“I think she’s okay with it. It’s not like she intentionally kept the truth from him, he just didn’t come back for her to tell him.”
“Your life is like a soap opera.” Lara shook her head.
“Tell me about it,” I sighed as Lara pulled into a parking spot a few blocks down from The Wharf. From the looks of it, it was already packed in there. We managed to snag a booth just as a couple left it.
I sat down, ignoring the pile of plates and cups on the table. A moment later, the busboy came by, collecting all the dirty dishes and wiping down our table.
“Thank you, darling,” Lara said, sending him a flirty smile. Poor kid almost dropped his tray as he scurried back to the kitchen.
“The effect you have on the opposite sex is amusing,” I remarked, grinning a little.
“Eh, it’s okay for a laugh.” She shrugged, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.
A waitress wearing black short shorts and a black T-shirt with The Wharflogo on the right breast appeared at our table, an order pad and two menus in hand. “Welcome to The Wharf, I’m Sadie and I’ll be your waitress tonight. Can I start you off with the specials?”
“We’ll just take the nacho supreme plate,” I said, going with our favourite shared meal.
“And a couple of mojitos,” Lara added with a grin.
“Sounds good!” Sadie said. “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”
Sadie was much friendlier than the waitress from the diner. Something about our encounter with her had been unsettling, and for a moment, I couldn’t help but wonder ifshe’dleaked our location. She had seemed to be the only one paying attention to us.
Just because she’d been somewhat unfriendly, it didn’t mean she was to blame for the photos. She was still working when we left the diner.
“Hello! Earth to Connor!” Lara said, waving her hand impatiently in front of my face. I’d zoned out, staring after our retreating waitress.
“Sorry. I was just thinking about that post onCelebrity Hearsay,” I sighed.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure nobody recognized it was you.”
“Except, I’m one of the only people they hang out with who has red hair,” I pointed out dryly. “If you figured it out, it’s only a matter of time before they do.”
“So come clean then. You’ve been in love with Dare since before I even knew you. What are you so concerned about?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I just…I know my dad’s going to make a big deal about it. I just wanted to get through graduation first.”
“That’s coming up soon. Four weeks, remember? And why would your dad make a big deal about it?”
“He doesn’t like Dare. Or Evan. Blames them both for Calum leaving,” I sighed.
“He’ll have to get over it then.” She shrugged. “You’re an adult, you’ll see who you want to see. As far as I can tell, Dare’s a great guy. He cares about you, and he cares about Calum. You have my stamp of approval.”
“Well, good. Because he’s joining us tonight—with Evan.”
“Wait, does Evan know? That’s so not fair!” Lara pouted.
“He guessed it,” I answered, smiling apologetically.
“What doeshehave to say about it?”
“Same thing you did. We should tell Cal because hiding it makes it look bad,” I replied, sighing again. “But like I said, Cal’s got so much going on right now. My dating life is the least of his concerns.”
Sadie returned with our drinks, plunking them on the table in front of us with a huge smile. “I’ll bring your nachos in a few!” she promised, shuffling off to deal with another table.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
Dare
