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“When’s your birthday?” he continues. “You know mine from that thing in government, but when it was your turn, the bell rang.”
“January thirtieth,” I say.
“That’s coming up,” he says. “Noted.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me in this totally cheesy way that makes me want to frown; I force myself to smile. The questions continue. “Do you have any pets?”
“No, do you?” I ask, attempting to turn the tables.
“No,” he says. “What’s your favorite food?”
“Bacon.”
This makes Dave laugh so loudly that people three aisles over turn to look. When it goes on for a few seconds, I start to feel like he’s making fun of me.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing,” he says. “Bacon’s just not… I meant more like your favorite kind of food.”
“Any kind with bacon,” I say before putting on earphones to sample a just-released CD. This forces Dave to stop with the questioning. I listen and watch him wander; he looks a little lost without me to talk to. As I’m trying to figure him out it hits me: He hasn’t figured himself out yet. Trying to act casual, he strolls down a couple of aisles before he ends up near the stairs that lead to the second level. I watch him pause, turn, and gesture that he’s going up, coincidentally to the beat of the song playing in my ears. I nod, then point to my ears to tell him I’m going to keep listening. When he disappears from view, I feel free: I hum along and tap my thumbs on the CD cover I’m holding. The title track ends and a ballad begins, and someone taps on my shoulder. I turn around to find Sean in dark jeans and a black shirt, his hair wilder than usual. He looks at me excitedly; he’s holding the same CD in his hands.
I rip the earphones from my ears.
“Hi!” I say, wide-eyed and smiling.
“Hi,” he says back, looking almost as happy to see me as I am to see him. “It’s good, isn’t it?” he says, pointing to the CD case.
“Amazing.” I nod before casually glancing in the direction of the stairs.
Sean takes a step toward me and looks into my eyes.
“I’ve been thinking about you all weekend,” he says. “I wanted to call you, but I didn’t know if your mom would answer…. I can’t believe we just ran into each other like this.”
Another nervous glance at the stairs.
“I know,” I say. “It’s crazy.”
“Want to get coffee or something?”
Another glance, and this time, he notices.
“Are you here with someone? Is it your mom?”
“No,” I say. “I mean, yes, I’m here with someone. No, it’s not my—”
“Hey, Kelly,” Dave says as he walks up from the opposite direction. I see signs for an elevator over his head; of course he would come down that way. Dave stops right next to me, a little too close.
“What’s up, Chancellor,” Sean says. “Popular place.”
“Guess so.” Dave looks at me. “Are you ready to go?”
Even though I only glance at Sean, I see it: unfiltered jealousy. His eyes have clouded over; his dark eyebrows are knitted together like he’s ready to take down the villain on his superhero planet. Except it’s possible that right now the villain is me.
“You two came here together?” he asks, just to be sure. He looks at my dress accusingly.
“Yep,” Dave says, stepping closer to me as if to mark his territory. I want to shove him away, but I think better of it. Mom’s letting us date. It’s a step in the right direction. If I mess this up, she’ll never let us do it again.
And besides, Ella would kill me.
“I’m ready,” I say. Dave turns to lead me out of the store. I put back the CD, and take a step away from Sean. “See you in class,” I say quietly. There’s nothing else to say.
