Virtually in Love Read online

  Vanessa leaned forward. “Bean burrito,” she said. “Cool.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” Kaz shrugged. “I could go for a burger, though. Why don’t you see if you can get us one, Trevor?”

  Trevor looked confused. “What do you mean? If you want a burger, just order a burger, right?”

  “No, see, that’s the game,” I explained. “We can only order stuff we pick that way.” I waggled my fingers at the menu. “Randomly, you know?”

  He blinked at me. “Huh? Why?”

  “Why not?” I was a little surprised by his reaction. My friends and I had loved our game from the first time Kaz had come up with the idea back in seventh grade. “It’s more fun this way, right?”

  He looked dubious. “Well, you guys can do what you want,” he said. “I think I’ll just order the normal way if that’s okay with you all.”

  Once again, I saw Kaz and Van glance at each other. I just smiled weakly at Trevor. “Sure. Whatever.”

  My friends and I finished our game, ending up with a toasted bagel and some creamed corn to go with our burrito. But my heart wasn’t in it the way it usually was.

  Things didn’t get much better after that, either. I couldn’t help noticing Trevor wasn’t really hitting it off with my friends. Oh, they were all being polite enough. They just didn’t seem to have much in common. You know, other than me. And being music lovers, of course. Just maybe not the same kind . . .

  Trevor had barely finished chewing the last bite of his grilled cheese sandwich when he glanced at his watch. “Jon will be picking me up soon,” he told me. “I should get going.”

  “What? Already?” I exclaimed.

  “I told him to meet me at your place,” he added. “Figured I’d walk you home. You know, wait for him there.”

  “Oh.” Now I felt much less disappointed. Maybe he hadn’t clicked with my friends yet. But Trevor and I always clicked just fine when we were alone. My mind flashed to that almost-kiss the last time he’d walked me to my door, and I smiled. “Okay, let’s go. Later, guys.”

  My friends mumbled good-byes as Trevor and I left. As soon as we were outside, he took my hand.

  “That’s more like it.” He smiled down at me. “Your friends are nice and all. But it’s awesome to hang out with you—you know, just the two of us.”

  I squeezed his hand. “Yeah, I know what you mean,” I said as we strolled down the block, hand in hand. “Maybe we can get together tomorrow? I mean, you already told me your reunion is on Saturday, right? So tomorrow after school will be our last chance to get together before the dance, and—”

  “Okay, okay!” He laughed, squeezing my hand. “You don’t have to try to talk me into hanging out with you again, Chloe. Tomorrow sounds great.”

  “Great.” I smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. Guess I’m just anxious to get in as much time together as we can. I mean, it feels like you just got here and you’re leaving in, like, three days . . . .”

  “Chill,” he said. “It’s cool.”

  “Okay.” I wasn’t sure I liked him telling me to chill when I was just trying to have a conversation. But when I looked up at him, he was smiling down at me again.

  “Chloe, Chloe, Chloe, you’re the girl for me,” he sang softly, his voice husky and low. “Zoe, Zoe, Zoe, you’re all I see . . . .”

  I froze. “Hey,” I said. “Did you just sing the wrong girl’s name right there?”

  Trevor looked startled. But then he laughed and shook his head.

  “Oh man,” he said. “Sorry, Chloe, guess I’m getting even less sleep than I thought! My little cousin kept the whole house up for hours last night screaming his lousy little head off.” He ran his free hand through his hair. “Anyway, I guess Zoe’s name is on my brain too—the whole band’s really psyched about her. You know, what her drumming adds to our sound?”

  “Oh.” I bit my lip, still not sure how to feel about the slip. Yeah, he’d been talking about Zoe a lot. That was only natural—he talked about all his bandmates a lot. But accidentally slipping her name into my song?

  Trevor dropped my hand and slid his arm around my shoulders, squeezing me up against his side. “Forgive me?” he whispered.

  I shivered, loving the feel of his arm around me. So what if he’d messed up our names? They did sound pretty similar, and he was only human, right?

  “Of course,” I said, snuggling against him. “No biggie.”

