Little White Lies by Jessica Burkhart Read Free Book Online Page B

speared some eggs onto my fork, grinning at Eric’s expression.
    He retaliated by slicing off a bit of pancake with his fork and stuffing it into his mouth.
    â€œYou guys should just trade already,” Paige said, laughing.
    I looked over Paige’s and Eric’s shoulders and sawCallie and Jacob walk into the caf holding hands. Callie looked totally adorable—she was wearing a black skirt, red ballet flats, and white boyfriend T-shirt. I couldn’t get over her new look. She must have read a lot of
Teen Fashion
over the summer.
    Callie waved at me and I smiled back.
    She would have been at YENT camp, not reading fashion mags if you and Jacob hadn’t messed up,
I thought to myself.
    I glued my eyes to my food and nodded, pretending to listen, as Paige and Eric talked about the possessed squirrel they were sure had claimed the best bench by the fountain.
    â€œAnd that annoying thing totally started, like, chattering at this girl in my class when she walked by the bench,” Paige said. “She …”
    I zoned out again—not able to stop myself from watching Callie and Jacob.
    They sat a few tables away, Callie’s back to me. She was talking, laughing, and gesturing with her hands. Jacob, nodding, ate his bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich. His hair fell in front of one eye and he reached up to swipe it out of the way. He looked about as engaged in whatever Callie was saying as I was in Eric’s and Paige’s conversation. His eyes shifted away from Callie to me.
    We held each other’s gaze across the cafeteria. I couldn’t even breathe. It was
Jacob
. He was with Callie—not me. That’s what I’d wanted. And I was beyond happy with Eric. I was probably only paying attention to Jacob because I was nervous that he kept trying to talk to me every five minutes.
    â€œSasha?”
    â€œWhat?” I ripped my eyes away from Jacob and looked at Paige.
    She stuck out her tongue at me, teasingly. “Pay attention! Talking about the psycho squirrel is superimportant.”
    â€œYeah, it’s
super
important.” I laughed. And for the rest of breakfast, I listened to Paige and Eric debate the squirrel’s mental state and made sure I didn’t even glance in Jacob’s and Callie’s direction.
    It was almost seven when I finished my lesson and cooled Charm. Callie had texted me during math to see if I wanted to groom the horses together, so I hadn’t brushed Charm after our lesson had ended. He was in crossties while I mucked out his stall.
    I looked up when I heard footsteps stop outside the stall. Alison stood there and gave me a half smile. She was so much nicer when she wasn’t with Julia.
    â€œHey,” I said. “What’s up?”
    â€œJust came to see Sunstruck,” Alison said. She played with the end of her loose French braid. “I try to spend more time with him now that I can’t ride.”
    â€œHow is he?” I asked.
    Alison leaned against the doorway of Charm’s stall. “Fine. I mean, I’m watching him for loss of muscle tone, but Mike’s riding him at least every other day.”
    â€œYou know,” I said, leaning the pitchfork against the stall wall, “I read an article about hand-walking horses. You could take Sunstruck over the trails and jog with him. If you worked him up and down the hills, he’d stay in shape.”
    Alison smiled. “That’s a good idea.”
    Alison turned to go, but stopped short. “Thanks, really. I’m going to talk to Mr. Conner about that.”
    â€œGood,” I said. “Let me know how it goes. Maybe we can walk Charm and Sunstruck together sometime.”
    â€œYeah,” Alison nodded. “Maybe we can.”
    I’d just finished mucking Charm’s stall when Callie appeared with Jack in tow.
    â€œHey! Want to tie them up by the pasture?” Callie asked. “It’s nice out for