Page 9 of Just Another Meet Cute
My eyes snapped back and forth between Linh’s expectant face and the laptop. The essay was still open on the glowing screen, beckoning me to take another peek. I closed the screen and tugged the flash drive out of my laptop before I could be tempted to read anymore. “No, not really. Just a history paper and a Spider-Man comic.”
“No name on the history paper?”
“Nope.”
She let out a sigh. “Mr. Unicorn isn’t making this very easy, is he?”
Letting out an identical sigh, but for altogether different reasons, I crossed my arms. “If it were easy to find people, private investigators would probably be out of a job, Sherlock.”
“That’s true. Okay, Nancy Drew, next step. Icouldask my friend who worksat the library to look up his information for us. See what books he checked out. When they would need to be returned. Maybe get his contact information.” She tapped her chin with her index finger and frowned. “Although on second thought, maybe she won’t tell me. Library privacy laws and all that.”
“Well, getting arrested sure takes the fun out of everything.”
“Yeah.” Letting out a groan, she flopped onto her stomach and pressed her face into the bed sheet. Her words were muffled. “I love you, but IthinkI might have to draw the line at going to jail with you.”
Grabbing my heart, I let out an exaggerated gasp. “I thought you wanted me to live with you. We could probably get bunk beds and be roomies for life! Think of all the quality time we’d be spending together. We could learn how to knit.”
“Yeah, I’m going to pass.” She tossed the keys at me. “But don’t worry. I’m not just a pretty face. I already figured out that the key fob is for The Fitness Pack gym. I bet that’s where Mr. Unicorn works out.”
What? How did she—I gaped at her in surprise. “How did you figure that out?”
“Because I’m brilliant and awesome.”
With a scoff, I let her preen for another minute or two before tossing a pillow at her face. “And …?”
“And I know how to read.” Dramatically tossing her hair back, she pointed at the key chain in my hand. “The key fob has the lettersTFPon the bottom and the faded squiggles on the side? They’re not squiggles. They’re muscles.”
Turning my head from side to side, I squinted at the little key fob. Iguessitkind of looked like an arm flexing. Although I never in a million years would have figured that out on my own. I snapped the flash drive back onto the key chain. “Okay, so now we have to figure out which one.”
“Way ahead of you. There are only two Fitness Pack gyms in Austin. I bet he goes to the one by the mall on Century Oaks ’cause the other one is way across town.” Linh dropped her cell on her nightstand and crossed her arms. “So, what do you want to do now? Your call.”
What did I want to do?
An hour ago, I wasn’t even sure about finding Ian. I mean, he was super cute and I felt like we had a connection, but he was still just another guy.
But now … now I had so many more questions. I wanted to know more about him. More than what he wrote in the essay. If he had such a huge family, why did he feel so alone? What was he searching for? Who was he?
The curiosity to find out these answers was overwhelming. His words hit me deep in the gut. Now I felt like Ihadto find him again. Had toseehim. And most importantly, I wanted to see if he found the answers to all his questions, because maybe that would help me find the answers to mine.
Plus, seeing his right dimple again wouldn’t hurt either.
I let out a deep breath and glanced down at the key chain in my hand. Specifically, the flash drive. My fist slowly closed around the flash drive, squeezing it tightly. “I think it’s time for us to hit the gym.”
Linh pressed a hand against the mall door when I tried to open it. “Okay, before we go in, I have to ask you a serious question.” She squinted at me. “Are you wearing mascara?”
Cheeks flushing, I quickly turned away. I rubbed a finger against my lower lip in case she’d noticed the lip gloss I had on, too. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. So, are you coming in the gym with me or not?”
Narrowing her eyes, she finally released the door. “Of course I am! I came this far with you. I don’t mind going into full-on stalker mode, too.”
It took every ounce of willpower I hadnotto roll my eyes again. Despite her sarcasm, I knew she would come with me; she always did. Whether it was to get my ears pierced, my driver’s license, or even to get my wisdom teeth pulled. Unfortunately, her undying loyalty came at a price, usually an unlimited supply of grumbling and sarcasm. With some free food thrown in.
Good thing we were already at the mall.
The sugary cinnamon smell swirled around us as soon as we walked in. My mouth automatically watered and I could already taste the pillowy goodness.
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, which was pretty tough since she was 5′6″and I was barely 5′1″or 5′2″if I teased my hair just right. I used to be the taller one, but Linh shot up over four inches in the past year and a half. “Good. But first we need to get a Cinnabon, because I’ve been craving one all week.”
She snorted. “Only you would eat a huge snack before going to the gym.”
