“Thanks.”
“But I’ll admit that if I’d been standing where he was standing, I’d probably have had a different view of the whole thing.”
“The funny thing is, he was jealous of you for a while there.”
He snorts. “I seriously doubt that your ex has ever been the slightest bit jealous of me. Look at him. And look at me.”
“I’m not comparing you two—”
“Because I’d lose.”
“Well, yeah, but only in looks and personality.”
Now it’s his turn to thank me sarcastically.
I say, more seriously, “James knew I shared something with you that he couldn’t. Not that he wanted to. But still.”
“You mean Ivy and Ethan?”
“Yeah. He didn’t get why I cared so much about her. To be fair, I don’t think he’s all that into his own siblings. He’s kind of self-centered. In the most likable way possible.”
“Is that why you broke up?”
“A little bit. And maybe a little bit because I was starting to like another guy.”
“Yeah? Who?”
“Don’t be an idiot.”
He shakes his head somberly. “It’s going to take me a while to really absorb this. Girls like you don’t like boys like me.”
“There aren’t other girls like me,” I say. “I’m unique. And don’t you forget it.”
We decide to make an In-N-Out run—?David’s in no hurry to get home. “It’s too weird to be there without Ethan. He’s been my constant companion pretty much my whole life.”
But he has an AP physics test to study for, and I have a paper to write, so after we eat, I drop him at his house and go home.
No one’s downstairs. I go up to my room and find Ivy on her bed, playing on her iPad.
“We had dinner without you,” she says as soon as I walk in. “It was chicken and peas. Mom said you went to In-N-Out with David. Why didn’t you take me?”
“Sorry. I will next time.”
“Are you and David going to be boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“I think so.”
“You said that wouldn’t happen.”
“Believe me, Ives—?no one’s more surprised than I am that I was wrong about that.”
“Everyone makes mistakes,” she says, which is another thing we’ve told her so many times that she recites it mechanically. “Don’t feel bad about being wrong. But I want to go to In-N-Out with you next time.”
“Okay. What are you watching?”
“A funny cat video.”
I’m not a fan of cat videos, but I feel like hanging out with my sister right now, so I curl up next to her on her bed and we watch it together, laughing at the exact same moments.
Thirty-Five
I HAVE TO TELL SARAH about me and David or she’ll be hurt I didn’t. So I invite her to go out for frozen yogurt later that evening. She’s up for it—?the great thing about Sarah is that she’s always up for ditching homework and doing something fun—?and we meet up at, ironically, the same fro-yo place where David and I brought our siblings for their first “date.” It’s hard not to cringe as I walk in and remember how certain I was that I was doing something brilliant that day.
It’s pretty unfair that I got a boyfriend out of all those dates and Ivy didn’t.
On the other hand, she doesn’t want a boyfriend and probably never will.
Sarah’s a few minutes late, so I text with David until she shows up, and then we get our frozen yogurt and sit down with it.
We talk about some minor stuff and then she sits back and regards me thoughtfully. “Hey, Chloe? Would you tell me if it bothered you that James and I spend time together? Because you’re both my friends, and I don’t want to lose either of you.”
“I don’t mind at all. I think it’s great.”
“Okay.” She seems a little dubious. “But we’d always rather you joined us, just so you know. I mean, yeah, it’s a little weird still for James, but he told me he really does want to stay friends with you.”
“I’m glad he has you to talk to. Seriously. And I’m glad I have you to talk to, because I have something important to tell you.”
“Is it that you’re going out with David Fields?”
I stare at her, my spoon frozen in midair on its way to my mouth. “Oh, my God. How did you know?”
“Oh, please.” She waves her hand dismissively. “I’m not an idiot, Chloe. I notice things. Plus Brandon Seltzer’s brother saw you guys at Starbucks today making out, and it’s kind of already gotten around.”
“We weren’t making out!” I amend that. “Well, not at Starbucks anyway.”
“Ugh. David Fields? Really?” Then she covers her mouth. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t judge. It’s your life. And I know you guys have the whole sibling thing going on. And you did say he’s different when you’re alone?. . .”
“He is.” I lean forward, eager to make her see that this is a really good thing. “He’s kind of great, actually. I mean, I know I thought he was awful, and I don’t blame you for thinking that too, because he likes to pretend to be the worst, but he isn’t, not really. He loves his brother, and he’s a good human being. He’s just a little damaged.”
“Well, who isn’t?” Sarah says gaily.
“Exactly.”
We smile at each other in mutual understanding before digging into our frozen yogurt.
But then I look up again. “Oh, wait—?does James know? About me and David?”
“No idea. I haven’t said anything to him. But someone else might have. You want me to tell him?”
“That would be amazing. Do you mind?”
“That’s what I’m here for,” she says. “That and to tell you that Jana hooked up with some random guy from Harvard-Westlake at Brandon’s party last week who turned out to have a girlfriend who’s Helena Saperstein’s cousin. You missed all the excitement.”
“Tell me,” I say fervently. There’s nothing I want more right now than to hear some juicy gossip that’s not about me. “Tell me.”