Chapter Nine

“Oh, yeah, Alex would just love this kind of night out. He’d probably prefer a root canal and a prostate exam.”

“How are you two getting along? Besides the physical attraction.”

“Fine.”

Olivua rolled her eyes. “Lying again. You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

Maya realized she’d always confessed everything to Olivia except for one event. The first time Alex kissed her. She’d known she loved him back then. Friendship turned to rivalry and then to a girlish crush. That first kiss twisted emotions so pure within her she believed it was love. Her heart beat for him, full of joy at the possibility of them being together, so she uttered the words, her voice echoing through the trees.

“I love you.”

Then waited for him to kiss her again. Instead, he stepped back from her and laughed. Called her a silly baby and walked away.

She learned her first lesson in heartbreak in that moment. Fourteen yearsold. In the woods with Alex Smith.

She wasn’t about to repeat the lesson.

She pushed th