Page 62 of Okay, Cupid

“What?” He looks at me with obvious confusion.

“In the gym? Did you push me into Huy?”

“I didn’t. I pushed the lady who pushed you.”

“Why would you do that? I had everything under control.”

“You’re seriously angry?” He crosses his arms. “You were the one taking forever just to spill cake on a shirt.”

I’m not angry; I’m more annoyed. I had a plan, and it was my decision to pick the moment to strike. I didn’t need Cal to make that call for me.

“I was going to do it. I was totally in control,” I tell him. “This is my assignment, remember?”

“I do,” Cal tells me. “Do you?”

“Whatever.” I lean against the wall. He’s right. It’s dumb to be mad right now. There are more pressing matters at hand. It doesn’t matter how it happened. What matters is that it did.

“Well …” Cal looks toward the door. “Should we listen in on them? Neve is heading out to the closest corner store for some fizz. I’d guess that’ll give us about five more minutes.”

I hesitate, wondering if that’s the right move before I nod at Cal. We squat low to the floor, daring to open the door just an inch.

“You think it’ll come out?” I hear Huy ask.

“Dude.” Alice sighs. “I have no idea. I think you’re only making it worse.”

“Jude and Neve are supposed to come back with something. Maybe it’ll help.”

There’s a beat of silence, the sound of scrubbing. I can only guess that Huy didn’t listen to what I told him.

Then Alice says, “You and Jude seem like good friends.”

Huy doesn’t answer, not right away at least. There seems to be an eternity that stretches on and on between her question and when Huy finally gives her an answer.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Then another pause before Huy asks, “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Alice …”

“I was just making an observation.”

“But I know what you were thinking,” he says. I wish I knew what she was thinking.

“No, you don’t.”

“I know you better than you think.”

That’s when the bubble bursts. “You haven’t known me for years, Huy. So don’t start now.”

It feels so wrong to be here, to listen to this conversation.

“Alice, I …”

She doesn’t say anything.

Huy pauses, and for a moment, I think he’s going to let this slip away, to let this conversation pass by, set me back weeks.

But he doesn’t.