𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓 | conrad fisher

20. honeymoon avenue

"Okay. First off, I want to apologize to you."

I spin my coffee cup around. Belly sits across from me with an iced tea in front of her. We're at a small table in the corner of Cafe Solar. The scene resembles two middle-aged women reuniting after years of not speaking to each other. But in reality, it's only been a couple of days.

"I shouldn't have gotten angry with you for kissing Dylan. It was so stupid," she continues. "I think I was just mad because you lied to me and you told me that you weren't with anyone that night. And I just wish you would've told me the truth, Astrid."

"I know." I nod. "Honestly, I was just embarrassed. I mean, Dylan, of all people. Everyone knows him as the biggest fuck boy in Cousins, so yeah, it's a little embarrassing to be another one of the many girls."

She shakes her head. "Yeah, but you don't have to be embarrassed. You can tell me anything, Astrid. I mean that. I'm also not a kid anymore." She shrugs as she grabs her cup. "You can tell me things that you couldn't tell me when I was younger, you know."

"I know, Belly. Trust me, I tell you more than I tell anyone else," I assure her with a scoff. "I really do mean it when I say I don't have any other friends."

She laughs. "And I'll never understand how."

"Me neither. I'm one of the coolest people I know."

She takes a deep breath. "And— and I wanted to apologize for what I said about Taylor the other night..."

"It's— it's fine." I give her a weak smile. "I've always known that Taylor's never really liked me, so, I'm not really worried about what she has to say about me." I shrug. "No offense."

"None taken." She chuckles. "I... I know Taylor can be a lot to handle. Trust me."

I nod slowly. "Yeah."

I know, deep down, that this is the perfect time to tell Belly about Conrad. I should tell her about our first kiss, about Boston, about the kiss we shared just last night. But instead, I remain silent and take a sip of my iced coffee. It's watered down now, the coffee taste slowly fading away into just milk and melted ice.

I know Belly wouldn't be angry with me. Surprised, sure. But I still can't bring myself to tell her.

Maybe it's because Conrad and I are not actually dating, and telling everyone would just make things weirder than they already are. The boys would tease and it would become awkward whenever they were around.

Or maybe, I just want to keep it between us for just a little longer. It's our secret, after all. Conrad and I are the only bearers of it, and I can't help but like it that way. Once word gets around, there is no going back. Everyone will know my business, and I've never, ever been a fan of that.

"So... what's new?" I ask her. "What have I missed in the life of Belly Conklin these past couple days?"

She sighs, mixing her tea with the black paper straw between her fingers. "Cam and I broke up. Not that we were dating... but, it's over."

"What?" I ask, my eyes wide. "I thought things were going really well with him."

"They were. They were fine, but..." She shrugs. "I don't know. I just felt like I was starting to string him along and he deserves so, so much better than that. If I kept going out with him, I only would have been hurting him more."

"But... I thought you liked him?"

"I did— I do!" She corrects. Our waitress appears with our breakfast. She places Belly's stack of pancakes in front of her and my slices of french toast in front of me. "Thank you."