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Rix, Tally, and Hemi are sitting in the living room. Dred has a shift at the library, so she’ll need to be filled in later. I hold a finger up and spin around, pressing my eye to the peephole.
I’m not disappointed. Hollis grips the doorframe, glaring back at me. He shakes his head, and my body lights on fire from the inside. He takes a deep breath and pries his hands free, nostrils still flared. Eventually he steps back and disappears down the hall.
God, that was intense. I turn to my friends.
“So? What the hell happened?” Hemi asks.
“My dad loves Jameson, and he loves my dad, and I think it would be better if they just dated each other at this point.”
Rix tries not to laugh. “So no second date?”
With a shake of my head, I sigh.
“Who was at the door?” Tally asks.
I scramble for a plausible fib. I don’t want to lie to Hemi and Tally, but I can’t tell them the truth about the Hollis situation. Not when everything is so…uncertain. So I give them the censored version. “I had it out with Hollis for crashing my date.”
“You got angry at Hollis?” Tally’s eyes are huge. “He’s kind of scary.”
“Not when you’ve known him as long as I have.”
“Did he feel bad?” Rix asks.
“Not bad enough to get a clue and leave.” I flop down on the couch. “I should have gone anywhere but the Pancake House.”
“Maybe you subconsciously went there because there was a chance your dad would do what he did, and you already knew this date would be a bust,” Hemi suggests.
“Fuck.” I hug the Puck Yeah! pillow on the couch. Hollis got it for me. Fucking Hollis. Fucking complicated bullshit. “I don’t know why I try to date university guys. It never works out.”
Tally bites her fingernail. “Because your dad and Hollis always crash your dates?”
“I wish that was the reason.” I sigh. “I don’t think Jameson had bad intentions, but he was so starstruck. And now he’ll look at me differently, and I’ll look at him differently.”
“You’ll find a guy who likes you for you,” Hemi says.
We all relax for a little while, but Tally still has homework, and she needs to be up early for dance practice, so Hemi takes her home.
Rix flops down on the couch beside me once they’re gone. “Should I ask what really happened, or is this one of those situations where the less I know the better?”
“I don’t even know what’s happening. It feels a lot like we’re planets orbiting each other, but the trajectory is off, and we’re either doomed to miss each other or crash and burn up.”
She nods. “Did he have an explanation for why he crashed the date?”
“He said I looked like every sin he wants to commit.”
“Damn. He’s fighting some real demons.”
“I want to be worth the risk because what if it worked out,” I admit.
“You are. Don’t ever doubt that. Men and fear are a tricky combination.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” I feel like I’m on a roller-coaster ride that won’t end.
We decide to watch a movie—a comedy with no romance, because I can’t deal with hearts and feelings—but my mind is all over the place.
Jameson texts to tell me he had a great time. I leave it unread. I need to let him down easy. That he has possible plans to move several hours away is a good reason for us to stay in the friend zone.
Later, as I’m getting ready for bed, my phone buzzes with a new message. My stomach flips as I open it.
