“How should I know?” Sebastiano said. “Are you going to go out with him again?”
“I might as well,” Holly said. “I have to see this story all the way to the finish.”
“But you already know how it ends.”
“I guess,” Holly said, but she had a flicker of doubt. Her thoughts flashed to a moment on the waterslide, the two of them in their underwear, and Eli’s hand in hers. That Eli, the real Eli, wouldn’t dump her. He wasn’t slick like Otavio.
This was Eli’s last chance. She saw a tiny ray of hope. It was Eli versus Otavio. Which one would win?
25
A Diary with a Lock on It
* * *
To: linaonme
From: your daily horoscope
HERE IS TODAY’S HOROSCOPE: CANCER: You know that saying, “Be careful what you wish for, because you may get it?” Well, don’t worry—you’re not going to get it.
* * *
Did you hear about the internship yet?” Walker asked. He and Lina were lounging in a hammock in his backyard. It was early Friday evening and getting cool and dark out, but Walker kept her warm. The light from the kitchen window made her feel safe as they lay together and listened to the frogs and the crickets.
“Yes,” Lina said. His hand was resting on her stomach, and she absently played with his fingers. “I didn’t get it. Neither did Autumn. Nobody at RSAGE got it. I think they gave it to a Griffith kid.”
“Did Erica say why?”
“Yes.” The memory of Erica’s phone call that afternoon was fresh and still a little painful. “She said she enjoyed Mood Swing and Nuclear Autumn. She found them very entertaining and was kind of sorry to see the gossip die down. She even said she thought my writing was good. But she was looking for investigative reporting skills. And Mood Swing definitely wasn’t about that.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Walker said.
“And my sports clips from The Seer didn’t help me there, either,” Lina said. “Sports writing is not investigative reporting. I guess I was hoping she’d be so impressed with my writing skills, it would override that. I was wrong.”
Walker squeezed her hand. “You’ll get another summer internship—something better. You are a good writer. And you’re only a sophomore.”
“I know,” Lina said. “I still feel like kind of a loser, though, letting Autumn get me all caught up in her insanity.” She reached down, where her slouchy leather bag sat half-open on the ground, and rummaged around inside it. “Look what I got.” She showed him a small blue hardcover book with a lock on it and a key dangling from a loop. “It’s a diary,” she said. “To write my thoughts and memories in. I’ve already written my first entry. I got one with a lock for maximum security.”
“Good thinking,” Walker said. “No need to share every intimate moment with the world.” He reached for the diary. “Let me see that.”
“Walker!” She snatched it away and hid it under her legs. “It’s private!”
“I just want to see if there’s anything about me in it,” he teased, grabbing for the book. “I won’t tell anyone what you wrote.” He started tickling her. “You’ll have to let go sometime….”
“No!” She wrapped her body around the book and tried to shield herself from his fingers. They tumbled out of the hammock to the grass. The diary fell about a foot away from where they landed.
“I’m going to get it!” Walker said, but instead of going for the diary he went for Lina. They rolled around on the grass, laughing.
26
Eli vs.Otavio
* * *
To: hollygolitely
From: your daily horoscope
HERE IS TODAY’S HOROSCOPE: CAPRICORN: You will hear the words “evil twin” today. Yes. Every single person born under the sign of Capricorn will hear those words today. It’s one of those astrological flukes.
* * *
It’s so good to see you tonight,” Eli said. He reached across the table at Le Mas, a romantic restaurant just outside of town, and touched her hand. Holly wondered why he’d bothered to bring her to such a nice place only to dump her. But, then, that’s what Otavio had done to Marisol.
“I’m sorry I had to cancel our last date,” Eli said. “I felt really bad about it.” He stared into her eyes.
Holly sensed an ax hanging over her head. It made her bold. “Why did you cancel? You never really told me.”
“It was… it was totally unexpected,” Eli said. “There was… a crisis… and I had to deal with it. A family crisis. I think I told you that.”
