And after my mom took too many pictures, we met Dana and Eli at Brother Sebastian’s for our fancy dinner.
Only, as we were being seated by the hostess, we walked by a big table of kids from our school, and Aaron was one of those kids.
No date, thank God, but still.
“Seriously—what are the odds?” Nekesa said, kind of loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear.
And it was one of those dark, quiet restaurants, big on candlelight, white linen, and quiet ambiance.
We sat down at our table, and even though she was laughing and talking and appeared to be having fun, I could tell by the wrinkle between Nekesa’s eyebrows that she was very aware of his presence.
“We can go somewhere else if you want,” I said quietly. “I’m great with Chipotle in formal wear.”
She gave her head a tiny shake. “First of all, I love you for saying that. Second of all, it’s okay.”
“Well, let me know if you change your mind.”
The waiter came and took our orders, and Nekesa and I got swept into the delightful entertainment that was Dana and Eli. They were telling a hilarious story about her falling down her stairs, finishing each other’s sentences, when Aaron walked over.
I was instantly nervous, worried he was going to cause a scene, still not over her kissing Theo. And so I cleared my throat and said, “Hey, Aaron.”
“Hey, Bailey,” he said, looking uncomfortable, which relaxed me a little. He appeared to be nervous, not confrontational, and I leaned back in my chair and exhaled.
Then he looked directly at Nekesa and said, “Hey.”
“Aaron. How’s it going?” Nekesa smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“You look stunning,” he said, his blue eyes unblinking as they moved all over her face. “Seriously.”
Her smile fell just a notch, and she replied with a breathy “Thank you.”
“You made that dress, didn’t you?” he asked, his eyes wide and filled with pride. “I can tell.”
“Aaron?” she said, her tone asking what it was that he wanted.
“I know I said what I said, but I take it all back,” he said in a rush, moving closer to her and lowering his voice just a little. I scooched my chair over so he could fit between us as he lowered himself to a squat and said to her with a trembling voice, “Everything sucks without you, and nothing matters but being able to talk to you every day.”
Nekesa just nodded noncommittally, but I saw the relaxed set of her lips and knew she was going to give in to him.
Eventually.
“I was a jerk and don’t deserve another chance, but this is me, officially begging.” He put his hands on the edge of the table and said, “I don’t want to interrupt your night, but I just wanted you to know.”
I glanced around, and it appeared that half the restaurant was watching as he stood, turned, and started back toward his table. I was hoping she’d forgive him, but I didn’t expect her to get out of her chair so fast that she knocked it over.
“Aaron.”
Not only did she knock it over, but she literally ran and jumped onto his back.
Without missing a beat, Aaron’s hands came up and grabbed her legs, supporting her piggyback landing as if he’d been expecting her. He stopped, slid her to her feet, and turned, and they were both laughing as they looked into each other’s eyes.
Then he had her in his arms and they were kissing.
I was so happy for her, for them, but my heart burned with longing. The entire restaurant broke out into applause, and I blinked back happy tears as he hugged her hard and lifted her off her feet.
Aaron got an extra chair and joined us for dinner, which was fun because I loved Aaron but not ideal because it made me feel like a total third wheel, especially when I sat in the back seat of Nekesa’s car after he ditched his friends so he could ride with us to the dance.
Once we arrived at the venue, it got even worse.
Nekesa and Aaron danced to every song, and even though she kept coming over to check on me, I told Nekesa that I wanted her to dance. I did, but I also felt like a total loser sitting at a table by myself because Dana and Eli were also dancing to every single song.
“Hey, gorgeous,” I heard, and when I looked up, it was Zack. “You look amazing.”
Of course. I was sitting alone like a total derf, so why not have Zack say hello, Universe?
I hadn’t responded to him after our tiny text exchange at Target, but that seemed like an eternity ago because things with Charlie had eclipsed everything else in my life.
Zack was wearing all black—black suit, black shirt, black tie—and it occurred to me that his shirt was a little tight. Charlie’s Baby Gap comment slithered through my head, even as butterflies went wild in my stomach.
“Thanks,” I said, my cheeks getting warm. “So do you.”
He grinned and ran a hand over the front of his shirt. “Me and the guys wanted to go all Prom Mafia with the black; totally Ford’s idea.”
I nodded and smiled, unable to remember which of his friends was Ford. “Well, it was a good one.”
“Who’s your date?” he asked, looking around. “Mr. Breaking Bad?”
I felt a stab of satisfaction at that, but of course, it immediately reminded me of Charlie. I said, “Nah—it’s Nekesa.”
I glanced over and saw her dancing with Aaron. “Well, it was.”
He laughed at that, and I realized that everything had changed.
And hadn’t changed at all.
Because I still found him to be beautiful. And charming. And kind.
But I didn’t feel anything.
“Well,” he said, his eyes moving down to my dress for a second before returning to my face. “I better get back to the group, but I just wanted to say hey. I miss talking to you.”
“Same,” I said breathlessly, and as he walked away, there wasn’t even a tiny part of me that wanted to stop him.
“Are you guys getting back together or what?”
I looked to my left, and Dana and Eli were coming back to the table. Dana was smiling at me as she said it, and I quickly shook my head. “No, he was just saying hi.”
“I heard he and Kelsie broke up,” she said, plopping into the chair beside me. “So I wondered.”
“Wait, what?” I squinted and asked her, “They did? When did they break up?”
“I think sometime last week.” She leaned a little closer and said, “Why—are you interested?”
This was the news I’d been waiting for, yet my we-need-to-get-back-together desperation had left the building.
I literally didn’t care.
Before I could answer, Eli asked, “Are you still pissed at Sampson?”
“What?” I looked at his bow tie and wondered how much he knew. “What do you mean?”
“When he had people over, I asked if you were coming, and he said no because you were pissed at him.”
God, that’s right—he was having people over the day after blanket fort night. I guess I’d forgotten. I gave him a noncommittal “Yeah.”
“That’s okay, you’re not alone,” he said, smiling. “Austin was so fucking livid when Charlie called off the party the night before that I still don’t think they’re talking.”