“You are not cancelling.” Jodi rolls her eyes. “Because I, for one, am not going to let you talk yourself out of this. I know that there’s stuff from before we met that you don’t want to tell me about and I’m okay with that, but I’ve got to be completely honest with you about something.”
She’s clearly waiting on me so I roll my hands. “What?”
“You’re missing out.”
I sigh. “Well, that’s not exactly news to me. I just…” I glance down at the two Skittles left in my hands. “I don’t want to screw with what I’ve got if it’s working just fine.”
“Look, Aimee. From everything you’ve told me so far, going out with Cole is a good thing and you are an idiot if you think otherwise.”
“Then maybe I’m an idiot.”
“It’s going to be okay. Dating is simple because men are very basic. Rule number one is to always keep a guy on his toes. Rule number two is to avoid ordering anything messy like chicken wings or lobster on a first date. Other than that, it’s easy. And don’t stress out about your clothes because all you have to do is wear something that’s either short enough that he can’t stop staring at your legs or dips down low enough that he can’t stop staring at another one of your assets.”
I sneak a peek at my low-profile chest and snort. “Assets?”
Jodi licks the sugar off her hand and keeps going. “Yes, your list of assets is long. In addition to the obvious, I’ve discovered that you listen to really decent music, you’re clever and uninterested in the whole college popularity game, and… well, you know your shit when it comes to Pokémon.”
I never should have let it slip that I still have my collection of Pokémon cards. Jodi keeps finding ways to throw it in my face.
“It’s true that if we stumble across a battle with another trainer, I’ll be ready.”
“See.”
“Hardy-har-har.”
“Aimee, I know that you think I’m just blowing smoke up your ass, but it’s the truth. I see all those things and Cole sees them too. Hell, getting him to take you out before he takes you in is a major coup.”
“Umm… thanks?”
Jodi laughs. “You know what I mean… Cole Everly comes across to the rest of the world as your typical arrogant, athletic ass-monkey. It’s enlightening to discover that he’s not.”
We look at each other in silence for a minute and start cracking up. I don’t even know why we’re both laughing and maybe that’s the best part. We just are. And it’s… it’s new.
I know that I’m not ever going to be able to replace what I had with Jillian, but it feels good to be like this with someone else. And then it dawns on me that even my thoughts are a kind of betrayal. What am I doing? Jillian Kearns isn’t going to hear about my upcoming date. She’s not going to share a bag of Skittles with me or anyone else. She’s gone and she’s never coming back. Ever. Just thinking about “replacing” her is—
A male voice distracts me from the dangerous path my mind is taking. “What’s so funny?”
I turn around and see Kyle standing in the doorway next to the bench that Jodi and I are sitting on. His black hair is spiked up and messy and the sleeves of his t-shirt are ripped, showing off the swirling pattern of colorful tattoos that climb up both of his arms. A long metal chain is attached to the belt loop of his skinny black jeans. To say that this guy intimidates me would be putting it mildly.
“You’re done!” Jodi jumps up, brushes past me so quickly that I can practically smell her lust, and sinks into Kyle’s chest. He stumbles back and laughs.
“I would hug you back, but…” He holds up two cans of diet coke.
Jodi leans away from him and her forehead buckles. “What’s this?”
“Earlier you said that you were thirsty and—”
“But why diet? Are you implying that I’m fat and need to be on a diet or something?” She steps backward. “Oh my God, Kyle. Are you saying that Aimee is fat too? ”
Kyle’s expression changes—his dark eyes go wide and his lips tighten. He looks horrified. “No. I didn’t mean anything by it. I thought that’s what was in your fridge at home so that’s what I got from the machine. Shit. I swear that I think you’re perfect.”
After a handful of tense seconds Jodi breaks into loud laughter. She takes both of the cans away from Kyle and hands one to me. “I’m just fucking with you, babe. This is great. Thanks.”
Shaking his head and grumbling under his breath, Kyle grabs her and pulls her back into his body. He loops his long arms around her neck and ducks his face low so that he can whisper something in her ear. Jodi’s so tiny that I can barely see her when she’s all wrapped up like this, but I can hear her laughter and for the first time in a long time, I want it. I want all of it.