“What? No!” Emi protests beside me. “Don’t do it, Carina! This man has your children’s names planned out! He told you you’re not allowed to work and must clean the house like it’s the 1950s or some bullshit! He called you a slut! You owe him nothing.”
Daphne nods along with her.
“It’s common decency to be straight with people, Emi,” Emmett chides, his lips pressed in a straight line. Even frowning, he’s cute.
I agree with Emi, especially because that means I get to avoid a hard conversation, but Emmett’s always had a pure heart. He sees the good in everyone and is always so considerate of other people’s feelings. It’s one of his best qualities and the reason I fell for him. It would do me good to be more like him, even if I’d rather chew off my arm than have another conversation with Arthur.
“I’m not going on another date with him, but I will let him know it’s not going to work out between us.”
The thought makes my palms sweat. I really don’t enjoy having heavy, emotional conversations with anyone, least of all Arthur. But I’ll have to do it eventually, especially if I don’t want him chasing me down in the school halls to claim his five-second PG kiss. I shiver at the thought.
Emi sulks, crossing her arms and slouching against the seat. “Boo. You don’t owe him anything after that.”
“It’s the right thing to do, Carina,” Emmett adds, nodding at me in the rearview mirror, and my spirits lift. I may have to face a terrible and awkward conversation with Arthur, but at least Emmett doesn’t think I’m a bad person.
Kalani twists in her seat again, and something on my face makes her pause. “Hey, you know what? It’s my fault you had to go out with him in the first place. You just avoid him, and I’ll tell him it’s not going to work out on your behalf.”
She knows me so well. This is just like that time in ninth grade when my assigned lab partner got the flu and refused to stay home or cover his mouth when he coughed and sneezed, and she got him to switch seats with her for the week even though we were supposed to be working on a lab report together. She got me out of sitting with Roger I-sneeze-in-people’s-faces-and-wipe-my-nose-with-my-handLangford without me needing to say anything to him, and she can do the same with Arthur. My hopes lift.
“You’d do that?” I wouldn’t have to have a terrible conversation with him and relive that awful night? It might be the coward’s way out, but right now I don’t care.
She nods and smiles, making my heart feel less heavy. “Yup. You just run in the opposite way when you see him and I’ll deal with it. I’ll have to vet your dates better from now on. Iswearhe was normal when I talked to him.”
Emi snorts. “Everyone knows Arthur moves a little too fast, Kal.”
My jaw drops. “You knew?! Why didn’t you stop me?”
Emi shakes her head, shooting a look at Kalani. “I didn’t think Kal would set you up withthatArthur. I thought it was a different one.”
“I didn’t know he was like that!” Kalani defends herself. “You were really adamant that you didn’t like Jay and that his personality and yours would never work together, so I tried to go for someone who was completely the opposite of him. I really wanted to find someone you would get along with, and I guess I swung a bit too hard in the opposite direction. But that doesn’t mean I knew about all the weird comments and his mom. I thought he was just . . . not like Jay. I’m really sorry he was so awful.”
Emi’s phone rings, and she answers, turning to face the window to give herself some privacy, whispering in Japanese.
“Okay, okay, I believe you,” I tell Kalani. I didn’t know his reputation, so I can’t fault her for not knowing either. She was just doing what I asked by finding someone different from Jay, which, technically, she did. She was only listening to what I wanted and trying her best to have me succeed with this blind date thing; it’s not like she wants me to go on shitty dates. Besides, it’s clear she feels bad about how things turned out because she’s volunteering to talk to him for me.
She smiles, releasing a relieved sigh, and faces the front again. “We’ll find you someone better for next week. Maybe someone who doesn’t go to Oakwoods, so you can avoid seeing him in school after.”
A pit of dread forms in my stomach. I just came back from a terrible date, and the last thing I want to do isthatagain. Jay was bad, Arthur was worse. What’s next? My track record is zero for two, and I don’t want to make that three.
“Kalani, seriously? It’s fine. We don’t need to try again. I don’t have an issue being single. I’m seventeen, it’s not the end of the world.”
“I thought you were trying to put yourself out there and find someone you connect with?” she asks, pulling down the visor to check her lip gloss in the mirror. “You can’t just give up now and go back to hiding in your comfort zone. You did the hardest part—the firstrealdate. Now that you know what to expect, it shouldn’t be as scary anymore. And let’s be honest, it can’t get any worse than a guy who brings his mom. It’s only up from here.”
I like my comfort zone. Everyone likes their comfort zone. It’s literally why it’snamedthat, because it’s comfortable, and there’s no reason to step out of it. “I don’t know . . .”
Kalani twists in her seat again, her eyes narrowing on me. “Why aren’t you putting effort into your dates? You say you’re putting yourself out there, but you have to do more than show up. Is there a reason you don’t want to form a real connection with someone? Do you already like someone?”
I cross my arms against my chest like it’ll defend me from her inquisitive glare. “Well, in my defense, you paid Jay, and Arthur brought his mom, so it wasn’t my fault. Plus, itispossible to be content being single. I don’t need anyone to make me happy.”
Her eyebrow arches. “I know you, Carina. Youalwayshave a crush on someone. So spill. The last crush you told me about was . . .”
She trails off, and the car is silent except for the generic pop song playing softly in the background from the radio and Emi on the phone. Everyone’s thinkingEmmettto finish the part Kalani left unsaid, and I can’t have anyone connecting any dots between me and Emmett now. So I plaster on my best innocent face and say, “You’re right. I need to put myself out there more, make more of an effort to get out of my comfort zone.”
My heart’s beating fast from the words hanging in the air about my crush on my best friend’s boyfriend, and Emmett’s silence is so loud it’s deafening.
“That’s the spirit,” Kalani says with a bright smile. “The next guy I pick will be somewhere in between Jay and Arthur—that’s the sweet spot. He also won’t be from Oakwoods in case it doesn’t work out and you’re too scared to confront him.”
She turns to face the front again and types something out on her phone. “I can’t fight all your battles for you, you know.”