by Chris Cannon
Zoe looked back and forth between us. “Freak out about you two…as in you two together …you two?”
“You’re saying the word two a lot,” I pointed out.
“I’m aware of that fact. I just…” She pointed at our hands. “How did this happen?”
Okay…she wasn’t taking this as well as I hoped. “With the whole Pie Princess gig and spending time together, things just kind of fell into place.”
“But he’s my brother,” Zoe said, like I might have forgotten that fact.
“Are you shocked or mad?” Trevor asked. “Because it’s hard to tell.”
“Why do you care?” Zoe snapped.
Trevor held his hands up in surrender. “Just trying to help move this awkward moment along.”
“Zoe,” I said, “you have every right to go all Drama Queen, but you should know that this just happened. It’s not like we’ve been hiding something from you for months or anything.”
“How long?” Zoe asked.
“Since the snowstorm Friday night when I stayed and kept her company,” Jack said.
“So three days ago,” I said. “See. Not long at all.”
“Okay.” Zoe nodded. “I get that, but if I hadn’t tried to fix you up with Trevor, when were you going to tell me?”
Good question. I looked at Jack. He could take the lead on this one.
“I don’t know,” he said. “When it felt right.”
Zoe reached up and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I can’t even…I need some time to think about this.” And then she stalked off to Francine.
“Well, shit.” Tears filled my eyes. I could not lose my best friend over this. “Now what?”
“It’s Zoe,” Jack said. “She’ll play the drama queen, and then she’ll adjust.”
“But what do I do? Do I go after her and try to talk her off the ledge? Because that’s normally my job.”
“Talking to you right now probably wouldn’t help,” Jack said. “And she has Grant.”
I wasn’t sure that would work. “Guys aren’t usually very helpful in these situations. Most of the time, they’re the ones that cause the situations. And she shouldn’t have found out like this.”
“She would have acted like this no matter when we told her,” Jack said.
“This is fun and all,” Trevor said. “But I’m going home.” He smacked Jack on the shoulder. “Good luck with Zoe.”
“Thanks.”
Trevor walked off, and Jack just looked at me. “So…I probably shouldn’t go home just yet. Do you want to go grab a coffee?”
I was conflicted. Part of me wanted to run after Zoe, but I knew her. She’d need time to cool off. “Sounds good. We can get a mocha latte to go for her when we’re ready to face the music.”
…
Jack
Delia and I ended up at a coffee shop where a lot of Wilton students hung out after school. People took notice when we walked in together. After ordering our drinks, we found a table for two in the corner.
“I know you don’t mind being the center of attention, but I wish everyone would stop staring.” Not that I was ashamed to be seen with her. “It’s annoying.”
“They’re probably speculating on whether we’re a couple or not,” Delia said.
“Maybe we should help clear that up for them.”
“How would we do that?” Delia smiled at me, pretending she didn’t understand.
“Scoot your chair this way a little bit, and I’ll show you.” I grabbed the seat of her chair and pulled her over so I could lean in and kiss her. She laughed, but she kissed me back.
“Do you think that worked?” she asked.
“Maybe, but we should try one more just to make sure.” I tried to keep a serious expression on my face but couldn’t manage it.
“If we must.” Delia kissed me again, and the world seemed like a brighter place.
We sat close together, holding hands and talking for half an hour. Everything seemed so right.
Delia checked the time on her cell. “Zoe should have cooled down by now.”
Armed with a tray of coffee for my entire family and a selection of scones, we headed home. Delia followed me in her truck.
When we pulled up in front of the house, my grandma had Buddy out on his leash. He barked when he saw my truck. I climbed out of the car and set the carry-out tray on the roof before I went over to greet him.
“Hey there, Buddy.” I picked him up, and he licked my nose.
Delia came to stand beside me. She’d retrieved the coffee from my car. My grandmother looked at both of us. “Is there something you two want to tell me?”
“I kissed Delia the night of the snowstorm, and now we’re dating,” I said.
“It’s not like we were trying to hide it,” Delia added. “It just happened. How mad is Zoe?”
“She’s simmered down since she came home. You should be able to talk to her, but I suggest you do it one at a time so she doesn’t feel ganged up on.”
“Drama Queen,” I muttered.
“Is one of those for me?” my grandma asked.
“Of course.” Delia held the tray of coffee toward her. “They’re all mocha, but the scones are different.”
My grandma took a coffee. “Thanks. I’ll have a scone later.”
We headed toward the house and walked up the front steps.
“I should probably talk to her first,” Delia said.
That worked for me. “Just holler when it’s my turn or if you need reinforcements.”
“Not funny,” she said.
Zoe was sitting on the couch crocheting when we walked in. The scarf she was working on looked even more crooked than normal. I veered off into the kitchen and let Delia take the coffee to Zoe.
Before I could even sit down, Zoe hollered, “Jack, get your butt in here.”
Okay then. I headed into the living room and tried to gauge the situation. Zoe sipped her mocha latte. That was good. Coffee always made her more rational. I stood by Delia and waited to see what would happen next.
