Page 38 of Fortunate Misfortune
She blows a raspberry into the phone speaker. “Hush up. They stayed open an extra hour for us. It was very romantic.”
I can hear the smile in her voice. As long as she’s happy, I am too.
“That’s great, Nan. What did you have for dinner?”
As Nan talks, I prepare for my evening at home. Even though Nan and Cade disagree, there’s nothing wrong with staying home on Valentine’s Day. It’s not like I have a special someone to celebrate with. The last time I did was Emily Martin in seventh grade. My teenage heart was hers. Until it shattered when she gave my gift of chocolate kisses tohercrush. Which happened to be my best friend, Cade.
He still feels bad for being the “other guy” after all these years, which is why every Valentine’s Day he tries to make up for it. This year it’s myfavorite pizza from Sizzle and Slice Pizza and, as always, a giant bowl of chocolate kisses.
Cade Owens is the most thoughtful friend a guy could have.
I’m treating tonight like any other. Working on my current puzzle, the northern lights, and sitting on the living room floor surrounded by textbooks, my laptop, and the gray folder. The semi-finalists portion of our applications are due tomorrow. It should have been easy to print my transcript and jazz up my resume, but even after beefing it up, it still lacks theoomphI need to wow the judges.
“Kenny Boy! Are you even listening to me?”
I nod, closing the gray folder. “Yes. I heard you ate a steak way too rare for my liking. You had two glasses of wine, which is why you’re yelling. There was red velvet cake and cheesecake, so you got both. And you had an amazing time with Titus.”
I wish she would have video called, but she’s underneath the duvet, tipsy and tired. “I’m not yelling,” she mutters. “And don’t tell me your plan is to work all night. Why didn’t you go out with Cade? He told me he invited you.”
“Of course he did,” I murmur, shoving my hand inside a bag of potato chips. “One, it’s a Monday. Two, we went out this past weekend. Three, bar hopping with Cade on Valentine’s Day is a recipe for a set up. I’ll pass on that.”
“With your nonexistent love life, you could use a set up. And stop ruining your dinner with chips! I raised you better than that.”
I drop the second handful back into the bag. “Fine, but not because you told me to.”
Nan’s tipsy giggles follow me to the pantry. I put the chips back, and my stomach groans with excitement when headlights peek through the living room window. Moments later, the doorbell rings.
“Yay!” Nan cheers, vocalizing my thoughts. “Make sure you have on a shirt. You don’t want to scare the pizza boy.”
I look down at my gray sweatpants and bare chest. The woman somehow knows everything. “It’ll be quick. They won’t even notice.”
Running to the front door, I grab the ten-dollar tip from the counter. The door opens, and I immediately wish I had listened to Nan because the pizza delivery guy isn’t standing on my porch.
I must miss seeing Mallory’s face because I’m being haunted by the ghost of her. For an illusion, it sure does look real. From the impatient lifted brow to full lips curved into a wry smile. I reach for her hair, and when my fingers disappear into the softest cloud of curls, I exhale softly.
Nope. Not a dream. Mallory is standing on my doorstep looking likethatwhile I look likethis.
If there’s one thing to know about her, it’s that she loves a theme. Wearing an oversized red sweater vest, faded black denim that hugs her thighs, and black Doc Martens with red laces, she is the epitome of the day of love.
And for some reason, she’s at my door.
Things have been quiet since the other day in the parking lot. We’ve been so busy with classes that we haven’t been able to plan a point opportunity, which means I haven’t seen much of her.
“Hello? Earth to Gray.” Mallory lightly smacks my hand, reminding me it’s still in her hair.
I cross my arms to protect my chest from the frigid air. “Are you lost?”
“Something like that,” she grunts. “I was kicked out by our horn-dog best friends after Cade came over. Apparently playing theDespicable Metheme song on repeat was ruining the mood, so they kicked me out. He barely let me change out of my pajamas before dropping me outside the door with my backpack.”
I hear Nan’s muffled voice from my pocket and press the mutebutton.
Mallory must hear it too because her eyes dart around me and into the house. “Oh. I didn’t know you had company. I’ll go—”
“No!” I say quickly. “Nobody’s here. I’m just surprised you are.”
She gives me a look that says she’s just as surprised as I am. “I know it’s weird, but Adri is on a date. Jo is asleep. Jane and the kids are in bed because it’s Monday. Every library on campus is closed for this stupid, fake holiday, and it’s too cold to sit in my car.” With a shrug, she sighs. “And that’s the story of how I ended up here. The bright side is that I didn’t come empty handed.”
I follow her finger to the welcome mat. I was too busy staring at her to notice the biggest bag of popcorn I’ve ever seen at her feet, coming all the way up to her knee.
