Part 7: Stark Honesty

Yeah, well, all is fair. All is fair in love.
Am I right? Not only am I right, I'm lonely and I'm right.

-Ben Folds Five

...

So. I haven't been completely honest with you. I mean, I haven't lied, but I have definitely been picking and choosing what to say. It's not my intention to make it sound like Noah is perfect, because he clearly is not. In fact, Adam is easily the better choice of the two.

Because Noah and I kept our nighttime visits a secret, every day had to be business as usual; acting and pretending and faking that there was nothing going on between us. We didn't share the same circle of friends, which made it a lot easier, but we were in a few university clubs together, and went to the same church. As a result, it wasn't unusual to run into him now and again.

And I wasn't the only one who would go on an occasional date, either.

Although we didn't move in the same circles, some of our friends still managed to overlap. One of these friends was a beautiful blonde named Allison.

Allison was one of those natural beauties - the kind of girl who didn't need to wear makeup at all; her complexion was perfect, her eyelashes were long and dark, her eyes were smoky gray. She had freckles over the bridge of her nose, child-like innocence, and a voice like an angel. She didn't have "style" to speak of, but kindness and mercy emanated from her, and it was no surprise that every guy within 10 feet of her became unaware of anything else.

She was my competition.

It was completely obvious that she had a crush on Noah, and I can guarantee that he didn't mind her attention.

And the worst part? She was impossible to hate. Believe me, I tried. It backfired, and she ended up as one of my closest girlfriends.

...

Stacy, another good friend of mine, called me in a flurry, saying she had important news to share with me. Now, Stacy is the gossip between my friends and I, and very often over-excited about things, so I try not to take her too seriously. But, I agreed to meet her at our favorite cafe to talk.

We weaved our way between strategically placed tables and chairs until we finally sat down at a tiny table in the back garden. Once we were comfortable in our metal seats, Stacy informed me that Allison and Noah - yes, Noah - had started to date. I was mortified. I could feel my stomach climb up my throat and hoped that the blood rushing from my face wasn't a key indicator as to how I was feeling. I forced myself to smile and share Stacy's excitement.

This is what happens, I guess, when a guy wants to keep you a secret.