Page 14

“Ooh, you have a new boyfriend? Do I know him?”

I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes. How am I supposed to know who Lainey knows when we’ve never spoken before? “I don’t know. I doubt it. He’s not a theater kid.”

Paul’s still looking skeptical, but also a little put out. The realization makes me want to do a victory dance.

“What’s his name?” she asks.

“I already asked her, but she won’t say.”

I glance between Lainey and Paul, my heart racing double time and my mind as empty as a Broadway theater on a Monday night. I need to say something or they won’t believe me. What are names? Um…Joel? Ahh,NO,that’s my father’s name! What are other names?Why can’t I think of human teen boys’ names?!One comes to me, and I practically scream it.

“Nathan!”

Paul blinks in shock. “Nathan? Wait…” He looks around the store. “You aren’t talking about Nathan Wheeler, are you? He works here, right?”

Are you freaking kidding me? I wassurePaul wouldn’tknow who Nathan is. Honestly, I’m not sure anyone at school knows who he is. He’s basically a ghost there.

“How do you know that?” I ask.

“He sat in front of me in history last year. We did a project together.”

Of course that’d be my luck.

“Is that him?” Lainey whispers, and I spin around. Nathan has suddenly appeared, the stockroom door swinging behind him as he walks toward me.

“Hey, your dad wants you in the back to help.”

He couldn’t sound less romantic or interested in me if he tried. Sweat beads on my forehead. I glance back at Paul, who is now looking extremely skeptical.

“Right,” I reply faintly.

Why is this my life? I take a deep breath and stride toward Nathan, plastering a flirtatious smile on my face.

“Thanks so much for telling me,” I say in as sultry a voice as I can muster. “I’ll be right there.”

“Um…okay?”

He stares at me like I’ve lost my whole mind, which I clearly have.

It feels like I should do something more—something that will make this look legitimate and not like the most ridiculous thing in the world—but it’s not like I can throw myself into his arms and kiss him. Even the idea of trying to hold his hand is too much. He’s liable to shake me off like I’m a rabid dog. But I have to dosomething.

My brain departs my body completely and I lean forward and kiss him on the upper arm. Except I can’t quite get myselfto move my lips so it’s more like I press my closed mouth on his shirt and pull away.

I’m surprised my entire body doesn’t shrivel and spontaneously combust into a bloom of dust from the embarrassment.

He stares down at me, open-mouthed, and I squeeze my eyes shut. “Please act cool,” I whisper.

“Did you just—”

I spin around. “Lainey, looks like you found what you needed, yeah? Great! Curtis can check you out up front. I need to—” I mime walking into the stockroom and putting things on shelves. Now everyone is gaping at me.

“So…yep.” I shuffle a few steps away. “Good to see you both. And I’ll seeyouat school tomorrow, Paul! Or, I guess, we both will.” I grab Nathan’s arm and physically drag him behind me toward the stockroom. The door shuts behind him and he rips his arm from my grasp.

“Riley,have you lost your mind?”

Chapter Five

“Okay, okay, don’t freak out. It’s totally fine. I know that was weird, but—”