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“Actually, I was pretending to study so I could avoid my mother’s boyfriend.”
“The condescending, passive aggressive one, right?”
“That’s the one.”
“So, if you’re only pretending to study, what are youactuallydoing?”
“Just talking to a friend.”
“Oh.” Ella frowned, wondering why she felt so disappointed by this. The fact that he hadn’t specified who made her think it was a girl. “You want me to let you go?”
“No! No, seriously. We were done anyway. Now I’m just hanging out, wasting time watching an episode of The Island before I head to The Broken Record to meet you.”
“You watch The Island?”
“Yeah. I mean, it’s kind of lame, but otherwise, it’s pretty cool.”
“Totally. It’s my go-to when I need a good binge show.”
“Yeah?” he said, his tone lighter than before. “You know, you kind of look like Mandy Gallagher.”
Mandy Gallagher was the lead and absolutely stunning.
“What-ever.” I laughed, though it felt kind of good to be compared to a Hollywood starlet.
“No, I’m serious,” Barry insisted.
“You’re just saying that to butter me up. You, Barry Glick, are a charmer,” I said, smiling to myself, because Barry really wasn’t a charmer, at least not in the traditional sense. Usually charmers put in some modicum of effort. But all of Barry’s charm came almost by accident. Instead, it was his slightly awkward nature that made him attractive.
“You think I’m charming?”
I could practically hear the disbelief in his voice, which endeared me to him even more. “Absolutely. You’re the smartest boy in our class, you have the sweetest smile, and you know all about the stars and zodiac signs. Totally irresistible. Why do you think I’m talking to you right now?”
“Honestly, I have no clue. You’re probably the prettiest girl at our school—”
“STOP IT.” I glanced down at the steering wheel, unable to control my smile.
“No, I’m serious. You’ve got Luca pursuing you and probably a dozen other boys at Lakeview who’d kill to hang out with you. You could be with anyone you want, be friends with anyone you want, yet here you are, talking to me.”
I bit my lower lip, mulling over what he said. There were a lot of reasons I spoke to Barry, but my desire to hook him up with Mia was only one of them, because there was something else, too. Something I couldn’t quite put a finger on. Some undefinable thing that drew me to him.
I squirmed at the thought; I couldn’t think about that right now. Barry was my friend, and I wanted him for Mia.
“You’re one of the good ones,” I murmured.
“How do you know?”
“I can just tell.”
Silence settled over the line, and for a moment, I replayed everything I’d said, worried I’d offended him when he asked, “Did you say I have a nice smile?”
Laughter bubbled inside my chest. “Well, yeah. I think sweet was the exact choice of word.”
Another beat of silence passed, before he asked, “So you don’t care that I’m . . .”
I knew where he was headed without him having to say it. Maybe because he’d mentioned it before—in our note exchange at detention. “That you’re, what, different?”
“Well, yeah.”
