“Okay, bye! Love you!” Throwing my keys and some cash into my tiny clutch purse, I bend down to pat Kevin and hightail it out of the house before Mom becomes more interested in my plans.
Even though the days are longer now that it’s the first week of June, it’s a chilly evening, and I hate that I forgot to grab a jacket again. I blast the heat and the radio to help with my nerves. I shouldn’t be nervous—I’m going on a date with a guy namedChadfor goodness’ sake—but Kalani had time to talk to this guy, unlike the others. What if she likes Chad because he reminds her of Emmett? Obviously, Kalani likes Emmett, so she’d like the same qualities in another guy, so that would mean Chad is like Emmett, meaning I’m going on a date with my very own version of Emmett.
But then again, Kalani had a few drinks in her, and it was way too loud at the party to have a proper conversation with someone, so perhaps she doesn’t know Chad at all and I’m stressing over nothing. At the very least, I should only be worried about the restroom window situation, not the Chad versus Emmett situation. But Delphine doesn’t have windows in the bathrooms, and this dress is way too cute to ruin crawling through any windows. I stop at a red light and pout, remembering Emmett’s admonishing words about ditching a date. I guess I shouldn’t crawl out a window anyway, so I’ll cross my fingers and hope the date is a success, because I’m not sure I’ll be able to face the confrontation if it’s not.
Delphine Chophouse is already packed by the time I arrive at 6:50 p.m., so I park near the back and huddle close to myself for warmth as I cross the parking lot.
Jay’s a server here. I wonder if he’s on the schedule today. I wonder if he’ll bemyserver. Maybe I should text him and see if he’s working. No. I shouldn’t do that. I haven’t heard from him since last weekend at Ralph’s party, and I don’t think he works on Fridays. But what if heismy server and he goes out of his way to humiliate me on my date, and then the date is ruined and Kalani thinks I’m sabotaging dates on purpose? No, he wouldn’t do that, would he? Maybe. ItisJay I’m thinking about. And why am I thinking about him so much? I’m about to go on adate—I should not be thinking about the guy who threw me into a pool last weekend, even if itwasfor a helpful reason.
I enter the restaurant winning the internal battle with myself, refusing to pull out my phone and ask Jay if he’s working tonight. The hostess brings me to my table when I tell her I have a reservation under Chad, but unlike the last two times, no one’s at the table to greet me. I guess I got here first? Taking a seat, I open the menu and skim through the options. Delphine is pricey—like a chicken breast is fifty-five dollars kind of pricey—so it looks like I’m getting a thirty-five-dollar salad. That’s the most money I’ve ever shelled out for a simple salad before taxes, so it better be the best damn salad I’ve ever had. I text Kalani to let her know I’m here, and she messages me back, telling me she’s taking Maleah to the movies to escape the arguing at home and will check in on me later.
A smiling woman who’s at least ten years older than me approaches the table. “Hello, I’m Nina, and I’ll be your server tonight.” It’s not Jay.My server isn’t Jay. I tell myself the pang in my stomach is relief, not disappointment.
I ask Nina for a water while I wait for my date, and ten minutes later, when it arrives, I’m still staring at an unoccupied seat in front of me. Is he not coming? How long am I supposed to wait before I can pack up and call it a day? It’s 7:10, so maybe he’s not coming. Is the pressure in my chest relief or annoyance? I can’t decide.
“Princess?” The deep voice forces my head up. Jay’s standing in front of my table, his eyebrows drawn together.
He’s not dressed in the server uniforms everyone’s wearing, so he can’t be working. In fact, he looks good. Really good. His broad shoulders are emphasized by his white button-down dress shirt, which has touches of navy in the collar, buttons, and sleeve cuffs. He’s wearing his silver watch, and he’s got on dress shoes. I force my head back up to meet his eyes and ignore the fact that we match in a cute couple-y way.
Oh, no.Pleasetell me Chad wasn’t an elaborate setup to get Jay and me back on another date. But no, that can’t be it. He’s looking at me like he’s genuinely confused.
“What are you doing here?” he asks.
“I’m on a date,” I mumble, feeling embarrassed.
Jay lifts an amused eyebrow, and his gaze shifts to the empty seat in front of me. “Is he imaginary?”
I smack his arm. “He’s not here yet!” I pray my foundation is heavy enough to cover my reddening face.Of courseit’s just my luck that even though he’s not working, he’s still here to witness another blind date. He already thinks I’m weird and undatable, and he’s about to see it unfold right in front of his eyes. I cross my arms over my chest. “What are you doing here, anyway? You’re clearly not working.”
He points at a table a few feet down from where I’m sitting. There are three guys and two girls around our age there, and I recognize them as people Jay was with at the cliff.
“It’s Zach’s birthday. He’s eighteen today, so we’re celebrating.”
They don’t have menus, so they must have already ordered. The empty seat where Jay must be sitting is on the side closest to me, which means he’s not facing me, and I won’t have to worry about his eyes on me all through dinner.
“Tell him I say happy birthday,” I say for lack of anything better. His gaze is unnerving, and he doesn’t make any move to leave, so I clear my throat. “Well, thanks for stopping by, but I have a date, so . . .”
He nods his head. “Right.” He looks away for a moment before meeting my eyes again, but there’s a playfulness that wasn’t there a moment ago. “There aren’t any windows in the bathroom here, so I don’t think you’ll be able to escape. And after the thanks I got for helping you last time, you’re on your own for this one.”
I sit up straighter in my chair. Does he think I didn’t already consider the bathroom window situation? And who said I would ask him for help? It was a fluke I roped him into it last time.
“I won’t need your help,” I state, trying not to squirm under his gaze.
“Uh-huh.” His tone is filled with disbelief. “I’ll remember that. Have fun on your date—if he shows.”
He gives me a once-over that heats my body all the way to my toes before he continues on to wherever it was he was going, probably the restroom.
Indignation swells in my chest. Why does every conversation I have with Jay both excite me and piss me off? How dare he think my date won’t show up! It doesn’t matter that a few minutes ago I was relieved at the idea of Chad bailing; now I mentally shout to the universe, asking for Chad to arrive and for this date to be amazing, if for no other reason than to rub it in Jay’s face.
See?I’ll say.Heisreal, and he’s here, and we’re having an amazing time, and I don’t need your help to bail me out of this super awesome date, so HA!
Now all I need is for Chad to hurry and show up so I can have a fantastic time and prove to Jay that I’m not the loser he thinks I am.
“Clarissa?” An unfamiliar voice interrupts my internal musing. It’s not as deep as Jay’s, but it’s a guy’s, and he’s standing at my table. He looks me up and down and smiles. “Yes, you’re the hot girl from the party. I’m Chad.” He pulls out the chair in front of me and sits down.
Well, this is off to a brilliant start. “My name isCarina.”
Chad doesn’t look bothered by the correction. “Right, right. C names—Cara, Clarissa, Carina—all the same shit.”