I dart a glance at Jessie and take Jade’s hand, giving it a firm shake. “What has she been saying?” I ask.
“Nothing,” Jessie says at the same time Jade says, “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”
Jessie cuts her roommate a glance I recognize, full of daggers and poison. It’s refreshing to see Jessie is like this with everyone. I sometimes wonder if maybe I take our games too far; if I’m too harsh despite the fact she dishes it out just as hard back to me. Growing up with three brothers has distorted my view of what banter crosses the line, but Jessie seems to have a healthy roast-to-banter ratio with everyone.
“A bit early to be done with partying,” I say, nodding toward The Row, where they just came from.
“We weren’t partying,” Jessie says. She crosses her arms and glances at Jade, but Jade’s not looking at Jessie; she’s texting.
“We were looking for this guy Jessie made out with last week. Sexy Shakespeare—”
“Jade!” Jessie cuts her off, slapping her arm.
My brain short-circuits. That makes no sense. Jessie’s seen me multiple times over the past week—why would she go looking for me?
“Sorry, did you just say you went looking for him?”
“Yeah! They made out, she gave him her number, and the guy didn’t text her. Normally I’d be like, fuck that noise, but—”
“Seriously, Jade.” Jessie cuts her off again through gritted teeth, but this time she’s gripping Jade’s arm. And she’s still not looking at me.
Holy shit, did Jessie not tell her best friend she made out with me? Is she seriously that embarrassed? Is that why she’s referring to me as if I’m not…?
“Hang on, did you say Sexy Shakespeare?” I ask.
Confused as I am by this conversation, I’m equally taken aback by the realization Jessie thinks I’m sexy. I want to fixate on that for a second, but Jade starts to talk again.
“Yes, isn’t that great? He was dressed like—well, I thought he was dressed like a king, but Jessie said it was Shakespeare. And she would know, she loves Shakespeare. But it’s like the guy wore the costume knowing Jessie would love it.”
“Oh my god,” Jessie says and rolls her eyes, covering her face. “Jade.” She picks her head up out of her hands. “I’m one hundred percent sure Mac doesn’t want to hear about this.”
She could not be more wrong. I want to hear all about what Jessie thinks of my costume and our make-out session. Under the light of the streetlamp I can see the way a blush paints her cheeks. She’s cute when she gets all red like that, but why would she be embarrassed by this? Something in my chest pinches, and I clear my throat to try to get rid of it.
“So we’ll just be on our way,” Jessie says. “Nice to see you, Mac.”
Except it doesn’t sound at all like it was nice to see me.
“Wait—maybe Mac can help us,” Jade says, grabbing Jessie’s arm and pulling her back.
Jessie flails and then stills at Jade’s side.
“Mac, were you at the ATZ party? Did you see a guy in a Shakespeare costume? And a wig. He had on a wig, right, Jessie?”
Jessie nods, but she still won’t look me in the eye. That pinching in my chest intensifies, and my phone feels like it weighs ten pounds. I open my mouth to say something, but someone’s phone rings and Jade yelps, startling Jessie.
“It’s him. It’s George Greg,” Jade says.
George Greg?
Jade is holding her phone as if it’s hot to the touch. She’s about to drop it when Jessie grabs it, swipes the answer button, and holds the phone to Jade’s ear.
I step away, pretending something on the sidewalk has completely captured my interest. I was going to admit that yes, I was at the party, and I was dressed like Shakespeare because I thought it was clever. It didn’t occur to me that Jessie might be there, but as soon as I saw her I knew she’d appreciate the costume. We had an English class together sophomore year, “Shakespeare as an Influencer.” Jessie did way better than me in that class. Old English is not my strong suit.
But I can’t out myself like this. Jessie looks like she’d rather crawl into a hole and hibernate until spring rather than talk about this with me here. I thought girls always talked to their best friends about stuff, but what do I know? I have brothers. It’s clear Jessie hasn’t told Jade, or if she did, Jade is in on the game and she’s playing it too.
But maybe if I could talk to Jessie alone…?
I check my phone to see if Brody has texted me. He hasn’t. When I look back up at Jessie and Jade, they’re staring at each other intensely, Jessie with her hands on Jade’s shoulders like she’s giving her a pep talk. Jade nods and then turns and heads back to The Row.
