Chapter 14 #3
“Yeah, we were together,” Amelia stammered, brushing it aside. “I’m gonna get a drink. What do you want, June?”
That indicated that she wanted to change the subject, but I didn’t give up.
“Well, what happened?” I insisted.
“We went out, and it didn’t end well. That’s it,” she concluded robotically, as if she was reciting lines from a play. “Come on, Ari. Let’s get a juice.” She made air quotes as she said those words and reached the door. “I’ll be pissed if you tell my brother. Got it, Poppy?”
The pair disappeared, and I was alone with Poppy. Just the right person if I wanted to know what was going on.
Finding out about James Hunter’s life was certainly not my priority, but if I wanted to date his best friend, I had to at least ascertain the gravity of the situation.
I put my hands between my knees.
“What happened between Amelia and James Hunter? Did they really go out?”
Poppy fanned her hands to dry her polish. “One night during Tiffany’s birthday party, Jesus, June, it was a shit show,” she replied, unnerved.
“What happened?” I whispered, keeping an eye on the door.
“You wouldn’t get it if I told you. It all started years ago. Brian and James went to elementary school together. They were friends—” She suddenly cut herself off. We weren’t alone anymore.
Amelia was back with two glasses brimming with something that looked like orange soda.
“Poppy, just a fruit juice for you,” she warned.
I felt guilty. I didn’t want them to fight because of me, but on the other hand I was only asking for some honesty.
“Look, June, I know it seems ridiculous to you, but last year was a tough year for my family, and yes, I was with him, but—” Amelia curled her lips, trying to figure out what to say.
“Then he cheated on her. He cheated on you, didn’t he?” Ari interrupted, coming to Amelia’s rescue.
They both nodded. Poppy looked down. They were lying. It made my stomach turn. I felt excluded.
“Is that all?” I asked, not hiding my frustration.
“No, well—” Poppy started, but Amelia cut her off curtly.
“Yeah, that’s all.”
A honk interrupted our conversation. The girls exchanged a look.
“Who is it?”
“It’s James’s car,” exclaimed Ari, looking out the window “Will’s at the door.”
“I can’t believe it. He came here for you, June!”
Ari’s hazelnut-colored eyes lit up. “How romantic.” She mock swooned.
“Who told him I’d be here?”
I looked around, befuddled, but nobody answered.
“Come here.” Amelia grabbed my arm as Poppy handed her some lipstick.
“Oh, no, no.”
“We know you already look great, but a little makeup won’t hurt. I’ll put this on you.” I didn’t know what shade it was until I looked in the mirror. A violent shade of purple covered my lips, making them look huge.
“What on earth?”
“Go, go! Don’t make him wait.” Ari pushed me.
For a minute I felt like a guinea pig in a lab experiment, but I ignored that feeling and went downstairs.
William was waiting for me at the door wearing a dark-colored shirt and a dazzling grin. I looked past his shoulders.
James Hunter was leaning against the black Mustang car door, turning on his vape pen. He had his hood up, which created a big shadow that covered his face.
“I came here to apologize for yesterday, June.” William stared at me intensely.
“No need to apologize, Will. Really.”
“Yes, there is. Last night was a disaster, and it was all my fault.”
“Uh.” I should’ve objected, but I didn’t.
“Give me another chance.”
“Say yes!”
I tensed. William looked up, and I looked toward where his gaze was directed at a big window. I wasn’t surprised; Amelia, Poppy, and Ari were spying.
“Yes,” I accepted.
I heard a chorus of cheers.
His gray eyes turned to me, and I felt my knees tremble.
“Tomorrow night. Party at my house. Wanna come?”
Of course. You’ll tell my mom, right?
“Um, Will . . .”
Was I being stupid? Probably. I didn’t even have the courage to look him in the eyes.
William stared at my lips, and I wanted to pass out. The lipstick was really gutsy. Why didn’t I wipe it off? What if they were trying to make an idiot of me? The thought was absurd, but it was hard to push it away.
“June, I also came to tell you something else.”
I looked at his perfectly styled hair and then at his delicate face.
“I’m not used to going out with girls.”
That was absurd. William was so beautiful that I inevitably asked myself what was wrong with the other girls in school since they only had eyes for that . . .
I looked over William’s shoulders at James.
He kept his head down, but I felt the tension as soon as he lifted his blue eyes to stare at me.
I felt a chill immediately. I didn’t want to feel that sensation, but it crawled across my skin and made me forget about the lipstick, William, and the girls’ giggling.
There was something irresistible about his gaze.
It was like balancing on a tightrope with my eyes closed.
“June, I wanna keep seeing you. I know I have questionable friends, but they’ve been part of my life forever.
James is like a brother to me. I can’t turn my back on him. ”
“Did he say that?”
“Yeah, obviously in his own way.”
“I can imagine.”
“You can’t turn your back on me to get laid.” William did an impression of James stretching out his shoulders and puffing out his chest, making me laugh.
“Obviously, I don’t think of you like that,” he added quickly.
“Don’t worry. I don’t think you think . . . well, you know what I mean,” I stuttered, before getting permanently tongue-tied.
We stood there, alternating between grinning at each other and looking down at the ground. William bit his lip like he was holding back a sigh of relief.
“You have no idea how hard it was to get him to bring me here.”
“I bet he had quite a tantrum.” I heard James clear his throat a bit.
“Damn it, can you guys talk about anything besides me?” he asked. I didn’t worry about it.
“What d’you think of fate, Will?” I asked quietly, hoping nobody else would hear me.
“That’s a tough question. Um.” William massaged the nape of his neck nervously. He was already embarrassed. That question seemed to throw him off even more, but I was pleasantly surprised by his answer.
“Something like, ‘Oh, my locker and June’s are close. Thanks, fate’?”
I held back a chuckle.
“So you’re really coming?” he prodded, as my cheeks burned. “Admit it, my impersonation skills won you over.” William pushed a lock of my hair behind my ear. I felt his fingers softly caress my cheek.
And we heard honking.
“Time’s up, Romeo. We gotta go.”
I closed my eyes. “I hate him.”
“I know. I swear I’m all yours tomorrow night,” joked William, before taking my hand and squeezing it.
The chatter upstairs resumed.
“Too many people around. I gotta go. See you tomorrow night, June.” William leaned in and kissed me on the jaw. I felt a sensation of na?ve sweetness and happiness that was immediately gone when I met James’s sharp stare.