  All too soon we reached my house. On the porch, he finally let go of me and turned so we were face-to-face. “Okay,” he said. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”

  “Right.” I held my breath, waiting to see what happened next.

  He leaned a little closer, suddenly looking nervous. Adorable! As gorgeous as he was, somehow I’d figured he’d be totally smooth when it came to stuff like this.

  “Wait,” I said, a little breathless as I saw his lips come even closer to mine. “Have you ever—”

  Bang!

  The front door flew open, and my little brother blasted out, almost running into us. “Out of my way,” he said, darting between us. “I need to get the mail.”

  As Timothy hurried toward the mailbox, Trevor stepped back. “Okay, see you,” he blurted out, his face going red. “I’ll go wait for Jon by the road.”

  “I—um . . .,” I began helplessly.

  But it was no use. The moment was gone—ruined by my total dork of a brother.

  Oh well. Maybe this was fate. Maybe we were supposed to share our first kiss during a more romantic moment than on some random Thursday afternoon.

  I smiled, liking that idea. After all, it just gave me one more thing to look forward to at the dance.

  Chapter Fifteen

  On Friday at school, I sat at lunch listening to Kaz and Vanessa plan their outfits for their big date to the dance the next night. Most people would just be wearing regular fancy dress-up clothes, but my friends and I always preferred to liven things up by inventing our own themes. This time they’d decided to go with a Great Gatsby theme, since we’d read the book earlier that semester. I wasn’t sure exactly when they’d come up with the idea, which once again made me feel like the third wheel on a bicycle. Normally we always planned stuff like that together—the three of us.

  But I’ve been spending a lot of my free time with Trevor lately, I reminded myself, sipping my water as Vanessa laughed over Kaz’s idea to switch roles and have him dress as Daisy and her as Gatsby. No wonder they didn’t want to wait for my opinion. Besides, this time it wasn’t about the three of us—it was about the two of them. As a couple.

  As usual, thinking about that made me feel strange. For a second I almost wished Trevor hadn’t come to town. That way we’d all be going to the dance together, the three of us, just like always. We’d all be planning our outfits together, just like always. Having a great time together, just like always.

  Or maybe I’d be Kaz’s date, a little voice in my head piped in.

  I banished that insane little voice immediately. Yes, Kaz had asked me to the dance. But that was over, and now he was into Vanessa—just as I’d hoped.

  Anyway, I needed to get a grip. Kaz was my friend—that was all. And yes, I always had fun goofing around with my friends, but I could hang out with them anytime. A date with Trevor, on the other hand? That could be a once-in-a-lifetime romantic moment, one I’d savor forever.

  Just then Vanessa turned to me. “So, Chloe,” she said, “your next big date with Trevor is today, right? What are you guys going to do?”

  “Make-Out Point?” Kaz guessed. “Vegas wedding? Whirlwind trip to Paris?”

  I rolled my eyes at him. “Actually, I was thinking we’d go catch the instrument thing at the museum.”

  Kaz’s eyes lit up with interest. “I almost forgot about that.” He glanced at Vanessa. “Maybe we should try to go too.”

  “Sure,” she said. “But we’re not going today. No way are we going to risk barging in on Chloe’s date.”

  Kaz grinned. “You
’re no fun.”

  Vanessa giggled. I smiled, but thinking of the two of them going to that exhibit without me made me feel squirmy and empty.

  Still, I supposed I’d have to get used to that feeling. If Kaz and Van were going to be a couple now, like Trevor and I, there would probably be plenty of other times they did stuff without me. Private jokes shared just by the two of them. Dinner dates and dances and all the rest.

  I wasn’t sure I liked that idea. But if it made them happy, I’d be happy for them. It was too late to turn back now.

  • • •

  When I emerged from school, Trevor was leaning against the wall, watching the skate rats do their thing. He hurried over as soon as he saw me coming.

  “Hey,” he said, smiling at me and then nodding at Kaz and Vanessa, who were right behind me. “Oh, hi,” he said to them. “Are you guys, um, coming with us?”

  “Nope. She’s all yours,” Vanessa said with a shy smile. “We were just walking her out.”

  “Make sure you have her home by midnight or she’ll turn into a pumpkin,” Kaz added.

