“No,” she says, dark hair hanging in her eyes. “The boys.”
“What boys?” Yep. I can play dumb. You don’t have a secret teacher boyfriend for a year and not learn how to keep a straight face.
Her dark eyes flick up at mine. She wears a lot of eyeliner. There’s no doubt she knows I’m lying. “Justin and his friends, the Boys of Ocean Beach.”
“Oh well, they’re pretty great.”
“Your mom dates Justin’s uncle, right?”
I nod. “Yep.”
“So that’s how you met him…through family.”
I think about the first time I saw Justin on the highway when our car died, and then the second when he turned off my water when he was helping Ms. Dorothy. “I guess.”
“Justin’s nice,” Jessica says in a more even tone. “My dad has a boat and he always helps us.”
“What about Whit?” Isabel asks, handing over a receipt for me to sign. “Does he ever hang around?”
“Sure. I mean, he’s Justin’s roommate.” And myotherboyfriend, I don’t add.
The girls exchange a look while I scribble my name.
“Lucky,” Jessica says with a quick smile. “Whit’s super-hot. Isabel’s had a crush on him forever, well now that she’s over her crush on Nick.”
“Jess—shut it!” Isabel loses her cool composure and jabs the other girl with her elbow. “Do you want me to tell her about your Pete fantasies from eighth grade? Because I can.”
They stare at one another for a minute.
“It’s okay, you’re right, they’re all really cute,” I say, at first trying to calm the tension, but then I can’t stop. “They’re also fun and smart. Whit is gorgeous and Nick is passionate and Pete is so smart.”
Their eyes widen. “Doesn’t Justin care that you feel that way about his friends?”
I shrug. “Not really. He’s not insecure and well, I guess we’ve kind of got an understanding.”
Again, they share a look, but I’m not particularly fluent in girl-code so I ignore it.
“Why would Justin care?” Jessica asks. “Like you’d need anything more than that amazing body and face.” Her eyes dart to me. “I mean that in a totally not creepy way. Those guys…they’re just legends around here and the fact you landed one of them? That’s pretty impressive.”
“Right.” I smile at Jessica. “Thanks again for the help.”
She hands me the bag. “Maybe we’ll see you guys around.”
“I’m sure we will, Ocean Beach is a pretty small place.”
“So small,” she agrees. Isabel returns to her magazine, flipping to the next page. “Let us know if you have any problems.”
“Or if you ever want to double date,” Isabel mutters, then flashes me a not-so-innocent smile. “Kidding.”
She’s definitely not kidding.
I leave the store feeling a weird mix of nerves. Jessica seems nice. Isabel aloof. The Whit thing wasn’t that strange. He is gorgeous and it’s no surprise other girls look at him. I’m just a little flustered having to answer questions about the two of them. I’d just decided that keeping our relationships quiet was a good idea, but Isabel’s interest in Whit makes me realize why not staking my claim publicly could be an issue.
All of this is something I’ll have to consider as we get used to living in the same small town. Until then, I’ll stick with the plan—as long as I can.
33
Nick
