“Um…” I wasn’t sure which question to answer first, so I went for the last one. “Gage is nice. I can see why you were so into him.”
She shook her head. “Relax. It’s perfectly okay to like him.”
“Well, I’m sure it would be if I did. But I don’t.”
“That’s too bad, because he really likes you.”
I guess I should have been flattered, and I kind of was. Sure Gage was attractive (okay, gorgeous) and had a mesmerizing…well, everything. But I hadn’t even thought of him as a potential crush. I was too busy trying to keep up with bio assignment and not cough up a lung.
“No he doesn’t,” I said. “He barely knows me.”
“Of course he does! Did you see the way he was looking at you the other night? He even let you share his blanket.”
“He was just being polite.”
She sighed. “I don’t know what’s with you. Yeah, girls fall all over Matt, but Gage is awesome too. He’s cute and sweet and smart and funny…”
I laughed. “You would think so.”
“Oh come on. I know we had sort of a…fling, but we’re both over it. And he likes you now. So what’s the problem?”
“What problem?”
“Why don’t you go for it? Talk to him.”
“I don’t know, Elizabeth. I’m not like you. I can’t just go up to guys and talk to them.”
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you. Just go up to him and...start talking.” She still tried to smile, but didn’t seem very happy, and excused herself soon afterwards.
Even though Elizabeth was right, I wasn’t about to admit it to her or anyone else. I hadn’t dated much in Rochester; when I wasn’t focused on schoolwork, I was way too shy to approach even the most friendly of guys. It’s not that I didn’t want to date, but I didn’t want it badly enough to actually make the effort.
But more than anything, I couldn’t see myself with an Immortal. It was bad enough that I was one myself and, deep down inside, I hoped I’d have the courage to leave one day. But if I actually cared about someone, romantically or not, I had roots here. That scared me even more than the rejection I was sure would come but never did.
I tried to ignore the butterflies that appeared in my stomach when I thought about Gage. It got less and less difficult as I continually trained myself. But even the main character on one of Luke’s crime shows reminded me of him. And if I left the room, not only would I have to move all my things with me, but I’d be left alone with my thoughts, Gage-filled or not. Not to mention Luke would probably question why I was randomly leaving.
So I continued to chug Gatorades, even after my cold was gone, and tried to forget about Gage. But when he showed up at my door Monday morning, just as I was headed out the door for bio, I felt like I had chugged ten Gatorades at once.
“Hey McKenzie,” he said, leaning on the door frame. Not only were his arms muscular, I noticed, but he still had a summer tan. “Jacey said you weren’t feeling good, so I thought I’d come by to see how you were doing.”
“A lot better. In fact, I was actually headed to class. But…you can come in if you want.”
“Oh good, that’s all I need.” I turned away as he walked in, hoping my face wasn’t as read as it felt. Of course, I walked right into the coffee table full of used tissues.
Gage stared at the table. “I love what you’ve done with the place.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “So how have you been? I mean, in the past week or so since I’ve seen you.”
“I’ve been okay.” He pointed through the doorway into the kitchen where Luke’s coffee pot sat halfway full on the counter. ”You like coffee?”
“Oh, I drink it sometimes. It’s mostly Luke’s, though.”
“Someone named Luke lives here? Is he your boyfriend?”
“Boyfriend? No, Luke is my brother.”
“Oh, that’s your brother’s name? What about your boyfriend?”
“What about him?”
“What’s his name?”
I shook my head and little pieces of hair fell out of my ponytail. My hair was a mess; why hadn’t I bothered to fix it today? “I don’t have a boyfriend. What about you?”
He pouted. “No, I don’t have a boyfriend.”
I felt my face heating up again. “Aren’t you the comedian.”
He smiled. “So, I was thinking about going for coffee later today. Since you apparently drink it and you don’t have a boyfriend, would you like to join me? We could go after your class.”
I stopped myself from telling him I had another class after bio. What the hell. It was just coffee. Other than keep me up all night and stain my teeth (which could be fixed by a no longer expensive trip to the dentist), what harm could it do?
“Coffee sounds great, actually,” I said.
An hour and a half later, we ended up at a little coffee shop ten minutes from the high school. For the first five minutes, I couldn’t stop staring at all the people. It was almost ten, so I figured the rush of people coming in before work was over. But at least a dozen people sat at the tables or leather couches. Some made calls on their tiny phones, some talked amongst themselves. A group of women sat on the couches in the far corner, leaving lipstick blots on the rims of their cups as they sipped. Three businessmen sat at a table beside the couches, their knees propped up and the sleeves of their collared shirts rolled up.
Gage must have noticed me looking because he said, “This is one of my favorite things about the city. The people watching. Well, I like people watching in any city, but especially here.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” I confessed. We had one or two coffee shops
