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“Yes, sir.”
Not even fighting a grimace, I loaded up my fork, dipping my collection in a bit of the hot sauce. Josh hovered his fork over the bowl, gesturing it toward me. “Cheers.”
I tapped my fork against his and took the big bite. I chewed, waiting for the disgust to hit me. “I can’t even taste the egg.”
Josh dropped his fork and made aboomgesture. “Amazing, right? Now you’ll always order it this way. Michelin Star quality, I’d say.”
I smiled a little, thinking back to my conversation with Reed. Maybe it was more of a grimace than a smile. “I don’t know aboutthat.” Despite that, I went back for another bite. “Chicken and hot sauce, maybe. The egg?Ehh.”
“Trust me. Three days from now, you’ll find yourself hungry and this sudden thought will come up: Man, I could go for macaroni and eggs right now.”
Shoving down another laugh, I went in for another bite.
My nerves had somewhat disappeared now, almost like the mac and cheese had been the perfect icebreaker. Talking to Josh was easier than I thought. He had the kind of personality that easily should’ve been in the Top Tier; easygoing, charismatic, funny.
“You dyed your hair again, right?” Josh asked, stabbing a piece of macaroni and tender. “The pink is brighter. It looks good.”
I touched the wet braid over my shoulder a bit self-consciously. Once I rinsed the dye out, Rachel didn’t even let me wait until it air-dried before she started weaving it off to the side. “You’ll thank me later,” she’d said as she braided, ignoring my protests. “I know you will.”
Rachel probably thought she was being a great wing woman, getting me an in with Josh, even though I hadn’t asked for one. But then again, maybe this was okay. HewasKissable Josh. But I realized something as we joked and chatted—thiswascomfortable. Easy. He was great company, and the more I hung out with him, the less Rachel would be on my back about finding someone for me to kiss. It felt like a win-win scenario all around.
“Thank you,” I told Josh, twisting my fork. “So, uh, tell me about yourself. Do you play sports?”
“Nah, not since elementary school. I’m not really a competitive person.”
That explained his anonymity a little. Still, it was weird that, before last week, I’d never met him. “Are you in band?” When Josh shook his head, I said, “Sorry for all the questions. I’m wondering how our paths had never crossed before.”
“Well, Brentwoodishuge,” he said, tapping his knuckles on the tabletop to the music coming from the speakers. I recognized the fast-pace beat from a frequently played one on the radio. “But I’m actually new.”
“New?” I raised my eyebrows, but he didn’t elaborate. “Like, you just transferred?”
“Yep. From Clinton Prep. Would not recommend transferring to a massive school your senior year, but here we are.” He gave a small, deprecating smile, his dimple becoming a firm indentation. “The tuition got too sky-high.”
My fork clinked off the ceramic bowl between us. “I bet it’s been so hard learning everyone’s names. I’ve had three years to memorize, and Istillsee people I don’t know.” There were four middle schools within the Brentwood School District, and five elementary schools, so it was easy to have never crossed paths with any students before. “Wait, you’ve only just started here and you got on the Most Likely Tos?”
“Impressive, right?” He pretended to dust lint off his shirt. “I’ve caught the eye of someone. I’m quite proud.”
Most Likely To: Be Forgotten After High School. It made so much more sense now. I leaned my chin against my fist, letting him take a few bites because I was scarfing down the mac-and-cheese mixture. Itwasgood. “It’s not as offensive as it sounded before.”
“Never have their first kiss, though…that’s hurtful.”
Now it was my turn to shrug, wishing I could turn the conversation around. I couldn’t think aboutthatwithout thinking about Reed. More specifically, Reed’s mouth. “I’ve never really been interested in anyone enough to kiss them, I guess.”
“Honesty hour?” Josh leaned across the table once more, like we were sharing a secret. “I haven’t had my first kiss yet either.”
“Really?” I narrowed my eyes at him, looking for a trace of deceit, but his features were so baby-like and innocent. “Don’t lie to make me feel better.”
“Cross my heart. I paid more attention to academics than to relationships. Practically everyone at my school was the same way. But turns out Brentwood’s academics aren’t quite as, ah…advancedas Clinton Prep’s were.”
I nearly snorted. “So our easy classes open up some time for relationships?”
His cheeks pinked for the first time since I’d met him, and I was struck by how cute it made him look. “Maybe a little.”
I studied him from across the table, especially as he started carefully avoiding my gaze. That took my initial first impression of him and dashed it against the ground. He wasn’t looking for someone to kiss—this was a boy new to the whole relationship scene, like me. Having that understanding erased some of the tension that clung to me, tension I hadn’t even realized was there until it vanished.
“You know, Rachel…she made it sound like I’m ready to go kissing anyone. I’m not.” I watched his expression, but he didn’t have a reaction. No surprise, no disappointment—he was just listening. “I don’t really care about being voted that for the list.”Not anymore.
“I’m not here because I thought you might kiss me,” Josh said, and his words mademycheeks heat now, but I blamed it on the hot sauce. “You seem like a cool person—you and Rachel both—and I’m looking for some friends.”
