Blake:What business? Where?
Me:??
Blake:I’m sorry. I just want you to be there? Where are you now?
Me:I won’t, Blake. Forget about it. I’m very far from New Orleans and also very busy.
Blake:Where are you? I’ll pay for your ticket. Everything.
The heck?
I stopped walking, scowling at my phone screen. What the fuck was happening? Did he only want everyone together, or was there something more to it? I’d seen get-togethers on the internet, and most of them barely had half their old classmates present. Everyone was busy with life, Blake should understand that.
“Far from New Orleans, huh?”
My blood turned ice, phone almost slipping free at the sound of that voice. Blake’s voice. I looked up from my screen, and he was there, leaning casually against a tree that stood between two houses, his phone dangling loosely in one hand. Golden leaves, still wet from the earlier rain, scattered around his feet,their edges curling as they clung to the damp ground. He was dressed down—jeans, a plain grey t-shirt, and a jacket thrown over it. Nothing out of the ordinary, but he was the last person I expected to see. Or wanted to see.
He wore a look that said he wasn’t at all surprised to run into me. Like he hadn’t just caught me in a lie. I’d said I was far from New Orleans, but it was just five hours away from where I was—South Highland, Shreveport. I was very, very close.
“Do you not want to come to the party or you’re really busy? I thought you’d have left here by now.”
“Why are you here?” I put my phone away and walked straight, not looking at him.
“To convince you.” He pushed himself away from the tree and followed me. Why was he being clingy? Was he always like this?
“There’s no way you can bring everyone together. People’s got life now. We’re not kids anymore. People who are too busy and don’t wanna go.”
He walked beside me, shrugging. “Everyone’s coming. Except you.”
I snorted. “That’s impossible. People are eventually going to cancel.”
“No one is. As far as I know, everyone’s so stoked to meet their friends again. You should come see your friends, too. I’m sure they miss you.”
I sighed, shaking my head. I’d cut ties with them two years ago, and they would have forgotten about me. “No, they don’t.”
“Hmm, you sure about that?”
I stared briefly at him. “What?”
He sighed, brought up his phone and typed.
“What are you doing?” I knew what he was doing. “Don’t. Blake—” The grocery bag hit the ground as I tried to stop Blakefrom contacting anybody, but it was too late, a feminine voice filtered through his phone speaker, halting me.
Not just one voice, three voices. All girls. I shifted away from Blake as he brought his phone screen to his face and waved.
“Hi.”
“Hey, Blake,” they chorused.
My heart hammered in my ears. Gosh, I’d missed them.
“Jade, remember I said I have a surprise for you,” Blake said, and I glared at him, though he wasn’t looking at me.
“What surprise? You didn’t tell us you’ve been hooking up with a posh boy,” Katy teased, and the other two laughed. Jade had the same unique voice, one she got from her singer motherwho gave birth when she was a teenager, just two weeks after she got married to jade’s father.
“C'mon. He told me that around two hours ago. Shortly after you guys came in. What is it, Blake?”
“Well,” Blake glanced at me before bringing me close. “Tadaa!”