“Do you really like Delia?” Zoe asked.
I nodded. “Yes.”
“And you really like Jack?” Zoe said to Delia.
“I do.”
She sipped her coffee and frowned. “Then I guess we figure out how to make this work. Because if either of you hurts the other, I won’t know whose butt to kick.”
“I’m going to run up to my room and let you two do some girly bonding things.” I touched Delia’s arm. “Come say good-bye before you leave.” I leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
Delia smiled at me. “Okay.”
“I’m resisting the urge to gag,” Zoe said.
“It’s been no picnic watching you suck face with Grant,” I informed her as I scooped up Buddy and headed toward the stairs.
…
Delia
I sat down next to Zoe. “You’re my best friend, and I’d never do anything to upset you. This thing with Jack took me completely by surprise.”
“You think you were surprised,” Zoe said. “I never in a million years would have put you two together. I blame Betty’s.”
Couldn’t she just be happy for me? “Why don’t we talk about something else? Have you figured out which cookies you want to bake for the Flea Market?”
“Let’s pull out the cookbooks and see what we can come up with.”
I knew Zoe didn’t need to look at cookbooks to figure out what kind of cookies she wanted to make, but this gave us something to focus on. Half an hour later, we were talking and laughing like normal…or 90 percent normal. For now, I’d take that.
“I better go home and start dinner,” I told Zoe.
“Okay.”
Now what? Should I go knock on Jack’s door? That would be awkward. I pulled out my phone and texted him telling him to come downstairs.
“So…see you later,” I told Zoe as I headed for the front door.
“See you.” She sounded almost like herse
lf.
Jack came down the stairs carrying Buddy. “Hey, Zoe, you want to babysit Buddy for a minute?”
“Sure.” She smiled and accepted the wiggly brown puppy. “I swear he’s gotten bigger.”
“I know.” Jack came back over to me. “I’ll walk you out.”
“Okay.” We headed out the front door to my truck. Jack had his arm around my shoulders.
“So how did it go?” he asked.
“It was a little awkward,” I said. “But I think it will be okay.” He kissed me good-bye at my truck, and I drove home. When I pulled into the driveway, I was surprised to see my mom’s car. She was probably sleeping, but it was nice to have someone else in the house, even if they weren’t conscious.
The second surprise came when I found my mom sitting at the kitchen table reading a book. “Hello. I’m surprised you’re awake.”
“Hello to you, too. I’m too wound up to sleep. I thought reading might help.” She closed the book and set it down. “What’s new with you?”
“Well, a lot.” I sat down and launched into the story of how Jack and I got together and the big reveal in the parking lot with Zoe.
“I knew it,” my mom said. “The way he ran off as soon as I came home was a dead giveaway.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. You were right. Any suggestions on how to handle Zoe?”
“Just continue to be her friend and make time for her.”
“I can do that.” Just because Jack and I were dating didn’t mean my daily life had to change.
Chapter Twenty
Delia
The moment I walked on to campus the next morning, I realized how wrong I was. I always hung out with Zoe, Grant, and Aiden before school, but Jack intercepted me in the parking lot before I could head over to the quad to meet up in our normal spot.
“Hey there.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me close. Trevor was standing there, so I didn’t think he planned on kissing me.
“Hey yourself. Good morning, Trevor.”
Trevor yawned in response. “Morning.”
I was happy to see Jack, and I was thrilled that he was so happy to see me, but I felt conflicted. “We better walk over and say hello to Zoe or she’s going to think I got lost.”
Jack frowned. “Will Aiden be there?”
Good question. “I don’t know. If he is, I’m sure Grant already told him that you and I are dating, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Jack didn’t look like he believed me. “Raise your hand if you think this will be awkward,” he said.
All three of us raised our hands, which made me laugh.
“As long as we’re all on the same page,” Jack said. “Let’s go.”
We headed over to where Zoe and Grant normally stood. Aiden was suspiciously absent.
“Morning,” I said to Zoe.
“Morning.” She handed me a cup of coffee and then glanced at Jack. “Sorry, you and Trevor will have to provide your own caffeine. I can only carry two cups.”
“No problem,” Jack said.
We all kind of stood there smiling at each other.
“This isn’t awkward at all,” Trevor said.
Grant snorted.
“Where’s your friend?” Jack asked.
“Which one?” Grant replied, even though he had to know Jack was talking about Aiden.
“Adam?” Jack said. “Isn’t that his name?”
Trevor chuckled.
“Aiden went to ask about a project he’s working on,” Grant said.
Sure he did. Aiden had said that we’d hang around until one of us started dating someone. I hoped that didn’t mean he was going to ditch me as a friend.
“That’s a shame,” Jack said.
The bell rang, signaling we should head to class, so we shuffled along with the crowd toward the front doors. Jack squeezed my hand. “See you at lunch.” And then he took off.
Crap. Since we weren’t in art together anymore, the only time I’d see him would be at lunch, but I always ate lunch with Zoe, Grant, and Aiden.
“Would it be weird if Jack sat with us at lunch?” I asked Zoe.
