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“I’ve never had a friend like her before. Or really anyone I could rely on the way I rely on her. The only other time I spent more than two consecutive years in the same place was when I lived in LA, and the people there––” She stops as if she just realized something. “Well, the people there aren’t as nice.” She looks out the window again, and I wonder if she regrets sharing too much.

Something about her expression and the way her voice turned sad at the mention of LA makes me want to dig deeper and ask what happened. But I don’t want to push my luck today.

“I’m glad you guys found each other. Also, I need to stop eating this cake; otherwise I won’t have room for the rest.”

She smiles at me, and this time she maintains eye contact, and I wonder if I finally made a breakthrough. I try not to read into it much. We are strictly doing this event together and then I probably won’t ever see her again.

You can’t be interested in her.

“I never asked, but did Jon get your car fixed?”

“Yes, you were right about the belt thingy.” She bites her lips, not looking at me. “Thanks for your help that night.”

“I didn’t do much. Besides getting peer-pressured into theft.”

She rolls her eyes, but she smiles. “I never asked you to help me steal.”

Melissa finally comes back, and it takes another thirty minutes for us to try the rest of her cakes. Robin tells her we’ll take some time deciding and that we’ll reach out in a few days with our final decision.

I’m almost sad to leave the bakery, although my stomach could not handle another bite. I don’t want to say bye to Robin yet, already missing our chitchat in the bakery.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I see an incoming call from Sarah. I quickly excuse myself while Robin says her goodbyes and thank-yous to Melissa and step outside.

“Hey! What’s up?”

“Hayyyydeeen, I miss you.” Mira’s voice echoes.

“Hi, Mira. Did you steal your mom’s phone again?”

“No, she let me. When are you coming back?”

“In a few weeks, but you know you can always talk to me on the phone. Is everything okay?”

“Yep, although there’s this boy at school who said I’m stupid because I didn’t do well on the math test. Mom said I should ignore him, but I really want to sucker punch him.”

I laugh. “Where did you even learn that?”

“The movies, duh. I have to go. Mom is coming upstairs.”

“I thought she let you have the phone.” I should have known better, but she’s ten, and she does what she wants.

“Bye, love you!”

“Bye. I love you too. I can’t wait to come back.” I’ve barely finished my sentence before the phone call cuts off.

I turn around, ready to head back inside, but I startle when I see Robin’s already behind me. Her face is unreadable, and she gives me a quick wave.

“I’ll be in touch about other preparations for the event. Bye.” She spins around and quickly walks away before I can answer.

I get the strange feeling that I messed up again.

Chapter 12

Robin

“I’m going to pass out.”

I’m sitting on a bench at the gym with my head in my hands, struggling to breathe. My heart is pounding like crazy, and there is an acidic taste in my mouth.