“I’d like to know too, Caden,” says Natalie, her tone soft, like I’m pathetic even though they’re the ones who started this conversation. They brought it up, and now they get to judge me because my answer is unsatisfactory to them? Why is that fair? “If you want to tell us, that is. It’s cool if you don’t. Have you ever been in a relationship?”
“I’d rather not talk about it.” I step backward out of the room. “Sorry.”
I return to the kitchen. Richard is reaching up to the cupboard above the stovetop. His body is fully stretched out, but he can’t seem to reach the saucepan he’s trying to grab.
“Here,” I say. I walk over and quickly grab the saucepan. Then I pass it to him.
“Thanks, Caden. Daphne wasn’t really thinking when she designed this place. She figured since she does the most cooking it wouldn’t matter that I can’t reach the pots!”
I chuckle. “Do you need any more help?”
“If it’s not too much trouble, there’s one last thing. Can you chop up this celery for me?”
A gigantic piece of celery is sitting on a wooden chopping board. I walk toward it and pick up the silver knife. I cut off the head, then slice the body into thin slivers.
Hey, Caden, it’s Kaylee. Sorry I was slow, I had a date, but I’m here now.
“You and Juliet seem to be getting along,” Richard goes on. The celery crunches beneath the knife. “Is there anything you want to ask me? I’m here now.”
“We aren’t dating, if that’s what you’re asking. We’re just good friends.”
He blinks. “Wow, I wasn’t expecting you to be so blunt.”
“Keeping secrets isn’t my thing.”
“That’s a rare quality. And if you respect me enough to be honest I will return the favor. I think you’re a good young man, Caden, I really do. And I think you would be kind to Juliet. But you must understand, it’s my job to make sure she becomes the woman she was born to be. She’s destined for greatness, you must know that, and, well, all boys your age hurt girls eventually. You just do. So I want you to think hard about what your relationship with Juliet is, because—”
“Dad?” Juliet is standing in the doorway, glaring at him. “What are you doing?”
“I was talking to Caden about—”
“I can’t believe you! Caden and I aren’t even dating and you’re already freaking him out!”
“But you will be soon enough. I see the way you look at each other. I’m not as smart as you but I’m not an idiot, Juliet.”
“You can be sometimes, Dad. Seriously, I don’t know what you want from me. You want me to get married, yet you don’t want me going anywhere near boys or, God forbid, having sex! It’s like you want me to be alone but are also judging me for not having a serious boyfriend!”
He puts the pot he was holding down on the counter. “You’ve got so much potential, Juliet. I don’t want you throwing it all away for the first hot boy you see.” He turns to me. “Not that I think you’re hot, Caden. I’m using lingo to try to relate to her. I read it in a book.”
“Dad, seriously, please stop talking.”
“I’m just trying to protect you, Juliet. That’s all. You’ll probably thank—”
“Caden,” interrupts Juliet. “Come with me. I’m done. So done.”
I follow her out of the kitchen into a small hallway. The walls are lined with framed photos from holidays she and her family have been on. In the one closest to her, Juliet is standing in front of the Colosseum with her arm flung around her mom’s shoulders.
Right now, she’s leaning against the wall, her head pressed limply against the plaster. I lean on the wall opposite from her. Our legs are inches apart.
She rolls her eyes. “I’m sorry about him. He’s dramatic. We both are, in a way. It’s embarrassing—you probably think I’m a brat. A spoiled, rich brat.”
“He was being pretty weird. I’m on your side, Juliet. Not his. Not now, not ever. And you’re not a brat.”
“You’re too nice to me sometimes,” she says, but her voice is soft. She looks up at me. “It makes me feel like I can get away with anything.”
“It’s because you can. You could hate Star Wars and I’d still forgive you. I can’t think of one situation where I wouldn’t take your side.”
“Now that’s not true. You don’t like me spending time with Dyl. I can see it in your eyes. It’s like you’re jealous.”
She picked that up? Crap, that means I need to be more careful. I’m lucky because being jealous of Dyl fits the persona I’ve created, so it’s not going to make her doubt my character. But it’s dangerously close to my real feelings. And if I’ve learned anything, it’s that my real feelings only hurt me.
“I’m not jealous of him. I’m intimidated, I think. He’s a scary dude. Do you remember when he beat up those guys? I don’t like the idea of you spending time with someone that violent.”
“He’s not scary, he’s different. He’s unlike anyone I’ve ever met. I’m usually pretty great at reading people, but with him I come up with nothing. I mean, he beat up those guys, sure, but do you remember that book of poetry he was reading? I asked him about it, and he let me borrow his copy. It’s really tattered, and a few of the lines are highlighted. Thugs don’t read poetry, Caden. Plus, he only beat up those guys to save us, remember? He told me he hates hurting people, but he’s willing to do it when it’s necessary.”
“That’s bull. You missed it, but I saw him when he was fighting. He was grinning like a loon. He was loving it.”
“Oh. That’s a bit weird.”
Critical hit!
“Anyway,” she says. “You aren’t jealous of him, exactly. I think you’re jealous we’re spending time together.”
If I’m going to ask her out tonight, I need to start being bold. “I am jealous of that. And I’m not ashamed of feeling that way.”
“Oh.” She smiles. “I wasn’t expecting you to be so blunt. But this is a party, and I don’t want to talk about Dyl right now. Come on, it’s time to get into our costumes!”
I get dressed in a simple guest bedroom. It’s a cream-colored room with a single bed and one tall stand-alone mirror pressed into the corner. With the skintight spandex on, but with the mask off, I make my way over to the mirror. I ruffle my hair, making it look messy, and practice my quizzical expression. I look pretty good. Not as good as Dyl probably will, but the costume makes my muscles look bigger than they actually are, and the blue of the suit makes my eyes pop.
Kaylee, mask on or off?
Off for now. Put it on when you get to the party. It’ll put some distance between the boy she knows and the seriously hot man you are now. She’ll check out your pecs and then be like, damn … Wait, that’s Caden?