Chapter 13 #2
“He’s being modest. When we first went to the market, we didn’t know we had to bring our own booth, so we had nowhere to store our supplies. Poor Brennan here had to go back and forth to the truck so many times. If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t have been able to sell much.”
“Happy to help,” he says. “I know I’m only here for a short time, but I love that I’ve found a way to give back to the town that’s given me so much.”
Good looks and a good heart? I’m finally starting to see a silver lining in this town, and it’s in the form of a six-foot, brown-eyed, ruggedly handsome do-gooder.
Brennan might be the one redeeming quality about this godforsaken town.
And since we won’t be here long enough, it can’t develop into anything serious.
Besides, what’s wrong with a little harmless flirtation?
“I can relate.” I lean in, fluttering my lashes. “Charity is something that’s near and dear to my heart.” I place my hands on my chest.
Gavin’s eyes narrow. “Since when?”
“Since forever. I’m quite charitable,” I say through gritted teeth.
After events I always donate my gowns to auctions for nonprofit organizations, and that time I did a GRWM collab with Seventeen’s prom issue, I negotiated the terms to have the magazine cover the cost of the venue for our junior prom in lieu of payment.
If that’s not charitable, I don’t know what is.
But I can’t tell him that without revealing too much of ourselves in front of Brennan and Callie, so I’m forced to grin and bear it.
“That’s something you and I have in common, then,” Brennan says with a smile that reaches his eyes.
“Maybe there’s something we can work on together while I’m here,” I suggest. And who knows? Maybe we’ll discover we have more in common than charity.
“I’m sure there will be plenty of volunteer opportunities while you’re here, even if it’s only for a short time,” Brennan says. He leans toward me with a smolder-y look I’m more than familiar with. As the object of many people’s affections, I know flirty when I see it.
“Yes, I’m sure Elena would love to volunteer. What about the next farmer’s market?” Gavin suggests.
I know he’s trying to pull one over me, but little does Gavin know that he’s helping me with my master plan to spend more time with Brennan. “I’d love to come.” I lean closer to Brennan, showing off all my teeth.
“That’s perfect.” Brennan flashes a wide smile that confirms he’s as happy about this idea as I am. “You can take my place next Saturday, since I won’t be able to make it.”
As soon as my face drops, Gavin’s lights up. “Sounds just perfect for you. Since you’re such a charitable person,” he says with sarcasm that only I can detect for some reason.
There’s actually a word for this exact behavior Gavin is demonstrating: Schadenfreude. It’s when a person experiences joy in response to other people’s misfortunes. And, boy, is he Schadenfreude-ing hard now.
“You won’t be able to make it?” In a last-ditch effort, I make sad-puppy eyes at him.
“Yeah, I’ll be in LA.”
“LA?” I almost gasp. This would have been useful information to know before I offered to volunteer at the farmer’s market. I’d give anything to go to LA with Brennan.
“My parents are coming out here, and we’re going to meet in LA since I’ve never been there before.”
“You’ve never been there?” I gasp.
Brennan’s lips tug up to one side. “I take it you have.”
“Yeah, we used to live there,” I say. Then I catch Gavin giving me a subtle but very distinct look of warning.
“I didn’t realize you were from LA,” Callie says, taking turns looking at me and Gavin.
“That was a while ago,” Gavin says, shifting in his seat. He’s not wrong. We’ve only been away a couple days, but already it seems like a distant memory.
“I’ve been to LA a few times,” Callie says. “When I’m there, I realize how much I’m not cut out for city life. Everything is so spread out, people are constantly in a hurry to get somewhere, and there’s always traffic on the 405 freeway, no matter what time of day it is.”
“Yeah, that sounds about right,” I say wistfully. God, I miss the chaos.
“What are you and your family going to do together?” Callie asks, turning her attention to Brennan.
Even though I was hoping for Callie not to ask more about our lives in LA, it’s weirding me out that she’s able to move on from it so quickly.
In my mind LA is the only city worth living in.
It’s the center of my universe, and it’s throwing me off to know it’s not everyone’s center of the universe.
“My sister is ten, and she’s dying to go to Disneyland. We’re going to surprise her by going there.”
It’s one of my biggest pet peeves when people assume Disneyland is in LA.
Anaheim is in Orange County, which, I cannot stress enough, is not the same as Los Angeles.
But when Brennan says it, I don’t feel the urge to correct him.
His expression is so genuine, so sincere, like spring mountain water that’s naturally pure and doesn’t need to go through a filtration process to be drinkable.
Maybe it’s because I never had one, but knowing Brennan is a thoughtful older brother makes him even more appealing.
“I’m so relieved you’re able to fill in for Brennan,” Callie says, putting a hand on my arm. “I was about to skip next week, but honestly we need the funds. I’m so glad I won’t have to now that you can come.”
“Me too,” I say, not quite matching Callie’s level of enthusiasm.
After we finish our drinks, we throw our cups away in the trash receptacle and make our way out of the cafeteria and into the lobby of the observatory.
“This was fun,” Brennan says.
“Next time you should try the food. The chefs are quite innovative. It’s impressive what they do with what we have,” Callie explains.
