She giggled mischievously in response, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to muzzle her or run.Here we go, I thought. This was the part where she would drag me along on some adventure that I hated at first, but would eventually grow to love. At leastmostof the time, that was how it ended up working out.
"Just bear with me, okay? You're going to have fun. I promise!" If she had to go as far promising fun, then it meant there was a high probability that I wouldn’t have any.
The bigger the pitch from Kenz, the harder the sell for me.
"Get to the point, Kenz."
"So Tanner is bringing his friend, and I thought it would be just super fun and exciting to maybe set you up on another date with him!" she blurted.
I sighed and rubbed my forehead exasperatedly. McKenzie and Tanner had been in another world entirely at dinner that night if she thought another evening with Nathan would be fun for me. Had she even looked at me for a second, she would have caught the digs. There would have been no way she would have missed the references to the pranks he and his friends pulled on me in high school, the names they’d called me, and the ways they’d tortured me. She also would have picked up on his total denial that any of it had ever taken place and the tidbits he did “admit” to, he almost made them sound cute and innocent—jerk.
"McKenzie… I don’t know." I didn't bother to remind her of any of the details she’d missed on the date. I didn't want to dampen her good mood by telling her my depressing high school story. And the truth was, it was embarrassing and wasn’t something I cared to relive. Even the casual innuendo I’d tossed out to Nathan here and there at dinner was more than I really wanted to rehash. So I took the easy way out. "Look, I have a lot of homework to do. I need to study for this exam, and—"
"Oh, but he's super, super hot and sweet and smart, and I think you two would actually get along really well once you spent more time together," she argued.
I raised my brow. “You barely know him, Kenz.”
"Neither do you,” she quipped back, and it took everything in me to keep my mouth shut. “Look, just trust me on this one. When have I ever led you astray?"
"Uh, I could think of a few times, actually.”
"It was a rhetorical question," she responded, placing her hands on her narrow hips. "Okay, okay, I know, not all my ideas pan out perfectly, but this is for real. You've been talking about how lonely you are and how none of those stupid dating apps have ever worked out for you, so why not try something different?" she pleaded. "Give Nathan a chance."
“I’m not lonely, I’m busy.” It was a lie, and we both knew it.
“Life is about connecting, Eli. What’s the point of creating an amazing life if you don’t have anyone to share it with?”
Ugh. I hated when she had a good point. If I were honest, Nathanwasreally good-looking, and when I’d shut my mouth long enough to listen when he spoke to me, he was funny and seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. Maybe he had changed?
And maybe hell had frozen over.
Either way, my BFF needed me, and I was never one to shirk my duties. Plus, I’d get a free popcorn and soda out of it. Oh, and M&M’s—can’t forget those. That had to count as a win, right?
There was alsoanotherreason to go. The one I conveniently kept telling myself didn’t matter. A reason that was beneath me.
See, there was a part of me thatwantedto see him again.
Why? Because I wanted to shove the new me in his face. To let him see that all the shit he’d put me through hadn’t ruined me. That seeing him again didn’t intimidate me. That the hold he had on me was gone.
Fuck, high school really did a number on some of us, didn’t it?
"Fine. I'll do it,” I said. "But if things go to shit, I’m out of there in a heartbeat. Got it?”
"Of course!" she cheered excitedly. "But it won’t, because this is going to be awesome.” Kenzie bounced on the balls of her feet when she clapped her hands together. “I have one of my feelings." Herfeelingsusually led to one or both of us drunk with a hula hoop on a bar top— which, thankfully, didn’t happen often. But when Kenziegot a feeling, shegot a feeling.
"Give me a few minutes to get ready." I headed over to my room to change into a slightly more appropriate outfit than pajama pants and an oversized T-shirt. As I started to undress and change into some sensible jeans and a blouse, McKenzie piped up again.
"Oh, we're meeting them at a restaurant down the street from the theater first. It's nothing fancy. I figured we'd grab a quick bite to eat, and then we'd head over to the movies and see what's playing when we get there!" she said. I nodded begrudgingly.
Everything about McKenzie was spontaneous, and right now, I kind of despised it. I didn't want to ruin her third date, so I was going to have to suck it up and spend the evening with Nathan Phillips. If I were honest, there had been moments that were tolerable—like when he’d talked about his niece and his dog. Things that made him seem less… terrible. And more human. Maybe I could get him to tell me about them again.
I quickly changed clothes and walked into our shared bathroom. I never was one for wearing much makeup or using a lot of hair products. The two sides of the sink couldn't possibly be any different. On her side, it looked like a Sephora store had exploded, leaving behind dozens of high-end palettes, creams, pencils, and powders, while mine had a few basic products arranged neatly in a semicircle. Pretty much just a concealer and a neutral eyeshadow palette that I had owned for years. I touched up my face a bit and applied a light coat of brown mascara.
"Eli, let's go," McKenzie shouted as I put the cap back onto the tube. For someone who wanted my company so bad, she sure didn’t want to give me much time to make myself presentable.
"I'm coming, I'm coming," I said and jogged after her. She was already on her way toward the car and was sliding into the driver's seat as I reached her.
"Aw, don't you look cute," she said as she put the car into drive.
