“Who?”
Of course he doesn’t know who that is. Most people my age don’t and it makes me want to educate them on the greatest man who has ever lived.
“He was a famous actor and dancer in the fifties.” I reach for the chili peppers, shaking more onto my pizza. “He was the main character in my favorite movie,An American in Paris. I was obsessed with the seventeen-minute ballet sequence he does in that movie with Leslie Caron. So I started dancing because I wanted to be able to dance with him.”
A few little kids run by, laughing. Their parents call them over, scolding them for running around the restaurant.
I continue. “No one bothered to tell me that Gene died before I was even born.”
Lucas snorts, leaning back in his seat, his arm coming up to rest on the back of the booth. “Let me get this straight. You started dancing because you had a crush on a dead guy?”
“I was eight!”
“Well now I have to see what the man of the hour looks like.”
From under the table, I nudge his knee with my leg but pull out my phone anyway, grumbling about how Lucas isn’t cultured enough for my liking.
It doesn’t take me long to find a picture on the internet, and not because I still have some saved of the man.
I flip my phone around to show Lucas, who’s patiently waiting, but his eyes sparkle with a mix of amusement and disbelief when he takes my phone in his hands. Glitter pink case and all.
He laughs. “Him, Denise? That’s the guy you have the hots for?”
I gasp, plucking my phone from his hand and clutching it to my chest, so he can’t disrespect the love of my life anymore. “You know what, Callahan? I wouldn’t expect you to understand. You don’t know Gene like I do.”
“You don’t either!” He laughs. “Denise, Princess, the man is dead.”
I reach across the table, stealing a piece of chicken that fell onto his plate as if I don’t still have a half-eaten slice on my own. “Oh, like I’m sure your childhood crush was any better.”
“Yes, actually.” Lucas pushes his plate closer to me like I have every right to eat off it. “My first crush was on the original yellow ranger, like a normal child.”
I’m quick to flip him off and go to nudge his knee again. He catches my ankle this time and I struggle in his grip for a few seconds. Before I can argue with him to let me go, despite not really meaning it, two figures come walking up to our table.
Grace and Addison.
“Where’s Preston?” Grace thankfully doesn’t bother acting casual. Not that she usually does.
Lucas lets go of my ankle, his unamused gaze directed toward the two girls. “I don’t know, Grace. Probably somewhere trying to get the taste of you out of his mouth, I’m sure.”
I slap my hand over my mouth but it’s already too late. My laughter bubbles out and lands between the tension that now surrounds our table.
Grace crosses her arms and looks away from me, clearly unimpressed while Addison looks me up and down in disgust.
All I do is smile and give her a half-assed wave, making her scoff and turn her attention to Lucas.
“You know, you always seem a little too heated at the fact that Preston and I are together,” Grace says. “Something you want to share with the class, Lucas?”
Lucas smiles. Not his usual boyish grin, but the one that lets me and everyone around us know that he’s now just simply doing it to get on Grace and Addison’s nerves.
And I appreciate him for that.
“I’m more than happy to be the one to break this to you, Grace, so believe when I tell you that there’s no way that you and Nole are official.”
Addison scoffs on behalf of Grace. “Like you know anything.”
“You’d be genuinely surprised by the things I know.”
Grace clicks her tongue. “I’m surprised you’re able to retain any information in that head of yours.”