At First Sight (17 page)

“Totally.” I smiled back. “Um, so did Megan like the show?”

Yeah, I couldn't resist. Same way I can never resist probing with my tongue right after having a tooth pulled, or peeling off a scab, or peeking at the gory scenes in a movie even after I've covered my eyes.

His expression went a little gooey around the edges. “She loved it,” he said. “And listen, Lauren, I want to thank you for listening this whole time, you know? It's good to have friends who, like, support what you really want.”

“Um …” I wasn't sure what to say to that.

Luckily, he wasn't paying that much attention. “Anyway, get this—Megan and I made plans to meet up at the Air and Space Museum tomorrow at noon. Isn't that, you know, super-romantic?”

“Definitely romantic.” It was so difficult
to spit out the words that I was astounded by how normal they sounded.

Not that Riley would have noticed either way. His eyes were a million miles away. Well, probably more like fifteen or twenty miles away, in the city—with Megan.

“Back to the place where we first met,” he mused. Then he snapped back to the here and now, reaching into his pocket and pulling something out. “That's when I'm going to show how much it means to me that I found her again by giving her this. Check it out—think she'll like it?”

He dangled the item in front of me. I grabbed it for a better look. It was a guitar pick on a thin silver chain.

“That's the pick I used at my very first real gig with the Grovers,” he explained shyly. “I kept it as a souvenir or whatever. Kind of dumb, huh? But I thought it might be a nice way to let her know how happy I am that we found each other, you know?”

I gulped, staring at the pick. It had a couple of nicks in it and looked pretty ordinary overall. But that didn't matter. I could tell by the way he was talking that it was superspecial to him. That this—the
necklace, the meeting at the museum—was going to be his way of letting Megan know that he wanted to take things to the next level in their relationship.

It was an incredibly touching and romantic plan. Or at least it would have been if that annoying faker Megan weren't so utterly and completely undeserving of such a sweet, earnest gesture.

“Sounds cool.” I tried to keep my voice casual and disinterested as I handed back the necklace. Because if I let myself tell him what I really thought, I was pretty sure I was going to burst into tears right there in the middle of the mall.

He looked a little surprised by my reaction, or nonreaction, or whatever. But he didn't say a word as he tucked the guitar pick back into his pocket. We just stood there for a moment in silence, neither of us looking at the other, though out of the corner of my eye I could see him hazarding a glance or two my way.

When I couldn't stand it anymore, I forced a laugh. It came out sounding fake and kind of mean. “Well, are we just going to stand around here all day, or are we going to shop?”

Without waiting for an answer, I hurried into the music store. Rachel and Haley were over near the registers looking at the rack of new releases, and I spotted Britt and Marcus giggling together over something in the kiddie section. Behind me I could hear Riley's footsteps. Not wanting to look at him right then, I stepped over to the nearest bin of CDs and started digging through them without really seeing them.

He came up beside me and stood there for a moment. I realized I was holding my breath. When I let it out and breathed in again, I caught a whiff of his distinctive spicy-soapy-coffee scent, the one I'd first noticed back at the planetarium. But I did my best to ignore the flutter it caused in my stomach.

“Are you okay?” he asked after a moment.

I didn't meet his eye, instead busying myself with the next row of CDs, flipping through them one at a time. “Sure, fine.”

“Are you positive?” He leaned on the edge of the bin, trying to get a look at my face. “Because I never knew you were so into opera.”

I blinked, finally focusing in on those
CDs. Oops. Dropping the one I'd just picked up, I shrugged and moved on.

“What's the big?” I said. “I have eclectic tastes; so sue me.”

He frowned, watching me as I paused by the dancehall section. “Look,” he said after a moment. “If you're mad at me or something, at least tell me what I did, okay?”

For a second I was tempted. Why not lay things on the line?
Somebody
had to tell Riley he was making a huge mistake before he made a complete fool of himself over a girl who didn't deserve him… .

