Written in the Stars

by Rachael Eliker

  Stella propped her fist on her hip. “You just said you were outstanding. Now you’re telling me you’re too tired? I’m not buying it.”

  “I’m just not in the mood. Why don’t you go with him in my place?”

  I watched Stella squirm a bit under my gaze. She stuttered a few excuses for why that wouldn’t be a good idea, while I waited in vain for her to confess that she was actually secretly chasing Warren. Before long, she turned the tables back on me.

  “I think you’re afraid that even though you’re only going out with him to make Warren jealous, there’s a possibility that things might pick right back up where you left them with Robby,” she suggested. “Am I right?”

  Wrong. So wrong.

  “Yeah,” I mumbled. “That’s probably it.”

  “We don’t have time to waste,” Stella said, grabbing my hand and tugging me to my bedroom. “I don’t know where you think you’re going in those hideous cat pajamas—”

  “What does everyone have against these pajamas? They happen to be my favorite pair.”

  “—but you need to get ready. I have something special for you.”

  Shutting the door behind us, she grabbed a dress off the closet rack. It was the same pink dress I’d fallen in love with but ultimately left behind at the store.

  “Where did you get that?” I asked, my eyes nearly falling out of my head with disbelief.

  “I bought it a couple weeks ago, but it just doesn’t feel right on me. I can’t put my finger on it exactly. I do have a feeling it’ll fit you like a glove.” She insisted I try it on, and I did a twirl in front of the full-length mirror attached to the closet door. “See? It’s perfect for you. Really makes your eyes pop.”

  “We have the same color of eyes, dork. It would look just as good on you.”

  “It makes me look like I have knobby knees,” Stella said lightly. “You should wear it.”

  “I…” I fumbled for an excuse not to wear the dress that was going to make me think of Warren every second of the evening until I took it off. “I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard, you know? Don’t want to get Robby’s hopes up. At least not until I’m sure how he really feels.”

  Slowly, Stella nodded, seeing some semblance of logic in my refusal. “Still, take it with you. Maybe when we’re meandering around L.A. together, you’ll find a reason to put it on.”

  I gave her a quick hug, silently thanking her more for not pushing the issue. We quickly decided on a flowy tunic top and a pair of leggings, paired with comfortable flats before she braided my hair into two perfect French braids. Satisfied her braiding technique was still as flawless as when we used to do each other’s hair as teenagers, Stella insisted on doing my makeup, too.

  As she squirted out the first blob of foundation and soaked it up with a makeup sponge, I grabbed her wrist to stop her from spreading it on my face.

  I asked, “Is it—?”

  She rolled her eyes impatiently. “Yes, silly. It’s hypoallergenic. We have the same ridiculously sensitive skin, remember? We could have been twins if we weren’t born a few years apart.”

  “Proceed,” I teased pompously.

  With incredible skill and speed, Stella had me made up in fifteen minutes with a soft look that was flattering but subtle.

  Once she was finished, she made me stand and motioned for me to twirl. Nodding approvingly, she dismissed me. “I think I heard the doorbell. You’d better get going for your dinner date.”

  “You aren’t coming down?”

  “I’ve got a mess to clean up in here.”

  I squeezed my arms around her. “Thanks for your help, Stella. I really appreciate it.”

  Her answer surprised me. “I want you to be happy, Eloise. You deserve it.”

  Squeezing her fingers, I told her, “So do you.”

  My feet felt rooted into place, and I didn’t think I wanted to move. Why couldn’t I just stay home and talk with my sister all night instead of going out with a guy I wasn’t interested in? I was giving Robby the wrong impression, and my move obviously wasn’t making Warren jealous like he’d blubbered to Vanessa and Harrison.

  I slowly plodded down the steps and found Robby talking with my parents.

  “There you are,” Mom said. “Don’t keep Robby waiting.”

  “It’s alright, Mrs. Stauch. We have plenty of time before our reservation,” Robby reassured her. Glancing over at me, Robby pushed his glasses back to the bridge of his nose. “You always did look fantastic in braids, Eloise. It makes you look like you haven’t aged a day.”

