She invited you to her house to get naked. You’ve got this in the bag.
It’s what I suspected, but hearing it confirmed makes me grin. I look back at Juliet. She’s back with Natalie, who is leaning toward her, trying to get her attention. From across the courtyard Juliet raises a hand and waves at me. I smile and wave back.
Dyl’s a dead man.
CHAPTER
EIGHT
I’m on my way to the Starbucks down the street from the school when a drop of rain hits the back of my neck. I frown and look up. The day has turned south, and the air is thick and muggy, the sky filled with gray clouds. Rain splatters against the road. I tuck my hands into my pockets and shuffle-jog the rest of the way, treading carefully to make sure I don’t fall on the slippery ground.
I reach the store and swing the door open. As part of my “cultural education” at the LIC I was shown pictures of Starbucks, but I’ve never actually been inside one. This store matches the ones I was shown in the classes, with wooden walls, a shiny counter, and a chalkboard displaying the menu. It smells like syrup, coffee beans, and whipped cream, and I breathe it all in. Now I know why they’re so popular. The very air of this place is delicious.
Only two tables are occupied, one by an elderly couple who are both sipping cappuccinos, the other by a stern-looking guy in a sharp suit who is sipping from a to-go cup while he checks his phone.
A buff black guy, maybe early thirties, in a too-tight black shirt and green apron makes his way around the counter. His smile is wide and his eyes light up with it, making me feel like he’s genuinely pleased to see me even though we’ve never met. Looks like I’m not the only one here who can act.
“Are you Caden?”
I nod. “Yep.”
“Good, good. I’m Levi, the manager here. Your mom told me a lot about you and I’m happy to have you on the team.” He claps his hands together. “So, did you bring your uniform?”
I raise my backpack slightly.
“Great. There’s a bathroom down the hall. Go get changed and wash your hands, then come out here. Remember, when you’re in uniform you represent the company, so smile all the time. And never say anything rude to a customer, even if they’re being rude to you. If you do those two things, you’ll do fine. Get going! The after-school rush is going to get here any minute.”
I enter the bathroom and step into a stall. After getting changed I check my reflection in the long horizontal mirror. The shirt is too small, and the sleeves press tight against my biceps, which I’m sure was intentional. I push my bangs down, then leave the bathroom holding my bag in my hands.
“There he is!” says Levi. “You look good, man. Black is your color. Come with me, I’ll show you around.”
No new customers have entered the store while I was getting changed, though one more staff member has appeared, a girl with messy mousy-brown hair and terrible posture. She’s by the coffee machine, slowly cleaning a silver strainer with a blue cloth. There’s a hole in her nose where a ring obviously should go, but she must’ve removed it for work. Her name tag tells me her name is Iris.
Levi leads me into a cramped storeroom. The shelves are stocked with sacks of coffee beans, rows of mugs, and bottles of syrup. Oh goodness, this room smells even better than the rest of the store. I breathe in deep then let out a happy sigh. Levi reaches around a sack of coffee and retrieves a folded green apron that’s wrapped in plastic.
“You’d be a medium, right?” he says, and I nod. He passes it to me. The plastic crinkles.
“Good. I have a lot of them but they never get used. Most of the people who work here are girls or the types of guys who barely eat or exercise. It’ll be nice to have another actual man around here. Now put that on and I’ll show you how to use the cash register. Don’t stress, it’s easy. If Iris can do it, I’m sure you can. Oh, and you can leave your backpack in here if you’re ready to start.”
Time passes pretty quickly. Fat drops of rain are splattering against the windows, drenching the green umbrellas outside. It’s been pretty quiet, so Levi’s been showing me the ropes. My initial judgment of him is quickly disproven, as he’s obviously a genuinely nice guy. He patiently showed me how to use the register and explained the basics of the coffee machine. He also made me this month’s special, a butterscotch latte, so I could suggest it to customers. It’s sweet and a tiny bit bitter, which is exactly how I like my coffee, so I don’t have to lie when I say I like it.
