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What do butterflies know anyway?
Here’s what they know—I miss Meredith.
I miss her like a drowning man misses air. I want her like the dying desert wants a rainstorm. I long for her, like a cocooned butterfly longs for the sky.
I’m stewing and inwardly tormenting myself all while Coco and Meredith chat it up. So much that I don’t even notice until we’ve pulled into Bella Italia. I’ve only been here once, and it was with a girl—it’s a good date place.
I hate that. Why are we here then? Why are we meeting some creep here?
Annie stands outside, hand on one hip. Her red hair stands out in the dim light. The minute she sees me, I know it. She’s scowling. She’s as happy about this as I am.
“There’s Annie,” Coco says, waving to our brother’s friend.
I can’t help it, I blow a raspberry from my lips in annoyance.
“Hey,” Coco chirps, “and there’s James.”
A stupidly tall man with a mustache that could use a good trimming, stands next to the doors. Clearly, he and Annie don’t know who the other is, or maybe he doesn’t care for Annie either. Either way, I don’t like him. This is supposed to be Meredith’s date? Someone who’s going to stand an entire foot taller than her. Someone whose arms are so skinny and so long that he could wind around her like a string of spaghetti.
“Be nice,” Coco tells me—the girl is such a mother hen these days. Well, I am not her child and I don’t have to behave if I don’t want to.
As we exit the van, I snag a water bottle from Coco’s middle console. My mouth has already gone dry looking at Mr. Tall-and-Gangly over there. A motorboat groan sounds from Annie, making all of us look her way.
“Hello, Levi,” she grumbles, as happy to see me as I am to see her.
“Yes, you two know each other already.However,” Coco turns to Meredith. “Meredith Porter, this is James Buttman.”
I’ve just thrown back half this dumb water bottle—avoiding talking to Annie or looking at Stick Man. But with Coco’s introductions, I choke. And then water spews out my mouth and nose, and I spit all over Beanpole—not unlike the way Meredith spat on me the very first day we met.
“Levi!” Coco and Annie bark at me in unison.
I think maybe Meredith is inwardly chuckling—remembering the same thing that I am, but her eyes are wide and her mouth half open.
“James, I’m sorry for my brother who still thinks he’s a twelve-year-old half the time.”
“Nah,” James says, giving Meredith a grin—like he didn’t just get drenched by me. What’s wrong with this guy? “We’re cool.”
James completely ignores the wet front of his blue button-up shirt and holds out his hand to Meredith. A small part of me wants to karate chop their fingers apart. Okay—a not-so-small part, but I don’t, because despite what Coco says, I am a grown-up.
I am so grown up that when it’s time to walk into the restaurant and James walks next to Meredith, I don’t push him into the gutter. No, I simply walk on her other side. When the door will only fit two of us, that’s when I move, keeping myself right next to her and making James walk behind us. He can walk with Annie.
The hostess walks us back to a long table, three chairs on one side and three on the other. When Meredith takes a middle seat and Daddy Long Legs takes the one at her right, I sit at her left. Annie is quick to take the corner farthest from me—which is alright by me. So that puts my sister directly across from me.
Bigfoot immediately starts in onhimself.He is more than happy to tell Meredith all about how fantastic he is.
I know guys like him. He is not for Meredith. Doesn’t he have a question forher? Doesn’t he want to know where she’s from and what her interests are? I did not step aside for the likes of this string bean.
“Then after college,” I hear him say, talking to only Meredith like there aren’t four other people at this table. “I went to Brazil for a year.”
“Brazil?” Meredith says, and she sounds truly interested. Why? It’s just a country. It’s not like he hasn’t done what thousands before him have. “I can’t imagine living in another country.”
“Well, you should.” He puts one arm around the back of her chair. His stupid long fingers dangle over the edge like a dead spider.
“Levi,” Coco says my name forcefully. “What do you think?”
I don’t know what she’s asking about. All I can think about is the dead spider dangling from the back of Meredith’s seat, right next to her shoulder. When that dead spider’s thumb comes to life and traces a line over Meredith’s upper arm, I do what anyone would do to save the girl. I swat at it—hard and fast, knocking it back and completely away from Meredith.
James’ body jerks as his hand and arm fly backward. I guess his shoulder and torso were bound to flinch, seeing how it’s all attached. I ignore his jerking and stare ahead at my sister who looks as though she’s gloating at me.
