Page 25 of You Started It

Holding Axel’s hand, eating meals with him, going on rides together, I can handle. But how am I supposed to get Ben to believe Axel and I are serious when anytime I see Ben and Olivia together, I crumble into little, pathetic pieces? I’ve never been very good at disguising my emotions. Good or bad.

“Jamie?”

“Yeah?”

“You spaced out again. What’s going on with you?”

“What’s our goal for tomorrow?” I say, turning to face him.

Axel shrugs. “To have fun.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“Okay. I’ve decided on two dances that I’ll need you to film, but aside from that, I’m all yours. Which means, my other goal is to make Ben regret ever letting you go.”

“And how are we going to do that?” I ask, releasing a deep sigh.

“We’re going to start by not overthinking it. You just follow my lead and I, in turn, will make sure that by the end of the night, Ben will find an excuse to speak to you. Mark my words. I know guys.”

“You don’t know Ben.”

“Ben is like all the other straight, white Bens. I got this. Okay?” he asks, his eyes wide as he grins. His confidence is so annoying, but also kind of annoyingly reassuring.

“Okay.” I smile back.

We get out of my car and collect our things. On our way to the front door, I grab Axel’s wrist. “Wait.”

He turns to face me. “Now what?”

“Are we…” I stall, chewing on my lower lip. “I think we should be consistent.”

“What’s that mean?” he asks, turning his baseball hat around. My stomach flips at the sight of Axel in a backward cap. It makes his jawline more pronounced. His lips stand out. His eyes…

“Girl, did you smoke some reefer in the school bathroom today?” He laughs while pretending to smoke a joint. “Not judging.”

I slap his arm. “This is serious. If even one person knows the truth, it could blow our cover. Did you tell Eli anything?”

“He didn’t ask. I assume he thinks we’re friends.”

I suck in my lips, thinking. “He teased me about liking you on the first day of school and I shot down those accusations.”

“Well, that’s before you had a chance to get to know me,” he says, his overt confidence oozing out once again.

“Right. An easy enough response if he asks. Okay. I guess we’re doing this in front of my mom and Eli. After all, an experiment is only fully effective if we go all the way with it.” Axel opens his mouth to reply with what I know will be a smart-ass sexual innuendo. “Shut up.”

“I’m at your service,” he says, placing an arm around me.

We step through the threshold, and I shrug Axel’s arm off my shoulders. “We don’t have to overdo it.” Axel drops his backpack to the ground and slips off his shoes. He tucks them under the front bench and removes his hat.

“How do I look?” he asks, but he doesn’t really care what I think. Even I know I have zero personal style. You could place me in any decade after 1940 and I’d blend right in. Nothing flashy about me. But Axel? He defines Gen Z. Even if he were in gray dress pants and a white tee, he’d still be the poster boy for today’s youth. God, I sound like a boomer.

“You look fine. Amo? Mom?” I call out.

“Jamie?” Mom walks around the corner, in her smock and signature headband. “In between clients,” she says, an unfamiliar grin painting her face as she sizes up Axel. “Hello.”

“Hi.” Axel reaches out his hand.

“You must be Axel,” Mom says, shaking his hand. “Eli won’t stop talking about you. Says you’re a dream employee.”

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