Nova (3 page)

Even now, as we began our game, Nikki was talking up a storm with two guys that were right next to us. They weren’t that good-looking, and they may have been close to thirty, but Nikki liked to charm anyone she could. I think that’s who
Autumn
tended to get her dating techniques from lately, which is why I wasn’t too big on accepting her advice.

Levi and
Dillon
arrived shortly after that, and then
Conner
even came when we started a second game. His family gathering had ended early (or he’d cut out early, I wasn’t sure which), and he quickly took up his role of playing Nikki’s doting manservant. Those two were a mystery to me, and I still didn’t understand their relationship. Autumn claims the two were just friends with benefits, but I was leaning more towards
Conner
being the fool that Nikki kept
stringing along.

“Are you going to the movies with everyone?” a voice asked me.

I brought myself back to the moment and looked at Levi s
itting next to me. He was leaning
over, putting his street shoes back on just as
Autumn
motioned for me to take my last turn.

“Uh, I’m not really sure…” I told him
as I stood
.

“Well you should. I mean I’d really like it if you came,” he added with a smile.

I returned the smile
but
almost dropped the ball that
Autumn
seemed to dump into my hands unexpectedly. I knew she heard his last comment and she looked pretty annoyed. Levi had been talking to me for most of the night, but it was generally just basic conversation. We were all having fun as a group, but I didn’t understand why
Autumn
still thought playing hard to get was a good idea. I even encouraged her to
casually
invite him to the movies, and she refused. Finally it was Leah that brought it up and everyone seemed to agree.

But I’d always gotten along with Levi pretty easily. We first met him and
Dillon
a couple
months back at a New Year’s Eve party, and since Autumn made friends with Levi first, we just kind of let her own the friendship. But now she was barely talking to him, so what was the poor guy supposed to think?

“I’m not mad at you,
Nova,
” she told me later as we entered the movie theatre together. “I mean I am a little,” she admitted, “but not because you did anything wrong. Does that sound dumb?”

I always loved
Autumn
for her honesty.

I chuckled and said, “No, I understand. But
Autumn
… You’ve got to talk to the guy. Playing the indifference card isn’t helping you out right now. He’s talking to me because I’m willing to talk to
him
.”

“No, he’s talking to you because he
really
likes you,” she replied with a playful frown. I was about to disagree but she stopped me with, “No, I can tell. And I’m fine with that, I really am, I’m just trying to shift gears on the fly right now and it’s tough.”

I chuckled at her ever-so-serious yet playful nature. She was biting her lip, pretending to be in deep thought over the situation.

“Try talking to him,
Autumn
, then decide if you need to shift gears.”

“Nah, I’m thinking t
hat he’s really not my type any
way. He’s too…awkward.”

“Awkward? You mean, like, cumb
ersome or something? Or nervous,
” I stated.

“Yeah, both.”

I smiled. “That’s kind of nice. That means he’s not phony, trying to be all smooth and charming.”

“See, and I like that. Guys should be able to sound sophisticated and…urbane. They gotta pull it together.”

“Hmm, that’s where you and I differ I guess.”

“You don’t like guys that are laid back but confident?”

“Well yeah, that’s nice, but only
if that’s how they really are.”

“Well anyhow… I think you and Levi make a better couple.”

I had to laugh.

“What?” she asked.

“You’re pushing us together already? Don’t you need a grieving period?” I teased.

“Nope,” she smiled. “Besides, Leah told me he and I looked like brother and sister. I’m so not okay with that.”

I laughed again as we entered theatre six, and we spotted our friends right away.

“Hmm,”
Autumn
murmured. “What do you think Levi would do if I sat down in the empty seat next to
him that’s
most likely reserved for
you
?”

“I’m not sure, let’s try it.”

“Pssh, maybe we should sit in the row behind them and see if he moves.” I was about to laugh at the idea, but she practically shoved me into the aisle just
behind
theirs. “Now we’re not all spread out,” she smiled big as we sat down behind them.

“Hey, I heard Dahlia Marks is in theatre two,” Leah
turned around and
whispered to us. “Nikki thinks she and
Conner
should sit in front of her and start making out.”

We both laughed, and
Autumn
was probably picturing Dahlia’s look of horror like I was. Some bitter rivals just didn’t belong living in the same city together.

Autumn and Leah (and now Nikki) continued to joke about it, just as Levi leaned back and said, “Hey, can sit back there with you?”

I guess I really was surprised that
Autumn
’s prediction was right, but I replied, “Sure.”

He put his hand on the back of his seat and
hopped over with both legs, dropping
in the seat next to me. “They’ve been talking about Dahlia Marks since I got here,” he murmured quietly. “I don’t even know who she is, but I think I’m supposed to hate her.”

I laughed and said, “Yeah, I think I am too. I’ve only been around her a couple of times so I really don’t have a grievance with her.”

“Don’t let Nikki hear you say that. It means you’re siding with Dahlia.”

“Yeah, there’s no such thing as neutral
, right?
”

“Mm, t
here is, and we just won’t say anything one way or the other.”

