Falling Like Leaves (Bramble Falls, #1)(39)

And then he finds me. His eyes lock with mine, and he grins and points to me.

Then he holds up his hands in the shape of a heart.

“Oh. My. God,” Sloane says as the cheering grows louder.

I laugh, knowing he’s referencing Taylor from the first time he asked me to come to a game. Such a Swiftie. I let go of Cooper’s shoulders and hold my hands in a heart back to him. His grin grows wider before he’s running to the sidelines.

Cooper lowers himself. I guess it’s time to climb off him.

Once my feet are on the ground, Sloane leans into my ear. “Nothing going on there, huh?”

“There isn’t!”

“You guys just put on a whole show for the stadium,” she says.

“It was a joke. That’s all.”

We stay the rest of the game, cheering and laughing and having fun. But Cooper’s energy has nosedived.

As we’re walking back to the truck afterward, I nudge him with my shoulder. “You good?”

He glances at me. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. You seem off.”

He furrows his brow at me and smiles, assaulting me with that dimple. “I’m good, Mitchell.”

“Okay.” I climb into the back of the truck, and Chloe gets in front with Cooper.

And as we pull out of the parking lot and head to the diner, I try to ignore how much I hate it.





Chapter Seventeen




The diner is packed by the time we arrive. Our group of eight is finally seated after waiting twenty minutes. Another ten minutes later, Jake and Slug show up fresh off their win, showered and grinning. Sloane made sure to leave the chair next to me open, so Jake snags it.

As I’m sure she intended.

“Well, how terrible was your first football game?” he asks me.

“You know, I had no idea what was happening, but I had fun.”

“I knew you would.” He takes a sip of my milkshake. “You picked a good first game. Homecoming is always a blast.” I give him a smile, but it dims as I remember that I have to break the news to him about the dance. The idea of telling him now and ruining the buzz from the win seems shitty, but would waiting until the end of the night be any better? At least if I tell him now, he’ll be able to shake it off with his friends. There’s no good option.

I sigh, pushing down the resentment I feel toward my dad for putting me in this position. “Speaking of homecoming…”

“Not sure how I feel about that tone.” Then he smiles like he’s joking when he says, “Are you backing out on me?”

I stare at him.

“Oh.” His smile falls, and he runs his hand through his wet hair. “Um, okay.”

“I’m so sorry, Jake. It’s just that a really big opportunity came up. My dad called earlier, and he set up a meeting in the city with an admissions guy from Columbia.”

“On a Saturday night?” he asks, clearly not believing me.

“I can’t meet during the week now that I’m living here, so that’s when the guy said he could sit down with me. I swear I didn’t pick the time. The scheduling was out of my hands.”

Jake looks at the table. “Okay.”

Ugh. I am the world’s biggest jerk.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “Really.”

“It’s fine.” He shrugs. “I get it.”

Chloe, oblivious to our conversation, comments on Jake scoring three touchdowns tonight, and he turns to talk to her. Probably so he doesn’t have to talk to me. I run my finger down the condensation on my water glass, my mood completely tanked.

I sense someone watching me, and when I raise my eyes, Cooper’s staring. And he looks pissed.

I arch an eyebrow at him, silently asking why he’s looking at me like that. With a tight jaw, he shakes his head and looks away.

What could I have possibly done this time? Did he hear my conversation with Jake? Is he mad at me for not going to homecoming?

A server arrives with our food, and I try to push Cooper’s scowl to the back of my mind as the night turns into laughter and chatter. Over the next hour, Jake makes a show of bouncing back, sucking down three milkshakes and cracking jokes. But I get the sense he’s just putting on a front, and it makes my stomach twist with guilt.

The diner grows louder as more post-game groups arrive, and everyone is having a good time. Slug asks out a sophomore he meets at the jukebox. Asher shows up and sits next to Sloane and Preeti, and when “Party in the USA” comes on, he stands on his chair and sings along. Soon everyone is laughing and belting the lyrics. Everyone except me. Because I can’t get out of my own head. I know how important this interview is, but it doesn’t make me feel any better about skipping out on Jake.

I excuse myself and weave through the crowd on the way to the bathroom, desperate for a few minutes alone, somewhere that I don’t have to plaster on a smile and pretend I’m not reeling about disappointing my friend.

I lock myself in a stall and let out a deep breath as I lean against the wall, taking a moment to decompress. My phone buzzes, and I dig it out of my pocket to find an Instagram notification—Fern’s latest post, showcasing a new dumpling place in Chinatown. I’m suddenly so homesick for our Thursday night dinners at Nom Wah that tears prick at the back of my eyes. I tap the heart on her photo, and I can’t help but notice I’m the eight thousandth like. For some reason it makes me feel even more disconnected from her.