Page 61 of The Pucking Kiss

“Perfect, we’ll go to the mall after school then!”

She gave me a tight hug. As she walked away, I stared at her retreating figure, wondering if I had just made a mistake…

I guess only time could tell that.

“God, isn’t this so great?” Kathy said to me as we sat in a coffee shop after a long day at the mall. “Feels just like old times.”

I nodded, smiling. In reality, it felt even better than old times. It was like Kathy had done a whole 180, and all the things that used to bother me about her were no longer there. We had spent all day hanging out together, and she even praised me when I showed her what dress I was going to wear.

Kathy had changed, and things were truly different now.

“I’m glad that we did this,” I said earnestly. “I can really tell that you listened to the things that I complained about. I didn’t want to admit it, but I did miss you.”

Kathy’s mouth twisted into a pleased smile. “Oh, I missed you, too, Romai. We should have never let a boy get in between us. I hope Bryan is treating you right.”

I bit down on my tongue, “Well, he’s a good guy.”

“You have to tell me everything,” Kathy smiled. “How did you two even end up getting together?”

My heart tightened at her words. Now that we were friends again, I felt bad about lying to her about the relationship. She had been the bigger person and apologized. The least I owed her was the truth.

“Well….” I took a deep breath, my fingers now intertwined in my lap, “I think you should know something.”

“Oh, what?”

“Bryan isn’t really my boyfriend. We’re just doing it to keep up appearances.”

“No way,” Kathy’s face lit up with surprise, and she leaned over. “You’re joking, right?”

“Now that we’re friends again, I don’t think there should be any secrets between us. Promise me you’re not going to tell anyone about this because it’ll be embarrassing if other people find out.”

Kathy shook her head. “Are you kidding me? I would never do that. You know you can trust me.”

“Well, our whole relationship is fake,” I admitted. “We struck a deal with each other, and he was only helping me out.”

Kathy was quiet, as if she could not believe what I had just told her. But I felt as though a huge weight had just been lifted off my shoulders.

“You don’t judge me for that, do you?”

“Of course not,” Kathy replied sweetly. “You should have told me before. I would have understood. I’m your best friend, remember?”

We hugged, and I felt a surge of warmth. Maybe second chances were not bad after all.

***

“You ready for our study session?” Bryan told me as I arrived at his house for our study session. “You’re later than your usual time. Were you busy?”

I nodded, smiling. “I had plans.”

“Plans?” he raised his eyebrow at me. “With who?”

“Kathy. We went to the mall together,” I shrugged.

Bryan’s eyes widened, and he looked at me in disbelief. “Why on earth are you hanging out with her? I thought the two of you were sworn enemies now.”

“She reached out and wanted to be friends again,” I explained, “I thought it was only fair that I give her one more chance. We actually ended up reconciling and had a really lovely time together.”

“Romai….” The disappointment on his face was palpable.