“It depends on what you want in the end. If Shoshana wanteda stable marriage and for her family business to succeed—maybe she made the right choice.” I looked up at him. “What would you want? If you everdidwant something long-term.”
He glanced across the room to his moms. They stood with their backs to each other, talking to separate sets of people, but we could still see their hands held behind their backs. “If I wanted something long-term... I’d want to get it right, you know?”
I did know. “How would you know if it was right?”
“I think it would feel easy. Like”—he looked at me—“like I could be me.”
And I felt a zing. Because I felt like I was being me with Tyler, and I thought he might feel like he was being himself with me. I felt like we clicked. And I felt like—
I felt like I’d felt three and a half years ago, but I refused to go down the same dead-end path again. We had struck a deal, nothing more. “Want to meet my great-uncle now? I still owe you three meetings.”
Tyler’s lids lowered, reminding me of nothing so much as a cat about to pounce. He nodded over to where Isaac stood in a clump with Noah and Abby and a few others. “Let’s talk to Isaac first.”
“What?” Alarm fizzed through me at the idea of Tyler and Isaac being in the same space. “Why?”
“He works for your uncle. He’ll have the scoop.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
Tyler raised his brows. “What are you afraid of?”
“Nothing. As long as you don’t embarrass me.”
“Please.” He scoffed. “This’ll make him notice you more.”
My mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”
Tyler shrugged, nonchalantly confident. “If he sees you with me, he’ll think other guys are interested in you, and pay more attention. Supply and demand.”
“You’re ridiculous.” I glanced over at Isaac. “Besides, I don’t want to give him the wrong idea. I don’t want him to think I’m—you know, interested in someone else.”
“It might make him competitive.”
I considered. In TV shows and movies, I liked when two boys had a heated confrontation over a girl, but it turned out in real life, the idea made me squirm. “I don’t think I’d like someone who got more into me because he saw me with another guy. It wouldn’t feel genuine.”
“Fair.”
Still, a flicker of curiosity taunted me. “What about you? If you saw a girl with another boy, would you want her more?”
His expression made me think I’d surprised him. “No,” he finally said. “I’m not interested in people who aren’t completely interested in me.”
“Hmm,” I said. “You do like to be the center of attention.”
“It’s because I’m naturally the center of attention.” He bopped the center of my forehead like I was a puppy. “It’s good for the world to be in its natural order.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Okay. Let’s go.”
I marched over to Isaac, though I tried to alter my gait into a less militaristic movement as we reached his circle. “Hey, guys,” I said brightly, then turned to Isaac. “This is Tyler. Our neighbor. Um, this is his place. Well, his moms’, obviously.”
Beside me, Tyler brimmed with silent laughter. “Hey.”
Isaac nodded. “Hey.”
“Tyler, my man.” Ethan slung his arm over Tyler’s shoulder. “Great party, loving the floating tea candles.”
“Thanks, I worked really hard on those.”
“They’re no joke. Also, I appreciate how all the adults are going crazy over the photo booth.”
