Page 27 of The Love Interest

Hang on.

Across the road, about five feet away, are three sleek black vans. I’ve never seen them here before. I stand up and glare at them. Something shiny catches the streetlight, drawing my eye. I tilt my head and peer through the gap between the vans.Oh no.

Behind them is a motorbike.

This is it. This is Dyl’s big entrance.

SHIT!

I take my headphones out, then jog across the road to the vans, imagining Dyl and Judy huddling inside one of them, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

“I see you,” I hiss through gritted teeth. “Get lost!”

The vans remain still. In the distance I can see Juliet walking down the street. She has headphones in and is looking down at the ground, so, thankfully, she hasn’t noticed me yet.

I sprint back across the road to my position. But I don’t take my eyes off the vans, and my clammy hands are balled into fists.This is it!

Juliet reaches me and waves. Her face is pale and her hair is slightly frizzy. She’s dressed in a knee-length jacket, tight pants, and brown boots. A royal-blue scarf is wrapped around her neck, and a brown handbag is slung over her shoulder. I’m not a robot or anything; I can tell that she looksüberpretty. Yet my heartbeat remains steady, and nothing even remotely primal pumps through my blood.Why?

She stops in front of me. A vanilla-like scent fills the air. “You’re early.”

I shrug. “What can I say, I was excited. And I was thinking that maybe I could drive. It’s dark, and it could be unsafe.”

“Dude, it’s barely even dark and I walk by myself around here all the time. We’ll be fine. Come on, it’s not far, and it’s exercise! Plus, I frigging love the way the town looks at night.” She looks past me at my house. “Is that your place? It’s…”

Did she just sayfrigging? My favorite fake swearword?Be still, my beating heart.

“It looks like shit,” I say. “I know.”

She shakes her head. “I was going to say it’s quaint. I like it.”

“So are you ready to go?”

Don’t boss her around, Caden. She’s in charge, remember.

Luckily, she nods. “I am. Let’s go.”

The streets are quiet and empty, so we walk in the middle of the road. Her shoes click against it. Our path is lined by parked cars. The moon and the stars are out in force, and the houses give off a golden glow. She was right, the town is beautiful at night. Ifrigginglove it.

Every now and then I peer over my shoulder, checking on the parked cars.

“I’m really glad you’ve come back, Caden.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Just this walk, I guess? It’s not a big deal or anything, but before you came back I’d accepted the fact that you weren’t a part of my life anymore. I didn’t like it, but I’d accepted it. So this… um, it’s hard to explain, but it feels like a bonus? Like the movie of our relationship ended, and now I’m in this weird little future-bubble that includes you. And I like it. I’m so happy that I get to have small moments with you again.”

“I like being back too. I finally feel real again.”

“What do you mean?”

“I always wanted to come back. Always. Everything that happened between saying goodbye to you and now doesn’t feel like it really happened. Like the boy who did those things wasn’t me.”

“Do you ever think about the last time we saw each other? It’s sort of immortalized in my things-I-think-about-before-bed bank.”

I nod. “I think about it all the time.”

You’re digging yourself into a hole.