Page 36 of What I Like About You

Molly takes a sip of grape juice.

“You have an older sister?” I ask.

Molly swallows. “Two. But Rebecca is doing her PhD at Oxford, so, like,that’sobviously not happening. It’ll be the first high holidays without my sisters.”

“It’s our first away from our parents,” I say. “If that makes you feel better.”

Molly smiles at me and tips her cup so it clinks mine. “Solidarity.”

I smile back. I like Molly. It’s easy being around someone who does all the talking.

“Hey.” Nash is suddenly standing above us with a plate of cupcakes.Mycupcakes. “I come with cupcakes. Which is pretty nice of me, considering I was totally abandoned.”

The calm I felt moments ago, clinking cups with Molly? It’s gone.

Molly rolls her eyes at the wordabandonedand pats the empty seat next to her for Nash to sit.

Is it time to leave yet?

“We were just talking about USY,” Molly says. “Isn’t it so cool that Halle and Ollie are practicing too?”

Ollie shrugs. “Oh. We’re not. Practicing, I mean.”

“You’re here,” Molly says, confused.

“For the first time,” I clarify.

“Sorry.” Molly places her empty cup on the table. “I guess I did assume, after all.”

“We’ve moved a lot,” Ollie says. “Our parents raised us with,like, the culture. But there wasn’t really time to do the synagogue part.”

I kick Ollie’s foot under the table because what if the phrasemoved a lottriggers a light bulb in Nash’s brain and everything is ruined.

He just flashes me awhat the hell?look.

“Did you like it?” Molly asks, not noticing our exchange.

“Yeah,” I say. “I really did.”

“It’s boring,” Ollie confesses.

“It gets better once you learn the prayers,” Nash says. “I get it, though. My mom raised us—me—very Jewish. But when I’m with my Korean relatives, I’m so lost.”

“ButwillI learn the prayers?” Ollie says. “I didn’t even know how to hold the book—thesiddur—before tonight.”

Nash nods. “You will. Give it a few Fridays.”

“Also! Still going to plug USY. There are a lot of Reform and secular Jewish kids involved,” Molly says. “I can text you more info.”

She recites her number to me and I plug the digits into my phone. She doesn’t pull hers out, so I’m guessing Molly keeps Shabbat—which means no phones after sundown on the Sabbath. Nash pulls out his phone and … does not ask for my number. Thank God. I mean, Nash and Kels only communicate via DMs and G-Chat. So Nashcouldhave my cell number, theoretically. If I wanted him to. Which I don’t.

Once I’ve saved the number, Molly excuses herself for the bathroom. Ollie gets up to grab more challah, ignoring the look I’m shooting him to keep him in his seat.

It’s just Nash and me. Pretty much a nightmare scenario.

“Molly’s the community outreach chair. She can be kind of intense about it, but it’s okay to say no to the USY stuff. I do it all the time.”

“She thinks I know what USY is,” I say. “I havenoclue.”

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