by Amanda Abram
She placed the palm of her hand against my forehead. “What’s wrong, sweetie? Are you sick?”
“No, it’s not for me. Dylan stayed home sick from school today. I thought maybe some of your tea would make him feel better.”
Jade removed her hand and smiled. “Well, that’s awfully sweet of you.”
I made a face at her. I could tell she wanted so badly to tease me. “Don’t say it.”
“Don’t say what?” she asked, blinking innocently at me.
“I know you want to make some snide comment about how Dylan and I would be perfect together.”
She threw her hands up in defense. “I swear, that thought didn’t even cross my mind.” Her smile widened in a way that made me think otherwise while she began to prepare the tea.
I rolled my eyes as I took the rest of my work gear off. “Shift’s over. I’m going out back to change.”
“Oh, that’s right, you’ve got a blind date tonight.”
“It’s not a blind date,” I said.
“No? Then what is it?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but I didn’t know what to say. Technically, it was a blind date, I just hadn’t thought of it as one until Jade said it.
“I’m just being introduced to a random guy at a party,” I replied finally, opening the door to the employee area. “It’s not a big deal.”
I closed the door behind me before she could say anything else. Grabbing my backpack off the floor in the break room, I unzipped it and pulled out the sweater and jeans I’d purchased for the party.
After changing in the bathroom, I grabbed all my stuff, punched out, and headed back out front, where Jade was waiting with a large cup of her miracle tea.
“Here you go,” she said brightly as she held it out to me.
I took the cup from her. “Thanks, Jade.”
“No problem.” She paused and smiled. “You know, Hunky McLumberjack is lucky to have a pretend wife like you.”
I smirked. “You’re still going with that nickname, huh?”
“You bet I am!” Jade took a step back and looked me up and down. “Wow, you look amazing. That might not be a date you’re going on tonight, but I’ll bet you anything that boy’s going to wish it was.”
I couldn’t help but blush as I glanced down at myself. “You really think I look okay?”
“Oh, yes,” she said with a nod.
I was glad to hear it, but I hoped I didn’t look too okay. I was still on the fence about the whole rebound thing, and now I was having to deal with the fact I’d told Elijah earlier I would maybe give him a second chance.
So far, I hadn’t told anyone about that. Not Lauren, not Jade. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about it all, and I was sure both Lauren and Jade would disapprove of my decision.
“Well, I should get going,” I said, throwing my jacket on. I had a feeling as soon as I walked outside into the below-freezing temperature, I would regret the decision to wear the jeans with holes in them.
“Okay. Have fun at the party. And tell Dylan I hope he feels better.”
“I will. And thanks again,” I said, holding up the tea.
I said my goodbyes and hurried out the door. On the way to my parents’ car, I pulled out my phone and texted Lauren to tell her I was going to be a little late because I had some errands to run first. We had decided to just meet at the party, since she and Tiana wanted to get there at around eight, and I didn’t get out of work until nine.
The drive to Dylan’s house was only a few minutes, and when I arrived, I saw that his car was the only one in the driveway. There were a couple lights on inside, so he was either still awake, or just fell asleep with them on.
With Jade’s miracle tea in hand, I made my way up the front steps and rang the doorbell.
About ten seconds later, I was about to ring it again when the door flew open to reveal a healthy-looking—but somewhat confused—Dylan standing on the other side.
“Cass?” He narrowed his eyes as he looked me over. “What are you doing here?”
Not exactly the warm welcome I was hoping for, but at least he was talking to me.
I thrust the cup of hot tea toward him. “Lauren told me you stayed home sick today, so I thought I’d bring you some tea. It’s a special tea that Jade makes. It’s supposed to cure whatever ails you. At least, according to her.”
He looked taken aback by my gesture. Eyeing the tea suspiciously, he reached out and took it from me. “Thanks, but…” He ran his free hand through his hair and gave me a sheepish grin. “I’m not really sick.”
