Page 81 of Best I Never Had

I clear my throat, the sudden noise cutting through the silence.

“It’s a little early,” I announce. “You want a drink before we go?”

“Sure,” Natalia says softly. “So this is the fancy ol’ bachelor pad, huh?” She shifts her feet, moving to walk through the semi-cluttered living room as she follows me to the kitchen.

“Yep,” I answer, my back turned to her as I talk to her over my shoulder. “We hide the blow-up dolls and lava lamps when guests come over. We don’t want people knowing how provocative our single lifestyles really are.”

She giggles as I walk to the fridge to retrieve a beer. I open it with the edge of the counter by slapping my palm against the metal bottle cap, causing a ribbon of mist to float out the top from the broken pressure.

“Thank you,” she whispers softly with a small smile. An awkward silence lingers as she drinks her beer, the glugging of it leaving the bottle sounding louder than it actually is. “So…” she says meekly, her fingers twiddling in front of her. “I have some news.”

“Oh?”

Her lips press together in a firm line. “I may have an impending date…in the near future.”

Those words feel like a punch to my gut, the force from it hitting me like a wrecking ball. Demolishing all the senseless daydreaming I’ve been doing, imagining how it would feel like tobewith Natalia.

“It’s with Shawn. That guy who was at lunch with me and José the other day? At your restaurant.”

“Oh,” I answer softly.

She nods. “He hasn’t asked me out or anything, but José’s been so persistent that I entertain the idea and at least go on one date with him. But I don’t know.”

There’s a strain of annoyance in her voice, and I believe her. She looks so hesitant, equivocating between going and not going on this possible date. So I do the one thing that I don’t want to do. The one thing that any supportive and caring friend would do.

“I think you should go.” My voice sounds forced. As if I don’t want to say the words and I’m holding them back as far as I can because I know it would be wrong. Because that isn’t what friends do. “I mean, you know, when he asks you on a date.”

“You do?” She lifts her face and her eyes round, giving her a full puppy dog effect with the added twinkle from the kitchen lights.No, I don’t, I think.

“Yeah,” I answer, failing in an attempt to sound convincing. “He seemed nice.”

“You mean in the two seconds that you met him?” she teases.

“No, I–I mean,” I stutter, huffing a laugh at how much difficulty I’m having just trying to convince Natalia to do something I don’t want her to do. “It wouldn’t hurt to give it a shot. You know, get out there and meet someone.”

“What if it’s horrible? Like, he ends up being some weird stalker or worse…” She lowers her voice in a hushed tone, bringing the sideways plane of her hand against her mouth as if she were telling me a secret before saying, “He’s a mama’s boy.”

I chuckle as I watch what little humor she has about the looming possible date trickling through her jokes. “Are you scared?” I finally ask.

“No. I mean…I don’t know, Hayden.” She lightly brings her hand to her face, avoiding her eyes to prevent smudging her makeup. “I guess I’m just looking for excuses to get out of it.”

“Nat,” I say softly. My whole body softens, not just my voice. My face, my posture, even my hands as they move to lightly grip her shoulders. “Just go and see what happens.”

She looks up at me, smiling sadly with downturned eyes. Instead of fighting me like I wish she would, she gives a sad nod.

“Best case scenario, your kids would have pretty blue eyes.”

She rolls her eyes, pushing me away. “Oh my god, Hayden. I don’t need that kind of pressure.”

I chuckle. “Come on,” I say, taking the beer bottle from her hand. “We have a party to get to.”

30

Hayden

senior year

I roughly jogdown the stairs, taking them two at a time as I run to answer the doorbell that just rang. It’s the second day of my three-day suspension for punching Alex. While his dad came to Mr. Walton, threatening to sue the school and press charges, Alex stopped him, requesting that his dad drop it and move on. So after Mr. Walton delivered my sentence, my parents grounded me for two weeks, in addition to my suspension.

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