Page 90 of Just Another Meet Cute
He glanced up at me. His eyes were rimmed with sadness, but I could tell that he wasn’t going to change his mind. “Nina …”
Before he could reject me again, I flung the car door open and jumped out. Without a backward glance, I rushed up the walkway, almost tripping over my own feet. But I kept moving forward. Each step was faster than the last.
Because with each second that passed—each step that I took—Ian didn’t follow me. He didn’t call me back. He didn’t do anything. He sat in the car until I was safely inside the house and then drove off.
“Guys suck,” I announced, flopping onto the bed so hard that Linh bounced twice.
“Yep, they sure do.” Without looking up from her phone, she held out her hand and I automatically gave her a high five.
Despite how depressed and annoyed I was, I was so glad to be home. And double glad that no one but Linh was here to witness my embarrassment.
After I talked to Aunt Sarah at the office, I rushed to pack my things to move back. Mom and Dad opted to stay in the hotel for another day or two. They said they wanted some alone time—eww—but I honestly think that they wanted to give Aunt Sarah a little more space.
Or maybe Mom and Dad reallydidwant some alone time.
Again,eww.
Then again, it must be nice to have the person you lovewantto be with you and love you back. Not kiss you senseless and leave you. Not like—
Linh leaned forward and pointed at me until the tip of her nail touched my nose. “You’re NOT allowed to cry over him.”
“I’m not.”
“Seriously.”
“I’m serious.”
“Then why are your eyes leaking?”
My hands flew up to my face and I wiped away two tiny tears at the corner of my eyes that I didn’t even notice were there. As soon as they were gone though, two more appeared against my will.
“I don’t understand why you’re sitting here crying.” With a scowl, she crossed her arms and glared at me. “You’re not a crying-over-some-guy-and-staring-into-space type of girl. You hardly ever cry. Remember Nancy, that girl in elementary school who bullied you into giving her your lunch money? When she tried to make you cry, you kicked her so that she would cry first.”
I sniffed. “Are you suggesting that I kick Ian’s ass until he cries, too?”
“If you don’t, then I will.”
As the image of Linh attacking Ian popped into my head, I couldn’t help giggling a little through my tears. “Well, I’m allowed to be a little sad. The first guy I’ve ever been in love with rejected me. Who I’mstillin love with, even now, when I’m heartbroken.” Just saying the words out loud made my eyes well up with more tears. Seriously, I was like a faucet with a broken handle. “Damn it!”
With her eyes widening, since she’s never seen me like this before, Linh shoved a couple of tissues into my hands. “Okay, okay, let’s talk about something else for a minute. Did I tell you that I’m going to the mall with Ollie tomorrow?”
That instantly got my attention. “As a date?”
“What? No, as friends.”
I played with the soft fringe of her blanket. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. I don’t know if you noticed, but Ollie sort of …”
“Has a crush on me? Yeah, we talked about that.” She pursed her lips together and tapped her index finger against the bottom one. “Although, I guess it’shada crush, since it’s all in the past now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yep. That’s why we’re going to the mall,” Linh said with a smirk. “I’m going to give him tips on how to get a girlfriend, and he’s going to help me carry the new cast-iron pots from Williams-Sonoma to the car. The truffle flatbread was such a hit that Ms. Susan ordered a tray for her sister’s baby shower. And she paid ahead of time.”
Sitting up, I wrapped an arm around her for a half hug. “Nice! So, you’re going to start catering on the side now? Along with everything else you’re doing?”
She shrugged. “Probably. It’ll look good on my internship application. I’ll just have to make it work.”
It’s funny, but I expected to feel the usual twinge of jealousy whenever Linh talked about cooking, yet after the talk with Dad, now all I felt was pride. My cousin was kicking butt as she chased her dream. And now she had a new friend to cheer her on along with me.
