"Are you serious? How did you guys not see this?"
"Maybe she was flirting with you," Brad says.
"It was definitely you, but you're clearly not interested. We'll find you someone else when we go out this week."
Riley looks up from her menu. "Go out?"
"Brad and I are hitting the bars this week. We're gonna find some dates."
She turns to Brad. "I thought you said you didn't want to date anyone this summer."
"I don't, but Nate doesn't want to go to the bars alone."
"Hey, we had a deal," I tell him. "If I'm finding someone, so are you."
"Why?" Riley asks. "Why can't you just find someone?"
"Because it was his idea."
"For some reason he doesn't think he can do this unless I do it too," Brad says to Riley.
"Why are you complaining about this?" I say to Brad. "You love going out and you love meeting people."
"But I don't want to date someone. What's the point when I'm leaving soon? We'll go on a few dates and it'll be over."
"You never know. Maybe you'll meet the girl of your dreams and she'll follow you to med school and you'll get married and have five kids."
"That's not going to happen. And it's not what I want, at least not now. Marriage and kids are a long ways off. I'm not even sure I want kids."
"Really?" Riley says. "I thought you did.
He shrugs. "I haven't decided. Parenting is a lot of work, and then your kids grow up and never want to see you again. What's the point?"
"He doesn't mean it," I say to Riley. "He's just pissed at his parents right now."
"Why?" she asks him. "Did they—" She stops, her eyes darting down. "Never mind. I don't know what I'm saying."
But it's almost like she does. I'm sure Brad told her stuff when they were together today, so why is she trying to hide it? Why'd she cut herself off like that? Did Brad tell her something I'm not supposed to know?
"What's going on?" I say to Brad. "Did you find something out about your parents?"
"Nothing you don't already know." He turns to Riley. "Nate and I just found out my parents are coming to town."
"They're coming here? When?"
"In a few weeks. They say they're just coming to see me, but I know that's not the reason."
"What do you think it is?"
"Something happened and they don't want to tell me over the phone. I don't want to think about it. Can we talk about something else?"
The table gets quiet and remains quiet until the waiter arrives to take our order. After he leaves, we're still quiet, none of us knowing what to say. The dynamic between us has changed, which I'm assuming is because of me.
Things aren't right between Riley and me, which makes Brad uncomfortable, so we're all struggling with what to say. Then there's this strange vibe between Riley and Brad that I can't figure out. It's like they're talking in code, sharing some secret message, which I'm assuming has to do with me. I'm sure they talked about me today, trying to figure out what to do to get my mind off Riley and onto someone else. That's probably why Brad suggested we go look for girls this week.
I don't like Brad and Riley talking about me behind my back. If they have something to tell me, they need to just say it.
Chapter Eighteen
Riley
"I can't believe you agreed to this," I say in a hushed tone as I go out the back door of the salon. I just went on break when Brad called to tell me about his date tonight.
"Riley, you know this isn't what I want. But if I don't go, Nate's going to get suspicious."
I sigh. "Can't you just tell Nate you don't like her?"
"I don't even know her. I can't say I don't like a girl I don't even know."
I pace back and forth behind the building, trying not to be angry at Brad, because it really isn't his fault. He went out with Nate twice this week to help him find a girl, and last night he did. The only problem is she was with a friend and her friend really likes Brad. He said he didn't show any interest in her, but she didn't take the hint. When Nate called to ask the other girl out, she agreed to it, but only if her friend could go out with Brad.
"Riley, you have nothing to worry about. Nothing's going to happen tonight. It's a double date. I won't even be alone with her."
"What if she tries to kiss you? What are you going to do?"
"I'll make it clear I want her to stop."
"How? How are you going to do that without Nate noticing?"
"I don't care if he notices. If he does, I'll tell him I wasn't interested in her."
"Is she hot?"
"Riley, let's stop talking about this. We only have a few minutes before you have to go back to work, and I won't be able to call you when you get home."
"Because you'll be on a date," I mutter. "With someone else."
"Thinking about my girlfriend the whole time."
"You're just saying that to make me feel better."
"I'm saying it because it's true. I think about you constantly. And I hate that I can't see you today."
He won't see me because the pool is closed. This morning TJ tested the water and found the chemical levels were off so the pool is closed until they fix it.
Since I'm free this afternoon, Renee is letting me stay and work so I can get some extra hours. She told us she's selling the salon at last Monday's staff meeting, but couldn't tell us if we'd be losing our jobs. She said it depends on the new owner. She feels really bad about having to sell the place but said she had to because it was causing her too much stress. She cried during the meeting, so I know this was a hard decision for her.
"What about tomorrow?" I ask. "Will I see you?"
"Yes. I'll make sure of it. Even if I have to sneak out of the house at midnight to do it."
"Midnight? Does that mean you're going out with Nate again tomorrow?"
"He wants to go to some club downtown."
"Why? He already found a girl."
"But it might not work out. If tonight's date doesn't go well, he wants to go to the club tomorrow."
"Then I'm going with. I'm not spending another night home alone, especially a Friday night."
"I agree, but you should be the one telling Nate you're going with us. If I do, he'll wonder why I want you there. I have to be careful what I say to him. Every time I bring up your name, he gives me this look."
"What kind of look?"
"Like he thinks something's going on with us."
"He doesn't think that. He thinks we're talking about him behind his back. He told me that when he called earlier."
"And what did you say?"
"I told him we're only talking about him because we care about him. We want him to be happy, which is true."
"I still think he suspects something's going on between us. Or that it's about to. Why else would he keep pushing me to go out with other girls?"