Zoe straightened up in her chair and flipped her hair over one shoulder. “Now I’m mad at Marissa too. How dare she not tell me about her friend Rob.” Again with the cheesy smile exchange.
To settle the nausea in my stomach, I took a sip of my smoothie. Rob and Zoe shared another minute or two of sickening flirting before his boss called him back to work.
Zoe’s eyes sparkled. “Seriously, he’s cute.” She took a sip of her drink while making eyes at Rob, who was doing his best at pretending to not know she was watching him as he chopped up some strawberries.
“Hello?” I knocked on her forehead gently. “Aren’t you the girl who just came to me with bloodshot eyes and all broken-hearted?” Not that I meant that to come out meanly, but it kind of did.
“Marissa, I told you it was mutual. So, is this Rob guy single?”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re lucky you’re my best friend, or I might have to tell you how shallow you can be.”
She threw her straw wrapper at me. “Ha. Shallow. Yeah, right. I’ll have you know, my dear friend, that I’m very aware of everything and everyone around me. Like I know that Rob guy is still watching me right now.” She was right; he was. “And I also know that you have something to tell me.” She swirled her straw around in her cup.
“What do you mean?” I pulled some of my hair in front of my face hoping to make a curtain to hide my flushed cheeks, but I couldn’t avoid her gaze. “All right I do have some news,” I said, and Zoe leaned in closer to me. “Brandon and I kissed.”
“Shut up!” Zoe slapped her hand loudly on the table, and some onlookers glared at us. “When?”
I smiled, reliving the memory. “When he dropped me back home after our day at the beach.”
“This is huge.” Zoe was gleaming. “I mean huge! Are you guys like dating now? I’m flipping out here!”
I wasn’t sure how to answer that. Were we dating or were we just caught up in the moment? Having ditched school all day, the sun, the beach, the conversation, the kiss was like the natural crescendo to the day. It was like the waves breaking against the shore at the end of a long summer day.
“I don’t… I don’t know,” I stammered, and then the alarm on my phone went off. “Ugh, I have to go back to work.” Rob and Zoe exchanged a flirtatious wave goodbye, and she walked me back to the store, chatting the entire time about the kiss. Of course, I didn’t mind retelling the details.
I worked the last hour of my shift in a peaceful dreamland. Remembering the sun on my face, the way the light made those gold flecks come alive in Brandon’s eyes, and the kiss. Always the kiss.
****
The rest of the week seemed to fly by between school and work and… Brandon. On Wednesday night, I went out for ice cream with him and his family. His mom told stories of little Brandon and his fondness for only chocolate chip ice cream. She also mentioned the time he fell asleep in his high chair while licking his bowl clean. To which Brandon turned three shades of red and changed the conversation to the exciting topic of the weather.
Thursday, I went over to his house for what they called “game night,” which was traditionally called, “family game night.” At first, I didn’t want to intrude, but while Brandon and I were on the phone together, Brandon’s mother was in the background insisting that I come over, and I couldn’t say no to her. We played hand after hand of gin rummy. It was nice to be with Brandon, to be with all of them — their little family unit. It was apparent that Bobby’s death had brought them closer together. That’s what I thought would have happened after my mom died. I wanted family game night with Marc and Gram. Really, I just wanted Marc to come home. Or call me. Or send me an email just to say he still loved me. At the very least, to say he still loved me.
****
Friday morning, Brandon and I were standing near my locker before the first bell was about to ring. I was studying his hands as they held mine. His long sturdy fingers wrapped warmly around mine. The way they could completely encase my hands made me feel as fuzzy as an angora sweater.
“So there’s this thing I’m going to tonight, and I wanted to invite you along,” he said while looking at the corners of my mouth.
I nervously bit the inside of my cheek. “What thing?”
He looked into my eyes. “It’s kind of geeky so don’t judge, okay?” I crossed my heart. “It’s a Poe-Party. As in Edgar Allan. A bunch of us are having a little ‘Poebration’ at the library.”
I didn’t mean to, but I snickered.
“See,” he said, “I told you it was a little geeky.”
I covered my smile with my hand. “No, it’s not.” I chuckled again, and he raised an eyebrow at me. “I’d love to go.”
He looked relieved. “There’s just one more thing.”
He suddenly looked nervous.
“What?” My heart beat rapidly.
“You have to dress up. Like Poe.” He looked at me with trepidation, trying to feel out my reaction.
“I… um,” I stammered and the bell rang. “I…”
He kissed me on the cheek and whispered, “Just kidding.”
As he walked away, I tossed my pen at him.
****
Brandon smiled when I opened the door. He was right on time to pick me up. After he looked my outfit up and down, he stood for a moment as if taking it all in.
“Very Poe,” he said.
Even though he tricked me about the dressing up part, I wanted to make some sort of statement. So I was dressed in black from head to toe. I donned a black T-shirt
