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The band takes the stage, and at the first slow song, Ava insists we all get up and dance. The moment I’ve been dreading. Mitch and I stand about a foot apart and awkwardly shuffle together on the dance floor. Thankfully, almost everyone else is doing the same.
“You look really pretty,” Mitch says.
“You look nice, too.”
“Thanks for coming with me. It beats sitting at home with my brother when everyone else in our class is having fun.”
“Agreed. I’d be sitting at home watching reruns of Gilmore Girls and Grey’s Anatomy with Lily.”
“I love Grey’s Anatomy. As dumb as it sounds, watching that show is what made me want to be a doctor.”
“I thought you wanted to be an electrical engineer?”
Letting out a laugh, he says, “No, that was Matt.”
Yikes. Major screwup on my part.
“In the future, maybe you guys should date separately. Or wear name tags.”
“See this?” He taps a tiny birthmark right above his eyebrow. “That’s how you can tell it’s me.”
I nod. “Ahh. I’ll be on the lookout for that from now on.”
We endure one more slow dance but scurry back to our table when it’s over. Lily looks just as relieved as I feel to be off the dance floor.
“Screw these shoes,” she says. “I’m taking them off.”
“You could’ve worn your Doc Martens,” Matt-with-No-Birthmark says. “I wouldn’t have minded. I think they’d look kinda hot with the dress.”
Lily blows out a breath. “I wish I had. High heels aren’t my thing. But my dad and Miss Fashionista over there convinced me to look all girly.”
“You could totally pull off girly in Doc Martens,” Matt says.
I’m thinking he might have a crush on her.
Oblivious to Matt’s subtle flirting, Lily pulls her phone out of her clutch and stares at the screen for a few moments before typing.
“It’s my dad checking on us,” she tells us. “He’s turning into a helicopter.”
That reminds me to send my mom a quick text. Just as I hit send on my message to her, my phone chimes with an incoming message.
Alex:
Checking in on you, too… having fun?
Smiling, I type back.
Yes. It’s a little awkward. Make that a lot awkward.
Alex:
That kid behaving himself?
So far ;-)
Alex:
Good.
A few seconds pass before another message comes through.
Alex:
I didn’t get a chance to tell you how beautiful you look.
Chewing my lip, I glance at Lily to make sure she’s not paying attention to me.
You kinda did tell me. You couldn’t keep your eyes off me.
Alex:
Eye, sweetheart ;-)
Oopsy. I’m so sorry.
My heart sinks. I’ve always made sure not to slip up when it comes to his eye, and now I had to go and do it for the first time when he seemed to be flirting with me.
Wait…is Alex really flirting with me?
Reading back over the messages, I realize he complimented me, but I flirted with him first.
I’m not even sure why. I just replied that way without even thinking.
Alex:
Don’t worry about it. Everyone does it. It’s a habit to say eyes.
I know, but I’ve always tried really hard to never do that.
Alex:
I know you have. Did you think I didn’t notice?
Now I feel even worse.
Alex:
Don’t. I’ll let it slide since you’re having an awkward night.
So, what are you doing tonight? Do you miss the nonstop chatter of two girls in your house?
Alex:
I actually do. :-) I just did some work, and now I might go sit by the lake.
I’ve always known about the small lake on Alex’s property, but it was off-limits when I was young. He even stopped going there himself to make sure me or Cherry didn’t follow him. A long time ago, he told me Cherry fell in when she was just a puppy and almost drowned. But now that the weather is warming up, and he doesn’t have to worry about anyone falling in, he’s been spending time there. I hate that he secludes himself so much. A good-looking guy his age shouldn’t be so weighed down by grief that he sits in the dark alone all the time. His love and loyalty to Brianna are swoonworthy, but wouldn’t she want him to move on and be happy?
Yes. A tiny voice in my head whispers.
That sounds nice
Alex:
It is, but it’d be nicer if I wasn’t alone
My eyes lock onto his words on the screen. Wondering…hoping…that he wishes I was there with him.
Could he possibly be thinking that?
“Who are you talking to?” Lily asks, leaning toward me.
I almost drop my phone. “Just my mom.”
The lie came out of my mouth so fast. Too fast. I don’t know why I lied. Me and Alex text all the time. It’s not like I’m doing anything wrong.
Am I?
When Lily turns away, I stare at my phone, unsure how I should reply to Alex’s text.
I decide to play it safe and not entice him any further.
That’s true.
The waiter arrives, and I let my attention be carried away by yummy food—vegetable lasagna, cake and tarts, and chocolate fortune cookies. I can’t resist cracking a cookie open and reading my fortune right away:
