Page 58 of One Lovely Lie

Glad he’s doing better.

“Hey, man,” I say, clapping him on his back. “Excited to see your parents?”

“Fuck, yeah,” he cheers and his enthusiasm is contagious. “Mom said she was going to bring me this new line of Japanese chips they’re releasing later this month. I can get you some.”

Daniel shakes his head. “I think we’re good.”

“Did you see Sebastian?” Avery asks, pointing across the way. We all look in that direction and I frown.

Sebastian is alone, sitting on a bench with his hands on his lap. He’s dressed nicely in his gray slacks and a pink button-up shirt. I can see from here that he painted his nails to match his shirt. Sadly, his face doesn’t match his appearance. He’s looking around and tugging his bottom lip into his mouth.

Daniel pouts. “His family didn’t show up?”

“Doesn’t look like it,” I say, pulling him to my side and kissing his temple. “Man, I feel sorry for him.”

“Should I invite him to sit with my parents?” Avery asks, his excitement now dimmed.

“Maybe not—Ow.” I give my boyfriend a pointed look after he just elbowed me in the stomach. “What?”

“That’s really sweet, Avery,” Daniel says, squeezing his arm. “I think he might like that. Your parents are great.”

Avery nods and walks over to Sebastian. We observe them for a moment and I have to admit, sending him over there was actually a good idea because Sebastian’s face lights up at Avery’s words. However, Sebastian stays firmly in place as Avery walks away alone.

Aw, that’s kind of disappointing.

We continue through the courtyard, reaching the event room across campus. I pull open the door, allowing Daniel through first, and then snicker when my eyes take a sweep of the room. “Oh god, three out of five.”

Daniel wrinkles his nose. “Three out of five, what?”

“Oh, I thought you asked me about the chances of the cafeteria exploding atthat.”

I point to where the Everetts and the Clarks are. Instead of standing at separate ends of the cafeteria—as the law should demand—they’re speaking to one another. Well,speakingisn’t the right word to use. Ozymandias’s father looks pissed at whatever Carter’s father is telling them. The mothers are staring at each other but there’s so much venom in their eyes. Oz and Carter don’t look too happy either, but they aren’t fighting for once. They’re trapped between their fathers, looking like they want to be anywhere but there.

“Welp, at least our parents get along,” Daniel says, continuing to stare at the impending catastrophe in the making as we walk in the other direction.

I squeeze his hand to grab his attention when I spot our parents, happily chatting in the corner of the room like the good friends they are. We decided that we were going to tell them about us. There’s no reason to hide it. I’m in love with Daniel and he’s in love with me. I know we’re young, but I’m resolute in the fact that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together. There’s no point in keeping it from them anymore.

“Rip the Band-Aid off?” Daniel asks, looking at our intertwined hands.

I nod. “Let’s do it.”

As we get closer, I notice that there’s a fifth person standing with them. A beautiful young woman with black hair who’s dressed far too formally for a simple family gathering. She’s laughing at something Daniel’s mother just said as his father hands her a drink.

“Who’s that?” I ask him and frown when his face pales.

“Oh, shit. Turn around.”

“Wait, what?” I ask, tugging at his hand as he tries to move us in the direction we came.

“Abort. Abort the mission,” he hisses, and I have to rip my hand away from him and grab him by the arms.

“Baby, you’re being ridiculous,” I laugh, tucking a stray hair behind his ear. “What is it? Getting cold feet about me?”

“What? Of course not,” he snaps. He worries his bottom lip and guilt clouds his blue eyes. “There’s something I haven’t told you.”

I furrow my brows at that. “What?”

“Oh, there you are, sweetheart!”

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