night’s first pies, I can smell it—that amazing combination of garlic and homemade tomato sauce and excellent cheese. By the time I open the door, I’m already getting a contact high. Lianne will have to love it. Nobody could smell that and remain unmoved.
I’m even smiling to myself a little as I do a quick scan of the room. It’s not too busy, either. But then my eye snags on something. Some one .
She is here. Annie.
For a moment, it doesn’t quite sink in that my night has been ruined. At first, I just study Annie’s profile—the way her red hair falls behind her shoulder, and the way she smiles at her friends. People who used to be my friends, too. For an aching moment, I stand there trying to make sense of it all.
But then I realize my problem all at once.
According to the agreement that I’ve made with the dean’s office, I am required to stay away from her. Fifty feet, to be exact. I don’t think Gino’s Apizza is fifty feet wide. And even if it was, I can’t even appear to break my agreement. If she complains to the dean, it will make me look bad. And I can’t afford that. Not at all.
The problem crackles quickly through my chest, the way a sheet of ice breaks in every direction at once. There is no way to save the evening that I’d planned.
I turn around and exit Gino’s.
Walking away, I wonder what to do. I step under the awning of the check-cashing place across the street and pull out my phone. Shit . I don’t want to cancel on Lianne. But what choice do I have? I could make up some stupid excuse and ask her to dine elsewhere with me. It’s too crowded. I don’t feel like pizza .
But I don’t want to lie. And there’s the real problem. If I go out with Lianne tonight, lying is exactly what I’ll be doing. Even without the snafu at Gino’s, I’ll be pretending to be just another happy-go-lucky Harkness guy taking a girl out for dinner— not a guy with an ax hanging over his neck.
I tap Lianne’s number and listen to it ring.
“Hello? Am I late? I thought I was early,” Lianne says into my ear.
Just the sound of her voice makes me ache. She’s so fucking cute. “You’re fine,” I say, and I mean it. There is nobody finer. I can’t imagine why she wanted to go out with me, even for pizza, when she could have anyone. “But, uh, I can’t make it tonight. I’m really sorry.” More sorry than she’ll ever know.
At the distant end of the square, movement catches my eye. I spot Lianne moving toward me. Her hair shines under the street lights. She stops walking, and there’s a beat of silence on the line. “You’re not coming? Why?”
The pressure in my chest redoubles. “I…” I’m such an asshole . “I can’t. Something came up.” Lamest excuse ever.
Her voice drops. “I see.”
“I’m sorry,” I repeat, as if it matters. You don’t cancel on a girl, even if she’s someone who has lots of better things to do. It’s rude. But I have no choice.
“Right,” she sighs. “I see. Then goodnight.” The line goes dead, and I see her jam her phone into a little bag she holds. I expect her to turn around and disappear. But that’s not what happens. Instead, she walks into the square, crossing the street, entering the tiny park. She stops for a second as if lost, her eyes on the glowing store-front of Gino’s Appizza. Then she sits down on one of the cold benches. She puts her hands on either side of her knees and drops her chin.
Shit!
I can’t even breathe now. Lianne shouldn’t sit here in this dodgy little park alone. That’s a terrible idea. She should get up and head back to campus. Or call a limo to take her to the city, to somewhere movie stars go on a Thursday night. She has better things to do than eat pizza with me, anyway. “Come on,” I whisper under my breath.
But she doesn’t move. And all at once, I understand that Lianne does not, in fact, exist on some higher plane. Celebrity or not, she feels the sting of rejection the same way
I’m even smiling to myself a little as I do a quick scan of the room. It’s not too busy, either. But then my eye snags on something. Some one .
She is here. Annie.
For a moment, it doesn’t quite sink in that my night has been ruined. At first, I just study Annie’s profile—the way her red hair falls behind her shoulder, and the way she smiles at her friends. People who used to be my friends, too. For an aching moment, I stand there trying to make sense of it all.
But then I realize my problem all at once.
According to the agreement that I’ve made with the dean’s office, I am required to stay away from her. Fifty feet, to be exact. I don’t think Gino’s Apizza is fifty feet wide. And even if it was, I can’t even appear to break my agreement. If she complains to the dean, it will make me look bad. And I can’t afford that. Not at all.
The problem crackles quickly through my chest, the way a sheet of ice breaks in every direction at once. There is no way to save the evening that I’d planned.
I turn around and exit Gino’s.
Walking away, I wonder what to do. I step under the awning of the check-cashing place across the street and pull out my phone. Shit . I don’t want to cancel on Lianne. But what choice do I have? I could make up some stupid excuse and ask her to dine elsewhere with me. It’s too crowded. I don’t feel like pizza .
But I don’t want to lie. And there’s the real problem. If I go out with Lianne tonight, lying is exactly what I’ll be doing. Even without the snafu at Gino’s, I’ll be pretending to be just another happy-go-lucky Harkness guy taking a girl out for dinner— not a guy with an ax hanging over his neck.
I tap Lianne’s number and listen to it ring.
“Hello? Am I late? I thought I was early,” Lianne says into my ear.
Just the sound of her voice makes me ache. She’s so fucking cute. “You’re fine,” I say, and I mean it. There is nobody finer. I can’t imagine why she wanted to go out with me, even for pizza, when she could have anyone. “But, uh, I can’t make it tonight. I’m really sorry.” More sorry than she’ll ever know.
At the distant end of the square, movement catches my eye. I spot Lianne moving toward me. Her hair shines under the street lights. She stops walking, and there’s a beat of silence on the line. “You’re not coming? Why?”
The pressure in my chest redoubles. “I…” I’m such an asshole . “I can’t. Something came up.” Lamest excuse ever.
Her voice drops. “I see.”
“I’m sorry,” I repeat, as if it matters. You don’t cancel on a girl, even if she’s someone who has lots of better things to do. It’s rude. But I have no choice.
“Right,” she sighs. “I see. Then goodnight.” The line goes dead, and I see her jam her phone into a little bag she holds. I expect her to turn around and disappear. But that’s not what happens. Instead, she walks into the square, crossing the street, entering the tiny park. She stops for a second as if lost, her eyes on the glowing store-front of Gino’s Appizza. Then she sits down on one of the cold benches. She puts her hands on either side of her knees and drops her chin.
Shit!
I can’t even breathe now. Lianne shouldn’t sit here in this dodgy little park alone. That’s a terrible idea. She should get up and head back to campus. Or call a limo to take her to the city, to somewhere movie stars go on a Thursday night. She has better things to do than eat pizza with me, anyway. “Come on,” I whisper under my breath.
But she doesn’t move. And all at once, I understand that Lianne does not, in fact, exist on some higher plane. Celebrity or not, she feels the sting of rejection the same way
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