Page 58 of In the Net
He wags a brow at me. “I’ll be sure to listen to it, then.”
“How about you? What have you been listening to?”
“There’s this French singer named Georges Moustaki I really like.”
“Oh! I’ve heard some of his songs. He does some really nice duets with a French woman singer named Barbara.”
Sebastian nods, looking excited. “Yeah, I love those songs.”
Sometimes I can forget that Sebastian and I really do have a lot in common. Similar interests, similar tastes in books and art.
If I end up with some good recommendations out of spending all this time with him, maybe that’ll be a kind of silver lining.
The rest of the dinner passes a lot quicker as we talk about our favorite French songs, movies, and literature that sparked our love for French culture, and made us both so excited to visit Paris. The conversation even continues through the car ride home. It’s hard to believe that time in an enclosed space with Sebastian Lawrence could pass so quickly.
When I get back home and up to my room, there’s an odd feeling I can’t shake when the first thing I do is listen to some of the songs Sebastian recommended.
23
SEBASTIAN
Jamie’s trying to talk to the girl he likes. It’s painful to watch.
Felix and I are sitting at a table on the first floor of Last Word, sipping our coffees and watching the interaction.
I was on the money that day I shared a table with Harper here before we went to Paris. The short, gorgeous, but kinda mean-looking girl named Carmen who caught my eye was in fact the girl Jamie has a crush on.
She’s working behind the counter at the café right now. We just peer-pressured Jamie to go up and buy a muffin so he’d have an excuse to talk to her. We can see them exchanging some words, but we can’t hear what they’re saying.
Judging by Carmen’s face, which remains flat, forbidding, and completely devoid of anything approximating interest, I wouldn’t bet that it’s going well for our boy.
When Jamie comes back to our table, Felix leans toward him and asks eagerly, “So, how did it go?”
Jamie’s shoulders are slumped, disappointment radiating from him. “Umm … I don’t think it went great.”
“Well, what did you say to her?” Felix asks.
“I, um, asked her how she likes working here.”
“What’d she say?”
“She said,could be worse, I guess.”
“Then what’d you say?”
“I said,oh.”
I press my lips together, trying not to laugh.
Felix sighs. “Okay, then what?”
“Well … I kinda just stood there, and she asked if I needed anything else.”
“And then you said,your number, right?” Felix asks.
“Uh, no. I said,no.”
Felix looks nonplussed. “And that’s it? That was the conversation?”
