Page 105 of Chasing Infinity

“We may or may not have had a bet going to see how long it took before you finally admitted to liking her,” Jordan informs me.

If possible, I frown even harder. “How long has this been going on?” Caleb and Jordan exchange glances and then look at me, both offering a nonchalant shrug. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear whatever the hell that just was and move on. I need your guys’ advice.”

“So tell us what happened,” Caleb says.

I do. I fill the two of them in on the entire encounter this afternoon. I told them about how we were studying together one minute, and then she asked me about prom and got pissed at me the next.

“She wanted you to ask her,” Jordan states the obvious, a satisfied smirk settling on his face.

“I know thatnow,” I mutter. “So yeah, I just don’t know where to go from here.”

“You ask her to the dance, she says yes, you get a tux and tie that matches her dress. Then you go to the dance and sweep her off her feet,” Caleb tells me.

“Are you sure it’s that easy?”

“As long as you’re telling the truth and you didn’t fuck it up any more than you say you did,” he says. Jordan nods in agreement.

I press my lips into a thin line. Could it really be that easy? “So that’s my plan? I’ll ask her tomorrow, and hopefully, she’ll say yes, and things will finally be in line that we could…I don’t know; see what happens?”

Could it finally be the right time and things work out between us?

“When the hell did you become such a big romantic? I never thought I’d see the day, especially with this girl,” Jordan says to me.

I glower at him. “Don’t go there.”

“Helikesher, likes her,” Caleb says, nudging Jordan with his elbow. My friends laugh together, and I feel my mood plummeting.

“I guess it’s about time we lost you to the opposite species. It was nice knowing you, though,” Jordan teases.

I roll my eyes and shove his shoulder away from me. “Whatever, go finish your workout.”

I chicken out over the next few days in asking her. Jordan and Caleb give me endless shit about it, but Addison’s still giving me the cold shoulder, so it’s not the right time.

Finally, a few days later, I get the balls to ask her. I catch her right before lunch, grabbing her hand and stopping her in her tracks. I can hear my heartbeat in my ears. I haven’t done anything like this since Rose and I were togetherforeverago. Even still, it’s not comparable. Everything with Addison feels different—better.

“Hey, are you still going to prom?” I ask her in a rush. “Cause if you were still wanting to go, I thought maybe we could go together. I know I said before that I didn’t want to go, but after thinking about it, I think it might be fun. With you.”

“Noah, I—” she looks suddenly upset, and I backtrack, trying to think of what I said that bothered her, but I come up blank.

“What’s wrong?”

Parks presses her lips together in a thin line and then huffs a breath. “Eli asked me to prom last night.” My heart drops into my stomach, and I narrow my eyes at her. What in the hell? It was only a few extra days that I had to think about it. She couldn’t wait before running off to Eli? “Just as friends, though,” she adds in quickly, seeing my expression.

“Friends,” I repeat, and she nods her head fervently.

“He made it very clear that he wasn’t going to ask me, but all the other girls he wanted to go with were already taken,” Addison says bitterly.

I narrow my eyes even more. “Why the hell would you say yes to him knowing that? You deserve better than that.” My tone is accusatory, and she narrows her eyes back at me, gearing up for a fight.

“Well, maybe because the guyIwanted to go with decided he was toogoodto go to the prom!” she shoots back, her annoyance growing.

“Well, I’m not too good for it now, so what do you say, Parks? Want to go to the prom with me?”

Her shoulders fall, and she clenches her jaw, speaking her next words in a tight voice. “I already told you I’m going with Eli.”

“Tell him you changed your mind.”

“I can’t do that. I promised,” Parks says, shaking her head. “He’s still my friend. I’m not going to just go back on my word because you’ve finally decided you want to go with me.”

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