going to give me a kiss hello. Ava said they went out twice, but I have no idea how far things got. What’s the protocol for a third date?
“You look great,” he says, leaning in smoothly to give me a kiss on the cheek. Friendly with just a hint of something more. Interesting approach. “I’m glad you came.” His leather jacket creaks slightly as he moves, and there’s a musky, spicy smell that lingers for the smallest second as he pulls away from me.
I give him just a hint of a smile and look up at him through my lashes like I know Alicia would. She’s shameless when it comes to stuff like that. “I’m glad you asked.” I inwardly gag just a little, but his returning smile tells me I got it right. Being Alicia is basically doing and saying the opposite of everything I normally would. Easy.
Eli tilts his head and gives a little laugh—not mean exactly, but now I’m confused.
“What?” I run my hand over my hair, wondering if something’s out of place.
His smile is unreadable. “Nothing.” Eli glances up at the restaurant’s sign. “So I know I told you to meet me here, but I was thinking we might be able to do something a little more fun.”
“Like what?
“It’s a surprise. Feel like going for a ride?”
The thought freezes me, and my mind flashes back to the last time I was alone in a car with a guy. I look back at Eli’s easy smile. “Okay. But I’ll drive.”
Eli looks like he’s going to say something, but changes his mind. “Great. It’s not too far.”
He walks to the passenger side of my car and squints at the hood. “I thought your car was silver?”
Crap. I didn’t even think that he’d seen Ava’s car. Dad gave us each the same car when we turned sixteen, but mine is white. I try my best to look casual. “Nope. It’s always been white.”
“Oh,” he says, nodding. “Must have been the streetlamps outside the club that made it look silver.”
“Yeah. Must have been.” I hope that sounds more convincing than I feel.
He gives me some directions as he slides into the passenger seat. It’s uncomfortably silent for the first few minutes. “So I think I totally embarrassed myself in front of your sister last week.”
I think back to his expression when the seagull stole his fry, and suppress a smile. “Oh yeah? How?”
“Well, for one thing, I thought she was you.”
I shrug, keeping my eyes on the road. “That’s not embarrassing. People think I’m Lexi or Ava all the time.”
I can feel him staring at me. “You really do look a lot alike,” he says. “I’ve had friends who were identical, and I could always tell them apart, but I see why you get mistaken for each other.”
“Hand me my phone,” I say, when we get to a red light. I scroll through the photos until I come to the right one and hand the phone to him. “There’s a picture of all three of us we took last year.” It’s really a picture of the two of us at our cousin’s wedding, with an extra Ava added in with Photoshop. I glance over to see if Maya did a good enough job to fool him.
“Wow,” he says, studying the picture. “This is you on the left, isn’t it?”
We’ve got on matching hideous purple satin dresses. I wonder if he just got lucky.
“Right! How can you tell?”
“I can tell,” he says mysteriously, and hands it back to me.
I laugh and twirl a strand of hair around my finger, somethingI’ve seen Ava do a million times when she’s talking to a guy. It feels so fake, but his eyes follow my movements. “At least we don’t dress alike. Lexi doesn’t exactly make an effort,” I say. “We’re always on her to trade in that nasty sweatshirt for something nicer, but she really doesn’t care.” The light changes and I keep driving toward the freeway.
“You think so?” Eli asks with a frown. “I liked talking to her, but she’s really …” He trails off like he doesn’t know how to finish that sentence without being rude.
“Nerdy?” I volunteer.
“You look great,” he says, leaning in smoothly to give me a kiss on the cheek. Friendly with just a hint of something more. Interesting approach. “I’m glad you came.” His leather jacket creaks slightly as he moves, and there’s a musky, spicy smell that lingers for the smallest second as he pulls away from me.
I give him just a hint of a smile and look up at him through my lashes like I know Alicia would. She’s shameless when it comes to stuff like that. “I’m glad you asked.” I inwardly gag just a little, but his returning smile tells me I got it right. Being Alicia is basically doing and saying the opposite of everything I normally would. Easy.
Eli tilts his head and gives a little laugh—not mean exactly, but now I’m confused.
“What?” I run my hand over my hair, wondering if something’s out of place.
His smile is unreadable. “Nothing.” Eli glances up at the restaurant’s sign. “So I know I told you to meet me here, but I was thinking we might be able to do something a little more fun.”
“Like what?
“It’s a surprise. Feel like going for a ride?”
The thought freezes me, and my mind flashes back to the last time I was alone in a car with a guy. I look back at Eli’s easy smile. “Okay. But I’ll drive.”
Eli looks like he’s going to say something, but changes his mind. “Great. It’s not too far.”
He walks to the passenger side of my car and squints at the hood. “I thought your car was silver?”
Crap. I didn’t even think that he’d seen Ava’s car. Dad gave us each the same car when we turned sixteen, but mine is white. I try my best to look casual. “Nope. It’s always been white.”
“Oh,” he says, nodding. “Must have been the streetlamps outside the club that made it look silver.”
“Yeah. Must have been.” I hope that sounds more convincing than I feel.
He gives me some directions as he slides into the passenger seat. It’s uncomfortably silent for the first few minutes. “So I think I totally embarrassed myself in front of your sister last week.”
I think back to his expression when the seagull stole his fry, and suppress a smile. “Oh yeah? How?”
“Well, for one thing, I thought she was you.”
I shrug, keeping my eyes on the road. “That’s not embarrassing. People think I’m Lexi or Ava all the time.”
I can feel him staring at me. “You really do look a lot alike,” he says. “I’ve had friends who were identical, and I could always tell them apart, but I see why you get mistaken for each other.”
“Hand me my phone,” I say, when we get to a red light. I scroll through the photos until I come to the right one and hand the phone to him. “There’s a picture of all three of us we took last year.” It’s really a picture of the two of us at our cousin’s wedding, with an extra Ava added in with Photoshop. I glance over to see if Maya did a good enough job to fool him.
“Wow,” he says, studying the picture. “This is you on the left, isn’t it?”
We’ve got on matching hideous purple satin dresses. I wonder if he just got lucky.
“Right! How can you tell?”
“I can tell,” he says mysteriously, and hands it back to me.
I laugh and twirl a strand of hair around my finger, somethingI’ve seen Ava do a million times when she’s talking to a guy. It feels so fake, but his eyes follow my movements. “At least we don’t dress alike. Lexi doesn’t exactly make an effort,” I say. “We’re always on her to trade in that nasty sweatshirt for something nicer, but she really doesn’t care.” The light changes and I keep driving toward the freeway.
“You think so?” Eli asks with a frown. “I liked talking to her, but she’s really …” He trails off like he doesn’t know how to finish that sentence without being rude.
“Nerdy?” I volunteer.
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