Page 24 of Don't Let Me Go
“Looks like someone made a friend,” Jackson says with a grin.
“Duy’salwaysmaking friends,” I grumble. “They collect people like strays.”
“People like me?”
“Exactlylike you.”
Jackson laughs, and I can’t help cracking a smile myself. There’ssomething infectious about Jackson’s happiness when he chooses to show it—something he’s been a lot more comfortable doing ever since our rather intense conversation this morning.
“I’m actually a little jealous at how easily Duy makes friends,” I confess, poking at my fried chicken sandwich. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I don’t exactly have, like, the best people skills.”
Jackson raises an eyebrow. “You don’t say.”
“Screw you,” I retort as I toss a fry at his head.
Jackson dodges it and laughs. And once again, I find myself basking in his joy.
“So, what about you?” Jackson asks, taking another bite of his burger.
“What about me what?”
“What kind of guys are you into?”
His question catches me off guard, and I choke on my soda.
“What?” I sputter after finally managing to swallow.
“You told me yesterday that Duy was into Greek gods and underwear models. What about you? What’s your type?” he asks, casually dipping a French fry into a tiny container of aioli, then tossing it into his mouth. “Maybe we can find someone here for you to practice your ‘people skills’ on.”
“I don’t have a type,” I retort, eager to shut down this line of conversation.
“Okay, but what kind of guys do you generally go for?”
“I don’t go for anyone. I don’t date.”
Jackson pulls a face like he’s just caught a whiff of rotting fish. “What do you mean, you don’t date? Everyone dates.”
“Noteveryone. And not me.”
“Why? What have you got against dating?”
“It’s a waste of time,” I sigh. “Even if I manage to find someone atschool that I’m actually into—and, let’s be honest, the odds of that happening at Olympus are about a trillion to one—I’ll just have to break up with him when I go off to college, so what’s the point of dating?”
“Um?.?.?.?it’sfun?”
I bite a fry in two and scoff. “Maybe for you. You’re straight and hot. You’ve got options.”
“You’re not exactly ugly.”
“That’s not the point,” I reply, though the compliment doesn’t go unnoticed. “The point is, as one of the few out guys at my school, I’m already a target. Walking around with a boyfriend would be like painting a permanent bull’s-eye on my back.”
“Don’t Tala and Audrey go to your school?”
“Yeah, and when they’re there, they keep the PDAs to a minimum.”
Jackson takes another bite of his burger and mulls over my words. “Okay, I get that dating is tricky for you. But if you don’t date, how are you gonna meet someone and fall in love?”
“I don’t believe in love.”
