“Do you think he felt bad for hurting her? Or maybe she has something on him!” Riley bounced. “Oh my God, maybe she’s a sneaky cheerleader drug dealer and he got caught up in her web, and now she has him by the balls and he has no choice!”

I blinked. “Okay, I read mafia romance books for fun, and not even my brain went there.”

Riley shrugged. “Could be possible. Just saying.”

I smiled, but it fell quickly as I shook my head, still trying to process what had been plaguing me since he left my apartment that night. “I don’t know. But my Dad gave me some pretty sage advice last week. He told me I might never get the answers I need,” I said. “And that I needed to move on.”

Riley frowned. “Why does that make me want to cry?”

“Because it’s awful and unfair,” I answered. “But… he’s right. I don’t know what Clay’s keeping from me, why he did this, but all that really matters is that he did it. He broke up with me.” I shrugged. “As much as it kills me, I have to just accept that and figure out a way to keep going.”

Riley shook her head. “You’re stronger than I am.”

“Tell that to the ice cream-stained pajamas and mountains of tissue littering my bedroom right now.”

Riley leaned her head on my shoulder, slipping her arm through mine again. “You love him,” she whispered.

My throat constricted. “I do.”

“Isn’t it the worst?”

I choked on a laugh at that. “Yes,” I agreed. “It really, truly is.”

She was quiet for a long moment, and then she squeezed my arm. “I’m really sorry. And also, really mad at you for not telling me any of this. We’re friends, G.”

“I’m not really used to having friends,” I admitted.

“Well, get used to it. Especially because if you ever have a secret pleasure-fest where a man acts out your dirtiest book fantasies again, I want every sordid detail as it unfolds.”

I laughed at that, but then an acute sadness pierced my lungs. “God, that really was the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me.”

“He’s one of a kind, that boy,” Riley said softly, and for a moment, we were both silent. Then, she sat up, nudging me. “But so are you. And you’re going to be okay, no matter what happens next.”

“Thank you, Riley.”

She smiled, and then her eyes flashed somewhere behind me. “Your guest is here.”

She stood as I turned to find Shawn heading our way, his guitar case slung over his right shoulder. He gave me a tentative wave when he saw me, and I stood to join Riley.

“Thank you for telling me,” she said, and then with a nod at Shawn, she added, “And good luck.”