“Uh, who the hell was that?” Avery asked.
“I know. No temper tantrum for having to share you. He might have been body snatched,” Colette tacked on.
“Maybe, or maybe he knew he was in trouble and wanted a way out,” I replied, even though I wasn’t entirely sure that was true. I’d already agreed to forgive him.
“What’d he do this time?” Avery asked as we walked through the halls and out the front door.
“Oh, he’s been in rare form today,” I responded. “First, I caught him talking to Miss Abrams this morning. He called her Jess.”
“Gross,” Colette scoffed.
“Yeah. Then, when I was talking to that guy in homeroom—”
Avery pointed over Colette’s car at me before climbing in. “Which we will be discussing by the way.”
“He sent Nikita to literally summon me. She said, ‘You’re wanted,’” I said the latter words in a mocking, deep voice. “She drags me out of the classroom, and he’s just standing there. I asked him what he wanted, but then Nikita whispered something to him, and he kissed me and ran off.”
We all piled into Colette’s car in the same seats we started the day in, and Colette started the car before saying, “That sounds more like Nathan.”
“Anyway, I’m glad you guys showed up,” I said. “I really didn’t want to go anywhere with him. All I needed was for him to be good for one day, and he couldn’t even do that.”
“Well, put it out of your mind,” Colette said. “I called ahead to my dad and told him to set aside some space for us at Hotaka. They’re gonna look the other way if we get some wine, and they’re gonna bring us some good sushi. We’ll have this day gone from your mind in an instant.”
Hotaka was one of Colette’s family’s many ventures. Her mom was a world-class chef, and her dad, a successful investment broker, invested in several dying restaurants in Postings and allowed his wife to flip them into something successful. Hotaka was already Japanese-themed, and given that her mom was Japanese, she turned it into a five-star sushi and hibachi restaurant that her mom worked at frequently. It became their family’s go-to spot. The food was next to none, and there weren’t many ways I’d rather spend the evening.
“But not the whole day,” Avery cut in, “because I want to hear about how you know Mr. Dark and Brooding.”
Deon’s face cut across my mind, and I smiled. “Oh my god,” Colette yelped. “Oh my god. She’s smiling like a freak up here!”
Avery leaned forward, and despite my best attempts to get the smile off my face, when I imagined Deon wrapping his arms around me, it came back.
Avery squealed. “Oh my god! Who is this mystery man? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile like that before.”
“We’ll…talk about it,” I responded.
“That and that hickey,” Colette said.
I looked over at Colette to join in her ribbing and noticed that she had a scarf tied around her neck that hadn’t been there this morning. I reached out and yanked it off, revealing a hickey of her own. “You’re one to talk!”
Colette poked out her bottom lip. “Observant bitch.”
Avery sat back in her seat and started to laugh. “Wow, this dinner is more needed than I thought.”
We got to Hotaka and were quickly ushered to a private table in the back of the restaurant. A few wine glasses with white wine in them had already been set up, and thick, board-page menus were sitting on top of ceramic plates with chopsticks laid in a peak pattern on top of them. We got settled, each placing our orders for some of Hotaka’s famous sushi, and then settled into our wine for some conversation.
“Okay,” I started. “Who goes first?”
“You obviously, Miss Knows-The-New-Delinquent,” Colette replied.
“He’s not a delinquent.” Deon’s new tattoos, grown-out facial hair, developed muscles, and looming presence splashed across my brain. “Although I guess I can see how you’d get there, but no! You two have stuff too. Why do I have to go first?”
“Ugh.” Avery reached out and grabbed one of Colette’s and my chopsticks. It just so happened that each set had a different colored cap to match the theme of the restaurant. Mine were white, Colette’s were green, and Avery’s were blue. Avery wrapped the tops of them in a cloth napkin and then stuck them behind her back, no doubt mixing them up, before brandishing the napkin again with only the neutral-colored tips sticking out. “Okay, Cherri. Pick one.”
I grabbed the tip of one of the chopsticks and slid it out of the napkin to reveal its blue cap. I wiggled it at Avery. “Looks like you’re first, gorgeous.”
Avery rolled her eyes and then redirected the napkin to Colette. “Pick to see who goes second.”
Colette went back and forth between the tips for a while and then grabbed one and pulled, revealing her own green-capped chopstick. “Shit.”
Avery unwrapped the last chopstick and swapped it for hers in my hand, and the sushi arrived just a few minutes later, right on time. Once we were settled with our food, I looked across at Avery. “Okay. You’re up.”
“Well, mine’s easy,” Avery said, side-glancing Colette. “Alistair and I are…dating.”
With her mouth already full of sushi, Colette gasped. “Really?” She finished chewing her bite before asking, “How did you get Nathan to go for it?”
“I didn’t,” Avery replied and turned to wink at me. “I asked the queen.”
I nodded. “And I said yes. Nathan agreed because he knew it was in his best interest.”
“That’s so exciting! So he gave you that, then?” Colette asked, nodding at Avery’s neck.
“Obviously. He came over last night and we got a little carried away.” I opened my mouth, and Avery cut me off. “No. Not all the way yet, but close.” She poked one of her chopsticks out toward Colette. “All right. Your turn.”
“That’s it?” Colette asked, looking at me with her nose scrunched up in disgust. “I already knew most of that.”
I giggled. “You were
