“Not necessarily, James.”
They kept talking cryptically, which piqued my interest even more.
“You’ll see, you’ll back me up. It’s just like I’m saying, Will,” sputtered James.
“Look, I don’t care. I like her.”
“Her? She’s the classic type of chick who will make mountains out of molehills with you after only three weeks.”
Oh, because in this criminal’s mind, three weeks would be enough?
“James, you promised me.”
I saw William’s jaw clench and his expression get darker, but James didn’t take the hint to stop.
“And you promised you’d help me tonight, Will.”
“Not now.”
“Why?”
“Maybe I want to talk to her.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s not bullshit. I’m with her because I want to be. She’s pretty, smart, and I like her. Quit being a dickhead.” William cut him off before turning around.
But that didn’t sit well with James, and he blocked Will before he could come back to me.
“She’s an insufferable bitch.”
“Look, do I say anything when you’re with Sammy, Becky, Tiffany?”
“Taylor, you forgot Taylor.”
I only realized I’d said something as I heard my own voice. James clenched his jaw. He seemed like a dog on a chain, and this would’ve made me laugh under other circumstances, but this time I put my hands over my mouth.
“You shouldn’t go back on your word, Will.” And he left, swaggering with a superiority complex, as if we were poor morons and he was god’s gift to the world.
“High-maintenance friendship, huh,” I pointed out when William came back to the table.
“I know it seems hard to believe, but James really is a good friend.” I decided not to dispute that. I didn’t want to fight with a guy who objectively hadn’t done anything wrong, especially because he had defended me and said a lot of nice things about me.
We finished our drinks and started talking about school. In order to avoid talking about James, I ranted about the shortcomings of the American education system.
“Wanna walk around outside? Actually, no, you know what? I challenge you to a game of bowling,” Will suggested at one point, amused.
“You don’t stand a chance, William Cooper. You’re up against the unbeatable bowling champion.” I solemnly put my finger up.
Obviously, that wasn’t true. I was getting a sugar high from the milkshake, or maybe I was just happy.
She’s pretty, smart, and I like her.
I was clearly over the moon, but that came to a grinding halt when William’s phone vibrated. He glanced at the screen and his expression changed suddenly.
“I gotta answer. It’s my dad. I’ll be right back.”
He left me at the front door.
