Daniel squeezed my hand, and I knew what he was asking. He wanted to know if he could answer the questions. I barely squeezed back and nodded at him. He told her what school, and said he lived near it.
“How long have you playedDragon Arena?” Hana asked.
“Hana, what’s with the interrogation?” I asked.
“It’s not really an interrogation. I’m just curious. But whatever.” She nodded toward his shirt. “Leafs fan, though,” Hana said. “Dad would call you a glutton for punishment. Hey, aren’t you a Dark Mage? What do you think about the new update that totally changed the—”
“I haven’t really played much lately, not since the new update,” Daniel said. He had a small, noncommittal smile on his face. How was he so cool when I was a bag of nerves? His hand was even still cold.
She frowned. “Oh, I thought you two still played together. Hey, did Samaya tell you I’m having a backyard party next week? We just had the yard redone. I swear, my folks must have spent a hundred grand on landscaping. You absolutely must come.”
I winced. “Ugh. I don’t know, Hana ...” I still couldn’t believe she wanted me to come to her party. She was literally dating my ex.
“Come on. My parents will be out.” She grinned at Daniel. “It’s going to belit.”
I’d been to a few of Hana’s parties before. They were most definitelylit. Everyone would be there. Everyone ... on the nerdier side of the school, that is. Which, for Earl’s, was most of it. No one would be playingDragon Arenaat the party, but people would definitely be talkingabout it. And of course, Devin would be there. As Hana’s date. Going was a terrible idea.
“That sounds awesome!” Daniel said.
I shot him a glare. Even if he didn’t know who Hana was, he had to see how tense I’d been since she’d sat down.
“Excellent,” Hana said. “I can’t wait for Samaya to show you off.” She looked over to her parents, who were talking to the squash seller. “I’m going to have to pry them out of there, or we’ll never leave. Honestly, my parents are like ...obsessedwith farmers lately. You know they’ve even talked about selling the house and buying a farm? Can you imagine Pakistani farmers in rural Ontario?” She shuddered. “Not like they’d ever do it, though. There’s no take-out delivery there. Great meeting you, Daniel. Can I take a shot of you?” She held up her phone to take a picture.
Daniel pulled me close before I could object so we were posed similar to how we’d been in the selfie, except we weren’t eating.
“Awesome,” she said, looking at the pic. “Y’all are too cute. See you Friday!”
She left. As soon as I was sure she was out of eyesight, I snatched my hand out from his. “We can’t go to Hana’s party. Why’d you say we’d go?”
He shrugged. “I’d love to see a hundred-thousand-dollar backyard. We can make an extra batch of cookies on Thursday and bring them. Are your friends #TeamRaisin or #NoRaisin?”
“Hana is Devin’s new girlfriend.”
“And Devin is ...”
I titled my head sternly. “Devin is myex.”
“Shit.” His eyes widened. “The jealous ex. Yeah, sorry about that. We don’t have to go.” He looked apologetic.
“It’s fine; you didn’t know.”
“She seemed so nice. Was she being fake?”
I nodded. “Yeah, she most definitely was being fake. She’s been after Devin forever. She’s only being nice to rub it in that she has him now.”
“Well,youhaveme.”
I blinked. I did, but not really. “Yes, but I still don’t want to go.”
Daniel was silent for a few moments. “Won’t all your friends be there?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Hana’s parties are big.” I thought for a moment. “Even if we did go, you couldn’t bring cookies. You’re supposed to be a hard-core gamer and nerd.”
“Gamer-boys don’t bake cookies?”
I put my hands up, frustrated. “Seriously, Daniel. A party with my friends isn’t a good first date. You don’t know a thing aboutDragon Arena, and I guarantee that’s what people will be talking about. My ex’s best friend has been on me to rejoin the guild lately. He’s the guy that was harassing me at the game-dev meeting. He’d bug me at the party, too. And he’d bug you. Plus Devin will be there.” I sighed. “It would be better if we went bowling or for a coffee or something like that for our date. Maybe to the mall.”
Daniel’s eyes perked up. “Or skating?”
