Page 69 of Stops Along the Way
He lightly taps the gas to advance the car a few more feet. “My dad’s getting remarried.”
“Whoa, already?”
“Kind of fast, right? Like, not too fast, but still. Dad and Chelsea are trying to be all, I don’t know, aboveboard with it? They had a conversation with me and Grady before getting engaged, and then also invited our mom to attend the wedding? And she is actually planning to go? It feels polite but messy, so I don’t know. Like I said…weird.”
“I can’t even imagine.”
“They gave me a plus-one,” Declan says, glancing through the rearview mirror as he merges into the next lane.
I laugh. “To help distract you.”
“I’m not sure how distracted I could be at my dad’s second wedding, but I’ll probably just go alone.”
“Not bringing your girlfriend?” I ask before realizing this makes it pretty dang clear that I’ve kept tabs on him from afar. I hope my tone was more neutral than it sounded in my head.
He taps his fingers on the steering wheel. “Um, things didn’t work out with Alison.”
That wasn’t the response I was expecting. But rather than any sort of relief, it just makes me nervous. Like I’m speeding up a mountain road with no guardrails, dangerously close to the cliff. “Sorry to hear that.”
“She was great, but we sort of realized early this summer that even though we’d been going out for a little while, it didn’t really seem to have a future. Like, looking forward to junior and senior year and life after college, we couldn’t see each other in the picture.” He gives a sheepish, self-deprecating smile. “She was actually the one to say all this first, so I guess I’m the one who got dumped, but it really clicked with how I’d been feeling, even if I hadn’t realized it.”
I haven’t been with someone long enough to experience that numb level of detachment, to somehow reach the conclusion of a relationship in a way that feels like an inevitable path forward. “That’s tough,” I say, unsure what else to tell him in response because my brain is hyperfocused on the fact that he’s been single all semester. Well, not necessarily. Just because he wasn’t still with that girlfriend doesn’t mean he hasn’t dated more.
Declan’s head briefly turns in my direction then back to the road as his question tumbles out of his mouth. “How about you?”
“What about me?”
He clears his throat. “Are you seeing anyone?”
A blush rises on my cheeks, but he’s watching the road, seemingly unwilling to betray his own expression right now. “Long story short: I was, and then I wasn’t.”
“Gotcha,” he says, and we both don’t say anything, until he breaks the silence. “Wanna be my plus-one, then?”
I laugh. “Declan, we haven’t talked for like two whole seasons, and you want me to go to your dad’s wedding? I’ve never even met your parents.”
“No better time than an uncomfortable family gathering.”
“I’m sure you could find someone else to take.”
“What? I know we haven’t seen each other much with school and all, but we’re still good friends, aren’t we?” He reaches to hand me his phone. “Here, you can play Taylor Swift the entire rest of the drive.”
“She’s got enough songs to cover the time. We wouldn’t even have to repeat any.” I busy myself with changing the music, trying to ignore his ask, which is seeming more serious by the second. It’s a relief that he’s willing to explain our lack of interactions so easily. There really wasn’t any ill intent. Life did get busy, and I needed space because he was taking up an inordinate amount of room in my mind.
Declan clears his throat. “Iris, can I ask you something potentially awkward?”
“Oh no.” I chuckle nervously.
“Did you stop wanting to talk to me because I was dating someone?”
He went there. Let’s clarify this real quick. “Um, no, but I did kind of assume thatyoustopped wanting to hang out withmebecause you were dating someone.”
“No.” Declan doesn’t hesitate for even a second. “Not at all.”
I take a shaky breath. “Oh. Classic miscommunication, I guess.”
“You completely disappeared on me. I haven’t seen or heard from you all semester.” We’re at a standstill in traffic, and he stares directly at me. He wants to address this seriously.
With a wince, I say, “Work schedule and…”