  I laughed outright at his compliment, making my mom glare at me. “Thanks. You look nice yourself.”

  “You two have fun,” my dad said proudly, shaking Robby’s hand as we headed for the door.

  I could almost hear the wedding bells ringing in my mom’s head as she clasped her hands and held back a rare squeal.

  “I’ll have her home by ten,” Robby said over his shoulder.

  I had to fake a cough to disguise another barking laugh. This really was starting to feel like high school again. In the background, I saw Stella come down the stairs and fold her arms, leaning back against the wall. She sighed morosely, and I wanted to know what it was all about, but Mom was already prodding me to follow Robby.

  “Thank you,” I mouthed, standing on my tiptoes so she could see me. My gratitude brought out a small smile, and Robby followed my gaze, his own grin forming as he saw her. Elbowing him lightly in his somewhat doughy side, I said, “Isn’t my sister the best?”

  His eyes lingered a moment on her before they met mine. “Yeah, she really is.”

  Out in the driveway, Robby was every bit as polite as he’d always been, opening the car door for me and making sure the air conditioning temperature was set to the degree of comfort I preferred.

  “Where are we going?” I asked, clasping my hands in my lap and putting a bright smile on my face, hoping I was being pleasant enough with him. Yes, I was using him for my own demented purposes, and the thought of hurting him made my stomach hurt, but I tried seeing it as an opportunity to reconnect with a friend, rather than a date with any romantic prospects looming. The thought made me feel like a slightly less awful person.

  “I thought it would be fun to try something new. There’s a restaurant that recently opened and it’s supposed to be a real culinary treat.”

  “Sounds nice,” I answered.

  “I hope so,” Robby said, his gaze flashing over to me. “Unless you’d like to go somewhere else. You tell me.”

  “No, let’s go,” I said brightly. “It sounds like fun.” Hearing the radio softly playing, I reached over and cranked up the volume to Carly Rae Jepsen and Owl City’s Good Time. “Ooo, remember this one? This was the best summer song, wasn’t it?”

  Singing along, I started jiving in my seat, making Robby chortle. I could see the apprehension easing from him, and he sank back into his seat, driving without looking like he was going to rip the steering wheel off his car.

  When we arrived, we were both enjoying ourselves, and Robby was almost twitching along to the beat of the radio. In a lot of ways, he reminded me of my dad—reasonable, predictable, safe. Not bad qualities, but it didn’t make for much adventure, something I found myself craving more often, ever since I’d dated Warren.

  Robby offered his arm when he opened my door, and I took it. We walked up to the restaurant, still chuckling and reminiscing about our time together. I was surprised that it wasn’t as bittersweet as I imagined it might have been. Other than Robby, every other relationship had crumbled and left me never wanting to see the guy again. With Robby, if there was ever animosity resulting from our breakup, I couldn’t recall it.

  After giving his name to the maître d’, we were seated at a cozy horseshoe booth situated beneath a dim, low hanging lamp with a simple vase of white roses in the center. When I finally convinced Robby to be a little spontaneous and try a sampler plate of appetizers, I heard my name from across the
restaurant. Robby and I both turned to see Vanessa and Harrison coming right at us with Warren in tow. The air was sucked from my chest as he gave me a penitent, lopsided grin. I narrowed my eyes in return.

  Vanessa put her free hand on her hip when she arrived at our table. “So, this is your date?”

  “Robby, meet Vanessa de la Paz, thorn in my side extraordinaire. Her boyfriend, Harrison.” Warren raised his eyebrows, noticing I was ignoring him. “And you remember Warren..”

  Vanessa simpered and plopped down next to Robby, pulling Harrison in with her, leaving only a seat open by me for Warren. Holding out her hand to Robby, she said, “Nice to meet you. Now, if you don’t mind me asking, what is your relationship with our dear Eloise here? Your current relationship.”

  While Robby fumbled at the intrusion to our date, I turned to Warren, who hadn’t immediately sat down. I noticed Vanessa’s eyes flick over to me and could see through her thinly veiled attempt to bring Warren and me together, even in the middle of a date with someone else.

