Eenie Meenie Minie Mo

Chapter Forty-Two

   I don’t know how I managed to not jot down notes on a cue-card. Maddie would have killed me. When I even suggested it, she slapped my arm so hard it left a red mark. Cue-cards, apparently, are just tacky when you’re telling someone you happened to be in love with them. Essentially, I wanted Maddie to be there with me, but she made a really good point. If I knew she was standing beside me to back to me up in some way I’d be more likely to choke and chicken out. So, while it sucked majorly to go in alone, it had to be done that way.

  A couple times, I tried to tell my mom about what was going on. She knew something was up with me and Sawyer, but so far she’d been waiting for me to tell her. But I could never find the right time to tell her. She was so busy going back and forth from Lewisburg to Columbia and then grading papers and getting homework assignments ready.

  Well, she’d find out after tonight. While she was out on a date with Alaric, this one in town instead of Franklin, I was going to face my fate head on. I’d nearly thrown up twice today and had so far stayed away from anything besides liquids just in case. Why did these have to be so hard? It shouldn’t have to be that hard to tell a guy you love him! But facing Leander, even if I wasn’t going to confess my feelings tonight, was probably the hardest thing I’d had to do in a very long time.

  I tried not to preen myself too much, but I couldn’t just go over looking like I just rolled out of bed, either. Somehow I managed to dress casually, even though it killed me. Didn’t wanna tip him off too much, though.

  So when I heard the loud thumping of the bass, my heart literally sank to my shoes. He was having a party. No, not tonight! He couldn’t tonight! I’d prepared myself and I hadn’t even slept last night! I was ready for this!

  Like the true trooper I was, I called Maddie in a panic.

  “Hellooooo?” she answered cheerfully. A bit too cheerfully, actually. Damn, she probably thought I’d already been over there.

  “He’s having a party!” I blurted out. “Can you believe this? It’s like he knows already and he’s trying to ruin it! Mads, this is a sign. It’s gonna end disastrously. I should just give up while I’m ahead.”

  “Whoa, slow down! Girl, this ain’t no sign, get real. But lemme figure this out….” The silence at the other end of the phone was literally killing me. It stretched on for what felt like a good hour before Maddie finally said, “Are you ready to tell him?”

  “Well, I was before—”

  “No!” my friend interrupted me. “If there was no party right now, would you be over there already?”

  I didn’t even think. “Yes. I wanna get this over with.”

  “So get your ass over there.”

  If she had been sitting in front of me, I think I might have slapped her silly. “What?!” I shrieked.

  “Jeeze laweeze, girl! Your vocal chords are killing my precious ears!”