“I . . .” he searched for the right words, another sign that grabbing me for a quick bite was a total impulse move, “. . . I didn’t realize she loved you.”

The pizza melted in my mouth. That was not what I expected him to say. “I was shocked by that as well. Given what she knows about me, and all.”

Carter nodded. “Do you—”

At the same time I said, “I try—”

We stopped, each gesturing for the other to finish their sentence.

I went first. “I try to give her everything she deserves. So yeah, um. I . . . I love her too.”

A few other test-takers scattered into the restaurant, creating enough noise that we wouldn’t be easily overheard. Our exam proctor dug into a calzone the size of his head a few booths over. Mad respect.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you why she and Austin ended, or what really happened with Sarah.”

“Super shady,” I said.

“Yeah. I don’t like the guy who did those things, or the guy who hid it. I’m trying this new thing where I’m not that guy.”

“I was always planning to tell you about Eliza,” I said. “It was going to be right after Jeff’s party. Which, yeah, was a month after it started.”

“No kidding. I guess all that happened in the worst way it could have happened. Jeff’s party was . . . Seriously though, how does Madison actually end up in the middle of every tiny piece of drama?”

My pepperoni smacked in my mouth. “Honestly, it’s impressive.”

Carter took a big bite of his pizza, now starting to actually look at me. “That night Austin told you about—with Austin and Eliza, and me and Sarah—I didn’t really understand it. Felt guilty, mostly. And a lot of guilt went into protecting Eliza.”

He looked away. “I should have trusted you to be with her, but I didn’t trust my judgment. And then when I found out you were seeing her behind my back . . .”

“That was the worst way it could have happened,” I repeated.

“I talked to Sarah a couple weeks ago.”

“Really?”

Grease rolled down Carter’s wrist. He ignored it.

“I didn’t think I had it in me. Turns out, I was only a blip on her radar. She thought how I treated her was normal.”

“Geez,” I said.

“I gave her my whole apology anyway. Broke down during it. Maybe now she and I are even. I told her she deserves better. I hope she finds it.”

I swallowed. I had always thought that Carter was the best of us. The last few months, not so much, but he’d proven that he was human, and even he makes mistakes. This, however, was next-level Carter. Owning up to his mistakes, respecting people beyond how anyone expected him to, this was Carter all along. He’d just gotten lost for a while.

“Anyways,” he continued, “Eliza told me you’d be here today, and that I should be nice to you because she loves you. Today’s the first time she’s told me that.” He paused, “I don’t know. Maybe you guys are actually perfect for each other. Eliza deserves the chance to find out.”