A Side Effect of Celebrity

Fourteen

Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together – Marilyn Monroe

"Let me get this straight. Jay Dawson kissed you."

"Yes."

"He kissed you."

"Yes."

"Like on the lips kissed you."

"Oh, my god, Ellie. Yes. Jay Dawson kissed me. On the lips. In his car. After we went on something that was very much a date."

On the other side of the kitchen counter, Ellie was shaking her head. The red of her hair had faded, leaving it a pastel kind of orange colour. Between the two girls was a platter of canapés that they were supposed to be grabbing to bring upstairs to the rooftop patio where Tracie and Harry Maxwell, Griffin's parents, were hosting a small end-of-summer barbeque before the kids all started college.

Claire had arrived with her parents, meeting Ellie and her moms just inside the door. Ginny and Sadia had given her such large hugs that Claire had known that they were well-aware of the drama that had become Claire's love life.

Though Claire had hugged them back, pleased to see the two women that were essentially other parents to her, she hadn't been able to help to look over their shoulders to where Tracie and Harry had been waiting looking –

But Griffin wasn't there. Wasn't anywhere in the house.

Now that Claire had decided what she wanted, she knew that they needed to talk. She'd even texted him that the other day, telling him that she'd be at his place for the barbeque and that she wanted to see him. He hadn't replied but his read receipts were on so she knew that he saw the message.

"He had to work this morning," Harry had told her quietly when he'd seen her looking. He'd smiled with a very Griffin-like smile. "He promised he'd be here after his shift. Sometime after four."

Claire and her parents had arrived at a quarter after three and while the adults discussed upstairs, Ellie and Claire had claimed the kitchen.

Mostly so Claire could stare at the door, waiting for Griffin to appear.

She'd spent the time debriefing Ellie about the events of the preceding weekend, six days ago now. Last Friday night, she'd been fretting about her date with Jay. Now, she was wondering if she'd ever even get a date with Griffin.

Ellie popped a goat cheese and cranberry tartlet into her mouth. Chewed. Swallowed. As if she were taking the time to collect her thoughts. Then, she said, "And you dumped his ass for Griffin? My cousin Griffin? Super nerd brainiac Griffin."

"Yes. Though, I don't think it counts as 'dumping his ass.' Jay was surprisingly really good about it. He understood and told me that he wants to know what Griffin says."

A pause as Ellie absorbed this. Then, a blistering grin shot across her face. "Wow. I mean, this was the outcome I was hoping for but I didn't actually expect it would happen. You just gave up a future with a movie star for a guy who wants to work on rockets for the rest of his life."

"Griffin doesn't want to work on rockets. He wants to be an astrophysicist. There's a difference."

"The fact that you know there's a difference speaks volumes, Claire." Ellie reached for another canapé before hefting the entire tray up and heading for the stairs. "Let's go. Sitting around and staring at the door is rather pathetic. You just shot down a celebrity so you're above such things."