AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Listen…” I started to say.
“Dylan, I know you’re sorry about last night. Grace told me you guys talked and I’m not mad at you anymore. I know how it feels to be in love.”
I looked at Grace with fear written all over my face. What had she told Ella that we talked about? She couldn’t have told Ella she was the mystery girl, Ella would have had a much bigger reaction than this, I’m sure of it. But what did she say? Grace saw the anxiety flash through my eyes, and fortunately, stepped in before I could say something idiotic.
“Yeah, I told her that you’re in love with this girl and that you have been for a while.”
“And she told me that you could see a future with her, and I don’t think you’ve ever said that about a girlfriend.”
“No, um, I haven’t.”
“So, it’s true, then?” Ella asked, “you want to be with her, like, long term?”
I nodded my head, knowing I wouldn’t be able to get any words out. It felt odd, admitting all of this to my sister when she obviously didn’t know I was talking about her best friend. I was certain she would freak out if she knew who it was, so I planned to continue keeping that information to myself.
“I’m glad you’re happy, big brother. And you know what? I don’t even care who it is. You can tell me whenever you’re ready.”
“Really? You don’t care who it is?”
“Well, as long as it’s not, like, Grace or something,” she said with a grin in Grace’s direction, “then, no, I don’t care. As long as you’re happy.”
Grace and I exchanged a glance that I hoped went unnoticed by Ella. I wasn’t sure how this was ever going to work, but we had to figure something out.
That evening,Grace and I made our way to the restaurant where I had made reservations. Just as we were about to step through the doors, she shot out her hand to stop me, and then pushed me back behind the corner.
“What? What is it?”
“Ella.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Ella and Jonas are right there,” she said in a stern whisper.
“They left for their honeymoon this afternoon.”
“Do you really think I wouldn’t recognize them? They’re right there. It looks like they’re waiting for a table.”
“Grace, we said goodbye to them hours ago. We saw them get in a car with their luggage packed.”
“See for yourself if you don’t believe me.”
I shook my head at her and peered around the corner. Sure enough, there they were, sitting hand in hand on the bench near the host’s stand. I blinked in surprise, and when I turned back around, Grace had a smug smile on her face.
“See?”
“You’re right. But what the hell are they doing here?”
“I have no idea. Go find out.”
“Why me?”
“Because it’s more believable that you’d extend your vacation than me.”
I had to agree, but I still didn’t necessarily want to go talk to them. I was a bit worried I wouldn’t be able to come up with a good enough cover story to keep them from getting suspicious. Before I could put too much thought into it, Grace pushed me towards the doors.
When I stepped inside, I acted like I didn’t see them. I walked straight to the hostess and asked to see a menu. As I absentmindedly scanned the menu without actually reading it, I turned to face them, knowing that one of them would say something first.
“Dylan?”
