Starry Eyed

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Eight

James and I were playing a dangerous game.

The game of trading truths was, in fact, turning out to tell me far more than I had wanted. His one question for me hadn't resulted in what I was hoping for. I had wanted for him to say he just thought I liked Star. Not the bomb he set free on me now.

I should have seen it coming, really. It wasn't as if they'd really tried masking their flirting in front of me, but it still somehow managed to surprise me. James had just asked how I felt about Star, and laughed when I said I didn't know. I knew why he'd asked, but my mind tried dancing around the outskirts of the obvious. Unfortunately, I could only avoid the truth for so long.

"Dude, I'm really into her," James announced calmly, smiling like a total goofball. He looked more relaxed than he'd been in other situations with me. An image of  Star hugging James on the first night of this term flickered through my head. "I think I'm gonna ask her out."

I stared at him, unaware that I was being really kind of rude right now. He waved a hand in front of my face a few moments later. I blinked, frowning back at him.

"You're gonna... ask her out?" I couldn't hide my disbelief. He bit his lip, obviously realizing he'd made things awkward. He wasn't so casual now.

"Well, I mean, yeah. That is, if you're okay with it."

We both knew he would have made a move on Star regardless of how I felt about her, so I didn't bother protesting. Plus, if he was the only one of us who had the guts to actually confess his feelings and bust out the big guns for her, he was the only one truly deserving. I was too much of a geek to even admit to myself that I liked her. In fact, I wasn't even sure of that.

I shrugged, staring at the ground. "Yeah. Sure."

"What do you think she'd wanna do? I mean, it's kinda limited at school, but I thought maybe on the weekend-"

"We're in the middle of the country," I said, cutting him short. The hurt look on his face made me feel just the tiniest bit guilty, so I quickly tried to repair things by suggesting a few ideas. "I wouldn't take her anywhere outdoorsy. She probably wouldn't like it. Then again, I guess you wouldn't either."

"Never even considered that crap," James joked. Things were reasonably light-hearted between us. I couldn't help wondering if he knew how one-sided that relaxation had become now he'd confessed his plans.

"Were you thinking of anywhere in particular?"

I couldn't believe I was helping the Ken doll out to plan a date with the girl I was falling for. This was wrong on so many levels.

"A cafe would be too corny, right?"

I nodded in agreement. I knew Star well enough to know a cafe was just a day-to-day thing for her, and nothing good enough to win her over. 

"I don't even know what's in the nearest town, to be honest," I confessed. "School's two hours from my place."

"Same," James responded. "Except I'm way farther away. It sucks."

"Well, you shouldn't take her anywhere in school. You're really limited. Plus, she practically lives here all year round. Her dad apparently hangs here every holidays." 

"What a waste," James laughed. "If I had to stay here all summer, I'd probably kill myself. Save myself the trouble."

In my mind, I already had a secret idea for this date James was plotting that I had long ago reserved for the perfect first day with Star. As if I'd ever have the guts to ask her out. I'd always thought she'd like to go to some indie movie and watch it in the back row of the cinema where it was darkest. It sounded super cheesy, but despite her hatred for dorky cliches, I knew she had a thing for all that romance stuff. We could watch a movie, and then go to a nearby park or something afterwards. She wasn't so adventurous, so she wouldn't like anything majorly outdoorsy, but I was sure she'd like just hanging out in the flowers, talking for an hour or two.