“Well, it’s between the chocolate one and the peanut butter one,” I say. “Or I might get both.”
He laughs. “You should definitely get both.”
We each fill a plate with desserts, and he follows me back to the table. I put my plate down and start to pull out my chair, but his hand on my arm stops me.
“Let’s dance first,” he says.
The band is playing a slow song. There are several couples on the dance floor, including Jason and Sara.
“Okay,” I say, and follow him to the dance floor.
We face each other and he puts his hands on my waist, pulling me close. Really close. Close enough that it takes nothing for me to slide my hands over his shoulders and around his neck. We move with the music, and I don’t dare look around the room to see which of my family members are watching us. I wish more than ever that we were somewhere else. Somewhere that we weren’t the subject of no less than five different conversations right now.
“Did Laurel go home?” I ask, and then want to beat my head against the wall. Why am I bringing her up? So stupid.
“She went to meet friends,” he answers.
“Oh,” I say. It’s a lame response, but it’s all I can muster when what I really want to do is grab him by the shirt and shout,Tell me everything.
And I can tell he wants to say more. He actually opens his mouth, but no words come out. Finally, he says, “Her parents and grandparents were also invited tonight. They were all here earlier. She asked me the other night while we were at her grandparents’ house if we could go to this together and figure things out between us. We talked on the way over here, and we both agreed we want different things. She bailed as soon as her family did so she could hit another party across town. I guess you can say we’ve gotten closure.”
“Closure,” I repeat. This feels big. But am I reading too much into it? Is he just talking this out with his friend?
“When I drove Peter home and he told me he wasn’t going to make it to your date, Laurel was already on the way to my house.”
Oh God. I can read a thousand things into what he’s saying. A million.
“It worked out for the best. I’m not sure how good of a date I would have been with all of my family here,” I say.
“Peter was pretty bummed.” He gives me a small smile. “Just like I was when I couldn’t step in for him.”
Before I can say anything, Charlie pops up next to us, one hand on Wes’s shoulder, his other hand on mine. I want to scream.
He looks at Wes. “Two choices: one, we take all those plants back to the shop first thing in the morning like we planned, or two, we do it tonight after the party and won’t have to be at work until ten.”
Wes finally looks away from me to Charlie. “Tonight. I’d love to sleep in tomorrow.”
“Same!” Charlie says, patting us both. “This thing is almost over, so let’s get started on the ones outside. I’ll pull the truck up.”
And then he’s gone.
The song ends as if on cue, and Wes’s hands slowly fall from my waist. I drag my hands away from him, although that’s the last thing I want to do. Just before he walks off, he says, “One more date and then you’re done.”
It feels like it takes ten trips from the car to Nonna’s house to bring in all the leftovers that Eastridge packed up for us, but it’s better than what Wes and Charlie are doing. The last I saw Charlie, he was circling that giant palm like a gunslinger at a shoot-out.
My money is on the palm.
Nonna plops down in a chair and massages her bare feet. “I knew those boots were a bad idea.”
Olivia and I have to rearrange everything in the fridge just to get the extra food to fit inside. Papa shuffles in carrying a huge flower arrangement and sets it in the middle of the table. He comes up behind me and wraps me in a hug.
“I’m sorry the date didn’t work out, Sophia,” he says quietly.
I spin around and hug him back. “I had a blast! The party was fantastic, and I’m glad I could just hang out with the family.”
He seems pleased with my answer. Papa moves to Nonna and kisses her on the top of the head. “Happy birthday, my sweet girl.”
She holds his hand in hers, then brings it to her mouth, kissing his knuckles. “Thank you for my party.”
