Delicate (8 page)

“Morning,” I say quietly. He doesn’t respond.

“What are you reading?” I ask. I’m hoping to start some form of conversation so I can slip in,
FYI, I have a serious boyfriend
.

“Morning, Sydney,” he says without glancing up. He flips his book closed, holding his place with his index finger to show me the cover.

“Spoon River Anthology?” I ask. “Any good?”

“Yep.” I
s all
that
he offers.

“What’s it about?”

“The short version? It’s about people’s lives and their lo
s
ses.” His voice is uncharacteristically standoffish.

“Oh. Well, maybe I’ll give it a shot,” I say. He nods and looks back down at his book. “Listen, Grant. I just wanted to thank you again for bringing me home.”

He finally closes the book and turns toward me with a soft sigh. His lips curve into their typical, charming smile. But there’s something else. Something more behind it. I can’t tell if it’s a good thing, or a bad thing.

“And I’ll tell you again, Sydney, it was my pleasure. Anytime.”

“Well, see, that’s the thing,” I say. I twist a lock
of hair
around my pencil nervously. “I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but I, um, I have a boyfriend.” I pause, waiting for him to respond.

“Nope, you didn’t mention it,” he says flatly. Crap. I’d been wrong. He
was
interested in me…

“Look, I’m really sorry for not mentioning it before
—
”

“Sydney, it’s fine. I’m up for a little friendly competition,” he says with a confident smile.

Chills run up my arms, my back and my neck. Did he really just say that?

“It won’t be friendly,” I mumble softly.

“Eh, I can handle it.”

I can’t.

I’m not sure what else to say. I glance up at him from under the protection of my hair, waiting for him to speak. He takes a deep breath as if
he’s
thoughtfully weighing his words.

“Listen, Sydney. You didn’t tell me that you were seeing someone. But he, Trevor, I guess is his name, he did let me know.”

My eyes bulge.

I had something to take care of really quick.

Trevor had confronted him. I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans.

Grant shrugs his shoulders coolly.

“I’m so sorry,” is all I can
eke
out.

“It’s fine. Really. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable the other day.”

“No. It’s not that. I appreciate you bringing me home, and the soup and everything… I just don’t want you to think that I put him up to this,” I say.

“I believe you. He said you had nothing to do with it.”

“Really? What else did he say?” I ask. I want every single detail, but judging by Grant’s cool demeanor, I’m not going to get much else.

“Eh, not much. Just that he wanted to introduce himself and let me know that you two are exclusive. And that I shouldn’t cross any boundaries. That’s it.” He really doesn’t seem bothered by any of it.

“I don’t know what to say.”

“There’s nothing to say, Sydney. I don’t want to complicate your life, or your relationships. And honestly, you may get upset with me for saying this, but you deserve much better than him,” Grant says. He flips his book back open, abruptly ending our conversation.

I immediately feel myself get defensive. Who the hell
i
s he to say who and what I deserve? He barely knows me.

“Grant, that’s not fair. You don’t know anything.”

He looks up from his book again and smiles. Toothy and cocky.

“I know that every time I’m around you I want to kiss you again,” he says matter-of-factly.

Heat fills my face. I’ve never been so glad to hear Mrs. Drez
’s
raspy throat clearing. If she hadn’t interrupted this moment with Grant, I would have had to leave class.

When I finally get to English later that day, I can’t wait to fill Quinn in on
what happened
.

“You’re not going to believe this,” I say.

Quinn smirks. “Uh-oh, what’d the douche
-
nozzle do this time?”

“Quinn, seriously, just listen.”

She listens wide-eyed as I air my Trevor-Grant drama. Omitting the tee
ny
-tiny kiss, so small, it isn’t even worth mention
ing
. Or Grant’s comment about wanting to do it again. My stomach flops remembering that detail of our conversation.

When I finish, Quinn smirks.

“You should totally break up with Trevor and go for Grant!”

“Come on! I’m upset here!”

“I know you are. And I so wish that I had your problems!” she snickers. “But seriously, Syd. What the hell? Possessive much? Why did Trevor do that
?

I lean back in my chair and cross my arms over my chest.

