Between the Lives - By Jessica Shirvington Page 0,32

of approval. Essentially we were a great fit, but the fact that it was so important to Dex that everyone knew it unsettled me.

But I didn’t want to upset anything in this world right now, so I planted a quick kiss on his lips before moving casually out of his hold.

‘I can’t wait for graduation either,’ I said with a small smile.

He closed the distance again. ‘You know, we don’t exactly have to. By the looks of it, your mom’s not at home.’ He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

In some ways, I agreed. I would have preferred less buildup around our ‘first time’ – just getting it over with seemed an easier option. But at the same time … I found myself smiling back at him and saying, ‘I’ve planned the whole night, Dex. It’s only days away. Patience.’

He bit his lower lip. I could see he wanted to argue, but the gentleman in him won out and he nodded. ‘I can be patient when I know what’s waiting at the end.’ A devilish smile played on his lips. ‘And anyway …’ he stepped back, putting a little air between us, for which I was grateful, ‘… I came to see if you wanted to see a movie in the city?’

My knees almost gave out under me. ‘The city … Boston?’

He rolled his eyes. ‘Yes, Sabine. The city. I know you don’t love going into Boston, but they have the best cinemas and I thought it would be nice to get out of Wellesley for the day. What do you say?’

I usually avoided city outings like the plague, preferring to dodge treading the streets of my other life. It felt wrong. On so many levels. One time curiosity had led me to the address of my other home, only to discover that while the house was still there, it wasn’t the same. Just like everything in my two worlds, it was similar and yet just slightly ‘off’. To start with, another family lived there, and they – or the previous owners – had attempted a side add-on. Since then, being anywhere near Roxbury unnerved me. I preferred to keep my two lives completely separate.

Dex watched me with a hopeful glint in his eyes. He would only pester me and ask questions if I refused, and I hadn’t been quick enough to blurt out an excuse. And besides all of that, I needed to do something that was normal. So I painted on a smile and said, ‘Sure. A movie sounds great.’

Dex had planned the whole day, parking in a garage and then walking us towards a French bistro where he’d already made a reservation. I tried not to let that irritate me and instead embrace the sweetness of the gesture, but for some reason I failed to gush very convincingly.

The bistro was named Le Bon Gout – Good Taste – and it was one of the most expensive lunch spots in Boston. Dex was out to impress.

We talked about our plans for the year ahead. About Harvard. Dex slipped in the idea of us getting a place together after freshman year. I tried to hide my frozen reaction – after all, it was the natural progression. One that I wanted. At least … I thought I wanted.

Lunch was delicious, both of us feasting on fish and sharing a crème brûlée for dessert. I smiled, even laughed, and desperately tried to ignore the thoughts that threatened to dominate my mind: the downfall of my other life, the sadness of knowing my parents hadn’t believed me, had not even given me the chance to explain.

I’d been locked away. And now I was polishing off crème brûlée.

The waiter came over and started to clear our plates.

‘Bonne?’ he asked.

I smiled. ‘Qui, merci. Tout était délicieux!’ I replied, the words rolling off my tongue.

The waiter’s eyes sparkled. ‘Votre accent est presque parfait,’ he said, complimenting my French.

My smile widened. ‘J’aime la langue. J’ai été l’apprentissage toute ma vie,’ I replied, telling the waiter that I loved the language and had been learning it my whole life.

He beamed in response. ‘Oui. Pas assez de gens réalisent les avantages de parler une autre langue. Vous pouvez prendre la compétence partout avec vous.’ He gave me a small bow even as I sat there, stunned by what he’d said.

The waiter turned to Dex. ‘Please excuse me. Your friend is very lovely and so few of our customers speak French so well.’

Dex didn’t look impressed. ‘Yeah. She’s amazing.’ His expression