Read Online Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown - Free Book Online Page B

totally forgot about that.”
    “Shhh!” I glanced around. Fortunately, there was nobody nearby. I already wanted to die of embarrassment; the last thing I needed was a crowd. “God, Von, say it louder. I don’t think the people in the parking lot heard you.”
    “Sorry.” She sat next to me. “But you do mean the nude picture, right?” she added in a whisper.
    I nodded miserably. “Kaleb told the whole team about it, and Nate says he saw it.”
    “No way. What a jerk.”
    I rolled my eyes. “It’s just… Kaleb says he didn’t show it to Nate, but for some reason I feel like he’s lying to me.I mean, why would Nate make it up? Kaleb doesn’t want me to make a big deal about it, but… I don’t know. I’m still mad.”
    “Uh, hell yeah, you’re mad. I’d be mad at him, too. I can’t believe he would do that. Aren’t college guys supposed to be more mature?”
    “He’s not in college yet. And Nate definitely isn’t in college.” I covered my face with my hands, leaning my elbows on my knees. “What am I going to do?”
    Vonnie reached around and rubbed my back softly. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, Buttercup,” she said. “Nate’s probably the one lying and he never saw anything.”
    “I wish I hadn’t sent it,” I said into my palms.
    “Oh, honey, don’t say that. He’s going away in a few weeks. You love him. He loves you. Nate’s nobody.”
    “Please don’t tell anyone,” I said.
    “No way,” she said, standing up and holding out a hand for me to take. “Not in a million years.”
    “I hope I don’t see Nate for a while. I’ll die.”
    She waved her hand impatiently and made a
pfft!
noise. “Even if it’s true and he actually did see it, you probably made his year. Nate’s a dork. He won’t see another naked girl for, like, his whole life. Unless you take another picture.” She pressed her lips together, holding back an evil smile.
    “That’s not helpful.”
    She shifted her head to one side. “Seriously, Buttercup. He’s most likely already forgotten about it. Everyone has.Until you brought it up, I had. You’re the only one thinking about it right now.”
    I took her hand and let her pull me up, feeling a little better. She was right. If Nate had seen it, he was probably already over it. In a week he’d be on to something else scandalous. By the end of the year, he wouldn’t even remember he’d ever seen it.
    I perked up and spent the rest of the evening trying on clothes that fit snug in all the right places, every time wondering what Kaleb would think, how he’d like this outfit or that one. Trying to remember that I loved him and that I’d sent that picture to him because I wanted him to want me. It was okay to want to be desired. Everyone did, right?
    We drank milkshakes in the food court with a cluster of friends, including Rachel, who was there with her cousin, and we talked about everything but texting and pictures and Vonnie’s party, and by the time Vonnie dropped me off in my driveway, the pang of missing Kaleb was so strong my ribs ached.
    Mom and Dad were watching TV in their bedroom, and the rest of the house was dark. I called out that I was home, then headed to the fridge to grab a soda.
    My phone rang, and I stood up abruptly, banging the back of my head against the fridge door. I rubbed it, pulling my phone out of my pocket. It was Kaleb.
    “Hey,” I said.
    “I’m sorry, baby. I shouldn’t have told them.”
    I let out a gust of air. “It’s okay,” I said. “But you’re sure you didn’t show it to them?”
    “Positive. I talked to Nate. He’s just being a dick. He won’t say any more about it.”
    “Okay. Good.”
    “Forgive me?”
    I paused. What was there to forgive? After all, I’d told my friends about it, too. Kaleb hadn’t been guilty of anything I wasn’t also guilty of. “Yeah. Okay. But from now on, what’s our business is our business, okay?”
    “Yeah, of course. I slipped up once. It won’t happen