Ricky gave her a polite smile, but the corners of his mouth were twitching. “Uh, no, thank you. I just came by to talk to Codi real quick.”
Tammy’s expression sank. She threw me a look like I’d offered her a piece of pie and then yanked it away. “Of course,” she said, giving him an awkward little bow before she dipped off to the kitchen section.
Ricky turned to me, eyebrows raised in a way that said That bitch is crazy. “Is it okay that I came in?”
“It’s fine,” I said, shaking my head. “She’s just not used to me having visitors.”
“What time do you get off?”
“Nine.”
He smirked like that was exactly what he wanted to hear, and I could tell he was going to spring something on me.
“Wanna come out with me and my friends?”
I processed his invitation slowly. Ricky and I had been hanging out a lot, but it was always the two of us by ourselves. I’d never met any of his friends before. I was flattered—and terrified—that he would even suggest it.
“Do you have something else going on?” he pressed.
I thought of the texts Maritza, JaKory, and I had been sending about our plans to hang out later.
“Maritza and JaKory wanted to watch a movie,” I said, biting my lip.
“One of the same old movies you always watch?”
He had me there. I gaped at him, stalling with my answer.
That knowing smirk was still on his face. “Well, if you change your mind, it’s shaping up to be a good night. We’re grabbing food at Taco Mac, and then who knows what’ll happen.” He paused, his eyes twinkling. “I’m gonna wait in my car. You can ride with me if you decide to come.”
I hesitated. I’d already said yes to Maritza and JaKory, but I knew exactly how a night with them would go. Ricky’s offer promised something new.
I exhaled and rolled my eyes at him. “You know I’m gonna say yes.”
“I know it,” he singsonged. He held up a pack of cocktail napkins featuring a pig in a pearl necklace. “You’ll get these for my college going-away party, right?”
Before I could do more than laugh, he turned around and ambled out the door, setting the bell tinkling again.
Tammy reappeared and looked at me nosily. “Is that your boyfriend?” she asked, like she couldn’t quite believe it.
“No,” I snorted, cleaning a stain off the checkout counter, “not even close.”
* * *
Ricky played an Aretha Franklin album on the way to Taco Mac. There were a few artists I’d come to realize he played when he was feeling good, and Aretha Franklin was one of them. Even after we’d pulled into the parking lot at the back of the restaurant, he didn’t turn off the ignition until the song ended.
“Ready?” he asked.
My stomach was in knots. I had no idea what Ricky’s friends were like—what if they were snotty, or mean, or way too cool for me? What if they didn’t like me? What if they made him realize he didn’t actually like me, either?
“Codi,” he said firmly, as if reading my mind. “Relax. My friends are nice. You’ll like them.” He jumped out of the truck. “Take off your name tag, though.”
“Ricky,” I said, following him toward the restaurant, “how many people are gonna be here?”
“Just a few,” he said, shrugging. “Come on, I’ve been craving this queso all day.”
He steered me into the restaurant. I tried to walk all cool and casual like him, but my heart was hammering and I wasn’t sure what to do with my arms.
There was a small group of people stretched across a table in the center of the restaurant, and as Ricky and I approached, they turned toward us with raised arms and goofy grins. I took them in without really seeing them; I was too focused on sitting down so they’d stop looking at me.
“Where’ve you been?” a loud guy asked. I recognized him as the guy with the buzz cut from Ricky’s party.
“I was meeting up with Codi,” Ricky said, gesturing toward me. “Everyone knows Codi, right?”
My face burned as everyone looked at me, but Ricky didn’t give me time to feel embarrassed: He pulled out my chair, turned to the buzz cut guy, and said, “Cliff, introduce yourself.”
Ricky’s friends didn’t miss a beat. They all smiled and told me their names, and none of them questioned why Ricky had brought me along. Cliff, Samuel, and Leo had been on the football team with Ricky; they