But the feeling passed quickly. I'd already tried being honest. What was the point in trying again now that he was so sure he'd found her? If his longtime pals couldn't get through to him, what chance did I have? At least if I kept quiet, maybe we could still be friends. That was better than nothing, right? And I wasn't the type to pine away over someone who was into someone else. No way. I definitely wasn't
that
pathetic. As Britt was always saying, there were plenty of fish in the sea.

“Sorry,” I said, turning to face him. “Guess I'm just a little distracted today.
Listen, about that necklace—I'm sure Megan will adore it. Any girl would.”

“Really?” His face lit up. “Thanks, Lauren.”

“You're welcome. And hey, good luck tomorrow, okay? I'm sure it'll be awesomely romantic.”

He smiled, looking relieved. “Thanks,” he said again. “You're the best. Did I mention I'm glad we met?”

“Yeah. But it's always nice to hear it.” I smiled at him, feeling my heart break a little. But I did my best to ignore it. Not pathetic—nope, not me.

Once I'd convinced Riley that I was happy for him, I almost managed to convince myself, too. Or at least forget everything that had happened and try to have a good time.

And before long I actually was—having a good time, that is. Riley and his friends were a blast. Marcus kept us all in stitches with his lively sense of humor; a few times Britt laughed so hard I was afraid she was going to pass out.

I couldn't help noticing that Britt wasn't acting quite like herself. At least not when
it came to Marcus. I first noticed when he stepped aside to let her go first on the escalator. Instead of saying something obnoxious, she just thanked him and went ahead.

A little after that we stopped in the candle store so Haley could buy a present for her aunt's birthday. Britt found a juniper-scented candle that she liked. And when Marcus joked about buying it for her for Christmas, she didn't say something Britt-like, like, “Why wait? Christmas is a long time from now,” or, “Hey, if you're offering, I could use a new Coach bag.” Instead she just smiled at him and held out the candle for him to smell too. The light was kind of dim in there—candles, remember?—but I almost would have sworn that she blushed a little. Almost. Because Britt
does not
blush.

And when we were all browsing in Macy's and she held up a purple top for his opinion, she actually listened when he said he liked the blue one for her better … and grabbed the blue one!

“Think I'll try it on,” she said.

“I'll come with you.” I grabbed the first thing I could find that was anywhere near my size—a boring beige polo—and followed her
into the dressing room. As soon as we were alone in one of the roomy stalls, I tossed the polo aside. “So what's going on with you and Marcus?” I demanded.

She pulled her T-shirt off over her head. “What do you mean?” she asked, her voice muffled by the fabric.

I waited until I could see her face again before answering. “I mean you're acting different with him,” I said. “You're not treating him like your usual boy toys. If I didn't know better, I'd swear you actually, you know, liked and respected him.”

Britt grabbed the blue top. “So what? I like and respect all my boy toys.”

“Yeah, for like twelve and a half seconds.” I crossed my arms, leaned back against the dressing room's full-length mirror, and stared at her. “But it's been a whole entire week now and you're not acting sick of him yet.”

She yanked on the top and adjusted it. “Move over; I can't see myself.” As soon as I shifted out of the way, she twisted and turned in front of the mirror. “He was right,” she murmured. “The blue one's definitely better.”

“Aha! See?” I pointed an accusatory
finger in her face. “Since when do you ever listen to guys for fashion advice!”

“I listen to Vivi's brother Austin all the time. He has great taste.”

“I mean
straight
guys. Guys you're actually
dating
.”

She didn't answer for a moment, keeping her head down and playing with the hem of the blue top. Finally she looked up and met my gaze. The look in her eyes was almost … bashful?

“Okay, maybe you're right,” she said softly. “I think I might actually be, you know, falling for this one. For real, I mean.” A little smile played around the corners of her mouth. “I'm even starting to wonder why I wasted my time with all those other losers.”

My jaw dropped. Literally. I stood there with my mouth hanging open, staring at my best friend. Who was suddenly acting like some complete stranger.

