Fire with Fire (Burn for Burn 2)

“Aw,” Reeve says, cocking his head to the side. “Look at that, swimming brought us together.” Quickly he adds, “As friends.”

Another awkward silence. “Yup, totally!” I say. “Thank you so much.”

Reeve hands me my towel from the bleacher bench. “Don’t mention it,” he says. “Are you gonna go to the library today?”

I shake my head. “No, I have to be somewhere.” I’m meeting Kat and Mary in the girls’ room at five.

“Ah, okay.” He sounds disappointed, which makes me feel warm inside. He reaches out and gives my wet ponytail a playful tug. “Good job, Cho.”

“Thanks, Coach.”

CHAPTER FORTY

I’m perched up on the bathroom radiator when Kat walks in. “Hey, hey, girl,” Kat says. She tosses her backpack on the floor and plops down on it. “How was your Thanksgiving?”

“Umm . . . not great.” I pick some lint off my sweater. “My parents didn’t come.”

“Damn.”

“Yup,” I say, and let the P pop. “It pretty much sucked.”

The door suddenly bursts open and Lillia comes running in. “I did it!” she screams. “I passed my swimming test!” I clap my hands and Kat whoops. “Way to go, Lil!”

She’s practically hopping up and down she’s so excited. “I was so nervous up there on the diving block, but then I did it—I jumped right in! I mean, it took me twice as long as everybody else, but I did it. And treading water was the easiest part, too.” She stands in front of the mirror and takes her wet hair out of the ponytail holder. “Reeve came to cheer me on. I was totally surprised.” She fishes around in her bag and pulls out an ivory-colored comb and starts combing her hair. “Actually . . . Reeve might have mentioned you the other day, Mary.”

I’m stunned. “Really?” Wow. Just . . . wow.

Kat’s picking at the soles of her combat boots with a pen, and her head snaps up. “What did he say?” she asks, skeptically.

The comb in Lillia’s hand stills. “It was right before the break. He found out he can’t play football next year. His leg hasn’t healed fast enough.” I don’t take my eyes off her; I’m hanging on her every word, not even breathing. “He was crying; he was upset. And then he said that he deserved it. He said he had it coming. He said that a long time ago, he hurt a girl really badly and he’s never forgotten about it. He said it was almost a relief that he was finally paying for what he did.” She turns around and faces us. “I believed him, you guys.”

He never forgot me? This whole time he’s been thinking about me and how sorry he is? Oh. My. God.

“You don’t know that he was talking about Mary,” Kat objects. “Did he say her name? Did he say what he did to her? What she did to herself?”

Lillia hesitates. “Well . . . no. I guess not. That’s why I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure.”

“He’s dicked over like ninety-nine percent of the girls in this school,” Kat says, her arms crossed. “He could have been talking about anyone.”

Lillia’s shaking her head. “Guys, if you’d been there, if you’d seen the look on his face, you would have believed him too. Whoever he was talking about, he was sincere. There was genuine remorse. I honestly think he’s sorry.”

Kat jumps up off the floor. “Eff that! Even if he was talking about Mary, who cares if he’s sorry now? It’s too late. Sorry doesn’t count for shit. Also don’t forget, like, three weeks ago he had a chance to tell her how sorry he was to her face and instead he told her to go f**k herself! He wants to look good in front of you, Lil. He doesn’t care about Mary.”

My eyes well up. Kat’s right. I won’t be fooled by Reeve Tabatsky again.

Lillia sighs. “I’m sorry I even brought it up.”

“I don’t trust him,” I say, and my voice comes out thin and watery. “Lil, I know you said things are going good with you two, but on Thanksgiving night I saw him at the movies with Rennie. It seemed like they were on a date.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Lillia assures me. “He only hung out with her because I couldn’t get out of the house. He texted me first.”

Kat cracks her knuckles. “Even if Ren’s sloppy seconds, she’s still a threat. The girl is like a pit bull when she wants something. We should seal this deal sooner than later.”

Lillia frowns. “Seal the deal? What does that even mean?”

“You guys have been hanging around each other for almost a month now, swimming and studying and shit, but you haven’t done anything. Like, he hasn’t made any actual moves on you yet, right?”

“Right . . . ,” Lillia says. “But it’s not like we ever decided what I’m supposed to do. ‘Break his heart’ is kind of abstract. I want a plan, something with a concrete end game for me to execute. I don’t want to be dragging this on for another three months.”

Kat’s nodding. “Okay, okay, so I think it’s a three-step plan. You’ve definitely baited the hook, but I’m not sure Reeve’s bitten. So, step one is you guys need a hot French.”

Lillia looks aghast. “French? Like in French kiss?”

Kat laughs. “Come on. Haven’t you ever French-kissed someone you didn’t like? Close your eyes and pretend he’s someone else.”

Lillia bites her lip. “I guess . . .”

“Maybe you could do it at the tree-lighting ceremony,” I say. “I’ll be there, singing with the chorus. Alex Lind, too. He got a solo. It’s next Tuesday night.”

“He did?” Kat looks surprised. It’s nice to have news to share with the group for once, to know something they don’t.

“He’s going to be doing ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside,’” I tell her. “He has a great voice. And he’s playing his guitar, too.”

Kat smiles to herself. “Nice.”

“Lindy must be so happy. But why didn’t he say anything?” Lillia pouts her lips and puts on some ChapStick. “You know what, I’m going to get the whole group together to watch him sing. And plus, I want to see you sing too, Mary.”

“I don’t have a solo or anything,” I say. “But it’ll be nice having someone in the audience there for me.” There’s no way Aunt Bette will go. Not that I even want her to.