“Yay omg,” she squeals before hanging up.
Exactly an hour later, Ty brings a bright red Honda Civic to an abrupt stop in front of my building. I’ve scanned the block enough times to be certain my mom isn’t hiding somewhere waiting to catch me—this car doesn’t help at all. The wind blows and I consider going back up for a different jacket, but Desiree sticks her hand out of the window to grab mine.
She’s so excited. I smile at her.
“I told you she’d be down here,” she says.
I make my way around and slide into the back seat next to Desiree. The car looks and smells brand new, so I hold my bag on my lap just to be careful.
Whose car is this?I mouth to Desiree.
She smiles from ear to ear and points to Ty in the front seat. “Ty’s parents got it for him. His grades wereamazing, apparently,” she says.
“Wow, congrats,” I say.
Ty flashes me a smile in the rearview mirror. I glance over at his friend, who’s staring down at his phone. He hasn’t turned around once. Ty is whispering to him and he’s nodding but not making a sound.
“You ready, baby?” Ty asks, revving the engine. Desiree screamsyesand slaps my arm. I chuckle at her being so easily impressed. “You ready, Jasmine?”
His friend finally turns around and waits for my answer. His dark brown eyes meet mine and he smiles. I hold out on returning the smile and he shakes his head. I’m trying to make out the small tattoo on his neck, but the black ink is faded. He’s cute and I’m glad that if Desiree and Ty are going to spendmost of the night in each other’s faces, at least I have something good to look at.
Desiree pokes me when I don’t answer.
“Yeah. Let’s do it.”
The car pulls off quickly and Ty’s friend turns up the music. I fumble for the seat belt until I see that Desiree isn’t wearing hers. I don’t want to embarrass her, so I just let my body move around the seat, laughing like I enjoy it as much as she does. Ty’s friend turns around a few more times before we finally come to a stop.
“Desiree, come with me to get food.” Ty doesn’t wait for a response before he gets out. He walks around to his friend’s window and taps it. His friend rolls it down and hands him something.
“What you want?” he asks him at the same time Desiree asks me.
She snaps her fingers to get my attention away from the front of the car. “What do you want to eat, girl?” she asks again.
We’re parked in front of the Kennedy Fried Chicken a few blocks away from the hospital my mom works at. She comes here all the time when she wants something easy to bring home. I hope we can make this quick.
“The nine-piece spicy wings and fries. We can share.” I start to pull out some cash from my bag and Desiree shoots me a look. “Who’s paying?”
She doesn’t answer and slams the door when she gets out. I consider going after her until Ty’s friend turns around again and smiles at me.
“It’s my treat. Is that okay with you?” he says.
I remember the thing he handed Ty earlier and it makes sense. I soften my face and shift my body so I can really see him.
“But who areyou?”
He laughs and it briefly reminds me of Darius. Unassuming, goofy, and… cute. “Wow, Ty didn’t tell you about me?”
I shake my head.
“Well, maybe this is better then. I’m Chris.” He lays his hand on the console between the seats and wiggles his fingers. I don’t make any movements. “No hand, Jasmine?” He stops moving his fingers. I throw my hand on his before he can take it away. He closes his hand on mine and I forget for a second what we’re even doing here. Any concerns about my mom knowing I left the house slowly drift from the front of my mind. It’s going to be okay. It might even be perfect.
“Okay, lovebirds!” Desiree says loudly from outside the car.
I snatch my hand away from Chris and he laughs. Desiree opens the door and puts a steaming bag of food on the back seat. Ty closes the door behind her and hands Chris an identical bag through the passenger window.
“Thank you, Chris,” Desiree practically sings. She turns to me to make room for our order. She pulls out the box of chicken and puts two orange sodas in the cup holders, then motions for me to start eating.
“If this was really a date for us, that’s all you had to say,” I tease.