“Yes,” she said.
I gave her the side-eye.
“Fine,” she said. “We can all sit together like one big dysfunctional family.”
Except when lunch rolled around, Jack didn’t agree.
“We don’t have to be one of those couples that eats lunch together every day,” Jack said as he sat at the table he shared with Trevor and a few friends. “As long as you’re okay with that.”
“It’s cool. This way I can hang out with Zoe like normal, which should make her happy.” I headed back to my table. Sometimes keeping things simple was for the best.
Zoe looked across the room at her brother. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I sat down and opened my bottle of water. “Jack is good with keeping lunch the way it’s always been, which I’m kind of relieved about. Does that make me a bad girlfriend?”
Zoe shook her head no. “Works for me.”
We chatted like normal. Aiden joined us about ten minutes later. “Where have you been?” I asked.
“I’m working on an extra credit project in chemistry,” he said. “So what did I miss?”
“I guess Grant told you that Jack and I are dating.”
Aiden nodded. “I will keep the negative commentary to myself and ask how it’s going.”
“So far, so good,” I said.
“You never told me if you were going to my dad’s award ceremony with me or not,” Aiden said.
All three of us stared at him for a moment. How did he not understand that me dating Jack meant I wasn’t available to play his fake date?
“As a friend, of course,” he added when he noticed the level of scrutiny.
“I don’t think Jack would be okay with that.” That was the most honest answer I could come up with.
“It’s not like you have to ask his permission,” Aiden said with a little too much attitude in his tone.
“Let me rephrase that,” I said. “I’m not interested in going with you. Jack doesn’t even know you asked me. My answer is no.”
Aiden pouted for the rest of lunch, making limited conversation.
…
Jack
Maybe I should have eaten lunch with Delia, because watching her sit with Aiden was ticking me off.
“Why does she want to hang out with a guy who friend-zoned her?” I asked Trevor.
“I have no clue. But if she’s okay with being his friend, there mustn’t have been that much going on between them.”
Interesting logic. I didn’t want to be one of those guys who tried to tell his girlfriend what she could and couldn’t do…but watching her talk with Aiden was like nails on a chalkboard. Maybe if she could explain why she didn’t mind hanging out with him, I’d be okay with it.
Delia and I tried to figure out when we could spend time together without stepping on Zoe’s toes. It wasn’t easy. Wednesday after school, she and Zoe baked cookies for the Flea Market. When Zoe left the room to take a call from Grant, I swooped in and pulled Delia into the laundry room.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“She’s taking a break to talk to Grant.” I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. “So I’m stealing you for a few minutes.”
“I like the way you think.” She reached up to play with my hair.
I leaned down to kiss her and ignored the rest of the world until the laundry room door smacked me in the back.
“Not cool,” I said.
Zoe stood there frowning. “I called your name, but you didn’t answer. How was I supposed to know you were in here?”
“Sorry.” Delia exited and went back into the kitchen. “Let’s get back to work.”
“Never mind,” Zoe said. “We’re almost done anyway.”
“You were on a Grant break,” Delia reminded her. “So your brother just stopped by to say hello.”
“Got it
. I just pulled the last batch of cookies out of the oven. Feel free to spend more time with Jack.” And she stomped off down the hallway.
“The Drama Queen strikes again,” I told Delia.
“Should I go after her?”
I didn’t want her to. “Do you think you should?”
“She’s going to have to adjust to this sooner or later.” Her cell buzzed, and she checked it.
“Who’s texting you?” I asked.
“Aiden.” She shoved the phone in her pocket. “I can text him later.”
Before anyone else could interrupt us, I kissed Delia and ignored the voice in my head asking about Aiden. Her phone buzzed two more times. “Do you need to get that?”
“Nope.”
“Even if it’s Adam?”
“Aiden.” She poked me in the chest. “And no.”
“What’s the deal with him?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve never been friends with a girl who dumped me,” I said. “Help me understand.”
“He didn’t really dump me. We went on one date. After that, it was all friend stuff.”
I wanted to point out that she’d been the one who wanted more and he’d said no, which technically meant she’d been dumped.
“We can talk about Aiden, or you can kiss me,” she said. “Your choice.”
“No contest.” I kissed her and did my best to put all thoughts of Aiden out of my head.
…
Thursday at school, I caught Delia in the parking lot before she went over to meet Zoe. “I don’t want a repeat of awkward land,” I told her.
She laughed. “Uhm…I’m pretty sure that’s where we live now.”
“It has to get better, right?” I said.
“I hope so.” She grabbed my hand. “Come with me.”
“No, you go ahead. I’m waiting on Trevor.” I gave her a quick kiss. “You working tonight?”
“Yes.”
“We could ride together.”
“Sounds good.”
Trevor showed up a few minutes later. “Please tell me we’re not joining Delia and company.”
“Nope.”
By the end of the day, I was looking forward to seeing Delia, so I waited by her truck in the parking lot. Seeing her walk out being all chummy with Aiden set me on edge.
She said good-bye to him and smiled at me. “You look annoyed.”