  “Might as well sit down,” I told Warren as I moved my purse to the ground.

  “Thank you kindly,” Warren drawled. I breathed in a whiff of him, and his scent buzzed around delightfully in my head. Grabbing the tip of my braid, he gave it a gentle tug. “Always did love a girl in braids.”

  I was torn between wanting to giggle girlishly and pulling my braids out and messing up my hair, though I imagined Warren would have a compliment for that, too. Curtly, I thanked him and tried to ignore the feel of his warm arm against mine in our cramped quarters.

  “You two knew each other in high school?” Vanessa purred. “How charming. Terribly sorry to hear it didn’t work out.”

  She was being sweet, but I could tell by the look in her eye that she was trying to work this situation to her advantage, which, in this case, meant that somehow it would put Warren in a good light and make me want to get back with him. Why she cared so much was beyond me. It wasn’t her relationship she was trying to salvage. If only she’d heard what I’d heard at the dress shop, she might not be so pushy.

  “We’re still friends,” Robby said, his face growing pale under Vanessa’s intensity. “I think.”

  “He works with my sister, Stella, too.”

  Vanessa’s eyes lit up. “Really? Tell me, is Stella everything Eloise says she is? I never got a chance to meet her.”

  Robby listed with great accuracy several of Stella’s shining qualities, so when the appetizer came, I felt safe filling my mouth with food since Robby was handling Vanessa well enough. I needed something in my stomach to keep it from flip-flopping uncomfortably, either from the horror of this whole situation or the fact that Warren was sitting so incredibly close it made my cells buzz with excitement.

  Helping himself, Warren took a heaping mouthful of hummus on a pita chip and downed it with one bite. His eyes rolled back in his head as he chewed, and he groaned with relish. “What did I just eat?”

  My eyebrows knit together and I stared. “You didn’t even know what it was and you ate it anyway?”

  Warren’s shrugged, which rubbed his bare skin against mine, sending a flame of heat radiating from my arm.

  “Life’s too short to wonder about what delicious food has been put in front of me. I’m the kind of guy who jumps in head first, no questions asked.”

  “Oh, I know,” I muttered, taking a swig of ice water.

  Warren looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “Tell me I didn’t just eat puréed mealworms.”

  Water shot out of my nose and spilled down the front of my blouse. I scrambled to brush it off before it soaked in completely. Shoulders shaking, Warren handed me his napkin, then dropped his head into his hands, his face turning purple as he tempered his mocking laugh.

  Elbowing him as hard as I could given the close proximity, it didn’t faze him one bit.

  “Nice try, featherweight,” he said, rubbing his hand down the length of his face and taking one more deep breath to calm himself. “You’re gonna have to try a lot harder if you want to hurt me.”

  I wanted to erase the humiliation I felt, but seeing the ridiculous smile on his face and the light glistening in his eyes, I couldn’t restrain myself. Another unsavory snort and sputter of laughter ripped through me, and soon, I was giggling just as hard as him.

  “Unfortunately, no, that’s not mealworms. It’s hummus.”

  Wafting his hand in the air for more information, he asked, “Which is made from…?”

  “Sheep liver.”

  Warren grimaced for a second, but read on my face that I was teasing. His lips moved into a smile, and I hated that I couldn’t stop myself from staring straight at them.

  Dragging another pita chip through the hummus, he tossed it in his mouth. “Nice try but I’ve had worse.”

  I pushed my braids behind my shoulders and smirked, “No sheep were harmed in the making of this hummus. It’s made out of chickpeas.”

  “I have no idea what chickpeas are, but they might be my new favorite food.” He finished chewing and rubbed the back of his hand across his mouth.

  “You missed a spot,” I said, realizing I was still staring at his mouth. For some stupid reason, I didn’t care.

  With a clean napkin, I reached over and brushed a few crumbs off the stubble growing in nicely on his chin. Warren’s expression softened, and he held perfectly still while I cleaned up his face. For a brief moment, I questioned whether I’d really heard him and Stella correctly on the phone. Maybe I was jumping to conclusions.