“I don’t know. It does bother me that Trevor confronted him. But what bothers me even more is Grant’s comment about me deserving better. Who does he think he is?” I slam my English book onto my desk in frustration and everyone near me turns to stare.

“Well, Syd, I hate to say that I agree with him, but you know I do,” she shrugs. Her lips
twitch
like
she’s
fighting off a smile. I sort of dislike my best friend right now.

I know how she feels about Trevor, but she has no good reason for it, so I refuse to listen. He’s never been anything but nice to her. Grant has just strolled right into my life and made a huge mess out of everything. From this second on, I refuse to let him do it any longer.

“Seriously, Quinn, give it a rest,” I say. My tone nears callous. Quinn
,
her eyebrows
raised
in shock, shakes her head before turning to face forward.

I sigh and let my tense shoulders fall, feeling more than defeated. Not only ha
s
Grant caused an argument between me and Trevor, but that sparked a fight with my best friend as well. Super.

The rest of the week
i
s over before I kno
w it. Trevor never brought up the Grant-situation
again,
and I smartly steered clear of it, too. I’ve been training harder and harder at gym in preparation for Nationals. Grant and I
a
re barely speaking. Only a brief exchange of words while passing worksheets to each other, or an “excuse me,” if we accidentally touch.

Saturday morning, the day of prom
i
s finally here. Unable to curb my enthusiasm, I
am
up and out of bed earlier than even
I’m
used to.

“Morning!” Dad calls from his office as I rush by the door. I quickly back up.

“Good morning!” I beam.

“You all set for tonight? Do you need anything?”

I shake my head. “I think I’m good.”

“And you’re still staying at Quinn’s house after the dance, is that right?” he asks.

My heart
is
racing already. I had to make up the story about Quinn last week. But at least I finally told him something, right?

“Yep. A bunch of us.”

“I’ll be home if you need anything,” he says. I smile at the sight of him tucking his drafting pencil behind his ear. I turn to walk away and he calls me back.

“Hey, Syd?”

I freeze, waiting for the interrogation.

“Be careful. And give me a call before you go to bed. Let me know you girls are safe, okay?” His concern touches me. And makes me feel like an even bigger jerk for lying.
“Sure Dad.” I nod.

“Love you, kiddo.” He pulls the pencil out from behind his ear and looks back down at his blueprints.

I ha
ve
to get out of here. The guilt
is
palpable and growing by the second. I grab my bag and dress and hurry out the door.

Despite my best efforts to persuade him otherwise, Sam
isn’t
convinced that prom was a good enough excuse to miss a workout. I ha
ve
to promise him that I’
ll
come in tomorrow morning and work out alone to make up for missing tonight’s workout.

Our make-up bags, dresses and shoes are strewn from one end of Tessa’s room to the other.

“So, is Grant going to be there tonight?” Quinn asks, swiping eyeliner along her eyelid expertly.

“I don’t have a clue. We don’t speak,” is all I offer.

“Oh!” Tessa gasps. Her outburst almost causes me to stab myself in the eye with my mascara brush.

“I finally saw him! Grant I mean,” she says. Her enthusiasm makes Quinn grin, and I roll my eyes.

“In my Library Science class,” she continues. “He was returning a book. Something about
s
poons. Weird. Anyway, I noticed his name.” She seems awfully pleased with herself for remembering the details of their minor encounter.

“And?” I say, trying unsuccessfully to mask my annoyance.

“Sorry, Syd. Quinn’s right. He is super delicious.”

Quinn chuckles. “Told you so.”

“I don’t mean anything by it, Sydney,” Tess insists. “I was just saying that I saw him, and he’s…attractive.”

I stare at my hands for a minute. Why are we even talking about Grant today?

“Your eye makeup looks amazing, Quinn,” I say softly. Unable to ignore the compliment of her skill, Quinn smiles and offers to do mine as well. Works like a charm.

“How is it possible that we’re running late? We’ve been at this all day,” Tess says looking at her watch.

We all dress as quickly as possible. Quinn is in her peacock dress with a green and gold necklace and large green ring. Tess’s jewelry is more my speed. Simple.  Tiny diamond studs dot her ears, and a thin diamond necklace
is clasped around her neck
. I want to ask if her jewelry is real,
since
her mom ha
s
recently “married-up,” but I guess asking would be tacky.