Page 97 of Okay, Cupid

“Mhmm!” Neve’s eyes go wide when she sees us, trying her best to communicate with a mouth full of food.

“You guys made it!” Alice finally notices us. “We saved these seats.”

They each move their bags from neighboring chairs.

“Thanks.” Huy pulls mine out for me.

I don’t say anything.

“How bad was parking?” Neve asks, finally swallowing her squid.

“Just two blocks away, not that bad,” Huy answers.

“Your parents were already asking about you,” Alice tells him. “Wondering where you were.”

“We didn’t mean to be late,” Huy says over the music. “We lost track of time.”

“Doing what?” Alice asks.

Huy gives her the full view of his face, waiting for her to finally notice.

“Wait!” She reaches, grabbing his cheeks and pulling him in close. “You’re wearing makeup.”

“Jude did it,” Huy says.

“He looks so good, Jude!” Neve says.

“Better than normal.”

“Thanks.” My voice still doesn’t carry any farther than my own ears.

“Ladies, please.” Huy relaxes back into his chair. “There’s enough of me to go around.”

“Anddd you killed it,” Alice says to him. “Congrats, Jude. You made him even more insufferable.”

“I didn’t think that was possible.” Neve steals another piece of squid.

“Jude!” Alice calls me out, suddenly switching the topic of discussion. I think she sensed my discomfort. “Is this your first Tết?”

“Yeah,” I tell her, not appreciating the spotlight being on me. “I mean, I know what the Lunar New Year is, but I’ve never been to the actual festival before.”

“We call it hội chợ,” Huy tells me. “Tết is the day, the new year, and hội chợ is …” He looks around at the ensuing chaos. “All of this!”

“Aren’t you two hungry?” Alice asks. “We grabbed extra chả giò.” She pushes a plate of egg rolls toward us, which Huy is all too happy to pluck from.

“I think we’ll probably do a lap,” he says, chewing softly. “I need to find my parents.”

“They’re over there, in the corner near the stage.” Neve points before she gives Alice a sharp look. “Someone might’ve gotten dessert before she ate dinner.”

“Okay, but they were going to run out of blueberry. I didn’t want to run that risk,” Alice argues.

“That part I get, but you wolfed it down before we even found a place to sit.”

Alice looks all too proud of herself. “It was good.”

Huy laughs—and I can’t help but notice how much more comfortable they are with each other. How I caused this, how I helped these two friends find each other again.

How this is all my fault.