“Dakota, I’m leaving.” Mom walks into the kitchen while putting in her good pearl earrings. She does a double-take at the amount of food boxes I’ve pulled from Leo’s bag. “Oh dear, Doug forgot to cancel tonight’s order since he and I have a business dinner with The History Makers.” Mom pops a gyōza in her mouth. “No worries. Now I don’t have to cook tomorrow either.”
“About that.” Leo pulls several folded bills out of the back pocket of his jeans. “Mom said you overpaid us, even with your usual generous tip.”
Mom pushes Leo’s hand back. “No, we didn’t.”
Leo holds it back out. “Mom will kill me if you don’t take it, Ms. Tamlyn.”
“Okay, I officially received it from you.” Mom takes the bills out of Leo’s hand. She folds them and tucks them into the pocket of Leo’s button-down shirt. “This is me donating to your car fund. Thanks for helping make this challenging week bearable for Koty. For us. I don’t know what we’d do without you, Leo.”
I know Mom didn’t mean that as a slam to Alex, but I can see the hurt in his eyes. The not-good-enough kind of pain I unfortunately know too well.
“Hey, Mrs. McDonald, could Dakota possibly come to my All-State competition next month? They announced the teams today. Guess who is playing first base?” Alex says.
“Congratulations,” I say, as Mom says, “When is it?”
“The first weekend in May.” When I don’t immediately say yes, Alex adds, “You don’t have to sit with my family.”
“That’s our final episode,” Mom says. “We’ll be doing some live, remote parts mixed with the already canned stuff like we are doing with the birthday episode. I’m sorry, Alex.”
Alex’s shoulders slump. “Oh. Okay. Of course.”
Mom’s phone buzzes. “That would be your dad outside. I’ve got to run. We won’t be out too late, Koty. Also, don’t forget: Stephanie wants an answer on hairstyles by Monday. Are you staying for a while, Alex?”
“No, I promised Abuela that I would go to Good Friday mass with her tonight.” Alex looks at his phone. “I need to leave in about five minutes.”
“Okay, and Leo? Are you sticking around for a while?” Mom says it more like a request than a question.
“Mom, I’m fine,” I say.
“I can stay and keep Koty company for a little bit,” Leo says.
“Thank you. You’re such a sweetheart, Leo.”
I give Mom a look that I hope telegraphs Moooooom!
Mom’s phone buzzes again. She gives our trio one final, concerned look before kissing my cheek and telling us good night. Everybody drinks their root beer in silence until the front door closes.
“Wow, thanks for throwing me under the bus there, Ms. Tamlyn.” Leo rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I’m not sticking around as your chaperone. I’ll let you two get back to dance practice.”
“Thanks.” Alex puts his arm around my waist.
“Wait. I want to show Leo our dance. Stephanie and my parents have seen it, but we need someone who is hypercritical.”
“Thank you, Dakota,” Leo says sarcastically.
“And since Aurora isn’t available, that job falls to you, Leo. If I look baka, tell me now so I can fix it.”
Leo sits back down. “Okay, but you asked for it.”
Disappointment creases Alex’s face, but he immediately replaces it with a smile. I start the music on Alex’s phone. We take our opening position.
“Stop smirking, Leo,” I say as I promenade around Alex. I get it. I look, if not ridiculous, at least not like my usual self.
“I’m not,” Leo insists, before putting a hand up to his mouth to camouflage his smirk.
Though it isn’t in the choreography, when Alex turns me to face him after the promenade, his fingertips slide down the side of my face. Alex’s kaleidoscope eyes hypnotize me and pull me deep inside his bubble. Electrical bursts flood my system as Alex holds me firmly but gently, leading me around the makeshift dance studio in between our kitchen and living room. I trust him even when he suddenly changes the choreography on me, like putting a slow dip after the bridge of the song.
A squeal sneaks out of my chest when Alex whips me back up to standing. While there was a kiss in the original choreography, Alex changes that too. I accept his brief peck on the cheek as usual, but as I start to walk away, Alex turns me back into him and kisses me a second time. For real. Like, an I-wish-I-hadn’t-insisted-Leo-stay kind of a kiss. We move through the rest of the song completely in sync and in our own drama-free bubble.
