Page 40 of Third Time Lucky

He laughs. ‘She thinks you’re “hot.”’

She thinks I’mhot?

‘And “tall, talented, sweet, and tattooed,”’ he continues.

‘Please tell me she didn’t use the air quotes you just did.’

He rolls his eyes, shaking his head. ‘That was me because those wereherwords, and obviously, I don’t see it, or I’d be dating you. Congratulations, buddy. Somehow, you’ve hooked her.’

My jaw drops. I’ve hooked her? How did I not notice it?

And then I realize he’s messing with me.

‘She didn’t actually say any of that, did she?’

He scrunches his face, silently insinuating that I’m a moron.

‘Yeah, she did,’ he insists. ‘Even told her friend she’s unexpectedly attracted to more than just your cooking.’

She saidthat? My insides are fizzing with this news. Is that why I kept catching her staring at me last night? I’d convinced myself it was nothing but low-key hope on my end. Our conversation flowed much easier than the night before, but how did I misread this part?

‘Oh, also, I’m not supposed to tell you. She doesn’t want you to know until she understands it, which could be never, so keep your fat trap shut.’

I’m so confused – yet psyched? My heart is dancing in my chest, and my head is all over the place. I walk across the restaurant to the boxes full of booze waiting for opening day, pull out an unopened bottle of Jack and crack the seal, tipping it to my lips without using a glass.

‘I guess that bottle is yours now,’ Aaron says as if I’m costing him money.

‘You asshole. How am I supposed to keep this to myself!?’

‘Asshole? You should be thanking me that you’ve got a heads-up, ya tool! And whaddya mean “how do you keep this to yourself?” Pffft – easy, just don’t say anything.’

‘Says the gossip queen himself,’ I remind him.

He motions locking his lips and tossing an invisible key over his shoulder. ‘I can be quiet if I want to. Any other questions?’

‘A thousand. You do realize I invited Lucy to our class tonight, right?’

‘What?Why?’ he moans.

‘She seemed interested.’

Shit. Maybe I misread that, too? She seemed interested in helping me prep, so I thought maybe she’d like a baking class, but maybe now I’m the pity date? Don’t get me wrong, I was serious before. Taking Lucy to prom wasn’t out of pity; it was because I respected the girl enough to know she needed a break from trying to process feelings she shouldn’t have had to experience at such a young age.

My God, I’m going to hyperventilate. I lift the bottle again, grimacing at the black licorice-tasting tranquilizer. This is so much better in something else.

‘You shouldn’t have told me,’ I say, feeling the weight of the new information settle heavily on my shoulders. ‘Now I’ve got to hold that information while figuring out how to approach it.’

‘Why you gotta approach anything? Just let things evolve,’ he suggests, as if it were that simple.

I shake my head, torn between the desire to take action and the fear of what that might do to her.

‘Did I ever tell you details about Lucy and my past?’ I ask, hesitating, because this is a line I never cross. I don’t talk about Kris. To anyone but my therapist. Ever. Until now.

‘She dated Kris, your only friend. Now deceased from teenage tragedy.’

‘Want to know the details?’

He looks at me confused with his head cocked. ‘You wanna talk about it?’

---