Another waiter must see my panicked look, because he points me in the direction of the ladies room.

Once I’m safely inside, I lose it. The tears won’t stop pouring out. I need Todd. I need to hear his voice. I do care about Casey, but only as a friend. Todd will know what to do.

Before I know it, his phone is ringing, but instead of Todd’s voice, I hear Ryan’s.

“Aren’t you on a date? You really shouldn’t be calling your ex-boyfriend.”

“Funny. Put Todd on. Actually, wait, how is he?”

“About as good as you. Man, you two make me sick. And that is said with love,” Ryan quips.

“Just put him on the phone, please.”

I hear a scuffle before I hear his voice. “Hi, Ash. How’s it going?”

“Well, I’ve locked myself in the bathroom to call you, so I’d say it’s going great.” I try to disguise my voice to mask my tears, but I know it’s not working.

“Hang in there, Ash. It’s one night, one date. I hate that you are there with him, but if it buys us time and distracts your parents, it’s worth it.”

I listen to his words and I hear them, but I hate them almost as much as I hate my parents for not trusting me.

I wipe my tears with the back of my hand to try to make the reflection in the mirror look human again. I can’t bring myself to form words yet without sounding like a blubbering idiot.

“I love you. Just remember that. One step at a time.” His voice resonates through me.

I take a deep breath. “I love you, too. I needed to hear your voice. It’s just hard, because Casey thinks we’re broken up, and he keeps saying I should forget you and be with him.”

I hear cursing and then the phone slam down. Then I hear Ryan’s muffled voice and Todd say, “I’m gonna kill him.” I can’t make out what Ryan is saying. I know it’s his voice, though, and I can tell he’s trying to calm Todd down.

“Ashley?” Ryan’s voice comes back on the phone.

“Yeah?”

“Maybe you can spare the details.” The anger in Ryan’s voice is clear, and I know he’s right. “He’s ready to come there and kill Casey, and we all know that is a bad idea.” The way he says it lets me know he’s staring Todd down. “We’re going out to the field for a pick-up football game. Just finish your date, okay?”

I know exactly what he means without him saying the words—stop calling. So I will. I need to go out there and be on my date with Casey. I will eat dinner and then go home. That’s it.

As soon as I approach the table, Casey stands up, his eyes studying me.

“Are you okay?” he asks as I sit down, and he follows my lead.

I merely nod my head.

“I’m sorry, Ashley. I know the break up is still fresh. Maybe I was laying it on too thick. I’ll stop.”

My eyes lock with his. I know he’s sincere, so my heart rate starts to slow down. I’m sure he can tell I was crying because, although I wiped my tears, I can’t wipe away my bloodshot eyes or red nose. He doesn’t say anything, though. For the first time in a long time, he’s the understanding Casey, the boy I cared so much about this summer.

We don’t talk about Todd again. There’s no more pressure. Instead, we talk about his parents, his sister Dylan, how he broke up with Vivian because he knew she was nothing more than a good time, and he really wants more than that deep down. However, he doesn’t follow it up with anything about us. He talks about everything except that, and I can finally breathe, finally relax, finally, genuinely enjoy his company. As a friend.

I feel my phone buzz a few times, but I don’t check it, figuring it’s Sid or Shane. Once Casey excuses himself to go to the bathroom, I glance down at it to find a text from Todd.

Listen to your voice mail.

I glance back in the direction of the bathroom, and with no sign of Casey, I quickly check his message.

“Okay, Ash. Ryan will never let me live this down because he can hear everything right now, but I don’t really care. Here it goes, anyway ...”

Then I hear the notes of his guitar. It’s beautiful. He’s played for me a million times, but hearing it now, through the speaker of my phone, it’s simple and clear. I hear the pain in each note, but I hear the love, too. Then his gorgeous voice cuts through. I love everything he plays, but there is something special about hearing him sing the words of “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars.

I try hard to keep it together when Casey comes back to the table. I give him a head nod and a smile. “My parents,” I mouth to him.

He nods and smiles as he pays the bill while I continue to listen.

I can’t help smiling as Todd’s song comes to an end. It is perfect and just what I needed to make it through the rest of my date.

“Okay, thanks, Mom. See you soon,” I say to end my pretend call.

“Everything okay?” Casey asks when I hang up.

“Yeah. They were just checking in.”

***

Being in Casey’s Range Rover reminds me of the last time I was in Mark’s truck with Todd except it’s high-end everything, and Mark’s truck barely has an automatic gearshift.

“You still up for the party?” Casey glances over in my direction with a smile, his bright green eyes searing through me.

I nod and shrug. “I don’t know. I’m kind of tired.”

“Oh, come on, Ashley Taylor; you look like you need a good party.”

I can’t help the laugh that escapes. “You’ve got me there, but I need to be home by ten.”

“So we’ve got an hour, plenty of time,” he says as he drives in the opposite direction of my house.

Here goes nothing.

When we pull into the field—mine and Todd’s field—my stomach drops. Shit. I didn’t know this is where the party would be.

All of the cars are lining the field with their headlights on, filling it with light. And then I see it—Ryan’s car—and I know Todd is here. This is their pick-up game. It’s here, at our field.

As we walk toward the crowd, Casey drapes his arm around me, and I have to fight every urge not to push it off. We are on a date. You and Todd are broken up, I repeat to myself.

“Casey, I’m suddenly not feeling well. I think we should go.” I try to turn around, but he catches me and spins me back.

“Come on, Ashley Taylor; it’ll be fine.” He gives me his bright, flawless smile. Even when his skin isn’t sun-kissed, it’s hard to miss how stunningly white his teeth are. “It looks like there are a lot of people from Easthaven here, so you’ll know people.” He says it like that’s a positive thing.

Every instinct tells me to turn back, but deep down, I know this will be good. If people see me with someone else, it will solidify that Todd and I are over. Despite hating it, I need to do it to keep our secret.

As we make our way through the crowd, the warm breeze blows through us. It’s hot for the end of November as well as muggy and humid from the rain last night. The field is a muddy mess, and I can tell from here that the guys playing are already covered with mud.

My eyes scan the crowd and land on Gretchen and Blythe. Even in the dark, you can’t miss Gretchen’s blonde hair. Unfortunately, RTS is still attached to her hip. Then I see Shane and Sid. Everyone is here. Emma, Shane’s dance partner from homecoming, is next to him. Since the dance she’s been trying to get closer to Shane, but he’s been able to keep a safe distance. I’m not sure I can say the same thing for Johnny and Courtney. They’ve been hanging out a lot lately, but luckily, Johnny has just earned the reputation of being a gentleman who respects girls. As far as Shane and Johnny go, they are still friends with secret benefits.

Shane’s eyes are locked on the field, so I know Johnny must be playing. Sid, Shane, Blythe, and Mark are the only ones who know the truth. Gretchen thinks we’re broken up since it was too risky to let her in on the truth because of RTS.

As we approach, a look of shock crosses Blythe’s face before she quickly tries to cover it with a disingenuous smile. “Casey. Good to see you,” she says with an air that negates her words.