Page 56 of The Love Interest

“Don’t lie, Juliet. It’s unattractive.” He steps closer to her. “You want to touch me, don’t you? To run your fingers along my body, to feel my lips on yours. It’s okay, Juliet. I want you to feel me too. I want you to do whatever you want to me.” He steps away. “Just ask, Juliet, and I’ll do it, no exceptions. All you have to do is ask, and I’m yours.”

I blink my watery eyes and gulp down a swallow. Dyl winks at Juliet, then heads toward the group of girls. Juliet watches him as he walks past. Her eyes trace down his spine; then she smacks her lips.

“Do you want a drink?” I ask.

She looks up from the floor and brushes a strand of hair away from her face. “Umm, yeah. That would be lovely, Caden. Thanks.”

I duck away from her and head toward the main table. It’s covered in a red plastic sheet and is loaded with snack foods. Stupid Dyl. His offer was hot, sure, and it would take a strong person to turn down that offer from someone as attractive as him, but Juliet is a strong person. She’ll say no. At least, I hope she will.

A thin boy with square glasses and blond hair sees me as I approach and smiles at me. He’s wearing a purple vest and tie over a white dress shirt, and he’s holding a microphone in his hands. His shirt sleeves have been rolled up, revealing a sleeve of tattoos on his forearms.

“Hi,” he says as I grab two plastic cups.

I grip the cups, making the thin plastic crinkle. “Hey… Sorry, do I know you?”

I scoop the ladle into the punch bowl, filling the metal spoon with purple liquid and a couple of floating blueberries. It smells like melted sugar.

“Not yet,” he says. “But that’s the whole point of things like this, isn’t it? To get to know people?”

“I guess.”

“And I’ve seen you around school and you seem like—”

I peer closer. Wait, is he blushing? He is: his cheeks are burning red even through the darkness. He chews his chapped bottom lip and looks me in the eye. “—someone I would like to spend some time with, if you, um, catch my drift.”

“I’ve gotta go,” I say, looking down at my two cups, which are now full. “See ya around, maybe?”

He grins. “Yeah, totally!”

I spin away and walk toward Juliet.What was that about?

She’s bobbing her head along to the beat, and the pink light reflects in her glassy eyes. I hand her a cup. She grabs it and takes a sip. “Who was that?”

“Huh?”

“That guy who was talking to you. It looked like he was asking you out.”

My eyebrows furrow. “Did he?”

“Well, what did he say to you?”

“He thought I seemed cool and he wanted to spend some time with me… if I ‘caught his drift.’ Huh, hewasasking me out, wasn’t he? Wow, I didn’t even notice.”

She scoffs. “Boys can be so thick sometimes. Yes, Caden, he was asking you out. Are you going to say yes?”

I freeze. “No.”

“Why not?” she asks. “Caden, it’s not a big deal if you’re gay. You know that, right?”

“This isn’t Tumblr, Juliet, straight men do exist here. I like girls.”

She laughs, and the tense moment passes.Whew.

“Sorry,” she says. “I know it’s a horrendous cliché, but you’re so well put together, and so handsome, and it’s not like it would matter to me if you were, but I’ll admit I was curious about your sexuality. Because sometimes I can’t tell if you’re flirting with me or if we’re just really good friends.”

Ask her out now.

What?