The Canterwood Crest Stable of Books

by Jessica Burkhart

  “Hey, is Erin here?” Paige asked.

  “Yeah, she’s by the snacks,” Geena said. “C’mon.” She pulled Paige over to the food table.

  I grabbed a glass of sparkling apple cider and looked around the room. Annabella and Suichin chatted with Paige and Geena. Nicole, an intermediate rider, was talking to one of Paige’s friends from Orchard—Callie and the Trio’s dorm. I didn’t see Heather, Julia, or Alison yet. Paige had refused to snub them, so they’d been invited. She didn’t want to be rude. Eric wasn’t here yet either.

  I sipped my cider, looking around the room for anyone else that I knew. In the center of the room, by the food table, I saw them. Callie and Jacob. Callie, looking stunning in a belted cranberry minidress, had her arm around Jacob’s waist. Jacob gazed adoringly at her and Callie leaned over to snuggle up to his shoulder. It would be a lie to say I wasn’t jealous that Callie and Jacob got to be together like that in front of everyone. But after tonight, Eric and I could do that too.

  Jacob waved at a guy by the TV, whispered something to Callie, and then walked over to his friend. Callie turned slightly and saw me. She weaved around the other people and stood beside me.

  “Great party,” she said.

  “Paige totally deserves it,” I said. “She’s still nervous about everyone seeing the show.”

  Callie shook her head. “Please! Paige is a pro. She’s going to be amazing.”

  “Agreed. And I love your hair,” I said. Callie’s raven hair hung in loose, soft layers around her shoulders.

  Callie smiled at me, but her attention was noticeably on Jacob. “Thanks.”

  I took a gulp of cider. Just tell her, I told myself. But did I blurt it out? Or lead into it somehow? And how would I even start something like this?

  “Oooh! Nicole’s here,” Callie said. “I’m going to talk to her for a sec.”

  “Okay,” I squeaked.

  Phew. That at least bought me a few more minutes.

  I took another sip of cider and looked around for Eric. He still wasn’t here yet. But the Trio had arrived. Julia, Heather, and Alison stood by the food table. Alison put two pink cupcakes on her plate before following Heather and Julia to the couches in front of the TV.

  I texted Eric. WRU?

  My phone buzzed. IL B L8. SRY. 10 mins.

  K. C u.

  Disappointed, I closed my phone and looked up right into Jacob’s eyes. I jumped back, sloshing my drink and spilling a tiny bit on the floor.

  “Oh, hey,” I said. “You scared me!”

  Jacob smiled. “Sorry. So, um, who were you texting?”

  “Just…my dad.”

  I was the worst liar! Who texted her father at a party? Apparently, I did.

  “You look…,” Jacob started to say, but stopped.

  Looked what? Pretty? Horrible? Guilty?

  “I meant, uh, your dress is nice,” Jacob finished.

  “Thanks,” I said. Was he still supposed to say that stuff to me? But then I remembered the way he’d been staring at Callie earlier and I knew the answer—Jacob was just being polite.

  He looked nice all dressed up in black pants and a long-sleeve polo shirt.

  “Well,” he said. “See you later.” He brushed his hair out of his eye like he always did when he was nervous.

  “Later,” I said in my fake-cheery tone.

  Jacob shot me a look as if he knew something was up, but walked over to join Callie without saying anything.

  At least Paige was having fun. She stood by the coffee table in front of the TV, gesturing and laughing.

  I finished my drink and grabbed a new one even though the bubbles from the cider weren’t doing much to calm my stomach. I checked the time on my phone. Eric should have been here by now.

  Someone with cold fingers grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the back of the room.

  “Hey!” I protested when I turned to see Heather. “What are you doing?”

  She let me go and took my glass. “What are doing? You’ve had, like, eight glasses of cider in five minutes.” She peered at me. “And you’re kind of pale and sweaty. Did Jas do something?”

  I shook my head. “No, Jasmine wasn’t even invited. But isn’t the party great?”

  “Stop trying to change the subject,” Heather said. “Something’s wrong. Not that I even know why I’m asking.”

