“Believe me, Ireallydon’t have a thing for him. I just don’t liketalking about it. Would you want to go around telling everyone you met about the most embarrassing moment of your life? I’d blot it from reality if I could.”
“True. Those comments...”
I cringe. The first rule of going viral:neverread the comments.
“So we’re cool?”
“Yeah, we’re cool. But... there’s nothing else you should warn me about, right? No more videos floating around online?”
I bite my lip, thoughts warring with each other. There’s plenty he still doesn’t know about me, but nothing like this. Nothing important.
“No more videos.”
“Good.” He exhales into the phone. “So what did you want to ask me about?”
I’m still so caught up thinking about the video that it takes me a second to remember. “Right, um, do you want to have dinner tonight? A bunch of us are going to the pub on Derngate around six.”
“As much as I like your friends, I’d rather spend the evening alone with you.”
“I want to spend time alone with you too, but there’s actually a special reason I thought you might want to come.” I pace in front of a palm tree, nervous. Maybe this isn’t the best time to bring it up. I wish I’d waited until we were together to mention it, but it’s too late now. “So, um, we’re thinking of traveling over our break and... well, we wanted your opinion. Since you’ve traveled so much.” I scrunch up my face. Ugh, spit it out! “And, I mean, if you’re interested, you could maybe come with us. And I thinkHuan is asking Frank, so maybe he’ll be there too. It’ll be a bigger group, but it could be fun. Unless you’re sick of traveling, which would totally make sense. So no pressure if you don’t want to, but—you know—I just wanted to mention it.”
I’m about to hyperventilate, but luckily Will chuckles and says, “One phone call to you and my whole week turns around. The idea of going somewhere with you sounds brilliant, even if we’re in a crowd of hundreds.”
I collapse back onto the bench. Thank god he didn’t want to FaceTime.
That night I slide into a seat next to Will at the pub with the rest of the group. We’re crammed around a few small tables we had to push together to make room.
Will squeezes my hand. “I’ve missed you,” he whispers.
“I missed you too.”
Will waves cheerfully to the others and we scan the menu. When I came to England I was expecting fish and chips and not much else, but the options are amazing. Who knew you could order fried squid at a pub? The conversation turns from Emberton classes to the differences between British and American TV and I take a breath in relief. Will doesn’t seem different after learning about the video. No weirdness at all.
“So, Will?” Dev says when there’s a lull in the conversation. “I heard you’re thinking of investing in a brewery. Have you made any progress with that?”
“Oh, I’ve been off that for a while. Actually, I had a new thought while I was in Manchester—sustainable energy sources.”He turns to me, his eyes wide with excitement. “It’s clear that’s where the world is headed.”
“There’s some cool stuff being done out there,” Huan replies. “Have you heard how they can produce energy from ocean waves? It’s amazing.”
Will shrugs into his beer.
Frank snorts. “I can assure you he has not. Believe me, it’s best not to spend much time investing in Will’sinvestments—he’s always on to the next thing.” Despite the harsh words, Frank grins over at Will good-naturedly. “He’s been like that since we were lads together.”
Will chuckles. “He’s not entirely wrong, but I’m serious this time.”
“So you’re a big environmentalist, then?” Dev asks. I can easily hear the sarcasm in his tone, but Will seems oblivious.
“Not particularly. But if it can make me money and get my father to leave me alone, then I’m all for the environment.” He laughs and Frank joins in, but Dev stares at his drink, his eyes narrowed.
Sage raises her eyebrows at me and I squirm in my seat. Sitting here, it’s hitting me how little time my friends have spent around Will. Almost zero time, really. And this topic isn’t bringing out his best side. If everyone knew more about his rocky relationship with his dad, they’d understand why he’s desperate to be independent of him. Still, a tendril of doubt creeps into my mind. Maybe inviting Will on the trip wasn’t my best idea.
“Anyway, enough chitchat.” Huan eyes me meaningfully and leans into the table. “We have more important matters to talkabout—like our trip.”
“For Thanksgiving,” I add.
“Yes, I’ve heard of it.” Will winks at me. “There’s usually turkey, right? And stampedes for cheap tellies?”
“Not just TVs. Cell phones too,” Huan adds.
