Page 38 of Romeo

“You’re doing it again,” Melanie said, pointing at me with a greasy napkin.

“Doing what?”

“Checking your phone every thirty seconds.” She leaned forward, her dark eyes narrowing. “Who are you texting?”

“No one.”

“Liar.” Melanie grinned. “You’ve been glued to that thing for weeks. Is it a guy?”

Heat crept up my neck. “It’s just a friend.”

“A friend you can’t stop smiling at?” Melanie raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, okay. Sure.”

I didn’t answer.

How exactly did I explain Jasper?

I barely knew him.

Yet somehow, he’d worked his way into the beginning and end of nearly every day since.

That sounded a little insane even inside my own head.

“How’s work?” I asked.

Melanie let me have the obvious change of subject. “Boring. My mom’s been on my case about college applications again. Apparently, I need to ‘think about my future’ instead of working at the diner forever.” She rolled her eyes. “What about you? Still scooping ice cream for the masses?”

“Still scooping.”

“Any weird customers lately?”

I thought about the guy last week who’d asked for a sample of every flavor before ordering a small vanilla cone. “Define weird.”

Melanie laughed. “Fair point.”

My phone buzzed on the table, and I told myself not to look even though my hand was already reaching for it.

Jasper: New game.

Me: We’re still doing twenty questions?

Jasper: Better version. This or that.

Me: Go ahead.

Jasper: Sunrise or sunset?

That should’ve been an easy question.

It wasn’t.

Sunrise came with expectations. Another day to get right. Another chance to prove I deserved everything I’d been given.

Sunset felt different.

By then, whatever I’d managed or failed to manage was done. Nobody expected anything else from me until morning.

Me: Sunset