Olivia #2
That was not even true! I did need a tutor to get through the two credits of foreign language required to graduate, but I was never really in danger of failing.
I worked hard to make sure I didn’t. I picked up speaking in Spanish quickly enough using an app that focused on audio lessons, but I also needed to learn to write in Spanish, which felt even more confusing than writing in English.
I passed both credits with a C, thank you very much.
“Yeah and Gage makes, like, straight As. He’s so smart.”
Gage was smart. It was one of the things I loved most about him. He didn’t know yet what kind of career he wanted, but I was sure it would be something where he used his brain to help other people.
“Maybe he’s looking for a trophy wife!” They both burst into laughter. “I’d volunteer. I’m as pretty as Delaney but at least twice as smart.”
I pressed my fingers to my cheeks to cool them down. My nose stung as I tried my best to hold back the tears.
If Kristin and Jasmine recognized the imbalance between Gage and me, would other people see it, too? If Gage was my boyfriend, would everyone always look at us and wonder what he saw in me? Wonder what we could possibly have in common?
I was so used to hanging out with people smarter than me—my sisters, Annie, and of course Gage—that I never stopped to consider what it might be like for Gage to be with someone as dumb as me. Would I be a liability? Hold him back?
I never wanted to do that.
The water stopped, and the hand dryer kicked on, drowning out any further conversation.
They would probably be coming this way soon to go back outside to their spots in line.
I jumped up and ducked behind a row of lockers.
The only thing more embarrassing than overhearing that conversation would be Kristin and Jasmine knowing I overheard that conversation.
I peeked around the corner as they walked past and pushed open the door, still laughing, probably at my expense.
I straightened and bumped the back of my head softly against the side of the locker, closing my eyes.
The idea of Gage being happy with me … it was ridiculous, wasn’t it? He needed an equal partner, not an obligation.
I blinked back the tears that were still trying to fall. When I cried, my eyes turned red, and there was no way to hide that I was upset. I didn’t want that to happen. Gage would notice in a second. I fanned my hand in front of my eyes to dry them out.
I walked back around the corner and checked my reflection in a mirror. My eyes looked a little glassy, but not so much that it would raise any red flags. I took a deep breath and went back outside.
Gage waited outside the door, leaning against the wall with one foot propped behind him. The blue graduation gown made the color of his eyes pop. His sandy blond hair was slicked to the side, the ends curling around his ears and along the back of his neck.
He looked so good. He was so good. Kristin and Jasmine were right. He deserved to be with someone who could match his energy and his intelligence.
When he saw me, Gage grinned. “There you are. Did you get your shoe fixed?”
I swallowed. “Uh, yeah. Sorry. It took me a minute.” I turned toward the line of graduates. “We better get back to our spots in line.”
Gage captured my hand and pulled me to a stop. “Wait. I still need to talk to you.”
“But they’re going to walk us onto the field soon,” I protested desperately.
He cocked his head. “I think we still have a minute.” He paused to clear his throat and reached up to rub the back of his neck.
“I … I feel like I’ve been in a dream since prom, because that’s the only place I ever thought I’d get to hold your hand and kiss you.
The only place I ever thought you’d feel the same way I do. ”
Oh … oh, no. My chest tightened as I realized where he was going with this.
“I regret that it’s taken me this long to get here,” he continued, grinning quickly, “and I regret that this is happening in front of the bathrooms, but not as much as I know I’d regret not seizing the moment now.” He took a deep breath. “Olivia Delaney, will you be my girlfriend?”
It was everything I wanted to hear and a nightmare at the same time.
I squeezed my eyes shut until spots blurred together in my field of vision.
I suddenly felt all ninety-two degrees of the Texas summer heat standing there in the open-air hallway with a heavy polyester gown over my breezy dress. I needed to say something.
I opened my eyes and focused on the space over Gage’s head, ready to give him any reason but the truth. “I don’t think … it’s probably not a good idea. Annie might feel weird about it—”
Gage’s eyebrows pulled together in confusion. “But I already talked to—”
“And we’re going to different schools in the fall—”
The pressure of his hand over mine increased. “But they’re not that far—”
I grasped at one more plausible excuse. “And long distance is so hard especially when we’re meeting all sorts of new people. It’s better if we stay friends.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it again. His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Uh, I don’t understand. Olivia—”
I wriggled my hand out of his and stepped back. “So, friends, okay?”
Gage studied me, his gaze so intense that I turned my head to escape its heat.
“It’ll be better this way,” I said quietly.
“Okay,” he finally said, his eyes clouding over. “If that’s what you really want.”
I nodded. “It is.”
I was lying. I was a lying liar who lied.
“I better go find Annie. Get back to the line.” He shook his head and turned away. He took a few steps and then called back over his shoulder, “Congratulations, Olivia,” in a toneless voice.
“You, too,” I whispered to his retreating form.
Good. Friends. That’s how I needed it to be. But how could I go back to being friends with Gage now that I knew how his lips felt?