Elite Ambition (12 page)

“Have you been here before?” I asked Brit.

“I've walked past it a zillion times, but I've never stopped inside,” she said. She looked around at shop. It was adorable with booths, tables, and comfy chairs. The Shoppe was full of windows, and I loved looking at all of the gallons of ice cream that were under the glass counter.

“I'm sooo in the mood for an ice cream sundae right now,” I said. “Hot fudge, cherries … yum.”

“Oooh, that does sound awesome,” Brit said. “And with nuts on top—perfect.”

We stepped up to the counter. There were a couple of people in front of us, so we waited in line. The Sweet Shoppe was never
not
busy. Everyone came here and …

I jerked my head toward a window booth near the back where I heard a familiar laugh. Paige, spooning yogurt parfait into her mouth, was sitting with her back to me. Sitting across from her?
Definitely
not Ryan.

Callie.

Callie. My ex-BFF Callie who swore she'd never speak to me again. Paige and Callie had been friends for a while, and I didn't care if they hung out. I
did
care that Paige had made me think she was going to see Ryan. How many times had she been meeting “Ryan” when it had really been Callie?

“You okay?” Brit asked, nudging my arm.

I yanked my gaze away from the table, glad that Callie hadn't noticed me yet.

“Totally,” I said. “Just saw my roommate.”

Brit frowned. “The one you're having trouble with, right?”

I sighed, wishing the line would disappear so Brit and I could grab our desserts and split.

“Yeah. She's here with my ex–best friend. Which is fine. It's always been cool with me that they're friends.”

Brit paused for a second. “But?”

“But she lied about meeting her boyfriend, and instead, she's here with Callie. If they're going to hang out, it's
truly okay with me. Paige knows me better than that. She knows I don't mind if she and Callie are friends, but she doesn't have to lie.”

My last word almost made me gag. Hypocrite much? I'd lied so much, thinking I was protecting my friends, and it had all blown up in my face. That's why I couldn't be mad at Paige for lying. But I felt something, maybe jealousy, that Paige and Callie were friends. Even after all we'd been through, I still hoped Callie and I could be friends again.

We got up to the counter, and I didn't look in their direction again. While Brit ordered, I could pick Callie and Paige's laughter amidst the murmur of voices.

“Do you want me to grab our food, and you can wait outside?” Brit asked. “I don't mind.”

“Thanks, but I'm okay,” I said. I tried to pay attention to Brit, but my mind was on Callie. After Jacob told her the truth about what had really happened at my party, I wondered if she'd want to talk. But part of me knew better—I was going to be dating her ex. Her first boyfriend. There was no way she'd talk to me.

“Sasha?” Brit asked.

“Oh, sorry.” I looked up at the barista. “I'll take an ice cream sundae to go, please.”

Brit ordered the same, and we stepped to the side to wait. I kept my gaze away from Callie and Paige. It was so busy in here, I didn't know if Callie had spotted me or not. If she had, she wasn't showing it.

“Are you going to talk to Paige about seeing her here?” Brit asked, keeping her voice low.

I shrugged. “I really don't know. I kind of want her to come to me first. Our friendship is a little weird right now. I don't want to make a big deal out of her hanging with Callie, but I want her to know she doesn't have to hide it from me.”

The barista brought us our sundaes, we paid and took the bags, heading outside.

“Want to sit at the picnic tables?” Brit asked.

“Perf,” I said.

Brit didn't bring up the Callie-and-Paige drama again as we walked to the wooden picnic tables just down the hill from The Sweet Shoppe. The sun was starting to set, and the campus's streetlamps flickered on.

No one else was sitting at any of the tables, so we picked one and sat.

I peeled off the lid of my sundae container and dug my plastic spoon into a bite of chocolate ice cream and a bit of banana.

The darkness closing in around us made me feel safe and as if the drama had disappeared. At least for a little while. This part of the grounds made me feel that way.

“This campus is so gorgeous,” Brit said.

I smiled, glad for the distraction.

“I know,” I said. “I was so overwhelmed by it when I first got here. I'd never been to a school like this—I wanted to see every inch of it all at once.”

“I get that,” Brit said. “I've walked everywhere and gotten lost sooo many times.”

“Ooh, there's one thing you haven't done. It's, like, a requirement if you ride.”

Brit put down her spoon. “Spill.”

“Trail ride!” I said. “I mean, c'mon. You have to see the trails and everything. Plus, it's so much fun to trail ride around here.”

“I
love
trail riding,” Brit said. She took a giant bite of strawberry ice cream. “I've been dying to go since I got here, but I didn't want to get lost.”

“Want to go after our lesson tomorrow?” I asked. “Promise not to get you lost.”

“Deal.”

Brit and I tapped our spoons together, giggling, and dug back into our ice cream.

 13 

TWO. MORE. DAYS.

THE NEXT MORNING PAIGE AND I GOT READY for class as if nothing had happened the night before. When I'd gotten back to my room last night, I'd been in such a good mood from hanging with Brit that I'd decided to let Paige come to me about Callie. I didn't want to create any more rifts between us. Paige would tell me—I knew she would. I'd kept the entire Jacob-tried-to-kiss-me-at-my-party truth from her for so long that I wasn't in a place to confront her about lying.