I’m sipping the latte when the door opens. It’s Juliet. She’s wearing an oversized gray hoodie, tight black yoga pants, and UGG boots. The rain has dampened her hair, making it darker and super curly. It hangs casually over her shoulders. The cold has made her nose red and her cheeks pink. I wish this weren’t our first day, because if this were happening after a flirty relationship had been established, I could hug her to warm her up. I’d press her against my chest, and she’d smell the cologne Kaylee picked out for me, one that apparently includes a note or two that Juliet loves. Right now, though, I need to keep my distance, because hugging her would be mega-creepy, especially if she figures out that I’m only doing it so that she can smell me.
“Caden?” she says, stepping forward. “What are you doing here?”
Her eyes cross from me to Levi.
“Wait, you know Juliet?” asks Levi. I nod and he turns to her. “Do you want the regular?”
“Yeah, thanks, Levi,” she says. Levi taps the screen in front of me, then moves across to the coffee machine and starts frothing some milk.
Juliet is still looking at me. “So you work here?”
“Have to pay the bills somehow.”
“I still can’t get over this,” she says as she reaches into the pocket of her hoodie and pulls out a green leather wallet. “I haven’t seen you for so long and now you’re … here.”
She taps her credit card against the card reader. It’s accepted.
“It’s weird for me too,” I say. “But it’s a good weird.”
“Totally!”
The receipt is printing so slowly. I scratch my elbow; Juliet pretends to be fascinated by a bag of chocolate-covered coffee beans. Where’s Kaylee? Why isn’t she giving me a line?
“One tall peppermint mocha,” says Levi, placing a steaming cup on the counter. Juliet picks it up, brings it to her lips, and lets out a contented sigh.
“Thanks, Levi. And thanks too, Caden. I promise I’ll be more normal later. It’s just seeing you still kind of freaks me out. I mean, you were MIA for so long and now you work at my favorite place on the freaking planet! It’ll take some time to convince myself you aren’t going to leave again. I’m sorry I’m not more normal.”
“Take all the time you need, Juliet. I’m not going anywhere.”
She’s smiling as she walks away.
* * *
I slump down onto my bed, the events of the day replaying in my mind. I raise my hands behind my head and nestle down, getting comfortable. Well, I can’t get too comfortable, because I’m still wearing my muddy Chucks and I don’t want to wreck my sheets. But undoing tight laces now would be way too much effort. I compromise by grabbing a towel from the floor and shoving it under my feet. Once that’s done, I lie back down.
Where was I? Ah yes. Juliet.
Her round face. Her hair, so soft and so dark. Her perfume, like flowers, which smelled so incredible when mixed with the rain at Starbucks. The splattering of freckles on her nose and cheeks. Her quick laughter and the warmth of her smile.
Is it possible she will ever like me? Why would she? Isn’t it obvious to her that I’m a massive liar? Then again, she did ask me to come to her place and get naked. She wouldn’t ask that of me if I didn’t do at least something right.
I smile a wide grin. She’s the perfect girl. In time, I could fall for her, and maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. I know being a Love Interest means I’ll always have to keep some things from her, but wouldn’t it be nicer if I loved her? It would make my job easier, and make
this situation feel more normal. I think of her, and the possibility of developing genuine feelings for her, until I fall asleep.
A knock sounds on my window, the one that looks out over the roof. I sit up and instinctively pull my blanket over my crotch. I check my phone; it’s 3:00 a.m. Yawning, I spin around.
Perched outside my window is Dyl. He’s dressed in a plain white shirt under a leather jacket, skinny jeans, and brown boots. He’s crouched down so the entirety of him is visible, framed by the window. I grab a shirt from where I threw it when I went to bed. As I tug it down I slide out of bed, painfully aware of the fact that my lower half is covered only by thin blue boxers.
I slide the window up and stare at him. “What are you doing?”
He reaches into his bag and pulls out a bottle of beer. He offers it to me. “I tried this, and man, you need to check it out. It’s the most delicious thing ever. Get some clothes on and get out here!”