Holly just nodded, waiting for more. Not that his family crises were any of her business. But he owed her a better explanation than that.
“See—” he stammered, “I just found out I have a twin. An evil twin. A long-lost, evil twin. He showed up out of nowhere, threatening to blackmail my mother because she abandoned him. It was a real shock.”
“A long-lost, evil twin?” Holly rested her chin on her hand and raised an eyebrow. She didn’t have the energy for this anymore. “That is a shock.”
“Well, yeah. My mother was a wreck. And I was in no shape to go out.”
“Where is he now, this evil twin?”
“I don’t know,” Eli said. “He made his threat, then he left. He said he’ll be in touch with us later about how much money he wants to keep quiet. So—you know—don’t tell anybody about this or anything. It’s kind of a secret.”
“Don’t worry. Nobody would believe me if I told them, anyway.”
He laughed nervously. “Ha. That’s for sure.”
Their appetizers arrived. They ate in silence. Why don’t you just get it over with? she thought. Ijyou’re going to dump me, dump me!
But he didn’t. They finished their appetizers, ate their entrées, and ordered dessert. And he still didn’t dump her. It was odd. Otavio had dumped Marisol before she’d had a chance to order a drink.
“Is something bothering you?” Eli asked. “Are you upset that I canceled our date?”
“No,” Holly said.
“Because sometimes things come up,” Eli said. “When your life is crazy like mine. The world of drug-dealing and international crime doesn’t stop for dinner.”
Holly stiffened. She knew that line. It was one of Otavio’s excuses for standing up Marisol. Eli was grinning, making a joke out of it. But it felt like a slap in the face.
“I understand, my love,” Holly said, pointedly, in a Mexican accent. “Mi amor.”
Now he looked stricken. He dropped his fork. “What did you say?”
Holly pressed on. “Our fate is sealed. I am yours… Otavio.”
“Oh, my god,” Eli said. “You know.”
“I’ve been watching every day for a couple of weeks now,” Holly confessed. “I know you do everything Otavio does. So why don’t you just get it over with and dump me already?”
“Dump you? Why would I do that?”
“Because Otavio did it. On the show. But, believe me, I’m not going to swallow a bottle of pills and try to drown myself. I hope you won’t be disappointed that I’m not following the script. I’ll be fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”
Eli shifted in his chair. He looked down at his lap, wiped his mouth with his napkin, and put it on the table. Holly could read his thoughts on his face. He was trying to decide what to do next.
“Okay, I confess,” he said. “I’ve been copying Otavio. The first words I said to you came from him. But it’s only because he’s so cool. He’s such a stud. Girls will do anything he wants.”
“Your motives are so noble,” Holly said.
“I know it sounds bad,” Eli said. “I’m never sure what to say or do around a girl I like. But when I pretend to be Otavio, I always know what to do. He hands me great lines to say—and they work. It worked on you, for a while.”
“Please. I’m humiliated enough.”
“Don’t be! I’m the one who’s embarrassed,” Eli said. “I only did it because I really like you. I want
ed to impress you. I was afraid you wouldn’t like me if I was just plain old Eli Collins. I wanted to be exciting.”
“But you’ve been lying to me!” Holly said. “And you did break our last date, and your evil-twin excuse is not cutting it.”
“All right, I’ll tell you the truth,” Eli said. “Maybe then you’ll see why I lied. The real reason I broke our date was because it was my little sister’s birthday. I’d forgotten about it. Her party was the night of our date. My parents got mad at me when they heard I was going out. They wanted me to go with them to Chuck E. Cheese and help them supervise the twelve screaming brats my sister calls her friends. Happy now?”
Holly laughed. “Chuck E. Cheese? That’s almost as unbelievable as a long-lost, evil twin.”
“It’s not as cool,” Eli said. “I was afraid you’d think I was a geek.”