  “Go.” I gave him a playful shove, eager to be alone with Trevor. “Text you later.”

  “Have fun.” Vanessa started dragging Kaz off toward the buses.

  “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, kids!” Kaz called back.

  I ignored him, smiling up at Trevor. “Ready to go?”

  “Sure.” He took my hand. “Where are we going?”

  “I was thinking we could go check out that exhibit,” I said. “Remember? The one I told you about the other day?”

  He looked blank. “Refresh my memory?”

  “Antique musical instruments,” I said. “At the local museum? It’s supposed to be really interesting.”

  “Hmm.” He ran his thumb over the back of my hand and then shrugged. “Sounds cool, but I’m not sure I’m in the mood today. I was thinking maybe we could hang out at the park again instead.”

  “The park?” I bit my lip. “Um . . .”

  “Is that okay?” He spun me around to face him. “I mean, if you had your heart set on the museum thing . . .”

  “No, it’s fine,” I said quickly. “Let’s go to the park.”

  I was a little disappointed, since I’d been looking forward to the exhibit. But what was the big deal? I could catch the exhibit later with Kaz and Vanessa. Or, well, if they’d already gone together, I was sure I could find someone else to go with . . . .

  I tried not to worry about it, focusing instead on the feel of Trevor’s warm hand in mine. He asked me about my day, and I filled him in on the boring details as we made the short five-block walk to the park.

  Soon we were back on our same bench. Trevor had a packet of crackers in his pocket and we fed the crackers to the ducks. Then we settled back and started talking about music.

  Well, actually, Trevor did most of the talking. He was full of plans and dreams for his band. Starting with lots of gigs at that local club in his town, then maybe a write-up on some music blogs, and after that, who knew?

  I was happy to discuss all the exciting possibilities with him. At least for the first half hour or so. But after a while, he was mostly just saying the same stuff over and over. Did he even realize it? I wasn’t sure. Either way, I actually found myself getting a little bored. Again. Was that possible?

  At first I told myself I was crazy. This was what I wanted, right? Lots of private time with Trevor, talking about the thing that had brought us together, obsessing together over our shared passion—music. So why wasn’t I feeling it?

  I had no idea, but I figured it wasn’t Trevor’s fault I seemed to be in a weird mood today. So I kept quiet, nodding and smiling at what I hoped were appropriate times.

  A tinny little snippet of a recent dance hit snapped me out of it and interrupted whatever Trevor was saying. For a second I thought it was my phone, but it turned out to be his. “Hey, I use that ringtone for Vanessa,” I said.

  “Really? Cool.” He glanced at the screen and then shot me a smile. “It’s the band. I should probably take it in case it’s important—be right back.”

  He hurried off, pressing the phone to his ear. I watched as he disappeared behind a tree. Then I leaned back against the hard, scratchy wood of the bench, wondering what exactly was wrong with me. Here I was on a totally romantic date with the hottest and most talented guy in the world. And I could barely stop myself from yawning in his face whenever he started getting all excited about the topic that had brought us together in the first place.

  It was kind of ridiculous when I thought about it that way. How many other girls would love to be in my shoes right now?

  I glanced around, realizing Trevor’s phone call was taking an awfully long time. I was trying to decide whether to go over there to see if everything was okay when he finally reappeared.

  “Hey,” he said, hurrying toward me. “I got a text from Jon while I was on the phone. He’s on his way to pick me up.”

  “Now?” I jumped to my feet, startling a squirrel that had been nosing around near the bench. “But I thought we were talking about getting some food, or—”

  “Sorry.” He reached out and squeezed my shoulder. “Jon’s kind of a pain, so I didn’t want to argue. If I want him to drive me over to that dance tomorrow night . . .”

  “Okay, okay,” I said hastily. I definitely didn’t want to risk messing up our big romantic night. No matter how weird I was feeling today, I was still sure that was going to be an evening to remember. “A moment,” like the song said. “Come on. I’ll walk you out.”

  Jon turned up a few minutes later, barely sparing me a nod as he idled the car loudly at the curb. This time there wasn’t even a hint of a good-bye kiss, which was fine with me. I could wait one more night.

