“But you do not wish a dalliance.” Who used words like that? His eyes were kind. “And the party tomorrow evening?”
“I invited you,” I promised him. “I’d still like to take you, but it’s okay if you want to say no, considering.”
“Friends can go to parties together, yes?”
“Yes. They can.”
“Then we shall go as friends and have fun.”
That was that. By the time I slid into my desk, I felt a lot better about the whole thing. It hadn’t been fair to let him think one thing. If his reaction was anything to go by, he didn’t mind at all, and I trusted him at his word. We’d have a good time at the party and, hopefully, he’d get to know more people. After it was over, I’d let the guys know.
Did I want to wait until after?
Yeah. I did. After. If I told them before, there would be a chance they’d give me hell about taking him in the first place. After was just better, because all four of them in the same place when it was a party, and I would probably make a fool out of myself without something to distract me.
Decided, I focused on my classes. The incident with the girls and my mom’s call had diminished some of my joy at Ian’s invite. Thankfully, it had also eased some of my embarrassment. A couple of the girls in French told me they’d seen the ask and they were impressed.
Weirdly, I caught more people nodding to me or talking to me. Maybe I was imagining it, but I didn’t usuallyhangout with the others. My circle of friends had narrowed over the years until those four pretty much dominated it. Cheryl caught up with me as I ducked into the bathroom between French and AP Lit.
“Oh my god,” she said, her voice an excited squeal even as I shut myself into a stall. “I got the caf this morning just in time to hear Bubba sing to you. That’s so cool.”
It was. “It was…something else.” Awkward as hell to talk about in the bathroom, though. It wasn’t that I hadn’t heard dozens of these conversations, they’d just rarely involved me. Not really. Not since sophomore year, and even then they’d been on the decline.
“Do you have your dress picked out? The dress is important. I was thinking of going next week to get mine. Mitch asked me this morning when he picked me up for school. He drew a huge chalk diagram with paths for me to choose and, of course, they all lead to me going with him to homecoming.”
Even as I finished in the stall and headed to wash my hands, she was still talking.
“But it’s exciting. I didn’t even know Mitch couldberomantic. Then Bubba sang! Did you want to die? Oh, did you know he was going to do that?” I caught Cheryl’s cheerful grin in the mirror as she headed over to join me at the sinks. “Do you want to go with me to get a dress?”
Before I could answer, another stall opened at the end, letting Sharon out. Her expression was…hard to define.
“You should call me,” Cheryl continued, wiping her hands on a paper towel. “Do you have my number? I think you have it. We had that project last year, but here let me give it to you again.”
I pulled my phone out. A couple of messages had lit up the screen.
Coop:I want bbq for lunch.
Jake:You buying?
Archie:Depends. Not going to the porker place.
Ian:It’s not called porkers.
Archie:Don’t care, it’s disgusting. Also, Frankie hates it.
Jake:True, she didn’t get anything other than a soda the last time we went.
Coop:So again, I restate. BBQ. Frankie likes Ricky’s. Best pulled pork.
I cleared the screen and opened my contacts, then verified I had Cheryl’s number. “I’ll text you,” I told her.
“Great. Can’t wait. It’s going to be amazing. You and Bubba will make such a cute couple. Blonde and beautiful.”
My gaze collided with Sharon’s in the mirror as I swung to leave. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth flattened, but there was a hint of tears in her eyes, and I hesitated.
“Gotta run,” Cheryl said then did an air kiss at my cheek.Oka-a-ay. That was a little strange, but at the same time, I didn’t move away.
When the door closed behind her, Sharon turned to face me. “I didn’t know you were dating.”