her. “Bailey.”
    She wouldn’t look at her.
    â€œBailey, you have no idea if this boy is seventeen or seventy or even a boy, do you?”
    â€œOf course I do!” She rolled her eyes. “We talk every day.”
    The lightbulb went on. “How long?”
    â€œUm…like a week.”
    Bailey’s words hung in the air for a few seconds, circled her brain, and then slammed into her heart with maximum impact. “You…so…you’ve been blowing me off to talk to some guy? Only you’ve never even met him?” Meg heard enough. She crumbled up her napkin, grabbed her tray, and slung the bag on her shoulder.
    â€œMeg! I’m sorry! Meg—”
    Meg fled before Bailey finished the sentence, tossing her trash and hiding in the privacy of the girls’ bathroom. Locked into a stall, she cried through the next two periods and didn’t even try to name the colors she felt.

Chapter 12
Bailey
    â€œWhat the hell just happened here?” Chase glared and Bailey spread her palms apart, her face burning under all the curious eyes that watched Meg’s abrupt departure and then swung back to her to accuse her.
    â€œOh, my God. I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings. I have to go after her. I have to—”
    â€œBailey, going by the look on her face, you’re the last person she wants to see right now. Let her settle and then apologize.”
    Bailey bit her lip. What had she done? She only wanted to keep Ryder’s existence a secret just for a while—a little while—before she had to be responsible and mature and logical and practical. What was so wrong with that? Okay, so she’d been ducking Meg all week. And ignored a few texts. And ditched her for lunch. It’s not like she wanted to hurt her feelings. She’d just wanted to enjoy feeling special again. She hadn’t felt that way since Simon. Bailey’s eyes narrowed. Meg had reacted exactly as Bailey had expected, which was why she’d been keeping Ryder a secret in the first place, so really, Meg should be apologizing to her, shouldn’t she?
    â€œWhat?” Chase folded his arms.
    â€œWhat exactly do I need to apologize for?”
    Chase sighed. “You want the list? Okay. You’ve been blowing her off. You made her think we hooked up. You forgot about her birthday and you kept an entire boyfriend a secret from her. Jeez, Bailey, I thought you guys were best friends.”
    â€œWe are, but—”
    â€œReally? This is what best friends do?” He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Girls.”
    Bailey’s lip quivered. She hadn’t forgotten Meg’s birthday. Not exactly. She just…well, hadn’t actually planned anything for it because she wanted to hang out with Ryder. She pressed both hands to her face and did her best to hold back the tears. Beside her, she heard Chase sigh again.
    â€œWho is this guy, Bay?”
    Chase’s voice no longer sounded harsh, and she was bursting to tell. “Oh, he’s so