He's With Me (7 page)

walk together? It’s closer from your house.”

“Yeah, okay,” Lexie said, and then, because she felt bad about how excited

Sally seemed (even if it was a trick (, she added, “I’m excited for this movie.”

“Me
too
,” Sally said, and that started her off on a comparison of
Cars
and
Monsters, Inc
. They ended up talking for half an hour – well, Sally did most of the talking – and by the time Lexie got back downstairs, Colin had finished cleaning

the kitchen. Mrs. Willis was standing at the counter, sorting takeout menus.

“Here you go, Mom,” Lexie said, handing her the phone.

“Oh, thanks, Lexie,” her mom said. “Pick a menu and order, would you? You

both know what your father and I like. He should be home from work in about

half an hour.” Mr. Willis took a train to the city every morning before the rest of

his family got up, and often came home late at night. Lexie didn’t understand

exactly what he did – something to do with numbers and law and banks and

contracts.

As soon as Mrs. Willis had wandered out of the kitchen chatting away with

Mrs. Kim, Lexie pulled herself up to sit on the counter and whispered, “Colin,

guess what?”

“I don’t get it,” he said, studying a carrot. “Why did it look so fake? We

were using the black-and-white setting, so it’s not the color. Even I’m not dumb

enough to think we can get away with bright orange fingers.”

“Colin, listen,” Lexie insisted. “I’m going on a date on Friday.”

That did get his attention, if only for a moment. He put the carrot down and

picked up the pile of menus. Thorn butted at his knees, demanding more carrot

pieces with a small woof.

“With who?” Colin asked.

“With Jake, of course,” Lexie said. “Remember the traumatizing soap opera

you volunteered me for?”
Which you haven’t even asked me about. Like you don’t

care if Bree McKennis murders me in my sleep
.

“Oh,” he said, sounding relieved. “So it’s just a pretend date.”

“Well, it’s a double date with Sally Kim and Ian Montgomery,” Lexie said.

“But, Colin, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do. Or say. Or
wear
. Oh my
God
.”

“Who cares?” Colin said. “It’s just Jake. He doesn’t care what you wear.”

Sadly true
, Lexie thought. “Okay,” she said, “but Sally will be reporting right back to Bree. So I have to at least pretend to care.”
That’s my story, anyways. So
Colin doesn’t notice how much I actually do care
.

“You’ll figure it out,” Colin said. “You don’t need your dumb brother’s help.

I vote for Indian or Mexican. You decide.”

He dropped two menus on the counter next to her and left the room, Thorn

and Alanna pattering along behind him. Lexie stared at the door. What on earth

was wrong with Colin?

Chapter 6

Colin wasn’t the only one acting bizarre. Mrs. Willis kept giving Lexie tiny smiles all through dinner Tuesday night. On Wednesday she left a pile of nail polish and

makeup on Lexie’s desk. And on Thursday evening she suggested a shopping trip,

“just us girls,” even though she knew Lexie hated shopping. Lexie wasn’t about to

be bossed into tennis
and
shopping in one week, so she said no.

“Are you sure, sweetheart?” her mom said. “We could get you something

nice to wear. In case you need it sometime soon. For anything.”

Aha
. Lexie’s mom was on to her. Mrs. Kim must have told her about the

double date. Lexie was kind of impressed that her mom had managed not to ask

Lexie a million questions right away.

“Oh, no, I don’t need anything,” Lexie said. Her mom’s face fell, and Lexie

felt a twinge of guilt. “Besides, Mom,” she added, trying to be nice, “you’re a

much better shopper than I am. I like the stuff you get me.” It was true. With the

exception of the bikini, Mrs. Willis’s taste in clothes was remarkable. Sometimes

Lexie thought it was the only thing keeping her out of the ranks of the true dorks

of the school.

“All right,” Mrs. Willis said, hovering in the doorway. “If you’re sure.”

“Uh-huh,” Lexie said. “Thanks.”

As her mom closed the door, Lexie crawled over the bad and knocked three

times on the wall, the signal for Colin to come over. Then she started pulling

clothes out of her closet.

“What?” Colin said, opening the door and poking his head around.