I eye him warily. “How do you know where I live?”
He laughs. “Oh man, I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about that. I asked Judy and she told me your address. I told her it was so I could keep my eye on you, but really it’s because I was bored and I wanted to hang out.”
I scoop up a pair of chinos from the floor and step into them. I need to play this carefully. Dyl is here, for some reason, and that reason can’t be because he wants to spend time with me, especially if Judy is involved. I can’t think for a moment he’s here to be my friend. If Dyl is here, it means he’s playing the game.
Only he’s underestimated me. He thinks he can play me and I won’t notice.
Oh man, I’m going to mop the floor with him.
I clamber out of the window. He’s already sitting on the edge of the roof, his legs dangling. I sit down beside him, leaving a gap of about half a yard. Still, it feels too close for comfort.
He offers me the beer, and I take it. It’s cold, and the paper label is soaking wet, so it slides underneath my fingers. How many calories does it have? Probably a lot. I turn the bottle around and check the label.
He narrows his eyes. “Seriously? Come on, man, one freaking beer isn’t going to turn you into Homer Simpson. Live a little!”
I glance at him. His eyes are bright, filled with joy and enthusiasm, like he’s actually excited about me trying beer. He’s acting. He must be. And he’s good. Maybe I do need alcohol. I take a big swig. It tastes how my new stepdad smells: bitter and nasty. Wincing, I force a swallow and smile. “Yeah, this is super delicious.”
He turns to me. “You hate it, don’t you?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Come on, man. I thought we weren’t going to lie to each other. We’re the only people we can tell the truth to, remember? You don’t have to lie to me about small stuff, or anything at all, really. If you don’t like something, you can tell me. I promise I can handle it.”
“Fine, I don’t like it. It’s bitter and tastes sort of like watered-down piss.”
“There we go, the real Caden shows himself. Also, are you an expert on the taste of watered-down piss?”
“No, of course not. Why would you say that?”
He laughs. “I was being sarcastic, Caden. I guess they didn’t teach you that at Nice school.”
“I was being aggressive, Dyl. I thought for sure they would’ve taught you that.”
I take another sip of the beer. This time, now that my taste buds know what they’re in for, it’s not that bad. It tastes sort of crisp, like an apple, and the dryness is pleasant.
“Actually,” I say, “this is pretty nice. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
We sit there for a few moments in the silver moonlight, our legs dangling in thin air. Every time he moves, the leather of his jacket makes a rustling sound. The warm wind has buffeted his hair, and now a few long, straight strands have fallen out of place from behind his ears to the front of his face, in front of his impossibly green eyes. His surgeons did an exceptional job with him. It’s hard to take my eyes off his face, and it’s causing a weird tightness in my throat, making it difficult to breathe.
He drums his fingers on his thighs. “So you met Juliet today. How was it? Was it everything they told us it would be? Was it the best moment of your whole life?”
The sarcasm is strong in this one.
“Getting out of the LIC was the best moment of my life,” I say.
He tilts his beer toward me. “Amen to that.” I clink the neck of my bottle against his.
“But it was nice. She seems like a cool girl. What did you do today? You weren’t at school.”
“I was planning my big entrance. It’s going to be epic. You could be standing naked right in front of her and she wouldn’t even notice.”
His eyes go wide.
“Uh-oh,” I say with a grin. Maybe it’s the alcohol, or the fact that he looks so mortified, but I find his mistake kind of funny. “You screwed up, Dyl. I never told you she asked me to model for her.”
He nods. “Yep, that was a pretty major fuckup. I’m not cut out for this whole lying thing, in case that wasn’t screamingly obvious.” He takes a swig of his beer. “The beer is definitely not helping.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I say. “Because she definitely would notice me if I was naked in front of her. I’m kind of spectacular.”
“Well, look at you, you smug bastard. Fine, I’ll tell you the truth, I’m pretty excited about meeting her. What do you think of her? Do you like her?”
