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Carson exhaled and raked a hand through his thick brown hair “I invited you because I wanted you here”

“But why?”

“I wanted to see you Outside of school Outside of the Angel Tree stuff But I didn’t think you’d bring Ethan I ether, but” He shrugged

“What was that out there?” I asked,room It sounded like the others had continued without us, and I briefly wondered if Ethan was still playing along

Carson rounded the island until he stood beside me “I’m not sure I knohat you mean”

My hands fisted byinto my palms “You don’t knohat I mean? Okay, how about when Olivia asked you, out of anyone in the room, who you’d kiss, and you said my name What about that, huh? Was that just to make me feel stupid? So you could kissJeremiah said about Brad Sousa? Then there was Ethan All those questions and then you acted all—"

“Slon” Carson shifted to face me and placed a hand on each of my biceps “Breathe,” he coaxed, and the corners of his mouth pulled up into a smile “That was a lot of questions

It was a lot of things to confuseto ignore the heat of his pal into my skin

“The thing Jer said?”

I nodded

“You dated Brad Sousa your freshman year”

Losing my patience, I scowled and said, “I knohen I dated him He asked me out, and ent on one date before he dumped me He claimed it was him, not me, which everyone knows is code for it really is you; I just don’t want to hurt your feelings”

Carson laughed “Or it was because I told hiirls and that you were just using him as a front so your parents didn’t find out”

I gasped as the horror of what he just told me sunk in “No,” I drawled

He pursed his lips “Guilty”