A huge smile lights up Alex’s face as the song ends. “See, there’s no right or wrong choreography to this song.”
My knees feel like Jell-O. Meanwhile, Leo picks his chin up off the floor.
“What do you think?” My heart continues to slam around in my chest. “Honestly.”
“That was hot.” Leo’s cringe makes me laugh. “They may have to bump up the rating on your show after this number.”
“I vote we keep the new additions to the choreography,” I say.
“See, trust me.” Alex laces his fingers through mine. “We’re going to do everything in our power to make sure this event is flawless. Right, Leo?”
“You’re not expecting me to follow that, are you?” Leo says.
“Of course not.” Alex’s laugh has an edge to it. “But you know what has to be done.”
Leo groans.
“What has to be done?” I say.
Alex’s phone rings with “Abuela” coming up on the caller ID. Alex sighs. Yeah, we should have taken Leo up on his offer to leave earlier. Then again, having Leo here made me take this project to the next level. As he always does.
“I better go.” Alex collects his things, and I walk with him to the front door.
When I turn to punch in the code to disarm the door, Alex pushes my loose hair over my shoulder and plants a kiss on the back of my neck. He adds several more kisses to my cheek, my jaw, and finally, my lips.
“What has to be done?” I press, knowing that Alex is trying to distract me.
“Trust us,” Alex says as he backs out the door. “That’s all I’m going to say.”
“Hmmm.” I raise an eyebrow at Alex.
After resetting the alarm, I deposit both my heels and my skirt poofer on the stairs. I uncinch my T-shirt and use the hair elastic to create a high ponytail. As I pad barefoot back to the kitchen, I see Leo sitting in the middle of our sectional playing on his phone. With a Jay Yoshikawa–style warrior cry of “Kitsunebiiiiiiiiii!” I vault over the back of the couch. Leo’s phone flies out of his hand when I land next to him.
“Yeah, no more soda for you tonight, Koty.” Leo retrieves his phone and tucks it into his back pocket.
“Spill, Leo. What has to be done?”
Leo crosses his arms. “Nope. Not breakin’ Bro Code.”
I scoot up close to Leo and poke him. “But BFF Code trumps Bro Code.”
Leo moves farther away from me. “Not gonna happen.”
I poke him again in the side. Right where I know from experience that Leo is extremely ticklish. Leo continues to dodge and deflect my pokes, but soon he runs out of couch.
“We could have done this the easy way, Matsuda, but now…” I crack my knuckles.
Leo mimes a yawn before flicking me in the arm. When I start to flick him back, my bracelet snags on the button of his shirt, unbuttoning it.
“Hey, stop trying to undress me, McDonald.”
While he’s distracted, I grab Leo in a headlock and give him a noogie of sixth-grade proportions. Leo breaks my grasp easily, but his hair continues to stick up at weird angles. I screech when Leo leans forward to return the favor. Except when I reach my hand back to scuttle away, I hit the ottoman part of the sectional instead of the couch. The ottoman slides out at a ninety-degree angle. Leo grabs my waist. But even Leo’s cat-like reflexes can’t defy gravity. We tumble down into the narrow gutter between the couch and the ottoman.
“Owwww.” I rub my head where i
t hit the floor.
Leo releases my waist and props himself up on one elbow. He looks down at me.
“Hey, you started it. Before you hurt yourself for real, I will break Bro Code. Alex made me promise that I would dance with you at the party.”
“That’s it? Bro Code is so weak sauce.” I tuck my hands behind my head and look up at Leo. “Of course you’ll dance with me. We’ll grab Aurora, Nevaeh, and the whole JCC crew. That way the focus isn’t all on you. We’ll get them to play Rayne Lee’s ‘Create Your Spark,’ and you can go full ham like you do in the restaurant when it’s empty. I’ll make sure Phil cuts to a commercial break first, of course.”
“No, Alex wants me to do a slow dance with you. On camera.”
“Why?”
“To, and I quote, ‘make Dakota forget about Austin for good before she spends her whole life afraid of guys.’”
I scoff. “I’m not afraid of guys. Okay, sometimes. But those ones are creepers. Like why would I want to see a picture of your junk? Gross.”
“Not those idiots, he means the real guys in your life, like me.”
