Page 24 of Better Than the Movies
“I think the point here is that he sees you differently from other girls because of your history.”
I looked at him and wondered—holy God—hadI been a little weirdo? “So I’m a weirdo to him forever and there’s nothing I can do about it?”
He cleared his throat. “Well, maybe not. But.”
He looked guilty, and I said, “What did you do, Wes?”
“Ididn’t do anything, Buxbaum—you did.” He pulled to a stop at a red light and gave me full-on eye contact. “Michael and I were saying how bad it sucked that you got puked on, and he made a comment about your ugly uniform.”
My cheeks got hot as I remembered my beautiful outfit that was now ruined. “So?”
“So it was something about how it was classic Liz to wear a waitress uniform to a party and how you haven’t changed a bit.”
I sighed and looked out the window, suddenly feeling hopeless about ever getting a shot with Michael. “Awesome.”
“I told him that you’re completely different now.”
I glanced across the darkened front seat. “You did?”
“Yep. I told him that you sing less now and that you’re kind of considered ahot girlat school.”
My weirdo heart felt warm. “I’m considered a hot girl?”
“Probably. I mean, you’re not ugly, so it’s possible. I don’tknow.” Wes kept his eyes on the road and sounded irritated. “I don’t make it a habit to discuss you unless it’s in the context of ‘Guess what my goofball neighbor did,’ so I actually have no idea. I was just trying to change his impression of you.”
I rolled my eyes and felt ridiculously bummed that he’d made that up.
“But here’s your problem.” He put on his blinker and slowed as we approached a yellow light. “As I was doing my best to convince him that you’re no longer a little weirdy, he took it the wrong way and said, like, ‘So you DO like Liz. I knew it.’?”
“Oh no.” Shit, shit, shit!
“Oh yes.” He looked over at me after stopping for the red light. “He thinks we’re into each other.”
“No!”I dropped my head back onto the headrest and pictured Michael’s face as he’d smiled and watched Wes and me. He thought I was into Wes, and it was entirely my fault.I’dstarted the rumor, for the love of God. “He’ll never ask me to prom if he thinks you like me.”
“Probably not.”
“Ugh.” I blinked fast, not wanting to get emotional, but I couldn’t help it as I kept picturing his face. He was supposed to be my fate, dammit, and now Laney would have him in her clutches before I got my foot-popping kiss.
AndI got vomited on for nothing.
“He did say something about you when we were leaving, if that makes you feel any better.”
“What? When? What did he say?”
He accelerated around the corner and floored it. “All he said was ‘I can’t believe Little Liz has a tattoo’ when I told him we were taking off.”
I gasped. “Well, how did he say it?”
He glanced over at me. “Really?”
“I just mean did he say it like he was disgusted, or, like… like he thought it was maybe kind of cool?”
He kept his eyes on the road and said, “He definitely wasn’t disgusted.”
“Well, at least there’s that.” I stared out the window and watched as the lights of our neighborhood got closer.WhatamI going to do?If it were another guy, I might have just given up and called projectile vomiting a cosmic sign.
But this was Michael Young. I couldn’t give up.
