Page 62 of We Shouldn't Be Together
Milo releases his arm and fixes his glasses, shifting in his seat. “It’s fine. Forget about it.”
I turn to my parents with a satisfied smirk. “Happy?”
Dad fights to suppress a chuckle, and Mom can’t shake her unimpressed expression. The other half of my name is still on the tip of her tongue. Man, it’s like a swear word when she uses it. Freezes me up every time.
“No, you said we should have faith in you,” Mom responds, “but your father watched you pass that stop sign.”
“Then I’ll do extra driver’s ed lessons. Anything to prove myself.”
“So be it.” Mom sighs and gestures at the remaining food. “Come on. Let’s clear these plates. It’s getting late.”
I scoot my chair back, leaving the table on a win. “I’m heading to the bathroom.”
It’s almost an effort to walk across the expansive restaurant. This place sure knows how to stuff you full of food. As I weave around the large circular tables, I eye the red lanterns hanging above and appreciate the joyful vibe.
When I leave the bathroom, the women’s bathroom door opens at the same time.
Oh, you’ve got to be kidding.
Tabitha Jones holds my stare. “Oh, umm, hi.”
“Hi?”
She looks so different tonight. I’m used to her in the Ashworth Academy uniform, but tonight she’s dressed up. She wears a silky lilac top that hangs from spaghetti straps, skinny black jeans, and silver pumps. Her glittery eyeshadow matches her top. When her lips quirk with an incoming sentence, I notice how dark she’s painted them.
“So,” she starts. “Bit of a bonus we got out of chem today, huh?”
I comb my fingers through my cropped hair, forcing my gaze away from the glitter behind her eyelashes. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Don’t tell me you missed me,” she teases.
I snort. “Not in the slightest.”
Tabitha moves away from the bathroom alcove and asks, “Are you here with your family?”
“Yeah, you?”
“Yeah.”
Phew. I couldn’t stand the cackling if she were here with those two witches.
“My family loves this place,” Tabitha continues, and I can’t help noticing her lashes look extra long tonight. “We come here a lot after Freddy’s football games.”
“Oh, yeah. Doesn’t he go with that Amber girl? This is her family’s place, right?”
Tabitha nods. “Mm-hmm. Her grandfather started it. Although Freddy says he’s not going with Amber.”
“Uh-huh.” Does Amber know that? She seems so possessive of him in the school halls.
“It’s almost a shame we didn’t have chemistry today,” she continues. “It sounded like you had a good idea for the assignment.”
“Yeah, well, anything that involves us not working closely together seems like a good idea.”
“Agreed. If we don’t have to see each other outside of class, I’m all for it.”
“I guess we’ll just use the portal app to discuss the assignment.”
She gives me a wry smile. “Kai Nelson, weren’t you paying attention to the assembly?”