“Sounds like a good plan.”

The rest of the night went similarly, and I
enjoyed sitting by Levi. I really did feel
that
he liked me though, and I wasn’t sure what to think about that. He was a good-looking guy, but I didn’t have room for a guy in my life. I did reserve Saturday nights f
or spending time with friends—w
hether they felt like they spent time with me or not
, I still saw them once a week—but I was sort of against adding another relationship to my plate.

Levi did end up asking me out a few days later. He even began it with “I know you’re a busy person
but
…” I figured as long as he understood that, then I
could agree to going out with him.

He took me
to dinner the next Saturday, and then to a small jazz club to listen to some music.
He’d definitely done his homework because he knew my interests, so I had to give him a lot of credit for that.
I had a
really
good time
, but when he asked me out again at the end of the night, it was an uncomfortable conversation for me.

“What do you mean you’re not sure?” he asked with a polite smile. “You mean about next Saturday, o
r about another date in general?
”

“Uh, both I guess…”

We were just pulling up to my aunt and uncle’s house and Levi put his truck in park.

“Well, I’d like you to be a little more specific if you can, Nova. I guess I thought
we
had a good time, and I was kind of assuming you didn’t despise me just yet.”

I smiled and said, “No, I don’t despise you. And yes, I do like spending time with you. I just don’t think I can
commit to seeing you regularly
. I wish I could
Levi
, but I don’t think my schedule would be very fair to you.”

He shrugged. “Maybe you have more time than you think. I won’t subject you to going out with me every weekend if you don’t want to do that, but I think I can find other ways to see you on occasion. Could you give me a chance to try?”

I took a moment to consider it, and since his sincerity was really pulling me in, I found myself agreeing to it.

I told him goodnight, thanked him for a good time, and walked myself to the front door. There wasn’t a chance I
was going to let him kiss me… T
hat
would alter our status too soon
and I wasn’t ready to fully commit to
a boyfriend
.

A few days later, Tuesday, I entered Clover’s at three o’clock. I’d b
een at school for the morning—t
wo classes and then some time in the library. I usually didn’t mind working a full dinner shift on my school days because I’d been sitting for most of the morning, but that day I hadn’t been able to shake a headache I’d had since I woke up. I was stubborn when it came to taking medication, even a simple pain reliever, but I finally relented and took some before I stepped into the café.

“
Hope you’ve got your game face on,” Robin said as soon as she saw me.

I gave her a pitiful “not feeling up to it” face.

“Well buck up, sister. Table ten has been waiting for you for almost two hours.”

“What?” I peeked out from the
kitchen
as I tied my apron behind my bac
k. It was those four guys again, t
he guys from a few weeks ago that I’d bribed with free drinks.

“At least they’re returning customers now,” Robin grinned.

“What do you mean they’ve been waiting for me for two hours?”

“They got here just after one, asked if you were here, and I said you usually didn’t get here until three on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”

“And they just waited?”

“Yep. I mean they’ve had appetizers and drinks, but they said they were going to wait to order. They’ve been waiting for
you
.”

I wasn’t sure what to think of the situation. I mean it wasn’t that I hadn’t had a “fan” or two since I’d worked at the diner, but maybe I was a little overwhelmed by the four of them
all together
.

“Nova, this could be a good thing, honey. You can’t expect that they’ll
leave
an enormous tip every time, but who knows, right? Think about your future, your education.”

She smiled optimistically and I had to laugh. No matter the customer, I still had a job to do, so I took a deep breath and clocked in.

“So is this going to be a regular thing?” I asked as I approached table ten. “You’re taking valuable work experience away from my fellow employees just to pester me?”

“You’re calling us pest
s?” asked Brock, the big mouth.
“Where’s your manager?” he asked, looking around the room. “I’d like to file a formal complaint.”

“I don’t think it would do much good being that you’ve been here waiting for me for…two hours?”

“We wait for our favorite waitress and you’re going to hold it against us? I’m hurt,” he pouted, sticking out his lower lip.

“Yeah, so anyways… What can I get for you
fellas
?”

“Actually we’d like for you to settle a bet for us first, and then we’ll order.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Just a simple question,” he added, holding up his hands. I’d already had possibilities going through my head and maybe he
read
into
that.

“Fine, one question.”

He smiled and glanced at the other guys before he asked, “How old are you? See ‘cause I’m guessing you’re probably nineteen, Will is going with twenty, Austin thinks twenty-
two
, and Nash is thinking you’re barely
even
eighteen.”

I looked over each guy as he pointed to him
, finally getting some names in my head
. Then I looked at Brock and asked, “And what are the stakes?”

“Fifty bucks.”

I raised an eyebrow again. “Hmm, so if someone happens to be correct, they win the fifty bucks?”

“No, we
each
put in fifty bucks. Winner gets two-hundred.”

“Two hundred dollars? For guessing my age?”

“Yep.”

“
Jeez
, and what if you guys are all wrong?”