Professor Donovan canceled our AP Statistics class today, so Molly and I are currently visiting my dad in his office, which is connected to the kitchen of our cafeteria.
"Damn, Mr. M., this is some snazzy office they gave you," Molly exclaims, plopping herself onto the chair across from my dad's desk.
"Thanks, Molly. It is pretty neat."
"Can I maybe put a request in for lunch tomorrow?"
"Uh, the menu is already set, but, sure," he laughs, "let's hear what you had in mind."
"I would LOVE some homemade pizza. A plain and simple Margherita, but with fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella."
"I can definitely run the idea by Dean Hemmings."
Molly turns to me and points her thumb in his direction. "I love your dad."
"Oh, dad, before I forget. I'm working at the library today so you don't have to wait for me."
"Okay. And how are you getting home?"
"Oh, that's right. Can you pick me up later?" I smile.
"Of course. Maybe we'll go out for dinner? Mexican?"
"You know I'm never one to say no to fish tacos."
Dad laughs and then looks at Molly. "What do you say, Molly? You in?"
She presses her palm to her chest. "You mean I'm invited?"
"If that's okay with your parents."
"Hell yeah it's okay."
We spend a few more minutes with my dad until 5th period starts. I head to Chemistry while Molly heads to Art. And, before I know it, the day's over and I'm making my way over to the library.
"Hi, Ms. Harris," I greet her when I walk in.
"Anastasia," she nods in acknowledgement. I could be making this up, but I'm pretty sure the woman doesn't like me.
She hands me a list of names of new students who need library cards, so I plant myself down in front of the computer and get to work. I'm staring at the computer screen when I hear someone whistling.
"Henry," I say when I look up, "what are you doing here?"
He holds up a cream-colored cardigan. "You left this in my car the weekend we went to Dartmouth. Sorry it took so long for me to notice. It was in the backseat."
"My sweater!" I shriek, getting up and walking over to him. "You know? I didn't even realize that it was missing." When I take it from his grip, I notice that the fabric feels extra soft. I bring it up to my nose and then smell it. It smells like lavender. "Did you dry clean it?"
"I hope that's okay," he says, a nervous smile on his face.
"Okay? Henry, that's so sweet of you. And totally unnecessary. Thank you," I say, going in for a hug.
At first, he's caught off-guard by the gesture, so I feel weird about initiating it, but when I notice his body relax, that feeling vanishes.
It doesn't take long for the muscles in his back to tense up again and, this time, he pulls back.
"Uh. You have a visitor," he whispers, and I immediately turn my head around to see Jack standing there. I'm quick enough to catch him looking at us, but then he glances the other way.
"Jack?" I speak up, which gets him to look back at me.
"Hope I'm not interrupting anything," he finally says, then looks at Henry. "Astor," he greets him, his tone full of animosity.
"Jack," Henry says back in the same tone. There are a few seconds of awkward silence that pass between the three of us and then Henry says, "Well, I should get going. I'll catch you later, Stassie?"
"Yeah," I say with a nod. I watch Henry walk to the door and notice Jack look over his shoulder to make sure that he left.
"That's cute. The two of you hanging out after school hours," Jack mocks.
I sigh, not in the mood for his taunting right now. "What do you want, Jack?"
"He likes you."
"Who, Henry? No, he doesn't."
"Do you always do that? Deny someone's feelings for you?"
"I'm not."
"Uh huh, sure."
"Are you here to bust my chops, or did you actually need something?"
"A promise is a promise," he says, and my brow arches.
"What promise?"
"You followed up with your end of the deal. You showed up to the pool party; now it's my turn to help you with your essay."
"No thanks. I don't want your help anymore."
"Well, that's too bad because I don't break my promises."
"You know what? You can take your promises and shove them up your ass."
"Is this about yesterday? About ditching you in detention?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. Yes, it is. You were the reason I got detention in the first place. And then you left me."
"Hey, you approached me in the backyard, remember?"
"Right, right. Nothing is ever your fault."
"Stas...," he says, trying to reach for my arm and I actually let him. "Let me make it up to you. Let me hold up my end of the bargain."
"Why do you care so much about helping me?"
"Because I know how much this means to you."
I look at him and he looks back at me with genuinity. "Last chance," I give in and say. "I mean it, Jack."
"You have my word. I won't let you down."
"Okay. I have another 30 minutes here. Why don't you come over after?"
"Like to your place? How forward of you."
"To work on the essay, you horndog."
He bursts out laughing. "Did you just call me a horndog?"
"Yeah. I did," I proudly say.
"Who even says that?"
***
Jack waited for me in the library as I finished up with work. Surprisingly, he didn't utter a peep the entire time. Instead, he pulled out a book from the Classical Literature section and started reading.
"Hey, can I ask you a question?" I say to him as we make our way to his car.
"I'm surprised you're asking me if you can ask."
"What's the deal with you and Jordana?"
He stops in place, so I stop with him. Maybe, I shouldn't have asked.
"There is no deal," he finally states.
"Really? 'Cause I don't think she sees it that way."
He exhales then says, "Jordana tends to live in her own bubble."
"You don't say..."
"We never dated, never were exclusive. We hooked up on and off for a few months and that was the extent of it."
"When you say 'hook up', you really mean 'slept together'?"
"Yeah."
I shake my head and sigh. "I don't get why guys think that girls can have casual sex and not catch feelings."
"She knew my rules before going into it."
"Your rules," I repeat with a chuckle. "Which were?"
"No strings attached. I'm not committed to her, and she's not committed to me."
"So, you wouldn't have cared if she slept with someone else while she was seeing you?"
"Not one bit."
I release a breath. "Guys are assholes."
"Why are we assholes?" he chuckles. "I was honest with Jordana from the start. It's not like I lied to her or misled her."
"I guess."
He looks at me and then says, "It's not that I don't want a relationship. I do. With the right girl. At the right time."
"So, Jordana wasn't the right girl? And it wasn't the right time?"
"No," he says. "To both of your questions."