Page 44 of Just Another Meet Cute
Speaking of Mom, there was no doubt that this was her plan. This had her trademark sneakiness written all over it. Especially because sheknewthat Linh was babysitting tonight. She even asked us before we left for the movies.
Linh’s eyebrows rose. “It’s okay, Chu. I have my car. I was going to drive Nina home before going over to the Haynes’.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I can take her home,” he quickly said. His voice was a little higher than usual as he waved me forward again.
Still holding on to my arm, Linh tugged me aside. “Are you sure you’re okay? Maybe you can come babysitting with me instead. Although—”
“Although Mr. Haynes doesn’t like it when you bring random people to their house,” I finished for her. “I know.”
“But you’re not a random person. You’re my cousin. I’m sure he’ll understand. Especially if you don’t want to go home right now.”
Touched by her loyalty, I forced a reassuring smile on my face. “It’s okay. It’s just a car ride home. How bad can it be?”
Linh gave me a skeptical look like she knewexactlyhow bad it could be. But she nodded and waved at my dad as she walked away. “I guess I’ll see you guys later, then. Text me when you get home.”
Letting out a deep breath, I pasted a smile on my face and came aroundthe car to the passenger side. “So why didn’t Mom come with you?”
“She was busy. I was hoping that we could get some ice cream or something. Hang out.”
My fingers froze on the car door. “Hang out?”
His voice was low and hesitant. “Yeah. I thought it would be nice … with just us.”
I blinked at him as his words slowly sunk in. The worduskept floating around in my head, like it didn’t want to be caught or understood.
To be honest, I knew Dad wasn’t asking for much. Fifteen or twenty minutes at the ice cream parlor as we got a scoop of strawberry ice cream. And whatever it meant to “hang out.” Then home. That’s it. Maybe it wouldn’t betotallyunbearable. We could even talk a bit. Have fun. It shouldn’t be such a big deal.
But it was. Because I couldn’t help thinking about what happens next. What if this became a regular thing next week? And then next month? What if one day, beinguswasn’t that strange anymore, and what if it suddenly stopped? And our outings would become a thing of the past when he moved on without us.
I know these were all what-ifs, but they were what-ifs that I couldn’t risk. No matter how much I urged my fingers to open the door to get into the car with him. I just … couldn’t.
Because one ice cream cone wasn’t going to promise anything. It didn’t guarantee anything. Nothing could.
“Sorry, Dad, but I forgot I—I have plans,” I said quickly, letting go of thehandle and backing up. My mind whirled rapidly as I scrambled to find an excuse, any excuse to escape. Ryan’s blue car appeared in the distance like a glowing beacon. “I forgot I promised to help Ryan’s little sister with a project.”
“But—”
“I’ll be home by ten-thirty. I promise.”
Without a second thought, I dashed across the street toward Ian and Ryan’s car. Thank God they hadn’t left yet. I didn’t know if they were picking music or talking, but it felt like some sort of miracle that they were still here. Ian had started the engine when I banged on the trunk of their car so they wouldn’t back up and run me over.
Both of them stared at me as Ryan quickly rolled down the passenger window. “Nina? What’s going on?”
Breathing heavily from my sprint, my hand grasped at the open window like it was a lifeline. “So, it turns out that Linh can’t drive me home after all.”
“Oh, okay. Then do you need us to drive you home—”
I immediately shook my head. “No, I—I can’t go home. Not right now. Do you mind if I hang out with you guys a bit longer?”
“We were going back to our house. Dí Mai brought the twins and Ollie over …” Ryan trailed off, and for a split second I thought he was going to tell me no.
Anxiously, I glanced over my shoulder at Dad’s waiting car. “Please?”
At the look on my face, Ian reached out to lightly touch Ryan’s arm. They both stared at each other for a minute or two as though they were having a silent conversation without me. Like some kind of twin superpower. The onlything that moved on their faces was an occasional raised eyebrow and their eyes as they blinked.
I held my breath for what felt like ages—although it was probably barely a minute—and then Ryan broke their eye contact and punched on the unlock button on the car door. “I guess you’re coming home with us, then. Come on.”
With an inner squeal, I jerked on the car door and dove into the back seat. Ian glanced at me through the rearview mirror. His mouth opened like he wanted to ask me something. Instead, he glanced over in Dad’s direction.
