“Are you guys ready for apple cider yet?” Coco asked me. “It’s freezing out here.” Her gaze moved to the giant plaid coat I wore, and her confused expression widened to another level of concern.
“I’m ready,” I answered casually, ignoring her jumping eyebrows and obvious glances at Levi. “Are you ready, Max?”
“Ready!” he cheered. “I got so much candy. It’s going to last me three years!”
We’d be lucky if it lasted three months, but I let him have his moment.
Levi took a step back, in the opposite direction we were headed. We all noticed.
“Are you going to drink apple cider with us, Levi?” Max asked.
He shook his head and I would have to thank Coco for her perfect timing. “Nah, not tonight, buddy. All that walking around wore me out.”
“You headed to Finch’s?” Coco asked.
“Not sure.” He shrugged, his hands shoving back into his pockets. “You?”
“Yeah, I’m not sure either. My wing-woman sucks.” She gave me a pointed look. “And has to worry about bedtimes and responsibility and all that crap. I’m not sure if I want to head over there alone.”
“I know what you mean,” Levi empathized. Then he looked at me and said, “She’s useless when it comes to keeping the unwanted ones away.”
I rolled my eyes at that criticism. “Please.” Then a thought occurred to me. “You two should go together! There. I just wing-manned you both into a date. You’re welcome.”
They gave each other disgusted looks, like I’d just asked them to kiss their cousin.
“What is wrong with you?” Coco sneered.
“Are you serious?” Levi guffawed at the same time.
“Well, have a good night, whatever you decide.” I smiled pleasantly at Levi, biting back another comment about Kelly Fink. Sounding jealous right now probably wasn’t the best call. “The apple cider is calling my name.”
“I’ll talk to you later, Ruby,” Levi promised.
“Bring Star Wars!” Max chimed in.
“All right, little man.” He held my gaze a moment longer, that too soft smile tilting his lips up. “Had fun tonight, Ruby.”
“Bye, Levi.”
He disappeared into the crowd and I was left with his coat and his smell and this wild, unsettled feeling coursing through my tingling limbs.
Coco tsked when Max ran ahead to Rosie’s. “He’s got it so bad for you.”
There was no point denying it. I knew he did. I’d known he had it bad since graduation night. It was just that he’d been gone for so long, I thought for sure he would have moved on by now. “What should I do about it?”
Coco linked her arm through mine and laid her head on my shoulder. “What do you want to do about it?”
Good question. “I don’t know yet.”
“Yes, you do,” she whispered. “I’ve never known you not to know your feelings exactly. Be honest with yourself, Ruby. You deserve that after all you’ve been through.”
But did I?
I wasn’t so sure.
And besides that, Levi was complicated and messy. Things might not be perfect for Max and me, but they were clean and easy. They didn’t leave us brokenhearted and shattered. We weren’t in danger of being left behind or forgotten.
Then there was the secret between us, the one I knew Levi had suspicions about. How could I ever explain that to him? How could I ever start something with him without explaining it?
