Page 36 of Jar of Hearts
He laughed, and she was pleased with herself. That was a good quip.
“Oh my god,” Kaiser muttered from the backseat, but if the older guy heard him, he didn’t react.
His stare was disconcerting. And there was nowhere else to look except directly back. He had green eyes, bright gold in the center. Feline eyes. They contrasted intensely with his dark hair. One arm rested comfortably on the ledge of the open window. “Haven’t I seen you here before?”
“Wow, such an original line,” Angela said, slamming the car door shut again. Geo glanced over at her friend, only to find her expression sullen, full lips pressed into a thin line. She was angry because the hot guy wasn’t paying attention to her. He wasn’t evenlookingat her, and Angela was masking her feelings of rejection and disappointment by pretending to be totally bored with the conversation. “You think up that line all by yourself or did you steal it from your dad?”
The guy grinned, then winked at Geo, as if to say,I know why she’s mad, and you do, too. And who gives a shit.
“So what’s your name?” he said to Geo, ignoring Angela.
“Her name is Jailbait,” Angela snapped before Geo could respond. “Now, it was nice talking to you, but we have homework to do. I’m sure you remember what homework is, right?”
Now he’s too old?Geo thought, incredulous. To the guy, she said, “I’m Georgina. My friends call me Geo.”
“Then I’ll call you Georgina,” he said. “Because I think we should be more than friends.”
She laughed. Beside her, Angela let out an impatient sigh and started the car.
Geo knew exactly why her friend was being rude, and it was because the hot older guy with the cool older friends wasn’t interested in her. Well, you know what? Tough shit. How many times had Geo sat back and played wingwoman while guys hit on her best friend? There was even a term for it in this situation:grenade. In every girl group, there was the hot one, and there was the grenade. Angela was always the hot one, the one the guys wanted, the one they competed for. Geo was the grenade, the one the guys had to be nice to and treat with kid gloves, because if it blew up—if the grenade didn’t like you—then the entire group of girls would leave, and there went your chances with the hot one.
For reasons Geo couldn’t begin to understand, they had switched roles today, and neither girl was prepared for it. Not that Geo wasn’t pretty. She was, and most days, she felt it. But Angela Wong was beautiful. Everybody said so. Waist-length black hair, dark almond-shaped eyes, porcelain skin. She was also confident—one of the most popular girls in their junior year. When she spoke to you, she could make you feel like you were the only person in the room, or she could shred you with one dirty look.
Geo had none of these qualities. Yet somehow, the hot guy wantedher. Predictably, Angela was pissed. The hot guy wasn’t playing the game right by not showing her best friend any interest. The grenade was about to blow.
Luckily, he figured it out.
“Listen, the reason I came over is that my friend over there thinks you’re gorgeous.” He directed his attention to Angela now, and pointed to where his friends were standing. One of them raised a hand to wave. “That’s Jonas. He plays in a band. They got a gig at the G-Spot tomorrow night, and we can get you in for free. Bartender’s a buddy of mine, so free drinks all night. You guys have ID, right?”
He meant fake ID, and of course they did, though Geo got nervous any time she used hers, which wasn’t often. Still miffed, Angela craned her neck to get a better look at Jonas, who in Geo’s opinionlooked to be about twenty-five years old. But he was cute enough, and the fact that he was in a band would appeal to Angela.
“Maybe,” her friend finally said, but she allowed a small smile. Geo let out a breath. The pin was staying in the grenade. For now.
“You’re in the band, too?” Geo asked him.
“Nah, not me,” he said with a lazy grin. “Can’t carry a tune to save my life. But I support my buddies, you know? Whatever they want, I want for them. That’s what a good friend does.”
It was a jab at Angela, but her friend was too busy checking her face again in the visor mirror to notice. He smiled knowingly, and Geo smiled back, and already it felt like they shared a secret.
Already, it felt intimate.
“I’ll give you my number and you can page me,” he said. “Got a pen?”
Geo found one in the armrest and handed it to him. He reached into the car and took her hand, taking his time writing on the back of it. The sensation tickled, and she wanted to laugh, but there was something about him that made her feel all warm inside and a little bit dizzy. Geo looked down at the number he’d given her, and the name right under it.Calvin.
“Hope to see you guys.” He held her hand for a second longer than was necessary. “You’re welcome to come, too, bro,” he said to Kaiser, as an afterthought.
“Pretty sure I have homework,” Kaiser said, sipping his Big Gulp.
“See you soon, Georgina,” Calvin said, kissing her hand before letting it go.
Angela started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot, driving slowly past the three other friends leaning against the red Trans Am.
“Jonas is cute,” Geo offered, twisting around to look at Kaiser in the backseat. “Don’t you think, Kai?”
“You don’t want to know what I think,” he said, sounding glum.
“He is, right?” Angela said, but her voice was doubtful. They drove in silence for a bit. Geo was basking in the glow of Calvin’s interest in her and dying to talk about it, but she knew if she openedher mouth too quickly, it could ruin the rest of the afternoon. She had to wait for Angela to bring it up, and for her friend to decide she was okay with what happened. Instead, Geo smiled down at her hands. She’d already memorized Calvin’s number, in case the ink rubbed off before she had a chance to call.
