Page 45 of Dungeons and Drama

“Excuse me,” Nathan replies, “weren’t you just extolling the virtues ofHello, Dolly!and Barbra Streisand yesterday at work?”

“That movie is a classic,” I protest.

“Anyway.I vote forHoly Grail,” Nathan continues. “Who else?”

John and Lucas raise their hands. Anthony huffs but does the same.

“Do we get a vote?” I ask.

“Oh sure, of course,” Nathan replies. “We wouldn’t want to leave you out. Just go ahead and tell us the other Monty Python movies you want to put in the running and we’ll vote.” He puts his chin on his hand and innocently bats his eyes at me. I shove at his arm and he cackles in triumph. I want to be annoyed, but instead I flush with heat and pull my gaze from him.

“Don’t worry, you’re both going to love it,” Lucas says.

“Is there singing and dancing?”

“A bit. And there are the knights who say ‘Ni!’ ” Nathan says.

“Ni! Ni!” John says, and cracks up.

Hoshiko and I give each other an exasperated look. These boys are such dorks. “If we’re going to sit through this, you guys need to watch one of our movies,” she says.

That wipes the smiles off their faces, and I love seeing it. “Yes, Hoshiko!” I tap my chin. “Something likeOklahoma!or…Hello, Dolly!”

“Greasecould be fun.”

“Oh yeah, they’d love that.” Now it’s my turn to cackle. “Oooooh, I have it. Have you guys seenSound of Music?”

Nathan frowns. “The one with the lady twirling on the mountain and all the nuns?”

“One and the same. You haven’t seen it? Nowthat’ssacrilege. How have you survived so long in the world?”

Nathan snorts and eats a chip. “Uh, just fine.”

“That’s debatable.”

Lucas clears his throat. “Aren’t you still grounded?”

My gaze flicks to Nathan quickly. Given what Dad said in the stockroom yesterday, it sounds like he’d make an exception for almost anything if it means Nathan and me spending time together.

“He might make an exception for this,” I say casually. “I’m supposed to stay with him next weekend. Maybe I could ask if we could watch it at his place? If it’s all right that the space is tight?”

Everybody nods. “I’d love to see Joel’s place,” John says. “I heard he’s got some amazing Warhammer 40K armies.”

“Yes, definitely ask him,” Lucas says with an eager grin, his eyes flicking to Hoshiko.

Suddenly, Nathan is inches from me. “He’s coming this way,” he whispers. I turn to him just as he curls his fingers through mine and pulls my hand close to his mouth. His eyes find mine and he tilts his head as if to ask permission. I nod faintly. I don’t know what is going on with me, but when he looks at me like that, he might as well be a magnet tugging me to him. He presses his lips to my skin and my body explodes at the gentle pressure. I know it’s stupid—the gestureis so innocuous—the lightest kiss on the top of my hand. It means nothing. But that’s not what my body thinks—not my tight chest or the electric tingles running down my spine and legs. I’ve got to get ahold of myself.

I’m grateful for the chorus of groans around the table because it gives me an excuse to look away. Anthony and John are shaking their heads in disgust. I hadn’t wanted to tell them about how Paul factored in to my arrangement with Nathan, but it was impossible to keep it a secret when my ex shares a lunch period with us. I’m pretty sure their respect for me dropped a few notches, but honestly that’s fair.

Nathan doesn’t let go of my hand as he glares around the table. “You’re going to give us away.”

“It’ll just look like we’re annoyed by your cuteness,” Hoshiko says. Her eyes are twinkling in a mischievous way that doesn’t bode well for me. The boys might not be able to read my expressions, but I’m guessing Hoshiko’s figured out what’s going on in my brain.

“This whole thing is so stupid,” Lucas says.

“Seriously, what’s the deal with you two? How far does all this go?” Anthony asks. “Are you going to homecoming together now too?”

I look at Nathan in surprise. Wedefinitelyhaven’t talked about that…though I highly doubt we need to. The dance is only two weeks away, and Mom hasn’t said anything more about letting me go. I’m about to say as much when Nathan shakes his head vehemently and lets go of my hand. “Is homecoming an extracurricular school function? With uncomfortable clothes and bad pictures and worse music? Then no way. Just tell Paul you have to work.”

---