I snickered. “All right. But only a little bit of credit.”
“You think she’d go with me if I asked?”
“I swear, the two of you. You’re gonna kill me, you know that?”
“What do you mean?”
I took another sip of my drink. “Do you know how long she’s been asking me when you’re going to ask her to prom?”
“Wait, what?”
I nodded. “Yep. I keep telling her to drop hints or just outright ask you herself. But every time I suggest that, she acts like I’ve slapped her across the face. I’m telling you, Michael. If you ask her, she’s going to say yes. She’s practically jumping out of her skin waiting for you to ask.”
He snickered. “Wow. Well, that makes me feel good.”
“I’m serious. You have to ask her. Our nights are going to be miserable if you don’t. She’d be so happy if you asked. Hell, she’d probably say yes before you could get the damn question out.”
He laughed. “Well, since we’re on this same track, you think Clint will ask you to prom?”
“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll go together. I mean, it’s not like he has to ask. We’re officially together, I suppose.”
“You suppose? After everything you’ve been through?”
I felt myself blush. “Okay, yes. We are officially together. So, yeah. We’re going to prom together.”
“You still don’t sound too sure of that. Is everything going okay with his recuperation?”
I shrugged. “I mean, he’s always struggling with his dad. Which I’m sure is affecting his recuperation efforts. But he’s okay. Far as I can tell.”
“I’d like to get his dad in a room for a few minutes.”
I scoffed. “Wouldn't we all.”
“So, how are the two of you? You know, now that he’s on the mend?”
I felt myself blush deeper. “I guess we’re good.”
“You guess, huh?”
“You’re a dick, you know that?”
He chuckled. “Maybe a bit. Can I ask you something, though?”
“Of course. I mean, you have to spit it out soon because I only have one more minute, but—”
“Do you love him?”
The question didn’t catch me as off-guard as I figured it would. In fact, it was easy to answer. I bit down onto the inside of my cheek as I turned to face Michael. And with a nod of my head, I answered his question.
“Yeah. I really think I do.”
Michael grinned. “Then, you should tell him. I don’t know much about Clint, but I’d like to think I know him better after these past few weeks. The lunches we’ve shared and helping him to class. He strikes me as the kind of guy who won’t believe something is real unless you say the words. So say them.”
I paused. “What if he doesn’t feel the same way?”
“I can tell you, from the bottom of my heart, that’s not true. Not one bit.”
“But, there’s a chance. Right?”