“I'm
so
tired,” Paige said. She stuck an armful of textbooks into her messenger bag. “At least it's Thursday. Two. More. Days.”

Or, one more day until Jacob told Callie the truth.

“I know. You'd think we'd be used to the workload by now, but nope,” I said.

I sneaked a glance at Paige. This morning's small talk was weird. Usually, we talked about boys or accessories or fun things. But so far, all Paige had wanted to talk about was how tired she was and how classes were keeping her crazy busy. Something felt … off.

Paige finished packing her books as I put on a pair of silver hoops.

“You doing anything after class?” I asked. “I'm trail riding with Brit after our lesson, then chaining myself to my desk to do homework.”

“Same on the homework part,” Paige said. “I might meet Geena or something, but I don't know yet. She might be too busy.”

I wanted to ask her about Callie, but I kept my mouth shut. Paige would talk to me. I just had to wait.

Later that afternoon I slid into an empty seat during math class. Brit wasn't here yet. My phone buzzed, and I opened it to see a text from Jacob.

Knw ur in class but wanted 2 say hi.

Just seeing his name made me think about tomorrow. Today felt like it would never end. Every minute felt stretched, and I both wanted tomorrow to come and never
get here at the same time. Each time I thought about Jacob telling Callie, I felt hot and cold at the same time with no idea of the outcome.

I started to type back, but closed my phone when Brit walked over.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hi.”

I needed someone to distract me from my worries about Jacob and Callie. And if anyone could do it—it would be Brit.

Brit looked chic but appropriate for class in black leggings, gold ballet flats, and a long-sleeve royal blue sweater. She placed her textbook and homework on her desk, then leaned closer to me.

“How's your day been so far?” Brit asked.

“Busy,” I said. “I swear I've been assigned more homework in every class than I ever have since I started. It's like all I do is complain about homework, but it's so true!”

Brit nodded. “Same here. I'm feeling a little pressure with school, training, and trying to have
some
time to relax.”

“Maybe we should think about a study group or something,” I said. “I know I stay focused better when other people around me are working too.”

“That's a great idea,” Brit said. “We can talk about it over the weekend, maybe, and then tell people about it.”

Ms. Utz walked in, almost having to duck under the doorway because she was so tall. Brit and I smiled at each other, and I felt a little less anxious. At least I'd get my homework back under control soon.

After math I walked down the hallway, jamming books into my bag. I rounded the corner and almost ran right into Eric.

“Sorry!” I said.

He reached out to steady me, then quickly pulled away his hand.

“No big deal,” he said. He looked cute today in a red polo shirt and jeans.

“How are things?” I asked. That seemed like an easy question to start easing back into a friendship with.

“Good,” he said, shifting his backpack. “Busy, but like that ever changes. How about you?”

“Same,” I said. “Riding a lot.”

“Me too. Luna's doing really great.” When Eric said her name, I saw a familiar sparkle in his eye.

“That's awesome!” And I meant it. I was still invested in Eric as a rider. “We'll have to practice together sometime and catch up on each other's skills.”

Eric laughed. “Definitely. I've got class, but see you later.”

He walked past me, leaving me smiling for the first time in a while.

“I've never been so happy to see anyone in my life,” I said to Charm, putting his tack on the trunk outside his stall. I'd made it through the rest of my classes, but hadn't been able to concentrate. As much as I tried, I couldn't stop thinking about tomorrow.

I let myself into Charm's stall and hugged his neck. “Ugh,” I moaned. “I'm so nervous! Jacob's telling Callie the truth tomorrow. Her experience with her first
ever
boyfriend is now going to be even more ruined. And I care about Jacob so much, and I don't like to think about Callie being mad at him.”

Charm gazed at me, almost as if he was encouraging me to keep talking. “And I don't know if Callie will forgive me for lying to her about that,” I said. “I know friends fight sometimes, but Callie and I have gone through a
lot
of fights since I got to school. But we never gave up on each other because our friendship was too important. We let a boy get between us—something I never wanted to happen.”

I went quiet for a minute, everything running through my head. Forcing myself, I took a shaky breath and led Charm out of his stall.

I retrieved Charm's tack box from his trunk and went to work on his coat. Crouching down I brushed away bits of hay that clung to his legs, then grabbed his hoof pick with a red, rubber-coated handle. Charm stood still as I scraped away bits of dirt from his hooves and around his horseshoe.

“Hey, Sasha,” Mike said. “Mr. Conner had a last-minute meeting pop up and there won't be any afternoon lessons. Riders who want to practice can ride in any of the arenas as long as there's no jumping without a partner.”

“Okay,” I said. “Thanks.”

I definitely wanted to jump and had no doubt Heather did too. Scanning the aisle, I spotted her a few stalls away.

“Outdoor arena?” I called. My voice was barely audible over the sound of the usual stable noises of horses nickering, hooves clicking down the aisle, and other students chatting.

“Def!” Heather called back.

I went back to picking Charm's hooves, then stopped. There were no lessons today. That meant anyone who wanted to ride could end up in the same arena.

Eric.

Rachel.

Callie.

Julia and Alison.

Stop it,
I told myself, shaking my head. I was being ridiculous. There were a half dozen arenas and the odds of me ending up in one with Callie or Eric was slim.
Plus,
I reminded myself,
you and Eric made a pact to be friends.
And I really did want our friendship to continue.