Free Me & My Invisible Guy by Sarah Jeffrey Page B

was talking about. Tess jumped up and, in determined strides, headed right for Lexi’s table.
    “Oh, no.” I pushed my chair back and followed her.
    Tess planted her hands on Lexi’s table. “I need to talk to you. Alone .”
    Lexi definitely had some fear playing around her eyes. Tess could be very menacing when she needed to be. Lexi stood up, eye to eye with Tess. “Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of them. They’re my friends.”
    “I’m surprised you have any, what with being such a gossiper. Tell me. Do you go around spreading lies about them, too, or just Mallory?”
    “I don’t spread lies.”
    “Oh, really? You seem to be campaigning awfully hard to get Liam all to yourself.”
    “I’m just trying to protect him.”
    “From Mallory?” Tess laughed.
    I watched in horror as, one by one, people at the tables surrounding us turned to stare and listen.
    “Yes. It’s no secret that Mallory’s one of those girls.”
    “ Those girls?”
    “Yeah.” Lexi swallowed hard but squared her shoulders.“Girls who think sex is just some extracurricular activity. Well, I don’t think that, and neither does Liam. He has a right to know.”
    I felt my cheeks grow hot and my stomach go sour.
    Tess’s eyes were wild and angry. “So you think being a virgin makes you a better person? Better than Mallory? Better than me? I’ll tell you something, Lexi Taylor. Seems to me that being a virgin has made you into a self-righteous little brat. You’re not some saint because you don’t have sex. And I’m not some kind of pariah because I have. You didn’t waste a second before trying to tear Mallory down to get what you want. I think you should be less worried about sex and more worried about being a better human being. Even God would appreciate that.” Tess leaned in close. “Leave Mallory alone.”
    Tess took my elbow and steered me back to our table. I could hear murmurs behind us, but I didn’t want to turn and look. We sat down, and I buried my face in my arms.
    “I’m sorry, Mallory, I had to do it. That little… she can’t lie about you and get away with it.”
    “I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at me. I’ve made a mess of everything.” I looked over to where Liam had been standing during the confrontation, but there was no sign of him now. “Great. He’s gone.”
    “He’ll be back.” Tess patted my arm. “He just needs time to think.”
    “But, Tess, she didn’t lie.”
    “Yes, she did. She doesn’t know anything about you. She doesn’t know what kind of person you are. Liam would be lucky to have you. And since Todd was… you know… I’m assuming that you couldn’t have had sex with him.You’re not one of those girls, Mallory. And you shouldn’t be ashamed of it.”
    “But I am. I’ve been lying to everyone about everything, all to get a reputation that’s going to spoil my chances with the one guy I really like.”
    “So tell him the truth.”
    “I can’t.”
    “Why not?”
    I considered that for like a nanosecond, but admitting to my fictional relationship wasn’t even an option. “He’ll think I’m crazy.”
    “You don’t have to tell him about Todd. Just about being a virgin.”
    “But that shouldn’t matter, should it?”
    “Maybe to him it does.”
    I shook my head. “I don’t know….”
    Tess smiled sympathetically. “I still think he’ll be back.”
    I hoped she was right. But how will I ever face him?

CHAPTER 8

    And then there was my mother, who was waiting for me when Tess and I got back to my house. She didn’t say a word, but I knew I was going to have to talk to her.
    Up in my room, I got Tess to look at some websites so she could show me what she had in mind for the fund-raiser posters. I told her I’d be back and then went to the kitchen.
    Better just to get it over with.
    Mom pointed at a chair with her pencil, and I sat down.
    “You were supposed to be back by nine. None of that would have happened if you had been