Page 32 of All Our Almosts

“Sorry.” I drop Nolan’s arm when we reach the bar and not a moment sooner. I wasn’t risking his complete bumbling of social cues until we were out of earshot. “I just didn’t want you to blow the plan. Andy and I made a signal for when he wanted to talk to Owen alone.”

“Is that what the lovey-dovey hand holding was about?”

I shove him sideways. “It was not lovey-dovey hand holding.”

“Sure looked like it to me.”

“Can you read lips?” I ask, ignoring his idiocy.

“Um… maybe? You want me to read theirs?” Nolan spins around—extremely conspicuously—to face Andy and Owen across the room.

“No, shh, stop!” I grab his shoulders and spin him back towards me. “You have to be cool about it, but I can’t see that far. My contacts prescription is old. Can you see what they’re saying?”

Nolan leans forward against the bar, much more subtle this time, and glances over his shoulder at the brothers. He puts his 20/20 vision to use with a slight squint. “Well, their mouths are definitely moving.”

“That’s not nothing,” I reply, then turn to the bartender and order four IPA samples.

“Andy looks pissed, though.”

“Shoot. Can you tell what he’s saying?”

He takes a moment to watch, then reports, “I think Andy just said ‘It’s not like that.’”

“That’s vague.”

“Oh my god.” Nolan grabs my elbow, then spins to look away from the boys and face me completely. “I think they’re talking about you.”

“What! How can you tell?”

“It looked like Owen said ‘She’s hot’ and then they both looked over here.”

“They looked over here?” I shriek. “Why are you still looking at them then?”

“I’m not! I’m looking at you.”

And sure, Nolan is facing me, but his posture is the exclamation point at the end of the sentence I love spying on people!

“God, can you act more natural? Here.” I take two of the beers from the bar and shove them into his hands. “Hold these.”

When I look up to his face, his eyes are full-moon wide. “Oh my god. You want them to be talking about you.”

“Pfft.” I wave my hand between us.

“You like Owen!”

“What? No I don’t!” I’m definitely blushing now, but it’s not even true. I mean, I like Owen fine as a person but I’m certainly not into him. I would never even consider it!

I grab the remaining two beers off the bartop just for something to do with my hands, but Nolan puts his beers back down and leans down to my eye level.

“You are being super weird right now. Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t like him.”

I give him my best incredulous look. “I genuinely don’t like Owen like that. I’ve only met him once.”

“Then what’s this?” Nolan flicks one of my cheeks, referencing the frustratingly obvious blush there.

“It’s hot in here,” I protest. “And it’s completely normal to want to know if people are talking about you. It doesn’t mean you have a crush on them. Just keep watching. Try to catch more.”

“No. I’m not enabling you. We’re going back over there.”