Page 30 of Just Another Meet Cute
We may not be able to go back to exactly how things were before Dad, but we could still pretend for a bit. Like when you covered up a zit with concealer and foundation. You knew it was still there, could feel it, but you pretended that it wasn’t.
As I listened to her make plans, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw that I had a text message from an unknown number.
It’s Ian. Meet me tomorrow at 7:00 at Shamrock Patio if you still want to convince me.
My good mood instantly vanished. Like someone had dumped a bucket of ice water over my head.
I chewed on my lower lip as I mulled over what to do. I didn’t particularly want to see Ian again, especially alone. But Ididwant to see Ryan again. And his family. I wasn’t lying when I told him that I liked them.
Why did Ryan and Ian have to be twins? Or better yet, why did I confusethem in the first place? Their names werebarelysimilar. Okay, a little more than barely, but I still should have figured out that something was wrong.
But twins? Really? What were the odds!?
“What’s wrong, honey?” Mom pressed against my furrowed forehead with her fingertip. “You have more wrinkles than I do right now.”
“It’s—it’s nothing.”
She swept my hair off my forehead like I was five again. “Are you sure? Because the last time you looked like this, it was because they suddenly ended that drama with Park Bo Gum.”
“That’s because I invested three months into that show and it ended on a cliff-hanger. The train got derailed before he could talk to Susie!” My sigh was so heavy that I slumped backward from the force. Grateful for the distraction, I leaned my head against the wooden headboard. “Not to mention, he’s your future son-in-law. I would think that you’d want his dramas to end well.”
“Of course, I’d want him to have a successful career. How else are you going to gift me with a château in Singapore when I retire? Not that I don’t have faith that you can afford it yourself in the future.” Her nose crinkled. “But then you still don’t know what you want to do in the future, right?”
My shoulders slumped and I cleared my throat. “I still have time. Maybe I’ll win the lottery instead.”
“If Bánever won anything in the thirty years of weekly lotto tickets, I sincerely doubt you will. Now are you going to tell me what’s really bothering you or do you want to keep changing the subject?”
Damn. One of the sucky things about your mom being one of your bestfriends growing up was that it was almost impossible to lie to her. Not that I did it very often. I barely needed to. She was that cool.
I was so tempted to confide in her like I used to. She had all the answers and would probably be awesome at dealing with this Ian/Ryan problem. It would be so easy to have her tell me what to do.
But the distance between us that grew over the past year and a half made me freeze. It was a giant blinking hazard roadblock that stopped me in my tracks. Like she said before, we couldn’t go back to the way things were before, no matter how much I wished we could. One conversation couldn’t change that.
I gave her a bright smile before leaning on her shoulder. “Keep changing the subject. Do you want to get pizza tomorrow or some Korean BBQ before our manicure?”
Something else that was great about Mom was that if I really didn’t want to talk about something, ultimately, she wouldn’t push me. “Or we could get both if you want. We have all day. How does that sound?”
She played with my hand on my lap, pressing at the tip of my ring finger like she always had ever since I was a kid. “It sounds perfect.”
The day dragged on like it was stuck in honey. Ice cubes melting on the sidewalk. Linh getting ready on a Tuesday. The mall date with Mom was fun, but I was still pretty much a jittery mess by the time I left to meet Ian the next night.
Luckily, I had to circle the block three times before I was able to find Shamrock Patio and another two rounds to actually find parking. By the time I was finally able to squish Linh’s car between a Jeep and SUV on the next block, I was too annoyed to be nervous.
The restaurant was on the corner of a regular neighborhood street, but cars were parked everywhere. It was a tiny little building with a huge covered patio surrounding the three sides. There were at least a dozen old picnic tables spread out. In the back corner, there were a few green metal tables with three or four chairs around them. And almost all the chairs were filled with people eating and drinking.
I dodged a couple sitting in the front with their two kids. The little boy was playing on an iPad while his little sister leaned backward in her chair. She giggled as the fan behind her whipped her black hair around her face.
As I squeezed past her and the fan, my hands dropped to my thighs so I could hold down the front of my skirt before I accidentally flashed someone. It definitely wouldn’t be the first time.
A bead of sweat ran down my back, and I was tempted to take off my chunky maroon cardigan. It was a bit warm tonight, and I knew I was a little overdressed.Okay, a lot.But I couldn’t take any chances today. I needed the Lucky Outfit to work its magic.
Usually I wasn’t the superstitious type, but something goodalwayshappened when I wore this outfit. It was luckier than a leprechaun wearing a four-leaf clover shirt and a horseshoe necklace.
First time it worked its charm was in my calculus class last year. I completely forgot to study for the test, which would have dragged my average from a B−to a C. Luckily, Mr. Barnes had a flat tire that morning, so class was canceled. Not so lucky for Mr. Barnes though.
Next time I wore this outfit, Mom and I were out at dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant, when I spotted Darren Criss—my all-time celebrity crush—a few tables over. He was munching on some drunken noodles and sipping Thai tea. I left the restaurant with a hug and selfie with him. And I didn’t make acompletefool of myself over my gushing, or at least that’s what Mom told me.
Finally, the last time I wore this outfit, I left my wallet at home and was running on a nearly empty gas tank when I miraculously found a ten-dollar bill on the pavement right next to my car. From then on, this outfit was forever dubbed as the Lucky Outfit, and I never went anywhere important without it.
