Page 26 of The Promposal

“Something came up?” I repeated. “Like what?” I knew how much Kenyetta had been looking forward to Jake coming.

“Oh. I, uh, have something else to do. With my mom. Shopping. We’re going shopping.”

I happened to know for a fact that Jake hadn’t gone shopping with his mom since he was thirteen years old. She was the one who told me the story about how he had demanded that she drop him off and let him choose his own clothes.

Even though I couldn’t see him or his tells, I knew he was lying.

I just didn’t understand why. “Kenyetta’s going to be really disappointed.” So was I.

“Tell her I’ll make it up to her.” Then, as if he’d been able to hear my unspoken thought, he added, “And to you.”

We said goodbye and hung up.

“Jake’s not coming?” Ella asked.

I nodded. “He said he was going shopping with his mom. Which has to be a lie.”

“Don’t jump to any conclusions.”

I didn’t tell her that Jake had given me the same advice the night before, and my conclusion jumping had been correct.

Lately it was like I had been forced onto some relationship roller coaster where I was either really high up, on top of the world, and so in love with my boyfriend, or plummeting down to my doom and the end of everything. Before the last few days, Jake and I had always been on an even keel, and I knew exactly where I stood with him. Things were normal. This ... felt like an ulcer waiting to happen.

“It’s not like this is the first time he’s canceled at the last minute,” I told her, trying not to frown.

“Hey,” Ella said, breaking up my downward spiral. “What if I come with you?”

“Really? That would be great.”

“To be honest, I don’t want to stay here all afternoon and think about Trent and Bronte. It would be nice to get out of the house and have a distraction.”

Personally, I’d still be a blubbering mess if Jake had cheated on me. Ella seemed to be handling it really well.

Or she was just in deep denial.

I could respect either choice.

A couple of hours later, we were on our way to Kenyetta’s house, along with the presents I’d chosen for her. They were all ballerina themed—from a ballet slippers nightlight to a silver charm bracelet with tiny dancers in tutus.

I volunteered to drive. It wasn’t that given Ella’s current state I didn’t trust her to drive ... but given her current state I totally didn’t trust her to drive.

She used my phone to log on to her Instagram account, and she was scrolling through her feed. “Oh no. Demarco just asked London to prom by giving her a kitten. His sign says, ‘I’ve got a feline you’d be the purr-fect date! Prom?’”

The last thing Ella should be doing was looking at promposals. Especially since she wasn’t getting one now. But why would Demarco’s ask make her say, “Oh no”?

“What’s wrong with that?”

“London’s mom is super allergic to cats. We had a cheer sleepover at Portia’s house a few months ago, and she has two longhair cats. Anyway, London’s mom had to be taken to a doctor when London got home. It’s why we had to institute a ‘sleepovers in pet-free homes only’ rule.”

“That’s going to be a fun conversation,” I said. “Good thing Demarco knows her so well and would give her such an appropriate gift.” I wanted to poke fun so that Ella wouldn’t get more depressed. I didn’t handle a depressed Ella very well. That was supposed to be my role in our relationship because I was the moody one.

“OMG! Topher Larson got the wordpromtattooed on his shoulder for his promposal!”

“Are you sure it’s not fake?” I asked, totally stunned.

“He’s got a video of him going into the tattoo parlor and getting it done.” She held my phone up for me to see, but since I was being the responsible driver, I couldn’t look. Didn’t want to look, actually.

Okay, I was all about a good promposal. But this was taking things way too far. “It’s like six hours of a single night. And he doesn’t know how things are going to go with Brie at prom. What if she breaks up ...” I let my voice trail off, realizing too late what I’d almost said.

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