“For real?” I demanded, once I'd recovered enough to speak. “You're actually doubting your man-eating ways?”

“Well, not
doubting
, exactly.” She squared her shoulders and gazed at herself in the mirror. “Come to think of it, it was probably fate that things happened this way. If I hadn't
kissed so many frogs, I might not have recognized a prince when I found him.”

I was stunned. It was hard to believe that this could really be Britt talking about finding her prince—and maybe actually meaning it. But she had a look in her eye I'd never seen there before, especially when she looked at Marcus. Or mentioned his name. Or thought about him. Like she was obviously doing right now as she smiled at herself in the mirror.

“Wow,” was all I could say for a second. Then I shook my head. “I'm thrilled for you, Britt. Seriously. At least this whole Planetarium Girl disaster turned out to be good for something.”

“I know, right?” she said. “But it still blows my mind that Riley can't see that you guys are just as perfect for each other as Marcus and I are.”

“Never mind that.” I grabbed the polo, which I'd never had any intention of trying on. Boring Beige Blah just isn't my look. “Let's get out there so you can hang with your prince.”

“Anyone want to split a pie?” Marcus asked, stopping in front of the pizza place. It was an hour later, and we were all starving.

“Sure,” Britt said.

“Me too,” Jake agreed.

Rachel nodded. “Let's get the large.”

The others seemed ready to join in the pizza fest, too. But Riley and I exchanged a look.

“I'll pass,” I said. “I'm in the mood for something a little more interesting than tomato sauce and processed cheese on undercooked dough.”

Riley chuckled. “Ditto. Come on, Lauren. The Japanese place here isn't too bad. We'll find you guys in a minute, okay?”

I saw Britt shoot me a raised eyebrow, but I ignored it. This wasn't about romance. It was merely a matter of discernment. Riley and I left the others arguing the merits of pepperoni versus mushrooms and headed across the food court.

“It's nice to have someone along who likes to eat something more adventurous than pizza and burgers,” Riley said as we got in line at the Japanese place, which really did have a fairly extensive menu for a mall place.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Most of my friends make a point to never eat anything more exotic than brown mustard. Britt definitely
included. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm a shoo-in for the title of Weirdest Eater in Maryland.”

“Don't be so sure,” he said jokingly. “I lived in Brazil, remember? They put peas and mashed potatoes on their hot dogs there.”

“Kid stuff,” I countered. “Last month my dad decided to make his own haggis. With all the traditional ingredients.”

He nodded slowly, the expression on his face convincing me that he must have tried the disgusting Scottish dish himself at some point in his life. “Impressive,” he said. “But have you ever tried stewed oxtail?”

“No,” I had to admit. “But I'm sure if I mention it, my parents will declare next week Jamaican food week and give it a try.”

He was still laughing when his phone buzzed. “Sorry,” he said, reaching into his pocket. When he glanced down at it, he smiled. “Oh. Megan just texted me.”

“That's nice.” I carefully kept my voice and face neutral. Even though my good mood had just crashed and burned like the Hindenburg.

He was still reading the text. “She just wants to confirm our plans for tomorrow—
she's getting ready to hit the town with her sister.”

We were almost to the front of the line by now, standing side by side. I was trying not to glance over and read the text for myself. Trying
really
hard.

But what can I say? I am weak. My eyes edged over in that direction, and before I could stop myself, I was scanning the message. It was pretty much what Riley had said, except that he'd left out one part. The part where she said,
Luv ya and miss ya, sweetie!
at the end.

Suddenly the smells of fish and soy sauce, which had made my stomach grumble hungrily just seconds ago, started making me feel nauseated instead. Or maybe it was the terrible truth that was turning my stomach. Because as I stood there beside Riley watching him read that text from his new girlfriend, I realized something.

I couldn't talk myself out of it. I didn't want to be “just friends” with Riley. No, I really, really, really liked this guy. And I was pretty sure he could have liked me back. But I'd totally blown my chance. And there was nothing I could do about it now.

It was too late.