Stage Fright by Wendy Parris

Author:Wendy Parris [Parris, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2024-09-17T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TEN

“Oh.” Tyler froze, one foot on a step, the other on the landing. He shot Avery a guilty look. “Paige didn’t tell you?”

“No.” Avery’s mind reeled. In second grade, the four of them had spied on the older kids playing spin the bottle and witnessed Paige’s sister, Natalie, kissing Jaylen’s brother, Russell. The Ridge Road Detective Club members had been beyond disgusted. They’d made a pact then and there to always be friends and never, ever anything more. Because anything more would be gross. “I can’t believe it.”

“Well, it’s true.” Tyler leaned his back against the wall and bowed his head.

“When was this?” Avery asked.

“At the beginning of the summer,” he said darkly.

“Were you there? I mean, was it a dare or something?” Avery remained locked in place, her hands gripping the railings. This was even bigger than the Bethany Barnes betrayal. How many secrets was Paige keeping from her?

“No, I was not there. And it absolutely was not a dare.” Tyler laughed bitterly. “I’m a poet and I didn’t know it.”

“So, what happened?”

Even though his cell light pointed toward the floor, Avery could see Tyler’s jaw clenching. “I was at my dad’s,” he said. “So the two of them biked to get ice cream after dinner one night and stopped in Autumn Park on the way home. They were sitting next to each other on the swings and…they kissed.”

“But why?” Avery couldn’t wrap her mind around it. “Do they like each other that way?”

Tyler shrugged. “He likes her. I don’t know what she thinks. I guess it only happened once.”

This was huge. Avery trudged up the steps and joined him on the landing. She’d never kissed anyone in a romantic way. There was a boy at her new school, Joe Doyle, who gave her butterflies when she passed him in the hall. He’d smiled at her and said hi once and her insides had gone so squishy she thought she’d collapse on the spot. She’d totally told Paige about him. In the past, the two of them had dreamt together about their first kisses, who they’d be with, what they’d be like. It was absolutely inconceivable that Paige hadn’t told her about this.

Jaylen would’ve been Paige’s first kiss. At least as far as she knew, Jaylen would’ve been Paige’s first kiss.

Bethany Barnes probably knew for sure.

Tyler traced a circle on the ground with the tip of his shoe, still not meeting her eyes. “Listen, I don’t know anything else, so if you want more facts, you’ll have to talk to Paige.”

“Wait.” Something clicked in Avery’s mind. Tyler was almost more upset about this kiss than she was. “You like her, too, don’t you? In that way.”

“No,” Tyler said quickly. Too quickly.

“Tyler.” She put her hands on her hips.

“Okay. Kinda.” He finally raised his head. “I mean…yeah.”

Avery’s hands dropped to her sides. She had never thought of Jaylen and Tyler in a romantic way. They were like brothers to her. Sometimes she even hated them, though that never lasted. She absolutely didn’t want to kiss either of them, ever.

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