  She smoothed her silver metallic satin dress. I was not going to talk about Callie and Jacob with her. It’s not like we were friends. And besides, she’d blackmail me with it somehow.

  Heather sighed. “Fine. I don’t have time to play this game. It’s Callie, Jacob, and Eric.”

  Okaaay.

  “What? No, it’s not,” I lied. “I’m totally fine.”

  Heather rolled her eyes, but her frown softened. “Yeah. You look so awful that I can totally tell you’re fine.”

  “Thanks,” I snapped. “Glad to know I look ‘awful.’”

  “That’s not what I meant. But c’mon. I know you’re with Eric.”

  Her last sentence made me freeze. I couldn’t believe it. Heather had already messed up one of my relationships, and now she was about to do it again!

  “No,” I said. “I’m not. We’re just—”

  “If you say ‘friends,’ your drink is going to wind up on your head.” Heather tilted my glass in her hand.

  I stared at her, trying to figure out how to fix this. But after the moronic lie I’d told Jacob about texting, I knew I wasn’t a good enough liar to fool Heather.

  “Fine,” I whispered. “I’m with Eric. So what?”

  “So nothing. Lucky for you, I don’t hate you at this very moment. I’m not going to tell anyone.”

  I blew out a breath.

  “But seriously, if I noticed something going on, Callie will too, if she hasn’t already. She really doesn’t know?”

  I shook my head.

  “Just tell her, Silver.” Heather straightened and squinted at me. “And stop drinking so much cider. The sugar is making you act even weirder than usual.”

  She walked away, her kitten heels clicking on the floor.

  I stood in the back of the room, trying not to panic. Heather knew, but she wouldn’t tell anyone. Not unless I made her mad between now and my announcement.

  “There you are.”

  When I turned, Eric stood there, smiling at me. And oh, my God. He looked gorgeous. He was wearing black pants, an open black blazer, and a dark gray T-shirt. But it wasn’t just the clothes. Eric always looked so cool and calm, so confident.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” I said.

  “Me too. Sorry I was late.” He shook his head. “My dorm advisor held a last-minute meeting about keeping our rooms clean and he talked forever.”

  I grinned. “And did you guys need that talk?”

  “Maybe,” Eric said, laughing.

  I shook my head, but Eric just kept smiling at me.

  “You look amazing,” he said, his voice soft. “Really great.”

  I’d been waiting all night to hear him say that. “So do you,” I said.

  “Tonight’s going to be fun.” Eric looked around. “Have you talked to Callie yet?”

  I paused. The nerves came back. “Um, well, not yet. The show’s about to start. After?”

  I knew I couldn’t keep stalling all night, but I needed more time.

  “Sounds good. Let’s go get a seat.”

  Eric followed me to the front of the room. We skirted around the coffee table, now full of half-empty cups and plates, and sat on the couch. I squeezed next to Eric, trying to remember to breathe when his knee brushed against mine.

  “Best seat in the house,” Eric whispered to me.

  My face went pink. He was talking about me and not his proximity to the TV, right?

  Paige sat on the opposite couch with Annabella and Suichin next to her. She grinned at me and crossed her fingers.

  “It’s going to be awesome,” I said to Paige. “Stop worrying!”

&nb
sp; Paige pointed to the wall clock. “At least I only have to freak out for a few more seconds!”

  Everyone who had been getting a drink or snack hurried over to get in front of the TV. People sat on the floor, pulled up chairs, and piled on the couches.

  And that’s when Jacob slid into the seat next to me. Callie sat next to him, but still—Jacob couldn’t have picked any other seat?! Eric turned away from the TV and glanced at Jacob. Jacob ignored Eric’s gaze and kept his eyes focused on the TV. Suddenly, the Teen Cuisine intro music started to play.

  Everyone stopped talking and we all turned to the screen as Paige appeared.

  “Hi, I’m Paige Parker,” said TV Paige. “Welcome to Teen Cuisine!”

  “Oh, my God,” someone whispered. “You’re really on TV!”

  Paige blushed and half covered her eyes with her hands.

