Gwen ignores my question. “Listen. There’s just one thing that should absolutely set off the alarm bells for you. And that’s when Knox walks around shirtless. Cause it means that either he is on the hunt for a new piece or his new piece is already past. Both suboptimal.”
“Why?”
“Well…in the former case, you could be his quarry, which, at first sight, might sound good. But seeing as that Knox is known for his short-term stories, that wouldn’t end well. The latter case wouldn’t be all that much better because it would clearly hurt you to learn that he had something going on with someone else.”
“What?” I let an unbelieving laugh escape. “That wouldn’t hurt me in the least.”
“‘Sorry to my unknown lover,’” Gwen sings, quoting Halsey. “‘Sorry I could be so blind.’”
I roll my eyes. “‘Babe, I’m gonna leave you,’” I sing, grinning. “‘Oh, baby, you know, I’ve really got to leave you.’”
“Led Zeppelin!” Gwen’s eyes widen. “I can’t believe it. You’re a fan? I didn’t think that anyone other than me knew who they were anymore!”
“Guilty as charged.”
“I like you,” she says. “I’m gonna hold on to you.”
Walking into the diner I stop in my tracks.
“Oh,” Gwen mumbles, following my glance. Of course, Knox,Wyatt, and the many long-legged women in crop tops that would cause me to catch frostbite within a second are impossible to overlook. They are sitting at one of the backmost booths; one of the I-feel-like-it’s-summer girls lolls about on Knox’s lap like an Egyptian cat. “I totally forgot that they might be here.” My friend looks at me apologetically. “The boys often get warmed up by eating here before a party.”
Knox’s eyes bore into me as if he wanted to take an X-ray. I feel extremely uncomfortable under his gaze and quickly turn to Kate. She is hurrying about behind the counter, gives us a quick, stressed-out smile, and disappears into the kitchen.
“Levi and Aaron are back there.” Gwen grabs my hand and pulls me along. I make sure to walk on her left side in order to ignore Knox better. But as we come by their booth, it’s as if neither Gwen nor I even existed. One of the girls gives a shrill laugh in response to something Wyatt has said. Knox says, “Dude. With our history teacher? You’re nuts.”
“Thanks for keeping a place,” I say to Levi and Aaron, sitting down across from them. Unfortunately, right in Knox’s line of sight, who looks up at me briefly from his burger before putting his arm around his red-haired companion. I’d really like to ask Levi if we couldn’t switch places, but that would mean that the situation is too much for me. And I donotcare to admit that at all.
“Of course,” Aaron replies. He takes a sip of his ginger ale. “This place is hopping.”
Gwen grunts, almost spitting out the lemonade she pilfered from Levi’s glass. “Aaron. No one says ‘this place is hopping’ anymore.”
Kate comes over to our table, a trayful of glasses in hand. “Okay, looks like I’ve got a special Coke here that Williamsupposedlydidn’t order.” She looks over to the counter where William is sitting and rolls her eyes. “And an iced tea from I don’t know who.” Gwen’s mother pouts. “Take pity on me.”
I laugh. “Give me the Coke. I could use some caffeine.”
Gwen narrows her eyes, leans back, and crosses her arms. “Dear lady, I don’t know,” she says. She begins tapping her arm with a finger as if in thought. “What should I think about your work? Am I, a paying customer, not worth a thing?”
“You’re worth this iced tea, my child.” She puts it down in front of her daughter and winks. “It’s great that from now on you intend to pay. I’ll remember that.”
“Oh, my God, what a joker my mom is! May I have a nibble of you?” Gwen makes a move to grab her, but Kate avoids her hand, the tray wobbling, laughing all the while.
There’s an awful tightness in my chest, and I can’t stop the memories of my mother from coming. I wish she’d been a little more like Kate. A little more normal. Sometimes we goofed around, but that was rare. Mostly when she’d had a few well-paying clients and her excitement over her next shot had put her in a good mood.
Kate looks at the clock. “If you want to eat something, it better be now. In twenty minutes, we’ve got two reservations.”
I order a wrap, the others order cheeseburgers, and after they arrive, we talk about our free skating and what kind of outfits we’d love to have. I even manage to block out Knox’s presence, until Wyatt sits halfway up from his booth and looks over at us.
“Hey, chalet girl,” he calls out. He’s clearly drunk. “Am I gonna get your number?”
I can feel myself turning red.
“Just ignore him,” Gwen says. “He’s a total idiot.”
And that’s exactly what I do. Wyatt whistles once more like an immature teen and then falls back into the booth next to his date. I can’t understand why she doesn’t pick up her little designer bag and go. In reality, it doesn’t seem to bother her at all. She nestles into Wyatt’s shoulder even deeper than before. Incredible.
I secretly look over at Knox. I don’t want to, but I cannot stop myself. Which I immediately regret, for, right at that moment thegirl on his lap is whispering something in his ear with a dirty smile on her face. Knox emits a coarse laugh, turns to her, and runs his lips across her temples.
I’m jealous.