“Come help me decide what to wear tomorrow,” Lexie said.

“No way,” Colin said.

“Colin!”

“That’s girl stuff.”

“And where am I supposed to find a girl to help me with this?” Maybe if

Karina weren’t all the way in
China
... although Karina had never really cared about clothes, either.

Colin shrugged. “Ask Mom.”

“Yeah, right,” Lexie said. “So, should I lie to her and say I’m suddenly dating

Jake, who’s been our friend for three years, or should I explain that I’m only

pretend
dating him to protect him from another girl? Which of those fantastic stories do you think she’d like best?”

“Whatever,” Colin said. “I see skirts, so I’m leaving.”

“Colin!” But he had already shut the door with a firm click.

Lexie hesitated, looking at the scattered hangers and folds or fabric. Was

this a fancy date? The diner wasn’t exactly a fancy place. So was it more of a jeans

and T-shirt event? She didn’t want to look like she’d made too much effort, but

she didn’t want to underdress, either. She tried to remember the time difference

in China. But her parents had set strict rules about when and for how long she

could talk to Karina, and their next phone date wasn’t for another week. She’d

have to find her girly advice elsewhere.

Her hands shook a little as she picked up the phone and dialed. Sure, Sally

was probably only doing this date thing because Bree told her to. But she couldn’t

lie about what she was going to wear. So maybe her advice could be useful, in just

this one situation.

“Oh, howdy-
doo
, Lexie,” Mrs. Kim said with the significant emphasis one

might use to say, “You
are
the next president of the United States.” “Hold on, let me get Sally.”

“Lexie!” Sally cried as she picked up. “I’m so glad you called! I was just

freaking out because I have no idea what to wear tomorrow.”

“Really?” Lexie said, her nervousness evaporating. “That’s why I called

you!”

“Oh,
awesome
,” Sally said. “Okay. Describe every single item of clothing

you own, and then I’ll do the same, and then we’ll pick outfits that will look good

next to each other but won’t look like they deliberately match, and then we’ll

panic and pick backup outfits, and then we’ll change them around, and then we’ll

throw out the whole plan and start over.”

Lexie laughed. “All right, you asked for it,” she said. “But I own a lot of

clothes. My mom
loves
shopping.”

“You’re lucky,” Sally said. “Mine will never take me. And you guys have

great malls around here; in my old town there was, like, one, and it was a whole

hour away. I could spend my life in a mall, couldn’t you?”

“Um,” Lexie said. “Well...”

“We’ll go together sometime,” Sally said. “I’ll bet it’s a lot more fun with

someone who doesn’t always answer the question ‘Does this make me look fat?’

with ‘Actually, your
fat
makes you look fat.’ I think Bree got that from a movie, but she thinks it’s
so
funny.”

“That is crazy,” Lexie said, feeling a lot braver now that Bree wasn’t there to

hear her. “Sally, you don’t need to lose weight. You’re way thinner than I am.”

“Yeah, but you’re cute like that,” Sally said. “You have curves. My extra

weight just makes me look thicker instead of curvier.”

“Sally, seriously,” Lexie said. “That is crazy talk.”

“Well, start with your tops,” Sally said, changing the subject. “Do you have

anything red?”

“Sure,” Lexie said, and Sally laughed.

“I’m kidding, Lexie,” she said. “You wear red, like, every day.”

“I do?”

“I’m surprised your bathing suit isn’t red,” Sally said.

“Maybe if I ever get a second one,” Lexie said. “But I like the one I have.”

“Doesn’t it get boring wearing the same one every day?” Sally had three

that she’d been cycling between, two tankinis and a one-piece.

“No – I mean, I like it,” Lexie said.

“That’s the important thing,” Sally said. “So, tops. How about green for a

change?”

Finally, an hour later, they had decided that Lexie would wear a gray shirt

and a black skirt with sandals that were comfortable enough to walk a few blocks

in, while Sally would wear a sky-blue sundress.

Lexie fell asleep feeling much happier, even though she was still mad at

Colin for being so unhelpful.

The next morning, as she was detaching her tennis racket from her bike,

Jake suddenly grabbed her hand.