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you listen at all at the LIC? Who someone likes isn’t always easy to explain. There are some factors for attraction, like symmetry of faces and muscle definition, but most of the time the reason someone likes someone is a big fat mystery. Just because you’ve been assigned to her doesn’t mean you automatically like her. Love is more complicated than that.”
I grip my bottle tight. “I get that, but you asked me if I liked her like it matters. But it doesn’t. Our Chosen has to fall for us but we don’t have to fall for them. How we feel will never matter.”
“Well, that’s a load of crap.”
I blink, startled. No one talks like that, especially not a Love Interest. I almost expect a Stalker to appear out of the darkness and rip Dyl apart. I shiver and hug my arms to my chest.
He glances at me. “Have you seriously not thought about whether you might like her? Don’t you want to fall in love?”
“It’s nice if we happen to fall for our Chosen, but it’s not like it changes anything.”
Our eyes meet, and he doesn’t look away.
For the first time, I start to wonder if love is, in fact, necessary.
CHAPTER
NINE
It’s a free period, so I should be studying, but I’m not. I’m staring at the door. At any moment, Dyl will make his move to pull Juliet away from me. She’s sitting to my left with her head down, staring at a textbook. Everyone around her is chatting, yet she’s actually reading. My lips curl up into a small smile. Any moment now. The smile fades. My entire body is shaking and my knees are bouncing up and down. I grip my thighs, bunching up the silky material of my slacks.
What’s he going to do?
Juliet starts writing something in her notebook. With her head turned to one side, her hair falls on the other side of her face in a straight brown line. She looks pretty, sure, but looking at her doesn’t stir anything in me. It’s an observation, cold and clinical. Why isn’t anything stirring in me? What’s wrong with me?
She looks up at me. “What’s going on?” she whispers. “You look freaked.”
I muster up a grin and glance down at my history textbook. On it is a photo of some old white guy who is apparently super important. According to the book he fought for people’s rights. Just not mine, apparently. I place my hand over the caption and try as hard as I can to recall his name.
I push the book away. “I’m realizing how much I’m screwed. I have no idea who half th
ese people are.”
“I know it seems scary, but it’s not so bad if you break it apart and tackle each area on its own. I actually kind of love it. If you want, you could come over after school and I could bring you up to speed? I told Mom and Dad you showed up at school yesterday, and they’d love to have you over for dinner. That’s only if you want to, obviously, and I know you’re really smart because you’re on a scholarship and I didn’t mean to imply that—”
“Juliet,” I say with a grin. “I’m really flattered, and I could use the help. But you don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’m sure you’re swamped with your own stuff.”
“I want to. Seriously, it would be my pleasure. And besides, I wasn’t asking. Mom is expecting you to come over tonight. So, can you make it?”
“No, I can’t. My calendar is absolutely full.”
Her face falls. “Oh. Right. Cool. Maybe another time.”
I laugh. “Juliet, I’m joking! I wouldn’t care if Beyoncé herself wanted to hang with me. I wouldn’t miss dinner with you and your family for anything.”
“Now I know you’re lying. Anyone would pick Beyoncé over a boring dinner with me and my family.”
“I wouldn’t.”
She smiles.
You’re lucky we made you hot, Caden. If she wasn’t attracted to you she would’ve barfed.
Get lost, Kaylee!
Ugh, fine.
She’s looking down at her feet. “So, dinner at my place tonight. At seven?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good. Because Dad’s already organized everything. He’s making roast chicken. Wait, you’re not vegetarian or vegan or anything like that now, are you? It’s cool if you are, obviously. Maybe I should’ve talked to you before we planned everything.”
“It sounds perfect.”
“Great.”
“Great.”
At lunch, I sit between Juliet and the could-be model from yesterday, Natalie. I take a bite of my plain cheese sandwich. My parents hadn’t wrapped the cheese properly, so now it’s hard, cracked, and the color of mustard. But it was the only thing in the fridge, aside from a huge selection of beers. When I saw them I wondered what Dyl would think, and that made me smile. Together, we can try them all. Juliet turns to me. “You still look nervous, Caden. Is there a problem?”
The Love Interest Page 7