Page 31 of The Luck of Finding You
I don’t know if Noah is being serious or not right now, but if he is, I can feel my heart cracking in two. Marsha told me how she had to custom order the machine because most companies make coffee machines, nothing specific for hot chocolate, even though it’s a similar concept.
“It fell?” I know I sound crushed because I am. I love that machine, and now it feels like another part of Marsha that’s just gone.
“Wait, you two work together and you dated?” Luke asks.
“Yes” is all Noah says. I’ll have to thank him later for sticking to the story we made up five years ago. “I said we should wait until tomorrow, but Olivia said I should tell you right away.”
“You should have waited until tomorrow,” Luke cuts in. “We’re on a date, and we were having a great time until you showed up.”
“Olivia didn’t think we should wait to tell Tally.” This is all Noah offers by way of explanation.
In this moment I should say something, thank him, maybe. But my stomach decides it’s had enough and growls so loud that I’m pretty sure people in Antarctica hear it.
I watch as Noah glances at me, then at the salad on the plate on the table, then back up to me with a raised eyebrow.
Luke touches my arm. I’m hoping he’ll offer me some of his fries, redeeming himself once and for all. “Are you really gonna listen to this guy? He’s just trying to break up our date.”
“I think our date ended the second you ordered for me.” I jerk my arm out of his grip and motion for him to get out of the booth so that I can also get out.
Luke looks at me like I’ve just taken away his puppy. “That wasn’t that big of a deal.”
“It was to me.” I give him a little shove, but he’s a solid mass on the vinyl seating. “I wanted a burger.”
Luke raises his voice, and now more than the people at are table are looking in our direction. “It wasn’t a big deal! You really didn’t want that burger. A woman like you shouldn’t eat burgers regularly.”
“A woman like me?!” I repeat, my voice matching his volume. “How dare you! You didn’t even ask. You can’t read my mind, so why on earth would you tell me what I actually wanted? You don’t know me at all.”
“Dang, Peter, you were right, she is a handful.” Luke looks across the table at his best friend, who’s watching all of this happen with wide eyes.
I let out a sound that comes out half cackle, half scream. Then I manage to stand on the bench. If Luke won’t move, I’ll find another way out of here. I step onto the middle of the table and immediately regret it as it wobbles and my salad hits the bench. Ava lets out a squeal as her food slides across the table.
“Hey!” Luke shouts as a glob of salad dressing hits his pants. I ignore him and take a step in Noah’s direction.
Noah’s hand catches mine and he helps me, very ungracefully, off the table. For the second time tonight I’m grateful that I chose to wear pants and not a dress.
“Hey, where are you going?” Luke asks, and I turn to see him still sitting at the table. Not that I want him to chase after me, but he’s not even going to get up?
“The date is over,” I tell him simply.
“Oh, it was so fun to meet you!” Ava says, and I can’t make myself fully look at her. This whole thing has been too awkward.
“Why is the date over?” Is Luke really that dense?
I don’t even bother to give him an answer. “Just lose my number, ‘kay?” Before he can reply, I’m hurrying through the restaurant. I pull my phone out of my pocket. I’ll call Gran or Dad; I don’t need saving from Noah.
Luke yells the whole time as I’m walking away about how ungrateful I am, how my hair looks terrible, and how I’m just the same as I was in high school. How he understands now why Peter cheated on me.
I ignore him, but with every step, my confidence is fading as more people turn to look at me because of all the commotion.
“Hey, wait up.” I startle at the sound of Noah’s voice; in the midst of all the insults Luke is throwing at me, I forgot that he was here, witnessing the whole thing.
“I don’t need you to save me.” I don’t mean to snap at him, but Luke’s words are echoing in my head. How I’m a handful but not enough of anything else to be worth dating. That because of who I am, Peter had every reason to cheat. I wish the words didn’t hurt, but they do.
The night air is cool when we step out into it. I hope that Luke is freezing by the time he gets home.
I wait for Noah to snap back at me, but his voice is soft as he tugs on my wrist and I meet his eyes. “I know you don’t need saving, Tally. You can do that all on your own. You did do that all on your own. Olivia texted and said you needed to be picked up after a bad date. When I didn’t see you waiting at the front, I went in to find you. I am sorry if I said anything in there that embarrassed you or made you feel bad in any way.”
My heart warms a tiny bit around the edges. “Did you really break the hot chocolate machine?”