  When Trevor was gone, I wandered toward home, still thinking about my weird reaction to today’s get-together. It already didn’t seem quite real. I mean, how could I be bored when I was with Trevor? It just didn’t compute.

  My phone buzzed, snapping me out of it. It was a text from Kaz.

  Hope I’m not interrupting your big date. Just wanted to see how the exhibit was. I’m psyched to see it soon, so give me a review ASAP!

  I hesitated and then clicked off the phone without responding. For some reason I wasn’t ready to tell him we hadn’t gone to that exhibit after all. Why? I had no idea, but it wasn’t a big deal. I’d fill my friends in on everything soon—just not right that minute.

  No biggie.

  Chapter Sixteen

  I awoke to the sound of a gobbling turkey on Saturday morning. “Urgh,” I mumbled, rolling over and scrabbling for my phone.

  The text from Kaz was short: Aesop’s 10 a.m.

  Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I sat up and texted him back, saying I’d be there. Then I stretched and glanced at the window to see what the weather was like.

  As I did, I noticed the cute red dress hanging on the back of my door. That woke me up the rest of the way. I sat up and stared at the dress, trying to feel as psyched about tonight’s big dance as I knew I should. Because this was what I’d been waiting for, dreaming about. Right? True romance.

  “Definitely,” I said, deciding to be positive about all this. Yesterday had been an aberration. Just a combination of a weird mood and Jon’s usual bad timing. No biggie.

  At exactly ten a.m. I stepped into the diner. Kaz and Vanessa were already at our table. Once again they were sitting on the same side of the booth. Cute.

  “Look at you two, all early and stuff,” I commented as I reached them.

  Kaz glanced up from turning his straw wrapper into a weird little snake. “You’re just in time. We were about to go ahead and order without you.”

  “No, we weren’t.” Vanessa smiled. “Hurry up and sit down, though. We’re dying to hear about your date with Trevor yesterday!”

  “Yeah, it must’ve been pretty great since you never bothered to text me back,” Kaz put in.

  “Leave her a
lone,” Vanessa said with a giggle. “She’s twitterpated, remember?”

  I made a face at her. “Stop.”

  “Okay, we don’t need any gory details about dreamy rock star Trevor.” Kaz fluttered his eyelashes dramatically, making a weird face I guessed was supposed to represent my feelings for Trevor. Or maybe his feelings about my feelings. Whatever. “Just tell us about the exhibit. Worth going?”

  “Um . . .” I shrugged. “Actually, we didn’t end up doing that.”

  “Really?” Vanessa looked surprised. “How come? It seemed like something Trevor would really like. I mean, he’s so into music and all, right?”

  “Yeah, I know. I thought so too.” I shrugged again. “Guess he just wasn’t in a museum mood.”

  “Oh. That’s too bad.” Vanessa shot Kaz a quick look. He raised an eyebrow in response, though he didn’t say a word.

  Just then a waitress bustled over and tossed some menus at us. “Anything to drink?” she asked, sounding bored.

  “Iced tea, please,” I said.

  The others ordered their drinks too. As the waitress hurried off, Kaz grabbed a menu.

  “Ready to figure out our order?” he asked.

  Okay, I guessed that meant he didn’t want to talk about Trevor anymore. Fine by me.

  “My turn to go first,” I said, lifting a finger in preparation. “Spin me, someone.”

  We spent the next few minutes playing the menu game. My finger landed on the chocolate milkshake, which we all agreed was a fine choice for breakfast. Then Kaz got us a pastrami wrap, and Vanessa added fried calamari to the list. We decided we were all hungry enough to go for one more item, and this time Kaz’s finger pointed to Belgian waffles with Canadian bacon.

  “Very international,” I commented. “Also appropriately breakfasty, so score.”

  “We need to carbo-load, right?” Vanessa said with a smile. “For all that dancing tonight.”

  “Right.” Kaz did a little shimmy right there in the booth. “After we eat, I’ve got to go home and dust off my boogie shoes.”

  “Great. While you’re doing that, maybe Vanessa can come over and we can get ready together.” I tilted my head and shot her my best smile. “What do you say, up for more primping?”