“I’m not afraid of you. Pretty sure I just kicked your butt.”
Leo rolls his eyes. “You know what he means, Koty. Between Alex leaving at the end of the summer and me Friend Zoning you in the walk-in refrigerator—”
My face burns. “You told him about that?!”
“Yeah, because I thought you already had.”
“Why would I do that?” I sit up, even though the narrow space becomes even more crowded.
Leo sits up too. After we untangle our limbs, he says, “Because Alex asked me point blank, ‘What did you do to break Dakota’s heart?’”
I put my hands over my burning face. “Kill me now.”
Leo pulls my hands away from my face. “And you know what he said after I told him? ‘Don’t break Dakota’s heart a second time.’”
I’m not sure if I should be flattered or horrified that my current kinda-sorta-not-really boyfriend can see a future where I’m getting dumped by another guy for the second time.
“All I said was, ‘When do I get to fall in love with someone who both loves me back and is going to be here for the long run?’ I’m not sure how that translated to ‘As soon as you leave for Duke, Alex, I’m going to steal Lindsay’s man.’ Because I’m not.”
Leo lets go of my hands. “I’m sure Lindsay will be relieved to hear that.”
“She still thinks I’m a threat? I thought we’d worked that out at Golf Land during the world’s most awkward double date. Like, Alex is mine. Leo is yours. Move on, sister.”
“Let’s say she’s concerned because we will be celebrating Tanabata in Japan together.”
I wince. After all, last summer’s Star-Crossed Lovers holiday was the spark that ignited this whole mess to begin with.
“Speaking of, shouldn’t you be raking in the tips right now instead of hanging out with your dysfunctional BFF?”
Leo shrugs. “I wanted to stay. Plus, Ms. Tamlyn likes me best.”
“I’m fine, Leo. You still need to make the final payment on the Japan trip, so go make the bucks.” I stand up and then reach down to pull Leo to his feet. “Besides, I want to practice my part of the dance some more. Alex says it’s fine, but I don’t know. I don’t want to look baka.”
Leo doesn’t let go of my forearms even after he’s on his feet again. “You don’t look baka.”
“Ha ha,” I say sarcastically.
“For real, Koty. I mean, fall-off-the-couch girl, that’s my Koty. I don’t know who that other girl was dancing with Alex though.” Leo looks down. “And if she’s going to stay for good after the party is over.”
I quirk up an eyebrow.
Leo clears his throat and pulls his hands back. “I should go.”
“Wait.” I lean in and button Leo’s shirt. I pat his chest when I’m done. “Okay, now you’re back in Cinnamon Roll Prince mode.”
Leo looks me in the eyes as he unbuttons the button again. “Maybe it’s time for him to disappear too.”
I turn on my heel and bolt for the front door. Once we step out on my front porch, I expect one of our occasional, swoop-in-swoop-out kind of platonic hugs. But I’m wrong. Leo steps into me and wraps his arms around me.
“I promise, Team Dakota is not going to let you down.” Leo’s breath is warm against my neck. It sends a tingle down my spine. “I’m not going to let you down.”
“I know,” I whisper back. Though I should probably keep the words as Mr. Inside Voice, the truth tumbles out of my mouth anyway. “Sometimes, you are the only thing that makes this reality bearable.”
“Same.” Leo gives me a tight squeeze before letting me go. “We’ve always made a great team, Spider-Gwen.”
“Yeah, we do.”
The buzzing continues in my body as I watch Leo walk away. Once he’s tucked inside the minivan, Leo rolls down the passenger window. Though I wave, Leo pretends to shoot spider webs at me.
“Dork!” I yell, and Leo throws a mocking kiss back at me before driving off.
When do I get to fall in love with someone who both loves me back and is going to be here for the long run?
Chapter
27
“Tadaima!” Leo yells when we enter Matsuda the following Friday after school. When there is no reply, he yells a second time, “Ojiichan?”
“Maybe he’s taking out the garbage or something?” I hand my skateboard to Leo to put in the back with his.
“Yeah,” Leo says, though a worried line crosses his forehead.
