Free The Secrets of Boys by Hailey Abbott Page A

life. I could drive through Malibu with my eyes closed and not get in an accident.”
    “I wouldn’t try that if I were you,” Zach said, putting his hand mindlessly on her bare knee for a split second.
    Cassidy nearly jumped, but he didn’t seem to catch on to the fact that he stimulated every fiber of her being by mere skin-to-skin contact. “Being here kind of reminds me of high school, actually. Although it wasn’t a great experience for me. I’d hang out with the same two people all the time because I was too shy to talk to anyone else.”
    “ You were too shy?” Cassidy asked incredulously.
    “Oh yeah. I just couldn’t get my mind around having an actual conversation with anyone but Ted and Jimmy. I wanted to, but there was just no way. Every time I tried, my mouth went all dry and I’d start to shake.” Cassidy herself was shaking a bit. Her leg was bouncing up and down nervously as Zach’s deep, intense gaze kept shining on her.
    “But … you’re a TA now,” she managed to say.
    “That means you talk to people all the time, right? You even get up in front of the class and teach . There’s no way I could ever do something like that.”
    “You’d be surprised. Going to Paris changed everything. I was all alone, I didn’t have Ted and Jimmy to fall back on anymore. It was either learn how to talk to strangers or let my vocal cords atrophy from neglect. I mean, if I hadn’t spoken to anyone all last summer, nobody would have cared . I think that’s what finally got me over it, not having anyone try to bring me out of my shell. I just had to do it on my own.”
    Cassidy was really floored by this admission. Zach was so open and seemed like he had no secrets at all. He was just laying his whole life out on the table, and all of it was so fascinating. Cassidy wished that she could learn how to do the same, but the funny thing was, suddenly she was hopeful that she’d be able to learn. Zach’s anecdote helped her to see that changing was not only possible, it was inevitable.
    “So, hey,” Zach said. “I’m sure you’re totally fed up with all this ‘experience French culture’ crap, but on the off chance you’re not, do you want to catch a Godard film at the revival house this Friday? He’s like the quin-tessential French new-wave director, if you’re into that kind of stuff.”
    “Will I be quizzed afterward?” Cassidy joked. She couldn’t believe she had even gotten the words out.
    Inside, her head was spinning faster than a Tilt-A-Whirl.
    Was Zach asking her out?
    “Yes,” Zach said. “But I’ll let you cheat.”
    Cheat. The word echoed in her ears, making her think suddenly of Eric. Would going to the movies with Zach be cheating? Her eyes fluttered around the garden as she tried to think of an answer that Larissa might say. Most likely something gross like, “If there’s no penetration, then it doesn’t really count,” but who knew these days—
    Larissa had been pretty MIA of late, just like Eric. Then Cassidy’s gaze darted down to her watch. It took a moment for the position of the hands to register, and when it did, she let out a small gasp. She was supposed to meet Eric at the beach thirty-five minutes ago.
    “I have to get going,” she said abruptly. “I’m totally late to meet my friend.” Her friend ? Since when did she refer to Eric as her friend ?
    Zach shrugged, and Cassidy thought she saw a hint of disappointment flicker in his eyes. “Have fun,” he said as she reluctantly stood up to leave. She turned and began walking away from him across the lawn.
    “Hey,” he called after her. She stopped mid-step and turned to look at him. He seemed to glow in the late-afternoon sunlight, his body relaxed and fluid against the bench.
    “How about that movie?” he yelled.
    “Okay!” she said, the jolt of adrenaline that shot through her propelling her the rest of the way to her car.
    Her heart was still pounding when she slid into the driver’s seat of the