Crescendo

Chapter 31

"So what now?" Daniel stared at me with his shirt barely buttoned.

"What do you mean?" I asked, still sprawled over the bed. It was barely morning, at least by my standards, but Daniel insisted on waking up and putting on clothes.

"Well," he said, "I could go home. Or I could find another excuse to keep you by my side."

I laughed, rolling so I could face him. My bare thighs rubbed together as I tried to push away memories of our night together. "You need an excuse?"

He smiled, reaching forward and kissing my forehead. "Do you really think we needed that much publicity?"

I rolled my eyes. "I don't know. I'm kind of new to the whole famous thing."

"Well, you handle it very well," he chuckled.

His phone rang, and he stepped out of the room, leaving me the opportunity to answer my messages, the ones I had been ignoring. I bit the inside of my cheek. Then, after making sure Daniel was in the hall on the phone, I called Jay. The phone rang but went to voicemail. I figured that was for the best.

I tapped the side of my phone, wondering if Tessa was awake yet. Probably not. So, I called Mia. She picked up on the second ring.

"Blair, thank God."

"What?" I asked, laughing already. "Miss me that much?" My night with Daniel left me in a fantastic mood.

She paused, then said, "Yeah, I never thought I'd hear from you again."

I forced another laugh. "Dramatic much?"

"Well, it's kind of a big deal," she said.

I frowned. "What is?"

"Come on," Mia sighed. "Jay told me that you talked about everything."

"We met up," I said, realizing her behavior was strange, even for Mia.

"And he told you, right?"

Play along. "Yeah, he clarified some things."

"Good. Thank God. You have no idea how hard it's been carrying that secret."

I narrowed my eyes, realizing that I had stumbled into something important. "Oh, right," I said, dragging the bedsheets over my chest.

"So you forgive me?" she asked, her voice wavering. "I mean, it just happened, Blair, okay? And I—we decided it wasn't the right time to tell you. We thought you were gonna drink yourself to death or something, and you have no idea how hard this has been for me not telling you."

I stared at the wall, the truth sinking in. "Yeah."

"Oh God," she said. "He didn't tell you everything."

I frowned. "He said enough."

"If I could take it back, I would. I promise. But now that we all know, we can get over it, right? Like old times."

"So," I asked, "the guy you lost your virginity to in the back of the car was—"

Mia's voice was quiet on the other line. "Jay. But only that one time."

I sucked in a breath. Daniel could walk back into my bedroom at any moment, and I'd be naked and horrified. "Can we talk about this later?"

"Sure," she said, hesitating. "Are you okay? I'm sorry. Did I bring it up too soon?"

"No," I said. "You, uh, you brought it up at just the right time." Before I could forgive him.

"I'm so sorry, Blair."