Best Dating Rules, Tamie Dearen [literature books to read txt] 📗

out,” said Grace. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I’m beat. Someone kept me up really late last night.” She chuckled as she gave Emily a goodbye hug. “Hang in there, okay?”

“I’ll walk you out, Grace,” said Charlie. “Hopefully, Emily will get to go home tonight. And Steven promised to get us tickets to a play tomorrow night. Maybe you could come.”

“Actually, that sounds fun. As long as seeing me won’t be a sad reminder for Emily,” she teased, glancing her direction.

Emily forced the corners of her lips upward. “No. I’m so relieved you’re forgiving me for being stupid, I promise I’ll be happy to see you.”

“And you’ll try not to lose hope about Spencer?”

“I’ll try.” But in her heart, she was already fighting a sense of despair.

By the time Emily had been released from the hospital and returned to her apartment, she was already formulating a strategy. She couldn’t wait until Monday. Spencer would go on that hike and spend two days working her out of his system. She had to do something. He’d said he wanted her to break her rules and do something dangerous to be with him. If she went on that overnight hike, it would prove something. Wouldn’t it? He knew she didn’t like camping and sleeping on the ground. Hiking and camping weren’t really dangerous, but it was definitely way out of her comfort zone. Surely, he’d be at least slightly impressed, especially if she went the day after she got out of the hospital. Maybe he’d at least give her a chance to apologize.

She began to plan the details. She couldn’t show up at the beginning of the hike with the whole group. If he saw her, he might simply refuse to go on the hike. He might walk away, never giving her an opportunity to prove herself. She had to find out where they were camping and meet the group there. All she had to do was start an hour behind them. She’d call Becca. Becca would know where they were camping. It was summer, so it wouldn’t be very cold. She could get by with a lightweight blanket since she didn’t own a sleeping bag.

How to keep her family from worrying? Hmmm. She could convince Charlie to sleep upstairs with their parents, telling her she wanted to sleep as long as possible tomorrow—until noon. She could leave a note, telling them she was going to meet Spencer on the overnight camping trip. They’d be angry, but not too angry. They’d all be glad she was going to be with Spencer. And he’d be out of cell range, so they wouldn’t find out she hadn’t gone with the whole group. When she met up with Spencer at the top of the mountain, he’d have to listen to her. He’d see she was willing to do risky things for him. She could apologize. And maybe, just maybe he’d forgive her. It was her best chance and one she was willing to take. She picked up her phone and pushed a few buttons.

“Hey, Becca?”

Chapter Ten

“Emily? Why are you calling?” Her voice sounded a little hostile. Emily tried to remember her last conversation with Becca. She’d seemed fine. But she’d forgotten Becca liked Spencer and probably wouldn’t want her to go on the camping trip. She fumbled for something to say.

“Uhmm...”

“I’m not apologizing for the picture.”

“What picture?” She wracked her brain, trying to remember a picture.

“The one I...” Her voice trailed off. “Wait. You don’t remember the photo?”

“Uhmm. You mean the one in the tabloid? The one you told me about? I never actually saw it. But you told me Candace took the picture, so I wouldn’t expect you to apologize, anyway.”

“Oh. Right.” Her voice sounded happier. “Yes. That’s the picture I’m talking about. I thought you might be mad about it.”

“No, I’m not. But, uhmm, I need your help with something.”

“What’s that?”

“Well, uhmm. You know the camping trip tomorrow? The overnight trip? Are you going?”

“I am, but I don’t think you should go.”

“I... Well... I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to handle a trip like that.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” Becca agreed.

“But, I wanted to know where y’all were going.”

“Why didn’t you ask Spencer where we’re going?”

“Uhmm, to tell you the truth, Spencer’s pretty mad at me.”

“He is? Sorry about that.” Her voice didn’t have the slightest hint of sincerity.

“Yes. He... He found out I lied about last night.”

“Oh, that’s right. You had a date with your art teacher. How did that go?”

“Not great. I doubt we’ll go out again.”

“But didn’t you say you and Spencer were only friends. Why should he be mad?”

“It’s... It’s because I lied to him.”

“Well, frankly, I think you’ve been leading him on. I think that’s why he always comes back to me, over and over again. Every time we’ve broken up for some reason, he always comes back to me. I think it’s because he knows he can count on me to be honest.”

At this revelation, Emily fought the urge to abandon her quest. But since she’d finally admitted to herself how much she liked Spencer, she wasn’t going to give up without trying.

“I don’t think I’ve been leading him on—at least I didn’t mean to. But you still haven’t told me where the hike is tomorrow.”

“Why do you want to know if you’re not planning to go?”

“Uhmm… well… my sister might want to go. She’s in town.”

“Your sister?”

“She likes outdoor stuff like that. Hiking and such. So, where is the hike? And where are y’all camping Saturday night?”

“We’re, uhmm... Let me think. We’re hiking a trail called Devil’s Path and camping at Devil’s Tombstone.”

Devil’s Tombstone sounded intimidating, but surely it couldn’t be too bad. After all, Becca had been more winded than her on the last hike. “Thanks, Becca. I... I hope you have a good time.”

“Sure... Whatever. I need to go.”

“Okay. Goodbye—“ A click sounded in her ear. It seemed Becca was no longer her friend, but then again, their friendship