Page 22 of Heartstruck at Dawn
“So, who are you taking as a date?” Nina asked me. “You know I could always fix you up with someone.”
Date? I wasn’t aware I had to ask someone to come with me, and I didn’t want to know anything about guys, dates, or anything on that semantic field. “Can’t I just go by myself?”
“Of course not, silly.” CJ intervened with a grimace, almost insulted by the question. “It’s a couples party. It always has been that way. I thought I’d explained this to you.” He seemed frustrated. But he hadn’t mentioned any of it to me. “Don’t worry. You still have time.”
No effing way! I felt like I wanted to cry from the anxiety of thinking about who to take to the party. Nolan would’ve been the perfect choice. But he was already dating Emily. And from what I could tell, he liked her a lot.
“And who are you taking, huh?” I asked him. He was hoping for David to go, but it’s not like he counted as his plus one.
“Some guy. You don’t know him, but he’s just a friend. Wouldn’t want to make David feel too jealous.” He glanced out the window again. “Maybe a little.”
I wondered what David thought of CJ; if he liked him as much as CJ liked him.
CJ stared at me as we ate. I was unusually quiet. He played with my hair, twirling it in between his fingers. He finally asked me if there was something wrong. “You seem, I don’t know, off—dull,” he observed.
Dull, indeed.
Nina agreed with CJ. I told them I was just tired because of school, homework, and exercise. My answers were cryptic. I wished I could just tell them everything, but I was weird about sharing deep personal stuff with anyone.
Besides, I didn’t want to go around announcing how I couldn’t stop thinking aboutWilliam Sjöberg, who had a girlfriend, by the way. Probably me and ten million fans too. It felt pathetic.
Why couldn’t he be, I don’t know, an architect or anything else butthat? I liked it better when I thought he was a chef.
But he wasn’t, and my answers didn’t seem to convince Nina and CJ about everything being fine with me.
We paid the check, and I excused myself to the restroom. CJ ran outside to talk to David, and Nina followed him.
When I stepped out of the restroom, a couple of text messages dropped in from Ren.
Ren M:Hi, Billie!
Ren M:What are you up to?
I planned on replying on my way home. Ren and I would casually text but hadn’t gone on any other dates. I told him I wasn’t ready to date, and he was super cool about it. We were chat buddies.
Our conversations were always interesting, and I needed practice with my written Spanish, which wasn’t the best.
Ren’s name went down on my mental list of possible guys to take to the party. He was right up there on top of the list with no one else below him.
And then the night got weird.
I stepped out of the restaurant to find myself turning into an uncomfortable fifth wheel on someone else’s double date.
I felt sick to my stomach. Possibly heartburn or indigestion.
No … more like tangling, scorching knots assaulting my entrails.
CJ was making David laugh, as usual. And Nina’s body languagescreamedto get Caleb’s attention at all costs.
Caleb leaned his back against the SUV. Arms crossed at the chest. Nina stood beside him, her shoulder flush against him. She had the whole shameless flirting starter pack going on: the squinty eyes with the side-smile, the nodding with raised eyebrows, the headshaking with the eye-rolling combo, and the light shoulder shove. Caleb didn’t seem bothered by any of it.
I never thought I’d miss Juan Pablo.
Maybe that’s what Caleb wanted—to enjoy New York City and the pleasures that came with it—making it seem likeIwas the one that needed to be doing that instead.
And there he was, back at it, flirting with my friends.We’ll always have Paris,I guess.
Caleb could join William in hell.
