“He beat me by one slice. I still hate him for it.”
We all laughed and could see Ashton relax slightly. This was not exactly the evening I had imagined, but we seemed locked in at this point. Isabella laid her head against my arm and sighed.
“Well, if you want a rematch, I know a good pizza joint.”
The five of us fell into conversation. Thankfully we avoided the talk of the past and stuck to easy topics like school and which teachers we liked and disliked. Jenny was quiet most of the time; it made me feel like she was hiding something. I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that suddenly crept over me.
“Hey Josh, can I talk to you for a minute?”
He looked startled.
“Um… sure.”
Encouraging him, I noted, “We won’t go far.”
I squeezed Isabella’s hand reassuringly before heading just slightly out of earshot of the others, Josh at my heels.
The cost of making sure Jenny was really okay: ten minutes with a guy named Josh.
Isabella
It was a really strange night. As I watched Liam walk off with Josh, I hoped everything was okay. The longer the evening went on, the more tense Liam seemed to have gotten. After the initial awkwardness, I thought the conversation had remained light and happy. Clearly something was bothering Liam, though.
“How long have you and Liam been dating?”
I turned back to Jenny, surprised to hear her voice. She was unusually quiet, but I assumed that was just natural as neither her brother nor Josh seemed to think it was odd. Blushing, I sighed.
“Since the assignment started. We hit it off right away and just started to date.”
She frowned.
“Just like that? You weren’t nervous that he could possibly end up being a bad guy?”
Hesitating for a moment, I shook my head.
“He’s done nothing to make me believe that. It’s always a risk, I suppose, but it’s hard to ignore someone that seems to understand me just because there is a fear of the unknown. I had an ex that turned out to be not so great. The fact that Liam doesn’t remind me of him at all makes me hopeful.”
Looking back to her, I whispered, “How about you and Josh? Is there any potential there?”
It was Ashton, however, that answered.
“My sister doesn’t date.”
Jenny rolled her eyes, but I saw her glance to Josh and blush slightly when her brother looked away. Maybe Josh had a chance after all. I wish her brother would stop hovering. Even my family wasn’t this overprotective of me. Jenny spoke so softly; I almost missed it.
“I think Josh is a good guy.”
“Don’t get any ideas, Jenny. It’s not happening.”
Her voice felt angry when she spoke to her brother.
“All I said was he was a nice guy. I’m not getting any ideas, Ashton. He is just a friend. I’m not going to suddenly forget everything that happened to me because I met one new person.”
The silence grew thick and I started looking toward Liam. I must have looked like a deer caught in headlights because he gave me a silent apology for leaving me alone.
“I like the way he looks at you.”
My eyes turned back to Jenny in surprise again.
