audible click. I didn’t know what was worse: the fact that he offered me a juice box or that he automatically assumed I was the DD.
“Music’s going to be playing ’til dawn, so dance the night away, you two,” he said with one last smile, turning to disappear amongst the dancing people.
We both stared after him a moment, neither speaking.
Until Edith sighed. “He’s so dreamy.”
“More like a nightmare,” I muttered, my annoyance meter measuring to a million. At least he was gone now so we could focus. Or, really, so Edith could focus. “So, do you see any boys worth talking to?”
Meaning: do you see Zach Balker?
Edith glanced around, standing up onto her tip-toes to get a better view. I didn’t think that extra inch would help her much, but she sucked in a sharp breath. “I think I see one over by the speakers.”
I raised my chin to peer around the dancing bodies, finally spotting where a boy leaned against the far wall.
Sure enough, Zach stood there, sandy brown hair curled behind his ears, eyes focused on the red cup in his hand. He was also conveniently all alone.
“Oh, now’s your chance,” I told her, turning with a grin. “He’s all by himself.”
“Maybe we should get a juice box first.”
I reached out, grabbing her hands to stop her fidgeting. “Come on. Let’s talk to him and then I’ll find Scott.” I could wait a little longer to talk to him about baseball.
With a deep breath, Edith nodded, taking a step forward. All at once, the tension seeped from her skin, like a thin coat she shrugged off. As nervous as she’d been moments before, no one could tell now. That was her thing. She was nervous until she wasn’t. Until she decided she needed to be a brave social butterfly.
See, Edith was in her element here, surrounded by dancing bodies and laughter, making a beeline for Zach.
I kept my eyes peeled, looking for Scott anywhere in this massive living room. He’d have been here by now surely, but the lights were too dim and there were too many people for me to spot him.
Edith held her arms close to her center as she approached Zach. “What’s a guy like you doing over here all by himself?”
If I knew Edith well enough, I knew she wouldn’t have been watching Zach’s expression. She would’ve focused on the cup in his hand or the way the collar of his jacket was slightly folded over. When she got nervous, she tended to keep her gaze off of people’s faces.
So she would’ve missed the way Zach’s eyes curved when he saw her, the green in them brightening in an instant. “I’m just waiting for the right person to walk up to me I guess.”
“Hopefully we suffice,” she said with a breathy chuckle, one that couldn’t have oozed any more flirt if she tried.
Zach jerked his chin ever so slightly. “Hey, Sophia. How goes it?”
See, Zach knew my name. We hadn’t spoken that often before—just when Edith approached him at a party with me trailing behind, as always—but at least he remembered and got it right. “It goes…good, I guess.”
If I could just find Scott.
Zach’s gaze flicked past me in a moment, locking on something behind me. His eyes narrowed, and Edith must’ve glanced up at him, because she turned too. “What are you looking at?” All at once, the color drained from her face. “Sophia—”
I almost didn’t want to turn around, to figure out what captured both of their attentions. A couple making out in the throng of people? Someone trying to scale the fireplace? Neither would’ve surprised me.
A few feet from us, people parted just enough to reveal a girl with dark, curly hair with her slender arms around the neck of a boy with a purple and gold varsity jacket. It was funny, because I only had one thought running through my mind as recognition stole over me: she’s a perfect height for him. The top of her head rose to his eye level. He and I were the same height, and we always made awkward eye contact.
Scott and I met at junior prom of all places, where I merely attended to cover it for the newspaper. Both of us were dateless and sitting alone during a slow song. He’d broken the ice by asking if I was from a different school because there was no way he’d miss someone like me walking down the halls of Bayview High.
We never went on