“He’ll leave soon, but yes, I’m good.”

I paused when I got to the front door. “Whatever you do, don’t tell your parents anything. Even when it’s time for the divorce.” I knew in my heart that they would destroy Grayson at the expense of their daughter and granddaughters. “I’m sure they will find out in time, but let’s hope it’s after he’s professionally retired at the end of the season.”

She grabbed my hands. “Thank you. I knew you would know what to do. I’m sorry it had to come out like this, but he was starting to unravel and needed help.”

“I never—” I stopped. We were both extremely vulnerable and emotional right now. Words were only going to get us into trouble. “I’ll talk to you soon.” She hugged me. It felt wonderful to have a selfish moment even under these circumstances. She always felt right in my arms. “Let me know if you need anything.”

She looked tired but also relieved. I was sure she thought the burden was gone, but really, it was just beginning.

Chapter Twenty-three—Scrambling

Past

“You need to get laid,” Hayley said. I elbowed her ribs. She oofed and rubbed her side. “No, I’m serious. Then we can talk about sex and stuff.”

“You’re still a virgin so I don’t know why we need to discuss anything.” I was seventeen and perfectly happy playing football, going to school, hanging out with my friends. I didn’t need any complications. Plus, I wasn’t sure what getting laid really meant for me. Was it penetration? Was it oral? And regardless of what Hayley thought, she wasn’t an expert. She just broke up with her boyfriend because he was fooling around. She got on the pill for him, ready to sleep with him and found out he was hooking up with some sophomore. “You probably need to take all your straight talk to another straight person because I’m not going to be able to help you at all.”

“But you could give my future boyfriends some advice.” She winked slowly at me.

Hayley and I talked about everything. We had for years. We talked about masturbating, how often we did it, what we thought about during it, but when it came to sex, I didn’t share the same enthusiasm she did. She wanted to talk about boys, but I didn’t. “Somehow, I have a feeling you will work it out just fine with your boyfriends.”

She flopped down on my bed. “Isn’t this supposed to be the best time of our lives?”

“Junior year? No. It’s only supposed to be okay. It’s senior year that’s going to blow us away,” I said. I moved my books off the bed and lay beside her. “I have a good feeling about this year.”