Nobody in Particular(72)

Ouch to my head, and my pride. There’s nothing better than eating dirt—or ice, I guess—in front of a massive audience.

“That was a hard fall,” Edmund says from behind Rose.

“She’s fine, Rosie,” Alfie says, and there’s a warning in his tone.

“Can you see okay?” Rose asks me, helping me sit up.

For a second, I think I might be seeing stars. Then I realize it’s the cameras flashing. “Rose, back up,” I whisper, trying not to move my mouth.

She bites her bottom lip hard, takes a deep breath, and shuffles backward. Alfie grabs her hand and pulls her in to whisper something.

Edmund takes Rose’s place by my side. “Anything broken?”

I do a quick body check. “Nope, but my tailbone might be bruised.”

“Not the tailbone. I had the worst tailbone bruise from falling once. I was just standing there, too. One minute I was up, the next I was down.” He helps me up, and, together, we leave the ice, Alfie and Rose at our heels.

My back is aching like nobody’s business, and we have the photos we needed, so we decide to call it a day. Edmund gets his skates off first and runs to the bathroom—a cute little brick structure I think must have been built next to the lake just for this—and I’m left alone with Rose and Alfie.

“So,” I say. “I could’ve used a heads-up that Edmund’s into me.”

Rose and Alfie look at each other.

“What?” Rose asks Alfie.

“I needed someone to join us so you could have Danni here. He mentioned he finds Danni hot, so I thought he would be interested in coming.”

“Don’t you think that’s a little odd?” Rose whispers.

“I thought it couldn’t hurt. I’m sure they’ll end up great friends.”

“She’s my girlfriend,” Rose says, and if I thought I did a good job at speaking without moving my lips before, Rose puts me to shame. “You just set my girlfriend up on an actual date.”

“I didn’t think it would matter! It’s not like she likes guys anyway,” Alfie says under his breath.

“Well,” I say, and both of them look at me. “I can like guys,” I clarify.

Rose looks sort of horrified by this. She knows I’m bi, so I guess it’s more that I made it sound like some sort of confession, so I add hastily, “But not when I’m taken. I’m just as capable of monogamy as anyone else.”

“It does change things a bit, though,” Alfie says. “I wouldn’t have brought Edmund if I knew that.”

“Why are you saying that like it’s my fault?” I ask.

“I’m not! I’m apologizing for my oversight.”

“Oh.” I wince. I guess I’m as easy to rile up as Rose is today. “Sorry.”

“Next time I’ll make sure I bring a guy who finds you hideous,” Alfie promises.

“Actually,” Rose says, “if the two of you don’t mind, I’d rather drive this toe pick into my eyeball than do this again.”

“Okay, okay,” Alfie says, wounded. “Failed venture. Got it. At least we got some good photos, right?”

Rose forces a smile and claps her hands rapidly. A flash of light tells us the paparazzi got that on camera, too.



* * *



“So, what did you and Edmund talk about?” Rose asks me once we get out of her car at Bramppath and have a second of privacy.

“Not a whole lot. Mostly small talk. He’s nice, though.” She raises both her eyebrows and looks anywhere but at me. “Nice enough,” I add, smiling.

She glances back at me, and then frowns. “What’s funny?”

“You. You’re all jealous.”

She shrugs, and looks off again.

“We thought I was the one who was going to struggle with keeping us secret,” I say, “but it’s not as easy as you thought it was gonna be, is it?”

“Shush.”

“I spent most of the day watching you,” I say. “I tried not to, but I couldn’t help it. You’re the last person who needs to worry, I promise.”

The smile she gives me makes me want to stop in my tracks and pull her in to me, right here in the courtyard, and never let go. If only.

“Thank you,” she says, and I make sure to “accidentally” brush against her as we walk. And once more, for good measure. It’s not enough, but it’s what we’ve got, so I’ll take it.





THIRTY-ONE

DANNI




I’m on edge all through dinner that night. So much so I can barely eat.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Rose asks from her place next to me. Under the table, she nudges my foot with hers. “Does anyone know if a lack of appetite is a sign of a concussion?”

“Why would you have a concussion?” Molly asks me from across the table while she cracks her crème br?lée.

“She fell down at skating and hit her head.”

“Well, have you gone to the nurse?” Molly asks, pausing with her spoon halfway to her mouth.

“No, I’m fine, I promise,” I say. “I’m not in pain anymore.”

“You don’t look fine,” says Eleanor. “You look pale.”