Luckily, Ji passes me a glue stick then doubles down on her crafting. I can only hope that’s the end of it—whatever had her looking at me like that.
An hour later, Ji and I are halfway through the rose balls when my phone alarm goes off. Time to check up on my mom.
“Sorry,” I tell Ji, motioning to the phone.
“No worries.” Ji’s chair scrapes across the floor as she stands and yawns. “I think I’m going to call it a night anyway. Thanks for all your help.”
“Sure,” I say.
“And tell your mom hi and that my mom loved the quilt she made for my new niece. It was adorable.”
“Will do.” I send Ji a small wave goodnight and head outside.
After my call goes to voicemail two times, I start pacing around the bushes below the wraparound porch outside Paige, Missy, and Ji’s house. Finally, Mom answers after the third try. I swear she’s just messing with me these days.
I ask her how her day was and if she got the new medication that should have been delivered this morning. Her voice brightens as she assures me she’s got everything she needs. Mymom sounds happy tonight, if a little distracted. After a short conversation, I tell her goodnight, and we hang up. It’s not an in-depth check-in but enough for me to sleep well, knowing she’s okay.
After I pocket my phone, I hear the softest purr beneath me. Cabby Cat winds between my legs before plopping her furry body right on top of my toes. I bend down and pick her up, bringing her face up to my nose. “Hey, Cabby Girl,” I croon in a voice only reserved for her.
The faint creaking of door hinges pulls my attention to the lighted front door as both Paige and Ian step out. My eyes dart around, wondering where I can go that won’t make me look like I’m spying on them from the shadowy corners of the lawn. Cabby gets tucked under my arm football-style as I make a beeline for the bushes.
Several branches catch on my shirt, but I crouch farther into the foliage regardless. Cabby, however, is not so gung ho about this plan and starts crawling up my shirt like she’s Tom Cruise scaling buildings in Dubai.
“Well, I guess this is goodnight,” Ian says, pulling the strap of his guitar case over his shoulder. He stands on the porch step right below Paige, putting them at eye level.
I don’t need a dating manual to tell me what will happen next. Ian trails a hand down her arm and takes Paige’s hand, apparently ramping up for the big moment. But just when I think he’s going in for the kiss, he slides his hand out of hers, does a little wiggle with his fingers, fist-bumps her limp hand twice, then snaps.
What is he doing? He had everything lined up, and it’s like he glitched at the last second.
Paige’s laugh is airy but flat, not necessarily a bad sign for Ian but enough to tell me she’s forcing some part of her reaction. “Oh, was that…”
“Yep. Remember our handshake from freshman-year government class?”
“It’s been so long—I totally forgot about that,” Paige says.
Ian brings up his hand, and they try the handshake again. This time, Paige tries to get into it, but she wiggles her fingers when he fist-bumps, and they both end up laughing it off.
“We’ll work on it.” Ian smiles. “Night, Pages.”
“Goodnight.” Paige watches Ian get into his car and pull out of the driveway before she waves to him.
I wait to hear the front door click open and shut, but Paige is taking her sweet time. Meanwhile, in the bushes, my quads burn with the intensity of a thousand suns while Cabby claws at me like I’m her personal cat tower.
“Jordan Miller, in the bushes, with my cat,” Paige says from above me.
I yelp, falling forward onto my hands and knees as Cabby leaps to the grass and disappears around the house. “Paige!”
“Mm-hmm? Spying, were we?” Paige leans her crossed arms against the railing, looking down at me as the porch light illuminates her face.
I crawl out from the bushes and flop onto the grass, facing her. “I was just trying to get a glimpse of that steamy goodnight handshake.”
“Jordan!” she says in her most chastising tone.
I smile and get to my feet, brushing dirt and grass from my body. “I was calling my mom, but then Ian and you came outside, and I didn’t want to give stalker vibes…”
“So you hid in the bushes?” Paige walks toward the porch steps. “How very not stalkery of you.”
“If I’m not mistaken, you were crouching behind a bush when we first met. You’re like the OG shrub stalker.” I meet Paige halfway and take a seat on the middle porch step.