“Oh,” I said with an embarrassed chuckle. “Well, I feel stupid now.”
“No, don’t,” he said quickly. “How were you supposed to know?”
“I sent you a text a little while ago, asking how you were feeling,” I said. “You never responded.”
“Oh. Yeah. Sorry about that.” He sighed. “With everything going on, I just didn’t feel like going to school today, and I haven’t felt like talking to anyone. I’ve kept my phone off all day.”
“I understand,” I said with a nod, taking a step backward. “I’ll leave you alone now.”
“No, wait,” he said. “You came all this way. You want to come in for a bit?”
I glanced past his shoulder to the inside of his house. The idea of staying there for a little while sounded way better than rushing over to the party, so I opened my mouth to accept his invitation, but he continued before I had a chance to.
“Oh, that’s right. You’ve got that Ellsworth Prep party to get to,” he said, not bothering to hide the disdain in his voice.
“Technically, yes.” I took out my phone and checked the time. “But I told Lauren I was going to be a little late anyway, so I guess it wouldn’t hurt to stay for a few minutes.”
With a grin, Dylan stepped aside and opened the door wider for me to enter. I’d only ever been to Dylan’s house with Elijah, so it felt strange walking into it without him by my side.
“Can I take your coat?” he asked, holding out his hand.
“Yeah, sure.” I unzipped my jacket, took it off, and handed it to him.
His eyebrows shot up slightly as he lowered his gaze, taking in my appearance. “Is that what you’re wearing to the party?”
I glanced down at myself. “Yeah. Why? What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”
I could have sworn I saw a slight blush creep across his cheeks as he cleared his throat and draped my jacket over the railing of the stairs. “Nothing. You look good. It’s just…” He motioned to my sweater. “Couldn’t you have found a shirt that had more shoulder fabric?”
A small giggle escaped my lips. “Shoulder fabric?”
His eyes narrowed into a playful glare. “Yeah. Shoulder fabric. You know, the fabric of a shirt that covers your shoulders. Whoever made that sweater forgot to add it.”
“Nobody forgot to add anything,” I informed him. “It’s supposed to be this way. I think it’s cute. Maybe even sexy.”
Dylan winced at that. “Trust me, you don’t want to look sexy for an Ellsworth Prep party. Tell you what: I’ll go grab you one of my flannels to wear over it.”
He handed the tea back to me and started up the stairs, but I quickly grabbed the back of his shirt to stop him. “No, you won’t. Dylan, any shirt of yours is going to be way too big on me. This sweater is fine. In fact, it’s modest compared to the outfit Lauren picked out. Do you want to go lecture and cover her up too?”
With a defeated sigh and roll of his eyes, Dylan reluctantly came back down the stairs. “Okay, fine.” He grabbed the tea back from me and brought it up to his nose to sniff it. Making a face, he asked, “What’s in this, anyway?”
“I have no idea. It’s Jade’s secret family recipe, I guess.”
“Oh. Well, it smells strong.” Carefully, he took a sip. As soon as the liquid hit his lips, he sputtered and covered his mouth with his hand. “That is awful.”
I smirked. “Maybe it would taste better if you
were actually sick. You don’t have to drink it. I won’t be offended.”
He looked relieved at that. “Thanks. Go ahead and take a seat in the living room. I’m going to go dump this out.”
I chuckled as he disappeared into the kitchen. A few seconds later, he called out, “Can I get you anything to drink?”
“I’m good, thanks,” I called back, sitting down on one side of the couch. On the TV screen in front of me, I saw that my impromptu visit had interrupted a movie.
“What are you watching?” I asked Dylan as he returned to the room.
“Die Hard,” he replied, taking a seat on the other side of the couch.
“Oh. Is it any good?”
Dylan stared at me in disbelief—like I was crazy for even asking such a question. “You’ve never seen Die Hard?”
I shook my head and he slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead.
“Cass, it’s one of the greatest movies ever made.”
“That can’t possibly be true.”
