“Let me guess,” I said. “IMing with Ryan?” Paige ducked her head. “Yeah. But he was just asking me if I wanted to eat breakfast together sometime.” “And you said yes, right?” I asked. “I told him Friday would be fine.” I walked over and gave Paige a high five. “Perfect. You weren’t like, ‘Omigod, tomorrow!’ You played it cool.” “You think?” Paige asked. “Absolutely. That was great.” Paige closed her laptop. “How was your lesson? You look a little stressed or something.” “It was kind of tiring,” I said. “But okay. I’m just gross and need to get cleaned up.” “I’ve got the perfect solution to make you feel better,” Paige said, smiling. “A trip to the Sweet Shoppe. It is Wednesday, after all. I think they have new smoothie flavors.” I’d really missed hanging out with Paige. And things had been so weird that this would be the perfect chance for us to chat and relax. “That sounds great,” I said. And I didn’t want to, but I had to say it.
