Page 214 of Promising You
My phone rings as I’m checking it. “Hi, Harper.”
“Hey, I was calling to see if you want to come over to Sean’s place with me this weekend. We’ll just get some movies and hang out at his apartment.”
“That’s okay. I know you guys want to be alone.”
“Jade, I just spent an entire week with the guy. I want to hang out with you. So what do you say? Sean will do all the cooking.”
“Okay, that sounds fun.”
“Great! I have to run to class, so we’ll talk later.”
That takes care of one weekend. Now what do I do with the rest of them? I can’t spend every weekend with Sean and Harper.
Around 6, Harper and I have dinner like we normally do. The dining hall is packed but there’s no sign of Garret. How is it possible I never see him here? Does he not eat anymore?
“Stop looking for him,” Harper says as she sees my eyes darting around the room. She just finished another one of her monstrous green salads and is eating a cup of yogurt for dessert. I, on the other hand, had a bowl of sugary, rainbow-colored cereal for dinner and am now enjoying a bowl of chocolate pudding. Not the most nutritious meal, I know, but I heard people crave carbs after a break-up, so I’m actually making the break-up seem more real.
“I wasn’t looking for him,” I say, but it’s a total lie.
She stands up. “I’m going to get some fruit. I’ll be right back.”
While she’s gone I finish my pudding, then push my tray aside.
“Hey, Jade.” I hear a guy’s voice behind me. As I turn to look back, he takes the seat next to me. “How’s it going?”
It’s a guy from my history class. What’s his name? I can’t remember. I’m so bad with names. There are only 20 people in the class. I should know his name.
“Hi. Did you want this table?” I glance around noticing the lack of open tables.
“No, I’m sitting over there.” He points to a table a couple over from mine. It’s full of guys, some of whom live on Garret’s floor. “I just came over to see if you were doing anything tomorrow night?”
It takes my mind a moment to process what he said.Doing anything tomorrow night.What’s tomorrow night? Friday? What am I missing here? Do we have something due for history? Wait! Friday night is date night. Is he asking me out?
I’m taking far too long to answer and he’s giving me a strange look. “Jade? Did you hear me? It’s kind of loud in here.”
“Um, yeah. Something about tomorrow night?” I’m trying to buy time to find a way to turn him down. I’m supposed to be single now, so technically I could date him, but of course I wouldn’t because I’m secretly still dating Garret.
The guy smiles at me. He’s very cute, whatever his name is—wavy black hair, olive skin, dark brown eyes. He’s thin but has decent arm muscles. On the first day of class when we had to introduce ourselves, I remember him saying his parents are from Greece and that he spends every summer there.
“I wanted to try this new Thai restaurant,” he says, angling his body toward me. “I was wondering if you’d like to go with me. Do you like Thai food?”
“I do, but I’m busy tomorrow night.”
“How about Saturday?”
“Some friends invited me to spend the weekend with them, so I won’t be around.”
“Okay, so maybe next weekend?”
Obviously I need to be more direct. I used to be really good at turning guys down, but after dating Garret for so long I’m out of practice. I scan the crowd for Harper but can’t find her. Instead I spot Garret walking toward the table where what’s-his-name was sitting before he came over here to ask me out. Garret stops when he sees me with what’s-his-name, whose close proximity to me clearly indicates he’s interested. Garret sets his tray on the table and slowly sits down, keeping his eyes on us.
“I really can’t.” I pause, wishing I could think of this guy’s name. “I’m kind of taking a break from dating right now.”
“Yeah, okay. I understand.” He stands up.
“Hey, Nic.” Harper appears, carrying a small bowl of blueberries.
Nic! I knew it was a one-syllable name. Nic. I’ve now stamped it in my brain, not that I’ll need it again. This is probably the last time the guy will ever talk to me.
