Page 163 of The Score

"Bear. This is bad."

"I'll be fine, but I understand if you're embarrassed. I'll do everything I can to manage this. I'll talk to Selena. I'll talk to Legal. I won't let it affect you."

"What are we going to do?"

"We can get the video off from the original account, but it's never going to really disappear."

"Exactly. It's too late for that. My parents are going to know. Someone will tell them. Right? Do you think we can stop that? And you— this is awful for you."

"We both know they always attack women the worst with this kind of stuff."

"Yes, and that's awful enough, but haven't you thought of what this does to you?!"

That's so like Bear.

"I'll get fined. The suspension is in the air—"

"Leon. Everyone knows we were having sex."

"Most people assumed so, Pen. Only our friends thought otherwise."

"Yeah but,until now, you could deny it if you had to. Fuck, we didn't think this through at all, did we?"

"What are you talking about?" He frowns at the phone.

My heart drums in an odd rhythm. I hate to be the one bringing this up, when I've started to hope for something else.

"Leon. Who will give you a chance and date you after this?"

His face loses all traces of emotion. Like someone dumped a bucket of ice down his back. And yet, I know him well enough to know he's irritated. Hurt.

"Don't get me wrong," I say, earnest. "You'll always be a catch and amazing, but no one will believe there was nothing like this between us after the video. Because there was! There's evidence! So when the day comes that you meetsomeone who checks everything onyourlist, fantastical as that list is, you'll have to lie and tell them that wasn't me in the video, which, awful. Isn't it? Or will you tell them you and I were having sex while married?!"

"I'm not telling anyone that it wasn't you."

"Don't you see? No one will believe you that we were platonic! Now they will really have a problem with our friendship and if I get in the way of your ultimate dream— and if they make you choose between us—"

"What? Why are you thinking about that?"

"One of us has to!"

"I couldn't care less about someone else in the future, when I'm thinking about how I failed to take care of you! I was meant to be a safe person for you, and now I'm not."

"I wasn't thinking about that when I said I wanted to have sex in risky situations, was I?"

"I said I would take care of it."

"I said I would let you go, and now I ruined it for you."

"You're saying you still want to let me go?"

"I promised I would."

"But do you want to?" He insists.

Hard, pained blue eyes trained on me.

I'm breathing fast. My heart hammers within my ribcage. My throat is clogging up, and the words come out raspy out of my mouth.