Emi slams her chair back on all fours, then exchanges an excited glance with Daphne before a smile spreads across her face. “You bet your damn ass I can set you up with Wyatt! He’s perfect for you. Emmett agrees.”
“Actually,” I add as she whips out her phone, “let’s make it a triple date. Me, Wyatt, you two, and Kalani and Emmett. Maybe I just need you guys there to help me break the ice.”
Kalani’s going to be pissed, especially since she apparently just set me up with someone for next week. But good, let her be. I’m done playing her game.
“I love it!” Emi exclaims.
Daphne nods along, adding, “What should we do?”
“I’ll text the group now,” Emi says, tapping something out on her phone. “We can figure it out together. A big group date! How fun!”
Yes. Fun. Of course, Emi’s excited—I won’t be awkwardly fifth wheeling them this time. They won’t have to worry about leaving me alone for a few minutes because I’ll be there with my date.
My phone goes off with a bunch of new messages, and I switch it to vibrate even though we’re allowed to make noise in this section of the library. They’re mostly from Emi texting the group chat anyway, informing everyone of the new plan. Daphne replies too, showing her excitement, even though she’s sitting right in front of me, and Emmett replies saying Wyatt’s awesome and he knows we’ll get along. Kalani says nothing, but she messages me privately.
Wyatt? Seriously? I just told you I got you a date with someone already! What am I supposed to tell him?
I force my expression to remain neutral in front of Emi and Daphne, who are considering date options for us and what to say to Wyatt.
I reply to Kalani.
Oops. Didn’t see this message before we set everything up. Sorry.
Although I lied, I’m feeling bold.
Plus, if it doesn’t work out with Wyatt, there will be no more blind dates, so tell whoever you’ve got set up it’s not going to work.
Despite all the conflicting emotions I’m feeling toward Kalani, I feel like giggling. Jay would be proud of me for saying I’m done with the dates. He’d tell me to say a lot more, and to probably say it in person, but I said I was done with the dates nonetheless, and it feels fantastic.
She texts back right away.
Seriously?!
I don’t answer. If she has an issue, I’m sure she’ll bring it up when I see her on Monday, or even argue with Emi in the group chat. But I doubt Emi’s going to let her have her way this time, especially after having rallied for Wyatt for weeks now.
Kalani’s my best friend and has been foryears, but I can’t figure out why she’d do any of this. I refuse to believe it’s over any discovery of my feelings for Emmett. She’d be way more pissed if it was, and she wouldn’t hesitate to pull the plug on our friendship if that was the case. Sowhy?
I don’t know what Kalani’s endgame is here, but clearly she wants me to go on shitty dates and doesn’t want me to succeed. I’ll show her. This date is going to be a success if it kills me, and she’ll see it with her own two eyes. Plus, I don’t really want to believe it’s true. Maybe Arthur’s confused or things got mixed up. Maybe Kalani told him those things for a reason and I’ve jumped to the worst conclusion. I don’t want to think the worst of Kalani right away, so now I’ll get to see if she says something or tries to sabotage my date, and I’ll have actual proof.
“Wyatt said yes!” Emi exclaims, showing me her text.
Wow. That was fast. I guess I’m really doing this. But whether or not Wyatt and I get along, it’s one hundred percent going to be my last date, and Emi and Kalani will just have to deal with me fifth wheeling until we all go to university.
Fifteen
The week flies by so fast with all the exam prep and work that I barely even notice when Friday night arrives.
Kalani was upset about having to cancel whoever she chose for date number four, but otherwise she has been positive and looking forward to the group date. She didn’t even make a big stink about my choosing Wyatt over her guy, which made me second-guess my theory about her sabotaging my dates. My doubts worsened when she came over Wednesday night and helped me pick an outfit while she was waiting for Maleah to finish her piano lessons. She didn’t say anything about Wyatt not being right for me or make any other excuse to get me to not go out with him.
If she was picking bad dates on purpose and wanted them to fail, wouldn’t she have said something about not wanting me to date Wyatt? Because Wyatt is Emmett’s friend, and from what I’ve heard, he’s a really good guy.
Maybe I overreacted at the library. Maybe Arthur really did just misinterpret Kalani’s advice. Maybe I’m shitty for jumping to conclusions that incriminate my best friend. Kalani hasn’t been the most considerate lately, sure, but she’s stressed with everything at home, plus exams coming up don’t help, and she’s putting a lot of pressure on herself to be voted prom queen. I should cut her some slack and not assume the worst. Even Emi doesn’t suspect anything, and I’d know if she did, because she’d say something.
I’m in the back seat of Emmett’s Volvo, with Kalani sitting shotgun, on our way to our group date. I’m wearing a green off-the-shoulder crop top and white shorts, and I wonder what color underwear Jay would guess I’m wearing. Green or white?
“What are you laughing about?” Kalani asks me from the front seat, and I rein in my amusement.
“Nothing,” I say as my phone vibrates with a text.