  “I’m the new host of Teen Cuisine,” TV Paige continued. “I’m so excited to be able to cook with you every week. We’ll have so much fun making new recipes and trying different foods. Stay tuned for my first breakfast food—wild-blueberry muffins with lemon icing!”

  The channel cut to a commercial and the room erupted in applause.

  “Yaaaay, Paige!” I cheered. “You’re a total TV star.”

  Annabella elbowed Paige. “Hello! We so knew her when.”

  Paige smiled and waved us off. “Oh, whatever,” she said. But I could tell she loved it.

  We teased her through the commercial, but everyone fell silent when the show came back on. I settled in my seat, glad to lose myself in Paige’s show.

  30

  THREE STRIKES

  TEEN CUISINE WAS HALF OVER AND I’D BECOME too absorbed with the show to even care where I was sitting. I’d kept my eyes on the TV or Paige, so I hadn’t looked to see if the guys were trading weird glances behind my back.

  “And now,” TV Paige said, “we’ll make icing.” She smiled at the camera. “You’ll need two sticks of butter, a jar of Marshmallow Fluff, a cup of confectioners’ sugar, and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.”

  TV Paige reached for a pink mixing bowl. “Next, we—”

  “Cozy?” someone whispered in my ear.

  I turned and saw Jasmine.

  “Be right back,” I whispered to Eric. He nodded, but his focus was on the TV.

  I slipped away from the crowd.

  Jasmine, standing near the back window, smiled as I walked over. She looked sweet—how misleading—in a pearly pink sweater and ruffled black skirt.

  “Why are you even here?” I asked. “This is a private party.”

  Jas folded her arms. “Really? Well, Paige invited me.”

  “No, she didn’t. Paige would never invite you.”

  “Oh, but she did. I reminded her that I’m the new girl with no friends and she asked me to come. Almost begged me, really.”

  I sighed. Of course. Jas knew Paige was too polite to say no.

  “Whatever. I’m going back to watch the show.” I turned away from Jas and started to walk away.

  “Back to your boyfriend?”

  I whipped back around to face Jasmine. “So what if he is?” I asked.

  “Then I hope you’re very happy with him,” Jas said, smirking. “The second Callie finds out, he’ll be all you have. Oh, and Paige too. Unless she becomes my BFF.”

  “Paige will never be your best friend,” I said. “And Callie will understand about Eric—not that it’s any of your business.”

  Jas shook her head. “Oh, Sasha. You really shouldn’t be so mean to me.”

  “Or what?” I challenged. “You’ll tell everyone?”

  Jas smiled sweetly. “Of course not, Sash. You are!”

  “I was going to anyway,” I snapped. “You’re not forcing me to do anything. And sorry to disappoint, but Callie will understand when I tell her.”

  Jasmine laughed and the Teen Cuisine music swelled in the background. “You’re so clueless, Sasha Silver from Union. But I’ll give you a little tip.”

  Jasmine looked around and leaned closer to me. I could smell her strawberry-scented gloss. “Yesterday, I overheard Callie and Jacob talking in the hallway. Jacob told Callie something was going on with you. Callie agreed, but she said you’d just become friends again and you’d tell her if something was wrong.”

  “Okay, so what?”

  “So guess what Jacob said to that?”

  I held out my hand in the universal if-you’re-going-to-say-something-just-say-it gesture.

  Jas smirked, relishing this moment for sure.

  “He told Callie that he thought you were dating Eric,” she said.

  I swallowed. So Jacob had known! That’s why he’d been acting so weird.

  “So?” I shrugged, attempting nonchalance.

  “Callie freaked. She said that if it was true, she couldn’t believe you’d hide that from her after what happened between you. Then she said you’d probably been with Eric all along and had lied to her. She was furious. Jacob was too. He told her you’d probably been lying the whole time.”

  My stomach flip-flopped and I felt dizzy. This was the worst thing possible thing to have happened tonight! I couldn’t tell Callie anything now—not if she was already angry. It would ruin the whole night.

  “But why didn’t Callie say anything to me?” I asked.

  “She wanted to, but Jacob suggested they wait. The sooner you told them, the better ‘friend’ you really were.”

  “I don’t believe you. I’d know if Callie was that upset about something,” I ventured.