“She’s right. My understanding of space discovery isn’t the only thing that’s grown since I started my internship.” For added emphasis Brennan pats his gut, which, as far as I can tell, is nonexistent. “That’s why I started running.”
“Me too.” Gavin perks up.
“You too what?” I’m compelled to ask.
“I like to run,” Gavin confirms.
“Since when?” I wrinkle my nose at him. Doesn’t exercise release endorphins or make people, you know, less uptight?
Gavin ignores me and looks at Brennan. “We should go running together sometime.”
“I’d love that,” Brennan says.
While they make plans to meet up, I press my lips together to prevent them from forming a pout. It should be me Brennan is making plans to meet up with. Not Gavin.
Since Callie and Brennan have to stay for their shifts at the observatory, Gavin and I walk back home. On our way down the dirt road, I’m still thinking about how my plan went so wrong.
Gavin glances my way. “Cheer up,” he says, more sarcastic than sincere. “You’ve never been to a farmer’s market. You might actually like it.”
“Yeah, I won’t be going to that.”
“What?” His head jerks back. “Why not?”
“We won’t be here next Saturday, remember?”
“Oh.” His face falls at the reminder. Though why he’s sad about it is beyond me. “Why didn’t you tell Callie you couldn’t make it, then?”
“I didn’t want to let her down, not after she seemed so happy. Anyway, don’t worry. I’ll make up a good excuse by the time we leave.”
“That’s not the point, Elena.” For some reason he’s upset. “If you had no plans of going, why did you even offer to go in the first place?”
“Because,” I groan, frustrated that my plan did not go as intended. “I thought Brennan was going to be there,” I admit.
Suddenly Gavin stops in his tracks. I glance over, expecting him to be mad, but he’s not. Somehow Gavin finds this funny.
“So that’s what this is about.” He makes a show of leaning his head back and laughing theatrically.
“What?” I say, irritated.
“El, and I mean this in the nicest way possible—”
“Doubt that.”
“—in what world do you think Brennan would be interested in you?”
My cheeks flare. Just because Gavin can’t appreciate my charm doesn’t mean others can’t.
“I’ll have you know, Gavin, people love me.
There wasn’t an event in LA that I attended that wasn’t sold out.
And Entertainment Weekly hailed me as ‘a tabloid’s gift that keeps on giving. ’ I’m the life of the party.”
“I’m not talking about superficial stuff.
I’m talking about what’s in here.” He taps his chest. “I spent the day with Brennan, and I know enough about him to know he’s too…
wholesome for you. He’s the type of guy who’s looking for his soulmate, not a good time.
He’s monogamous, long-term material, while you…
” He eyes me from head to toe. “You don’t even have girlfriend energy.
It’s actually kinda scary.” He shudders.
Suddenly my insides twist along with every muscle in my face. Not only is Gavin insinuating I’m not good enough for Brennan, but is he making the serious accusation that I’m not good enough for anyone? Red-hot anger pulses through my veins.
This is why Gavin and I stopped being close. Not because Mom and Dad prefer him over me. Or because his future is secure and mine isn’t. It’s not even because he disapproves of my influencer business. It’s because Gavin is, and always was, my biggest hater.
When the Vogue article insulted my intelligence, Gavin didn’t reassure me that the article had it wrong.
He made me feel like they had it right. But despite what he—or anyone for that matter—might think, turning what he considers a brainless catchphrase into a brand doesn’t happen on its own.
It takes intelligence to make it happen.
And if Gavin can’t see it now, then he never will.
“I think we got along better in LA.” I fold my arms across my chest. “You know, when we didn’t have to see each other.”
“Then it’s a good thing we’ll be back there in a week,” he says, matching my tone, which is confusing. What he has to be mad at me about is a mystery.
“Why wait, then? We should start now.”
He chuffs incredulously. “Fine.”
“Fine,” I say. But when I notice he’s still right by my side, I glare at him. “Stop following me.”
“I’m not.” He scowls. “This town isn’t big enough for both of us.”
Frustrated he’s right on both accounts, I cross the street, and we walk the rest of the way on separate sides of the dirt road.
Excerpt
“Lead with authority. If you are confident, people are confident in you.”
The American Dream Achieved: The Story of Dale Ok, Founder of It’s Ok!
Transcript
60 Minutes Interview with Gloria Ok
Interviewer: Shouldn’t Dale be proud of achieving success despite his humble beginnings?
Gloria: Dale doesn’t see it that way. You see, by the time we immigrated to the United States, we were married and had to start working right away.
No time for a college education. Dale started the business without a formal education, and there’s a stigma attached to that.
Many executives questioned his intellect.
Often he’s had to overcompensate by presenting himself as overly confident.
And it worked in the beginning. We were able to get the business deals we needed to open our first store based on his assurance. Can you believe that?
Interviewer: He must have been very convincing.
Gloria: He was. But the bigger the company got, the bigger the stakes. And I warned him about letting his insecurities get bigger than him. The truth is, if he’s not careful, his feelings of inadequacy will be the ruin of him.