Under the Same Stars(57)
Now, Yasmin texted: Katie, have you passed the Cards Against Humanity test???
I sucked in a breath. One of the prompts Natalie and I’d chosen was I’ll Brag About You to My Family If…
My answer?
You beat me in Cards Against Humanity.
Not yet, Katie texted back, and then had the sheer audacity to add: Harry’s too clever for his own good.
Come on, give me some credit! I thought, frowning at my phone screen. Granted, Dad did always win our games, but I usually came in second!
I exited out of Messages and swiped across my home screen to the dating app’s icon. After polishing my profile, Natalie and I’d swiped together for a while; I hadn’t opened up the app since. But now, I was greeted by a pop-up message: SNATCH YOUR MATCH!
My pulse leapt. Someone had liked me!
I tapped to see who it was.
Okay, I thought, smiling a little. I can work with this.
***
With Lauren constantly hanging around, there was no casual time to tell Connor my news. I didn’t want it to interrupt our nightly Netflix binges, so I waited until the day of my date to give him a heads-up. We were riding Chip and Chop bareback in the far field; along with shellfish, Connor was technically allergic to horses, but he loved them too much to stay away. Zyrtec, jeans, and long-sleeve shirts mostly kept his hives at bay. “Just an FYI, I can’t watch Emily in Paris tonight,” he told me. “Lauren’s been dying to go to Six Flags, so we’re heading there later.”
“Okay, no problem,” I said, trying to keep a straight face. Because, to put it gently, amusement parks were something straight out of Connor’s nightmares. After getting trapped at the top of a roller coaster for two hours when he was ten (a freak technical difficulty), he’d developed a serious fear of heights, and he hated waterslides. “I don’t know what it is about chlorine…” he once said. “But it makes me so nauseous.”
Our seventh-grade field trip to Six Flags water park? He lasted five minutes in the wave pool before profusely vomiting in the lazy river.
“I actually can’t do tonight, either,” I added. “I’m going to the movies.”
“Oh,” Connor said. “With the girls?”
I shook my head. Most were still on vacation.
His brow furrowed. “I thought Marco had friends from Princeton in town?”
“He does,” I confirmed, then cleared my throat. “I have a date.”
“Wait, a date?” Connor asked. “You have a date?”
I played it cool. “Yes, tonight.”
“With who?”
“Jacob Bluestein.”
Connor slowed Chip to a stop, and I did the same with Chop. He gave me a blank look. “I’m confused. I didn’t even know you knew Blue.”
“Of course I know Blue,” I said. “He’s on the wrestling team.”
“Well, yeah,” Connor said. “But like, you don’t know him-know him.”
“Yes, I do.” I straightened my shoulders. “We matched on that dating app Isa Cruz invented and have been chatting for a week. He asked me out a few days ago.”
Connor opened his mouth, then closed it. “What have you been talking about?” he eventually asked.
“Just stuff,” I replied. “Our summers, sports, movies, families, how we’d never want a bird as a pet.” I shrugged. “Randomness.”
He slowly nodded. “That sounds good.”
I smiled. “I think so.”
The expression on Connor’s face had twisted, making him look half perplexed, half pissed off.
Something on your mind? I wanted to say but didn’t. Are puzzle pieces fitting into place?
Instead, I laid it on thicker. “I’m really excited.”
And truthfully, I was excited.
***
“He’s here!” Da called up the stairs just as I was finishing my makeup and pulling my hair into a high ponytail. I glanced out my window to see Jacob’s Silverado truck park where my car usually was. He’s picking you up, right? Meredith had asked, and after I’d said no, that we’d agreed to meet at the theater, Katie wrote: Unacceptable. Get him to pick you up. Tell him your car is in the shop so you need a ride.
I agree with Katie, Natalie said as my secondary consultant. Davis should’ve picked you up for our JProm. Show some manners, dudes.
No worries! Jacob texted back after I’d messaged him about car issues. I’ll swing by and grab you!
He was a big fan of exclamation points.
And he was also pretty cute. Stocky and strong from wrestling, he had curly brown hair and kind hazel eyes. I liked that he’d pseudo-dressed up for tonight, wearing a short-sleeve button-down and khakis. He came to the front door, and even though his knock set off Arthur and Francine, he took it in stride—letting them push up against him for pets while my parents welcomed him. “It was really great to meet you both,” he said after we talked for a few minutes. The movie started in a half hour. “I’ll have her home by—”
“Ten,” Da said at the same time Dad went, “Eleven.”
“Twelve!” I joked.
“Before the clock strikes twelve,” Da amended with an air of finality.
Dad shot me a look that said, You’re fairly confident in this date, aren’t you?