“Maybe I would have, but I’d still like you,” Holly said. “I wanted to get to know you, the real you. It’s pretty impossible if everything you tell me is a lie. Didn’t you worry that I’d figure it out eventually?”
“I tried not to think that far ahead,” Eli said. “But yeah.” He wiped his mouth again. “Look, Holly. I don’t care what Otavio did to Marisol. I don’t want to break up with you. I want to keep seeing you.”
Holly looked into his gray, labyrinth eyes and realized that, in spite of everything, she still liked him. A lot.
“Will you?” he asked. “Keep seeing me? If you don’t mind dating a soap opera addict.”
“I don’t mind,” Holly said. “I’m becoming one myself.”
He leaned across the table. She met him halfway. They kissed. It was good. And now she finally had the answer to his mystery. Or one of them.
“Are you sure you don’t want to break up with me?” Holly asked. “I have a sister you can fool around with, you know.”
“I’m sure,” Eli said. “From now on I’m writing my own script. And it says right here“—he pointed to his hand as if it held a piece of paper—” it says here that we should kiss some more. A lot more.”
“Okay.” She kissed him on the lips. “But I reserve the right to ad lib, when I want to.” She kissed him again. “And to cut all references to long-lost, evil twins.”
“Just keep kissing me.”
She did. They knocked over a glass of water, and she hardly noticed.
A question floated through her mind: Can you find true love in six minutes? She still didn’t know. The answer was: Maybe. But she was leaning toward Yes.
Here’s a sneak peek at The Dating Game #6
* * *
Parallel Parking
Sean led Holly to the dance floor. They danced for one song, and then dinner was served. Holly went back to her table.
“Dancing with Sean—how’d that happen?” Lina whispered to her.
“Did Mads notice?” Holly asked.
“She was in the bathroom with me,” Lina said. “I walked back in here first, saw you on the dance floor, and turned Mads back around, saying she had crab in her teeth.”
Holly nodded. But she thought it was a little silly that Mads had to be protected from seeing her dance with Sean. It was just a dance. It didn’t mean anything.
Still, for the rest of the night, Holly found herself catching Sean’s eye from across the room. They didn’t dance together again, or say anything to each other. But whenever she looked at him, he was looking at her.
“I’m ready to go,” Holly said to Sebastiano toward the end of the evening. “Do you need a ride?” Walker and Stephen were going to take Lina and Mads home, so Holly would be driving home by herself.
“Sure,” Sebastiano said. “Let me just say good-bye to a few people.”
“Okay,” Holly said. “I’ll meet you out by the car.”
Outside, Holly found Sean leaning against her car.
“Heading home?” he said.
“Yep,” Holly said. She put her key in the door. Sean took her by the elbow.
“Hey,” he said. “I really like you.”
Startled, she turned toward him and looked up. He kissed her. When she’d recovered, Holly glanced around. Did anyone see that? Did Mads? People all around were getting into their cars, but no one seemed to have noticed Sean and Holly.
“What are you doing tomorrow night?” Sean asked.
Holly frankly couldn’t remember if she had plans or not. “I don’t know….”
“Want to go do something?” he asked.
She needed a moment to take this in. Was Sean Benedetto asking her out? Looked that way. She was curious to find out more about him. But Mads’ face loomed in her mind. What would she think if Holly went out with Sean, her eternal crush, her personal rock star?
KISS AND TELL
(Circle the correct answer.)
1. There is a right and a wrong way to kiss.
TRUE or FALSE
2. It takes only six minutes to decide if a guy is right for you.
TRUE or FALSE
3. Boys are dying to go as far as they can with a girl.
TRUE or FALSE
4. Your underwear says everything about your personality.
TRUE or FALSE
Will Madison ever learn how to kiss correctly? Is it okay for Lina to tell her girlfriends how far she’s gone with her guy? And how many dates will it take Holly to tell if he’s really “the one”? And, most important, will they ever figure out the mysteries of guys and dating?
Speed Dating Page 14