  “Yeah. Just like you knew about Callie and Jacob.”

  I froze. Jas was right. And Heather had been right about the cider—it was swirling in my stomach and making me sick.

  “So, you’ve got two choices,” Jas said with a grin. “You’ve got a week to face Callie and tell her about Eric, or I will. I almost want to make you tell her now, but seeing you sweat for a whole week sounds like a lot more fun.”

  She brushed her shoulder against mine as she walked away and slipped out of the room.

  I stood in the back for a few minutes, trying to calm down. Either way I looked at it, I was going to lose Callie. The second I told her about Eric, she’d accuse me of lying and our friendship would be gone forever. But if I let Jas confirm Callie’s suspicions…I shuddered. I couldn’t let that happen.

  I brushed my hair back and tiptoed back to the couch. Everyone was busy watching the show and no one had heard my chat with Jasmine.

  “Everything okay?” Eric whispered.

  “Fine,” I said.

  He nodded and turned back to the show.

  I watched the rest of Teen Cuisine in a trance, clapping like a robot when it ended.

  “You were so great,” I told Paige, hugging her. “I’ll be back. I forgot my lip gloss, so I’m running back to Winchester for a sec.”

  “Okay,” Paige said, her face flushed from everyone’s applause. “Hurry back!”

  I nodded and started to the door. Phew. Paige had bought my lie and, hopefully, she’d be too busy to notice when I didn’t come back. Eric was by the snack table talking to Troy. If I could just slip out without him seeing me, I’d text him when I got back to Winchester. I’d tell him I’d gotten sick and had to leave. My fingers closed on the door handle and I started to pull it open.

  “Sasha.”

  I ducked my head at the sound of Eric’s voice. So. Close.

  “You’re not trying to ditch me, are you?” he teased.

  “No way,” I said, touching my stomach. “I just feel sort of sick. I’ll text you when I get back to Winchester. I want you to stay and enjoy the party.”

  Eric looked at his shoes, then back at me. His eyes were dark and his stare critical—I’d never seen that expression on his face. “I wish you’d just tell me the truth.”

  “The truth?” I asked.

  Someone turned up the TV volume and Eric leaned closer to me. “The truth about why you’re keeping us a secret from everyone. I…
” Eric paused, looking down and then back at me. “I can’t tell anymore if you really like me or if you’re waiting for…”

  “That’s not it,” I whispered, panic pounding in my chest. “I wanted to tell everyone, I swear! But when Jasmine showed up tonight, she told me that she’d overheard Callie say she thought we were together and that I’d been lying all along. I freaked out. I’m sorry. I—”

  Eric shook his head and I closed my mouth, ending my ramble. I didn’t want to keep arguing here—a couple of Paige’s friends were already glancing in our direction.

  “Look, Sasha. I really don’t know what to believe anymore. How am I supposed to feel that you want me to be your secret boyfriend? According to you, everyone knew it when you liked Jacob.”

  “Yes, and that’s why things went so wrong,” I said, trying not to throw up.

  Eric took a step back. “If you trusted me, then you’d know this is going to be different. I’m different.”

  “Of course I trust you! It’s not about that at all. I was so happy with the way things were and didn’t want anyone to mess it up.”

  I tried not to cry. I’d made Eric feel awful and I hadn’t even seen it.

  I opened my mouth, but Eric interrupted. “Sasha, I really like you. But right now, I just need some time to think.”

  “But—” I started. This couldn’t be happening. Eric had to believe me that it was never about Jacob. Fear crushed my chest. I couldn’t lose Eric.

  “You stay.” Eric stared at me, his face blank. “I’m going to head out.”

  I swallowed. “Okay.” Tears blurred my vision. “But please believe me, Eric—it was never about Jacob,” I choked out. I watched as he pulled open the door.

  I turned back to the party—everyone’s faces a blur.

  I’d just hurt one of the people that I cared about most. I’d had three perfect opportunities to tell the truth—the picnic with Callie, the night at film when we’d all been together, and tonight—and I’d refused all of them. In horse show world, three refusals meant elimination. Eric would probably never speak to me again.

  31

  I HATE MONDAYS