“Okay, fine. I… find her interesting,” I amended.
She laughed. “Marley Hoffmann finding someone interesting is basically a love confession.”
“Please.” I scoffed.
“Tell me about her
I stared at the calm water in front of us.
“Let’s see. She’s quiet, observant, overthinks everything, tries to act put together, but I can see the panic under it. Plus, she’s smart as hell. Stubborn, too.”
Atlas didn’t say anything, which, frankly, was suspicious.
When I looked at her, she was smiling as if she had just solved a puzzle.
“You’re gone,” she said softly.
“I’m not gone.”
She burst out laughing. “Oh, you’re gone gone.”
I rolled my eyes, but the corner of my mouth betrayed me.
And annoyingly, all I could think about was how Kelechi’s face had lit up when I did something as small as opening a car door for her.
Was it possible that no one had ever done something that simple for her?
“She’s… different, though. She’s a good girl. I’ve noticed that she blushes when I look at her too long, and she runs from me but keeps looking back like she doesn’t want to.”
“And?”
“I don’t know.” I exhaled. “I don’t have it all figured out. And I’m pretty sure she’s as straight as a line.”
Atlas grinned and stood, extending a hand towards me.
“That sounds equal parts terrifying and wonderful. But maybe don’t jump to conclusions. And who knows, you might be the exact kind of trouble she needs.”
Or maybe I’m the fire she knows will burn her, and she still can’t stop touching it, I thought.
“Come on, let’s go back inside before Carmen sends a search party. But Mar?”
“Yeah?”
“Maybe this time, don’t think so hard about it. Just see what happens.”
She linked her arm through mine, and we walked slowly back towards the house, the music growing louder with every step.
But my mind remained quiet, stuck on Tuesday afternoon in the library.
Stuck on the way, Kelechi had whispered “Oh” in that breathless voice of hers.
She could be straight, Marley.
The thought lodged itself in my chest in a way I couldn’t ignore.
“So, what questions do you think we should ask the people we’re interviewing?” Kelechi asked.
We were in the same corner spot as last time, except now it was nearly 9 p.m. and we’d been racking our brains for three hours straight.
