Cupcake Girl Read Online Free Page B

I should have, but I had to get away—as if distancing myself from the pack would help me escape that awful conversation. As my feet slammed against the pavement, Lexie’s words about her crush on my brother rang through my head: “I like him—I
really
like him.” I kept remembering Meri’s words: “You’ve had a crush on his brother for forever.” It was true—Lexie had always liked Jake. I ran until my lungs burned, until my legs ached, but I just kept pushing, running from the words echoing through my mind.
    I hardly noticed the off-road course until we were back on the track for the final loop. I had been in the lead so long that I also didn’t notice the guy pounding up behind me until it was too late. He kicked into a sprint as we got to the final fifty yards, and though I picked up my pace until my legs burned, I didn’t quite have the steam to catch him, crossing the finish line a shoulder length behind him.
    I was still struggling to regain my breath when Lexie reached my side, glowing with excitement. “Wow, Max, that was amazing! Did you hear your time? You beat your personal record by almost twenty seconds!”
    “Thanks,” I said between gasps, using my cool-down stretches to avoid meeting her eyes.
    The megaphone blared the start of the girls’ race, and Lexie said, “Oh, that’s me—gotta go.” I glanced up and saw her ponytail swinging as she jogged over to the starting line. I didn’t really want to watch her race, but I couldn’t resist those long, graceful strides. She ran well and finished fourth.
    But even though I didn’t walk over to congratulate her, it wasn’t long before she found me. “Hey, good job,” I said with forced cheerfulness. “That was awesome.”
    “Well, I wasn’t in the top three, but I guess it wasn’t bad.”
    “Yeah, you did great.” I still didn’t look at her.
    Lexie sat beside me on the bleacher. “You seriously aren’t upset about taking second, are you? I mean, you beat your personal record and everything.”
    “Nah, I’m not mad about that.” I waited for her to ask what was really wrong, but she didn’t. Almost before I could stop myself, I said, “Come on, I grew up with Jake as an older brother—I’m used to taking second place.”
    I wondered if she would get my slight barb, but she confidently said, “You’ll get it next time. And hey, do you want something to eat? I could go grab you a cupcake.” The smile had returned to her voice.
    “Thanks, but I’m not really in the mood,” I replied. “I’m actually heading home now. Could you catch a ride home with someone else?”
    “Oh, yeah. No big deal.” She hesitated for a second before reaching over and lightly touching my arm. “Really good job today, Max.” She turned to go.
    My heart ricocheted at her touch, and I wanted to stop being an idiot and go after her. Would I really sulk around and shut her out because she had a crush on Jake? She had always liked him, so what was the big deal?
    “Lexie, wait!” I called.
    She spun around and waited while I jogged to catch up with her. “Actually, cupcakes sound great,” I said.
    Her smile made me glad I’d swallowed my pride. Because in the end, I knew it was okay to be second best to Jake—even where Lexie was concerned—since second best was still first- best friend.

4
    Complications
    By the end of our junior year, things started getting complicated. And it wasn’t just my relationship with Lexie—it was everything.
    She and I always competed with the school swim team during the spring, but right before the tryouts in March, she announced that she wasn’t going to do swim team at all.
    “What do you mean, you’re not going to do it? You’re probably the best swimmer on the team!” I protested.
    Lexie lifted an eyebrow and gave me a pleased smirk. “Hmm, I think I better get that little compliment on camera.”
    “Come on, you know what I mean—”
    “Oh, no. This is seriously too good not to document.”