“Are you excited for our date tonight, Lexie?” he said, a little bit too loudly.

“Shh,” Lexie said, glancing around for Bree. But the only person she saw

was Riley, strolling across the parking lot a few feet away from them. He gave her

a wave-salute and headed in through the gates.

“Is is a secret from Riley, too?” Jake said, still holding on to her hand.

“No,” she said. “I was just making sure Bree wasn’t around. Ironic, right? I

mean, we’re going on this date to prove that we’re dating, but we’re keeping it a

secret from the person we’re proving it to. Who know deception could be so

complicated?”

“It is funny,” he said. “So are you? Excited?”

How was she supposed to answer this? “Are you?” she asked.

“I asked you first.” He smiled, but there was a small dent about one of his

eyebrows that he got only when he was worried.

“Sure I am,” she said. “Don’t worry about it, Jake; we’ll have fun.”

“It’s just, this is the part where my last three girlfriends...okay, my only

three girlfriends...usually started to get mad at me,” Jake said. “Like, because I’m

not calling enough, or complimenting them enough, or giving them enough

presents, or something.”

“You don’t have to do any of that,” Lexie said, shaking her head. Lowering

her voice, she added, “This is just pretend, remember?”

“I know,” he said, looking down at her hand in his. “But – if it were real,

would you want me – I mean, whoever your real boyfriend was – to do all that

stuff?”

“I don’t know,” Lexie said truthfully. “Not if it’s work. It shouldn’t be hard. I

wouldn’t want you – I mean, him – to only be complimenting me because I asked

for it, you know? Or because you think you have to. I mean, I think if someone

wanted to date me, I’d be happy with whatever they wanted to do to show it.”

She shrugged.

“That’s what I figure,” Jake said. They started walking up the path into

Summerlodge. She wondered if he remembered that he was still holding her

hand. “Although I guess if it were the right girl, I’d want to do all that stuff. So

maybe Amy was right about me.”

“Nuh-uh,” Lexie said loyally. “She didn’t appreciate you.”
Not like I would
.

“Oh, look, it’s the lovebirds,” Bree said, popping out from behind the check-

in booth. She stretched, showing off her perfectly flat, tan stomach between her

shirt and short skirt. For once, she was wearing a color other than white – a light

blue fitted shirt. “So what are you guys doing tonight?” she said in her low, silky

voice. “To celebrate your one-week anniversary? Or did you celebrate it on

Wednesday, ha-ha?”

“We have plans,” Jake said.

“Private plans?” Bree said. “Or maybe we could double-date. Because I was

thinking of asking that guy Riley out.” Confusingly, she and Jake both glanced at

Lexie as she said this.

“Oh, I don’t – “ Lexie started to stammer.

“Sorry,” Jake said. “Private plans.”

Bree narrowed her eyes. “Doing what?”

“It’s a surprise for Lexie,” Jake said.
Smart
, Lexie thought.

“Hmmm.” Bree sniffed. “All right, you can tell me later, Jake. It can be our

little secret.” She ran her manicured fingers down his arm and he twitched away.

Bree tossed back her pale blonde wings of hair and stared at Lexie while

Jake signed in. Lexie balanced one foot on top of the other sneaker, feeling

uneasy. Bree’s gaze traveled up and down, examining every inch of Lexie.

“What’s that?” Bree said suddenly, darting forward and plucking at Lexie’s

necklace.

“It’s my necklace,” Lexie said, falling back.

“You wear it all the time,” Bree said. “Even when it totally doesn’t go with

your outfit. Like today.” After what Sally had said, Lexie had decided to dig out a

shirt that wasn’t red. And it was true: The dark purple color of her T-shirt didn’t

exactly match the glowing ruby red of the beads.

“It’s – Jake gave it to me,” Lexie mumbled.

“Awww,” Bree said. “Only a week and already giving her jewelry? What a

dashing boyfriend you are, Jakey. I hope your girlfriend is good enough for you.

Kidding!”

“I gave it to her a while ago,” Jake said. “Back when I was starting to figure

out I liked her but didn’t know what to do about it yet.”

Lexie thought she must be turning the same color as the beads. If only that