Keeping Secrets

Persuasion

PEYTON

It took a hell of a lot of persuasion, but after that discussion, I'm not sure if I'd ever need to take a public speaking class, or take part in any debate classes. Or maybe I should because after that performance, I'd ace them all.

I managed to convince my mom to let me go with Amanda by pointing out that I'd attended all of Eli's award ceremonies and that this trip was Amanda's gift to me. It would be rude to drop out last minute when she'd gone through all the trouble of planning everything.

Maybe the tears I cried helped, because once she gave in, she told me to have a great time and to thank Amanda's aunt and uncle, and for me to be careful.

I could barely contain my excitement. As soon as I got to my room, I let out a muffled scream into my pillow, then danced around like a complete lunatic. I texted Amanda right away to let her know we were good to go and reminded her to play along if my mom asked anything about the trip.

Amanda replied that she'd say her aunt had arranged everything, including a room next to theirs.

"That's great," I responded, knowing my mom would be comfortable with that, while in reality, we might be next door to Justin. Or Lucas, or maybe Beau.

"Oh my god," I sighed aloud, feeling the anticipation swirl in my stomach. I was actually going to see Beau—in real life, not just through texted pictures. Both on stage and afterward. The butterflies in my stomach fluttered at the thought.

As excited as I was to see him again, there was a nervousness too. It was a little embarrassing how much I was fangirling over Beau, but I couldn't help it. And I hated that. I didn't want to like him like this, knowing it was a heartache waiting to happen. I'd seen what it did to Amanda after she hooked up with Dane, and I didn't want that for myself.

Granted, I considered Beau a friend, even if it wasn't a very close one. But we kept in touch, and he texted me little snippets from his life on tour. That had to count for something, right?

Dane and Amanda never had that.

I unpacked the bag I had packed to stay the night at Amanda's house and repacked it with the black pants Amanda got me for Christmas and a matching shirt. I added a pair of black wedge heels, a jean jacket, jeans and sweater for the day after, and a shirt to sleep in. And the prettiest underwear I had.

Then a second later, I removed them and put them on the bed. Why would I need pretty underwear? It wasn't like I was planning on letting someone take my vCard.

My pulse quickened as I stared at the pretty black lace bra and matching panties.

"What the hell?" I muttered aloud, shoving them back into the bag before I could overthink it, and quickly zipped it shut.

A girl could hope.

And I did, even though I knew it was wrong.

***

The haircut turned out even better than I'd expected. Laura added some layers to give my hair more movement while keeping most of the length, then blew it out straight until it fell in silky brown tresses over my shoulders. Amanda was right—Laura was great, and I felt a surge of confidence when I looked in the mirror.

As I slid into the car next to Amanda, I couldn't help but feel excited. We were packed and ready to go. With sodas and snacks, and the Trudge Lite playlist, we were ready for a three plus hour drive.

"I still can't believe we're doing this," I admitted as Amanda turned onto the highway.

"Believe it girlfriend," Amanda giggled.