Page 97 of Things I Read About

But Silent Mode saves us, as it has since our freshman year at OU. I can’t let Valerie continue speaking her unfiltered opinions, and verbatim recollection of everything I’ve ever told her about Nate. So, he will just have to deal with the awkwardness.

We arrive at the restaurant, still texting furiously about howNo, Nate can’t just drop us at the door,andNo, he won’t be sitting at the table with us,butYes, he will be watching us the entire time.

“But where exactly is he? I can’t see him anywhere,” Val asks after we sit at our table and stow our phones.

“He disappears like that, but he told me I’m never out of his sight,” I explain.

“That is somewhat erotic.” Mal sighs, fanning herself. Val and I laugh, and she joins in.

Then I ask about their med school orientation and time gets away from us. We ping pong questions about curricula, professors, textbooks, and journal articles. My speech morphs to match theirs, free of any masking or editing. We hardly eat or drink we talk so much. Until suddenly the server brings us our check. All three of us are surprised when it arrives.

I can almost feel Nate rolling his eyes at us from wherever he lurks. We don’t mean to be oblivious, it’s just that our conversation is so vastly interesting. Everything else around us fades. I do wonder if he noticed that my purse was looped around my body and not hung on the back of the chair.

“So, to the bookstore? I found a really cute independent shop not far from here,” Mal says. I grimace. “What? We had good food, delicious margaritas, and now we find some books to complete the trifecta.”

“Okay, but after the bookstore we’re goingoutout.”

“Explain,” Val says.

“I didn’t wear this outfit to go to the bookstore. I wore it for the club.”

“Ugh,” she groans; her sister nods. “Clubs are loud, bright, smelly, and the drinks are considerably overpriced. The profit margin at those places must be—”

“I’m buying,” I cut Val off and look to Mal. “Please? I just want to dance for a few songs.”

“That doesn’t sound like something you’d normally want.”

“Well, Mal,” I stand. “I’m not normally with my two besties in downtown Dallas. I’m not normally dressed in Sadie’s designer clothes. I’m not normally—”

“Having your every move watched closely by the so-called man of your dreams.”

“Correct.”

They both nod and we head toward the front of the restaurant.

Out of thin air, Nate appears. I don’t see him or hear him, but I know he’s in step right behind me. Despite myself, I hope he stays that way at our next two destinations.

The bookstore is adorable but tiny. Nate has to carefully follow us around, skirting around the overstuffed corner displays. The sight of it makes us laugh. Well, that and maybe the margaritas we had. He doesn’t acknowledge us.

I meander to the science fiction section.

“What are we doing here? The science premise in these books is often so preposterous I can’t enjoy them,” Val says.

“Nate, which ones are your favorites?” I call to him.

A weird expression comes over him for a moment, then he recovers. “Uh, I’ve read so many, they all run together.”

“Didn’t you say this guy was good?” I pick up a title I’m sure he mentioned in Park City.

He shrugs, looking around instead of at me. “Sure.”

Weird. This store is so small, there couldn’t possibly be a threat lurking in here. But what else would have him acting so strangely? As much as I wish it was my outfit, I haven’t caught him glance at my chest even once.

We buy a couple bags of books we absolutely do not need. I get some dark chocolate covered coffee beans from the check out. Because, why not? Then we pile back into the tiny car, and I send Nate the next address. It’s a little early to go to a clubbut the reviews say the dance floor is pretty active no matter when you go.

I watch in the rear-view mirror as he receives the text. I know he’s seeing images of a trendy bar riddled with half-naked bodies.

Please glare at me. React, just a little bit. Do it!