While Leo is in the back, I dig my phone and a small Bluetooth speaker out of my backpack. I pull up Rayne Lee’s slow jam, “One Last Kiss.” After much discussion, this is the song that Leo and I—and okay, Lindsay—decided that Leo will use to fulfill his promise to Alex.
“One song. That’s it,” I told Lindsay via text earlier. “I swear. Then Leo is yours.”
All I received back was a passive-aggressive LOL. Yeah, somebody is not happy with me. Join the club. The club also includes three more people who were kicked off the party list today after Aurora overheard them trashing me during concert band.
This dance is not going to be as highly polished as Alex’s and my dance. If I can get a simple step-touch on the downbeat for four minutes without Leo passing out, then we’re going to call it a win. Which is sad, because I wish everybody could see the goofy, raw, Cinnamon Roll Prince version of Leo that I get to see. The one currently dance-walking out of the kitchen with a small tray on his shoulder while humming “Create Your Spark.”
“Why’s your dad here?” Leo puts two glasses of melon soda on the table next to the Bluetooth speaker and nods at the front door. “And why is he with my mom? This can’t be good.”
Dad wears his emotions on his sleeve, which is why America loves him, even when he’s completely cringetastic. Santa is not happy.
“What happened?” I say when Dad holds the front door open for Mrs. Matsuda.
Dad scrunches up his face. “You want the good news first or the bad?”
“Daaaaaad.”
“The good news is that we can still have the party at Chez Versailles. The bad news is that we have to bump the party back one week.”
“But that’s prom.” I don’t want to ask Nevaeh and Aurora to have to choose between their final prom or my party. Maybe they could do half and half.
“No, Koty-chan,” Mrs. Matsuda says. “The other way. They’re delaying the party until May first.”
“But that’s our last show,” I say at the same time as Leo says, “But that’s the Phoenix Phoodie Phestival.”
Phestival weekend is like Black Friday to the Matsudas. It’s the thing that keeps them afloat during the broiling summer months when traffic is extra slow.
Mrs. Matsuda nods her head. “I know.”
“Since the two final shows are already in the can, Phil says we can swap them. Akagi House is finished, so doing the live parts there a week ea
rly is no problem,” Dad says. “Tamlyn and Stephanie are working overtime to make the switch—at least appear—flawless.”
Ojiichan comes out from the back, wiping his hands on his black apron. Mr. Matsuda follows two steps behind him with some kind of car piece in his hands.
“I’m afraid it’s not going to work, Doug.” Mr. Matsuda holds out the piece. “The food truck needs too much work, and we just don’t have the funds right now or the time to get it up and running. I’m sorry.”
Dad sighs. “Thanks for trying, Kenichi.”
“I’m sorry, Dakota.” Mrs. Matsuda puts a hand on my arm. “I wanted so much for our whole family to come to your party.”
“There has to be another way,” Leo says.
My stomach sinks as reality sets in. I fall into my favorite booth. “That means Alex can’t come either. He won’t be able to make it back in time after the game on Saturday night.”
“He could skip the game,” Leo says.
“No, Leo, he can’t.” Plus, it wouldn’t be fair for me to ask him.
“Let me look at the food truck, Kenichi.” Dad crosses the restaurant in a few strides. “Tell me what you need. I’ll find it. I can call in some favors. Or maybe one of our sponsors can loan us a truck, or we can hire some extra servers for you or something.”
“Doug, we can’t let you do that for us.” Mr. Matsuda shakes his head.
“Let’s talk about this in the kitchen, please.” Mrs. Matsuda herds Dad and Mr. Matsuda toward the kitchen. After both men are through the door, she looks back over her shoulder at Leo and me. “Don’t worry, okay? We’re going to figure this out.”
“Taihen datta ne.” Ojiichan pats my head and tells me things are tough before following the crowd into the kitchen.
That breaks me. A sob of desperation sneaks out of my chest.
“Hey.” Leo slides in beside me and puts an arm around my shoulders. “Don’t give up yet. Trust us. Let Team Dakota put our heads together. We’ll come up with something.”
“I’m sorry.” I wipe my eyes on my forearm, leaving a smear of eye makeup behind. “I know it’s just a birthday party—nothing to cry over. Everybody is going to forget all about it ten minutes after it’s over. I don’t know why I’m being such a baby about this.”
Faking Reality Page 25