“Well, it is true, and I can prove it to you.” He grabbed the remote off the coffee table and pressed a button that switched the TV screen to the DVD menu. “You’re going to sit here and watch it with me. From the beginning.”
I laughed. “Um, hardly. In case you forgot, I have a party to get to at some point tonight.”
“This movie is way better than any party could ever be,” he claimed. “Just watch it for a little bit, and I guarantee you’ll get hooked on it and won’t want to leave.” He paused. “In fact, I’m so confident I’m right that I’ll give you ten bucks if you make it through the whole movie and can admit afterward that you loved it.”
Turning to him, I arched an eyebrow. “Dylan, I know what you’re doing.”
“What?” he asked all innocent-like.
“You’re trying to bribe me into not going to the party.”
A devious grin played at his lips. “Is it working?”
“For ten dollars? No. Twenty? Maybe.”
“I can do twenty.” He pulled out his wallet from his back pocket. Opening it, he rifled through it and pulled out a crisp twenty-dollar bill.
I glanced at the clock on the wall above the TV. “How about this? Twenty dollars for twenty minutes. That’s a dollar a minute. And if by twenty minutes in I’m hooked, maybe I’ll stay for the rest of it, at which point you’ll give me an extra twenty.” Except I knew I wouldn’t be staying. Lauren was counting on me being at the party, and my mystery date would not be too impressed if I stood him up.
Dylan glanced inside his wallet to see if he had the funds. “It’s a deal,” he said, taking another bill out. He folded both twenties and slipped them into his front pocket before starting the movie over.
Twenty minutes later, he paused it and stared over at me with a look of anticipation. “Well? What do you think so far?”
I hated to admit I was enjoying it. It wasn’t my type of movie at all, but I found myself wanting to know what was going to happen next.
Also, I kind of wanted forty bucks.
“I like it so far,” I said, holding my hand out for my first payment.
He eyed me skeptically. “How do I know you actually like it and you’re not just lying for the money?”
“Does it matter? It’s keeping me away from that sketchy Ellsworth Prep party either way, isn’t it?”
“Good point.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out one of the bills and handed it to me. “Are you staying for the rest?”
It should have been an automatic response of “no”, but something was keeping me from just taking the twenty and running away with it. I think deep down, I didn’t want to go to the party. I didn’t want to spend the evening making awkward small talk with some guy I’d never met, who might turn out to be a total creep. I wasn’t in the mood for loud music or drunken antics. I kind of just wanted to sit on a comfy couch in a quiet house and watch a movie with a friend.
Or with Dylan.
“Sure, yeah,” I said finally, getting up off the couch. “I’ll stay. I just have to go call Lauren and let her know I’m not going to make it.”
I chose to ignore the look of smug satisfaction that crossed over Dylan’s face as I left the room. I walked down the hall and ducked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. Taking my phone out of my pocket, I scrolled through my contacts and clicked on Lauren’s name. She picked up after two rings.
“Cassie? Where are you at?” she yelled into the phone over the sounds of loud music and talking in the background. “When are you going to be here?”
“Hey, Laur,” I said. “There’s been a change of plans.”
“What kind of change of plans?”
“The kind where I’m not going to make it after all.”
“What?” she exclaimed. “What do you mean you’re not going to make it? Your date is here waiting patiently to meet you.”
“Sorry. I’m just not feeling well,” I said, trying to make my voice sound small and weak. “I went straight home and crashed on my bed.”
I hated lying to Lauren, but there was no way I could tell her the truth—that I was choosing to spend the rest of my evening with Dylan, watching a movie I would normally never consider watching.
She would get the wrong idea, for sure.
“Are you okay?” she asked. The sudden concern in her voice wasn’t helping the guilty feeling now gnawing at my gut.
“Yeah,” I said. “I think I might have just caught whatever Dylan has. It makes sense, I guess, since we’ve spending a lot of time together working on our project.”
