Page 67 of The Love Interest

It’s too risky to go in for a full-on kiss, so I step forward and kiss her on the cheek.

“Really, Juliet,” I say. “I want to do that with you for the rest of my life.”

“Whoa, slow down. It was a first date. We aren’t getting married or anything.”

“You’re right. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess.”

“That you will.”

She turns and walks away.

“Oh, and Caden,” she calls as I reach the front door. I turn and look over my shoulder. “Next time, give me a proper kiss.”

She opens the door to her car and climbs in. Smiling, I step inside the house. It’s dark, the only light coming from the TV. M is asleep in front of it. D’s snores are soft down here, but the fact that I can hear them even this far away means they’ll be booming upstairs. I close the door and lean against it, the events of the date replaying in my mind. The way she smiled. The taste of the food. Her weird yet still funny jokes. The softness of her cheek when I kissed her.

How’d I do, Kaylee?

She likes you a lot. It’s almost over, Caden. You did really well.

Suddenly Dyl is all I can think about. His laugh. His eyes. Him, in his entirety.

Kaylee said I did well.

So why does it feel like I failed?

CHAPTER

TWENTY-ONE

As soon as I step off the bus, I see Natalie and Trevor waiting for me by the school gate. I wave and make my way over to them. It’s a warm, windy day, and orange leaves are tumbling across the parking lot. I didn’t sleep much the past two nights, so my head is fuzzy and my body feels lifeless. Unfortunately, my exhaustion doesn’t mean anything to the LIC, so I need to think of a way to wake myself up before I answer a question incorrectly or do something out of character. Being Nice is always difficult, but it’s almost impossible when everything is annoying and all I want to do is sleep.

As soon as I’m within earshot they lean forward.

“So,” says Trevor. “We need details.”

“We do!” chimes Natalie. “Start from the beginning. What were you wearing? I was expecting a Snapchat but Juliet never sent me one. Quick, Juliet will be here any minute and I need the details from you before she tells me whatreallyhappened.”

“Okay, um, I was wearing a suit. White shirt, black pants. Leather shoes.”

Natalie grins. “Very traditional. I like it.”

“Is that specific enough for this postmortem?”

Trevor looks like I hit him. “Mortem? God, it wasn’tthatbad, was it?”

“No! It’s an expression. The date was nice. We talked for a while and ate delicious food and then I paid and that was it. I think she likes me. My only worry is that I came on a little too strong.”

Natalie closes her eyes and then slowly opens them. Her eyelashes are long and full, yet they don’t have the obvious tar-like consistency of mascara. Her eyes also aren’t brown—well, technically they are, but they’re brighter than most, almost the color of almonds. She really is unnaturally pretty.

She clicks her fingers at me. “Why are you looking at me like that, Caden?”

“Sorry, I was lost in thought.”

“Well, don’t go falling for me. Not only because Trevor would murder you if you even thought about touching me, but because I think Juliet seriously likes you. Wait, here she comes now, I guess we’re outta time.” She points, and I see Juliet pulling up in her gold Mazda. “Oh, and don’t forget, it’s nationals tonight. Do you still want to come? Trevor would never admit it, but he thinks you’re a good luck charm. It’d mean a lot to him if you came.”

Trevor grins. “I’ll happily admit that! You’re my friend, Caden, and it would be awesome if you came. Also, if watching a stunningly handsome swimmer break a world record isn’t a draw for you, Juliet will be there. So it could be your second date!”

“Sounds great!” I say.