I stare at her, smiling like she’s just informed me that I won the lottery.

Penniman lifts her head and blinks twice, seemingly annoyed that I'm still here. “That will be all. You’re excused. And Ms. Stern, I’ll be watching you.”

Chapter Twelve

"Surprise!"

I don't particularly like surprises. It stems from my need to be in control over what's happening in my life, which, granted, is not a whole lot of things most of the time, but at least I don't get blindsided by my crazy family members.

Like now.

"What have you done?" The smile is drained from my face as I close the apartment door behind me and stare down at Izzy, who is wearing a mud mask and sipping some green-colored juice. She’s watching E! News, her long, tanned legs lazily stretched across the sofa.

Izzy nods with her chin toward her bedroom. The door's open, and I notice a huge suitcase lying on the floor, maxed out with her designer clothes and stiletto shoes, and I'm assuming by the amount of things she's packed that she’s migrating from the planet. For good.

"Are you moving out?" I blink. I hope she's not moving to LA. She's been wanting to do this for a while now. I can't afford this apartment. What am I saying? I can't even afford the microwave in this apartment.

"Yes, Blaire, I'm moving out and giving you a two hours notice." She giggles. "No, I'm getting a head start on packing for my trip. I’m going to Vegas next weekend...and so are you!"

I unleash a sardonic eye roll her way. "Is that green juice spiked with anything? Whiskey? Vodka? Heroin?"

Izzy jumps from the couch and skips her way to me, bubbly like a glass of Champagne. "Nana Marty and I have decided to surprise you. We knew Boyfriend Dearest had a fight in Vegas on the same weekend as Nana's wedding was scheduled, and since she couldn't find another venue here on such a short notice..."

I slap my mouth with my hands, my eyes bulging out of their sockets like a cartoon character.

Izzy nods enthusiastically and jumps in circles around me. "We are going to Vegas! We are going to Vegas!" she chants in a sing-song voice.

I feel the smile spreading across my face. This is awesome. And surreal. And hell if it isn't exciting. Izzy and Nana thought about me. They knew how much I thought it sucked that my parents didn't even bother telling Nana that I would be graduating in June. Never mind that it worked out fine and my graduation ceremony wasn’t actually until the weekend after the wedding. I thought I’d be busy with Nana, so I never even thought about going to Ty’s fight.

I admit I don't care much about seeing Ty beating and getting beaten up by Eoghan Doherty, but I'm excited about the prospect of being around him during this event. I know how consumed and worked-up he’s been about the fight.

My tears drip down my cheeks, and I ugly-cry, because, damn, I'm so touched by these two special women in my life.

Izzy wraps me into a hug. "Awwwww, Blaire's suffering from an emotional overdose. That's a first!"

I find the perfect spot between her neck and her shoulder blade and nuzzle into it, even though that sticky mud mask is totally touching my hair.

“Izz…” I take a deep breath, because I know I’m about to drag her into a subject I don’t want to talk about, but I have no one else to turn to and I am, in fact, suffering from an emotional overload. “I think Ty is keeping something from me.”

“D’uh, of course he is. Who wants their significant other to know everything about them? What is he, crazy?” Izzy heads for her bedroom and I follow her there and into our bathroom. She turns on the faucet and slowly wipes off her facial mask.

I sit on the edge of the bathtub. “I don't know what he got himself into, but I think it's serious and it pisses me off that he hasn’t told me what it is.”

Izzy puts her hand on my shoulder. I shut my eyes, exhaling.

“Maybe it's not because he's hiding something fishy. Maybe it's because he doesn't want you to carry his burden with him. He likes you, sissy. I can see it in his eyes that he’s crazy about you.”

I daren’t tell her that he didn’t tell me he loves me back last time we were together. I can’t. It’s too humiliating and, besides, I’m repressing it pretty skillfully. In fact, I’m not even sure he didn’t say it back. Maybe he did. Maybe I didn’t hear. Maybe…

Oh, God. I’m an idiot.

“I get lonely," Izzy blurts. Her voice comes from a faraway place inside her, the place Izzy doesn't usually share with the world. "You have someone that makes you feel very seen, and not just in the obvious, sexual way.” She swallows a lump of self-pity. “Don’t give it up too quickly. I can bet good money Ty is all kinds of f*cked-up, but don’t forget—so are you.”

***

"Surprise."

This dangerous word floats in the air for the second time in one day, but this time it's coming out of Ty's mouth. I slide from behind the counter at Ned's the minute he walks in and invites me with his crooked smile to the seat next to him in a tiny booth, curling his finger seductively.

He is so breathtaking. It's not even his beauty. It's something far more powerful than that. And the fact that he took time to come say hi during his final push of training is amazing. He's been holed up in training camp for the last couple of days.