I start laughing so hard both my parents stare at me in shock, but I can’t stop. The idea of Paige pining away like some jilted prom queen waiting for her knight in shining armour to lead her to the dance floor is just too hilarious.
The idea of Paige being led to the dance floor at all is hilarious—not that I haven’t thought about doing it all night.
“Guess I’d better rescue her,” I choke out.
They still don’t get what’s so funny, but they wish me good luck, and my mom gives me a hug before they head off to find more guests to chat with.
My Auntie Mariam seems to have found one of my cousins to berate at a nearby table, leaving Paige to sit and watch the party. I pause a few feet away. The lines of her profile are striking, a perfect mix of sharp and soft. She doesn’t have all that much makeup on—as far as I can tell—but the dark stuff around her eyes and the deep berry colour of her lipstick takes her usually stunning face and turns it into something impossible to look away from.
I start moving towards her table again. “Hey.”
She turns to face me, startled for a second before she relaxes and her smile comes back. “Hey.”
“I hope Auntie Mariam didn’t drive you too crazy.”
She shakes her head, laughing. “She is hilarious. She told me about the time you fell in the toilet and got stuck during your cousin’s wedding reception.”
I pull out the chair beside her and lower myself into it. “Oh my god, why does she bring that up at every wedding? I was a little kid. It happens.”
Paige is laughing even harder now. “A little kid? She said you were ten.”
I scoff. “I was notten.That’s crazy. I was probably like five or six.”
Paige shakes her head while she clutches her stomach, her shoulders still shaking with laughter. “Nuh-uh. She showed me pictures. You were totally at least nine.”
“She has pictures? Camera phones weren’t even a thing then!”
“She has actual pictures,” Paige gets out between guffaws. “Like, in her wallet. She says she brings them to every wedding so she can tell that story. It’s hilarious. You were just like, stuck in the toilet. You looked like an octopus with your limbs all dangling over the sides. How did you even do that?”
“I was small!” I protest as I fight back my own laughter. “I slipped! It was tragic, and everyone just came in and laughed at me—and took pictures, apparently. It was cruel!”
“Poor Youssef.” She grips my forearm. “Do I need to send some sort of patrol to make sure you don’t fall in tonight?”
I flip her off, and she laughs even harder.
“Okay, smartass, are you done shaming me about my past traumatic experiences?”
“Hmm.” She pretends to think about it as she gets herself under control. “For now.”
We go back to watching the dance floor. She’s close enough that I could bump her thigh with mine if I just moved it over a few inches. I know she wants to keep things low key, but all I can think about is reaching up to cup her cheek and guiding her lips to mine.
“Youssef.” I jerk with surprise when she grips my hand under the table. “What’s wrong? I saw you with your parents just now. You looked kind of...tense. If it’s about me, I—”
“What? No!” I squeeze her hand back and look her in the eyes. “Paige, everyone at this wedding is thrilled with you. I am so, so happy you’re here, and so are my parents.”
“Oh.” She blinks at me. “Really?”
I have to laugh at how oblivious she seems. “Yeah. Of course. My mom said...She said it makes her happy to see me so happy with you.”
Paige sucks in a breath and drops her gaze, but her hand stays entwined with mine. “I guess I just feel out of place.”
I want to tell her she’s the farthest thing from out of place. She belongs here. I want to tell her everything right now, but I know a public wedding reception may not be the best time to have The Relationship Talk.
“It’s just a lot,” she says in a low voice, staring at the white tablecloth while I stroke her knuckles with my thumb. “It’s like I told you when we hung out with your friends. I worry that I’m not...normal enough.”
“Paige.” I grip her hand even harder. “You don’t have to be anything other than you, okay? I get it. It’s all been a lot. These past few weeks have changed...everything, and I don’t mean just you and me. Being around you makes me want to be, like, the truest version of myself...or something?” I scratch the back of my neck with my free hand. “I don’t even know what I mean.”
“I do.” She looks up at me again. “That’s exactly how it feels: like everything has changed. It’s like I’m questioning all the things I’ve just accepted as facts up until now. It’s kind of terrifying.”