  “If a tie isn’t required, you can certainly tone down the rigidness of the suit by not buttoning it, or undoing the collar button,” I could hear Harrison saying. Breaking my trance, I turned to see Robby standing beside the booth while Harrison gave him tips about tweaking his appearance.

  Robby’s eyes darted back and forth, looking at no one in particular as he stiffly held out his arms and let Harrison rearrange his outfit. My brain kicked into gear, and I remembered that I was here on a date with Robby, not Warren, and that Harrison and Vanessa were probably pushing Robby too far out of his comfort zone. I was here for dinner with Robby, and until I worked up the courage to confront Warren or Stella or both about the questionable phone call I’d overheard, logically, I had to assume there was something going on between them.

  “Thanks for dropping in, guys. We’d better get back to our dinner so, please, don’t let us keep you.”

  Vanessa gave me a what-are-you-doing? look, but I ignored her. She was trying to push Warren and me together, but she didn’t seem to be able to accept that Warren and my once magnetic attraction had done a polar reversal, and nowadays, it felt like every time we got close, we were repelling each other.

  “Eloise is right. It was rude of us to drop in on your dinner unannounced,” Warren said, standing and tucking his hands in his jeans pockets. “Thanks for the hummus. It’ll be something to write home about.”

  The three of them went to their table, with Vanessa probably leading the gossip about me, but I didn’t care. The rest of dinner was pleasant enough, but my mind was elsewhere. I kept stealing glances at Warren, and every time I did, he was staring right back at me, not even trying to hide it. I quickly downed as much of my meal as I could without feeling like I was going to be sick, until I convinced myself to slow down and enjoy myself. I couldn’t let Warren ruffle my feathers forever.

  “Stella said you and Warren used to date?” Robby asked between sensible bites of his grilled chicken.

  Swallowing my roll, I downplayed it. “Ancient history.”

  “I’m not sure he’s on the same page as you,” Robby pointed out.

  I chortled. It was so unlike Robby to be so blunt. “I underestimated you, Robert Jenkins. You let everyone think you’re docile and civil when really, the cogs are turning in your brain.”

  “It’s just that he’s been staring at you most of dinner.”

  I sighed and rested my hands on the table. “Sometimes, I wish he’d jus
t disappear.”

  “Understandable. Being around someone you can’t have is one of the worst feelings in the world.”

  “Amen to that.”

  We moved on to lighter topics, and when we couldn’t eat another bite, I convinced Robby to let me pay my share, left a generous tip, and stood to leave. Tossing a braid behind my shoulder, I looked one final time in Warren’s direction to see if he was watching me, but he was already gone.

  Chapter Thirteen

  After Robby had driven me home and given me little more than a one-armed, side hug before I went in to my parents’ house, mercifully not feeling like he needed to kiss me at the closure of our strange date, I had slept fitfully. As kind hearted as he was, it wasn’t Robby who’d kept me awake, either. The more I thought about the phone call Warren had shared with Stella, the more it bothered me. I lay awake most of the night, staring at the ceiling, questioning if anything I’d had with Warren was ever real and if my sister wasn’t the same sweet person I thought she was. By the time my alarm buzzed the next morning, long before the sun was even cracking over the horizon, I had bags bigger than after Vanessa had gone on a shopping spree under my eyes and a rat’s nest of hair from tossing and turning.

  My parents dropped me off at the hotel where the tour buses were picking up the rest of the singers, and after I thanked them for the weekend—as strange, emotional, and life-altering as it had been—I promised I’d send a text when we arrived in Salt Lake City. I scurried onto the tour bus and locked myself in the back bedroom before Warren came out of the hotel. Shutting the blinds, I managed to sleep half of the trip and woke up to find Warren had gotten on the other bus. It was just Vanessa, Harrison, Mandy, and me on the lead bus.

  “Robby seemed nice,” Vanessa said the second I opened the door of the private back bedroom.

  Rubbing the last of the sleep from my eyes, I stretched my arms behind me, then twisted side to side. Seeing right through Vanessa’s remark, I noted, “You’re not being very subtle, you know.”