“I guess.” She paused. “Well, this is a bummer. I wish you could be here, but you should stay home and rest if you’re not feeling well.”
“I wish I could be there too,” I said. “Can you apologize to my date for me?”
“Will do. I gotta go, but I hope you feel better! Talk to you tomorrow?”
I fake-coughed into the phone and said, “Definitely,” before we said our goodbyes and hung up.
When I exited the bathroom, the heavenly scent of popcorn triggered my sense of smell and I followed the trail all the way back to the living room, where Dylan was now sitting on the couch with a heaping bowl of it on his lap.
He glanced up at me when I entered the room. “I figured maybe you’d want a snack.”
He’d figured correctly. “Wow, forty bucks and a bowl of popcorn? I should come over here more often.” As I returned to the couch, Dylan set the bowl down between us. I grabbed a small handful of kernels and popped them into my mouth. “You must really not want me going to that party.”
“I really don’t,” he said. He picked a kernel out of the bowl and flicked it at me, landing it in my hair.
“Hey,” I grumbled, picking it out and flicking it back at him.
He smirked as he caught it in his hand and tossed it onto the coffee table. “So, how did Lauren take the news?”
“She wasn’t mad, just disappointed.”
“And your blind rebound date? How’s he taking it?”
“I’m sure he’s devastated he didn’t get to meet me,” I joked.
Dylan chuckled. “Yeah, I would be too,” he said quietly.
I shot him a curious glance, but he wasn’t paying attention to me. Instead, he grabbed the remote and pointed it at the TV. “You ready to finish this thing?”
“You mean am I ready for another twenty bucks?” I grinned and stuffed another handful of popcorn into my mouth. “Bring it on.”
Almost two hours later, my eyes fluttered open to see the movie credits scrolling across the screen and Dylan sitting next to me on the couch, staring at me in amusement.
Apparently, at some point after the popcorn had disappeared, I’d managed to fall asleep.
“Hey there, sleepyhead,” Dylan said with a lopsided grin.
Slowly, I sat up and ran a hand through my hair. “How long was I out?”
“A while,” he replied. “You missed all the good parts. Like the entire r
est of the movie.”
“Oh my gosh,” I said with a laugh. “I guess I’m not getting the other twenty bucks, am I?”
“Nope.”
“I’m sorry,” I said with a yawn. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t be. You’re kinda cute when you drool.”
I gasped and quickly wiped at my mouth with the back of my hand. Had I really been drooling?
Judging from Dylan’s laugh, I hadn’t. “Relax,” he said. “I’m joking.”
I shot him a glare before glancing at the clock on the wall. At quarter to midnight, I was nearing curfew. “I should get going.”
“Already?”
“My curfew is midnight.”
He glanced at his watch. “You still have at least fifteen minutes. It only takes you a couple of minutes to drive home from here.”
I glanced at him curiously. “Why are you trying to keep me here? Are you just afraid if I leave now that I’ll stop at the Ellsworth Prep party on my way home?”
A small smile tugged at his lips as he shifted his position on the couch so that he was facing me. “Maybe I just like hanging out with you.”
I smiled back as I mirrored his position. “Really?”
“Yeah. You’re fun to be around. You’re a good listener. You bring me tea when you think I’m sick.” He paused. “That was sweet of you, by the way.”
“It was disgusting tea, though,” I pointed out.
“But it was the thought that counted.”
“I suppose.” I leaned my elbow against the back of the couch and rested my head in the palm of my hand. “You know, I think I kind of like hanging out with you too.”
His eyes widened in surprise. “You do?”
“Yeah, I do. You’re not nearly as obnoxious as I thought.”
He put on his best kicked-puppy expression. “Ouch, Briggs. That hurts.”
I blinked innocently at him. “What do you expect? You were always teasing me and giving me a hard time about everything.”
“Well, yeah. That’s the role of a boyfriend’s best friend. We’re supposed to act like jackasses to the girlfriend to make the boyfriend look better.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “Is that so?”