“I figured,” he says.
There’s tension in the air as we step off the escalator and saunter over to the glass barrier that wraps its way around the entire level. We’re peering down at all the people on the floor below as they zip across from one store to another. Jake’s leaning forward, his arms crossed and resting against the barrier, and I slowly run my fingers over the metal.
“You know that I have to go home next month, right?” I glance sideways but don’t angle my head to look at him. He doesn’t look back at me. I know this isn’t exactly what Rachael had in mind when she sent us off alone, but she’s given me the perfect opportunity to set things straight with him.
“Yeah, I know,” he says.
“Right,” I say, although my voice is laced with trepidation, worried that he’ll take my words the wrong way. “So maybe we should just stick to being friends.”
Jake still doesn’t glance over at me, but he shrugs and stares at a group of girls on the floor below. They look like seniors, and I wonder if he recognizes them. “Whatever, Eden,” he mutters. “It was never going to be anything serious. Just a little fun, if you know what I mean.”
I blink and take a step back from the barrier. “Wow.”
“What?” Now he looks at me. He straightens up and narrows his blue eyes, acting like he didn’t just say what he just said. “I thought you knew that.”
“I did,” I say sharply, suddenly realizing that Tyler was completely right when he told me that Jake was a player. Just a little fun, that’s what Jake plays for. Nothing serious, because serious isn’t cool. “I just didn’t believe it until now.”
I don’t even know why I’m getting angry over this. In fact, I should be thrilled to get Jake off my back, overjoyed that he didn’t get offended. I don’t think I ever saw myself being with him, anyway. He was a good kisser, and that night was fun, but that’s as far as Jake and I are going. We’re simply friends. Minus the benefits that he likes to think he’s entitled to.
I sigh and rub my temples. “Okay, whatever, it’s cool. You bought me Chick-fil-A, so thanks.”
“Cool,” he says with a laugh, but he sounds a little agitated. The thing about Jake is that he seems like a nice guy, but there’s a look in his eyes right now that makes me wonder if he’s a completely different person when things don’t go his way.
I don’t know what to say back to him and it looks like he’s done talking anyway, so I turn around and stalk my way back over to the escalator. He follows me. We head back up to the dining deck, where our friends are still sitting. Tiffani has somehow managed to sprawl herself across Tyler’s lap. She sure does take the phrase “forgive and forget” seriously. But I notice that Tyler doesn’t return her enthusiasm. She’s all over him, but his hands are stuffed into his pockets and his expression is blank.
Rachael wiggles her eyebrows at me when we approach, but I pretend not to notice and fetch my bottle of water from the table instead. Tiffani finally unwraps herself from Tyler, and the seven of us actually have a conversation for once, discussing the party on Saturday and what alcohol to get and who they think will turn up at beach. I just sort of nod my way through the entire thing, agreeing with everything Rachael says and hoping it’s enough to get me through.
*
That night, after Rachael and I finally made our way home to Deidre Avenue, I picked at the mac and cheese that Ella made for dinner, set off on a run, and then collapsed into bed shortly after. An entire day of trailing around stores was simply too much for me to handle, so the exhaustion from the extensive socializing and the run combined was enough to put me to sleep long before midnight.
I don’t know what I was thinking about before I dozed off, but I’m pretty convinced I was thinking about Tyler. I know that he was all I thought about when I was running. I couldn’t get the day out of my head. It was the way he pulled up to the mall with Tiffani and her new purse that he splashed a wad of cash on, kissing her like he hadn’t been kissing me the night before. It was the way he’d smiled at me afterward, the way his eyes had crinkled, the way he was keeping everything a secret, keeping us a secret. That’s what I couldn’t stop thinking about.
Suddenly I’m stirring awake again, my room dark, the house silent. I stare at my wall through half-closed eyes, and behind me I hear my door squeak open again, and I realize this is what has woken me. I moan into my comforter.
“Are you awake?” a voice whispers across the room. It’s Tyler, and my eyes promptly fly open, my door groaning as it clicks shut again.