Don't Bet on It

Chapter 11

Deena looked at me, eyes wide. "No!"

I hung my head miserably.

"Having a crush on someone isn't a bad thing." I looked up and saw her blushing. "I just didn't think you would actually start liking him."

"You can't tell Daniel," I said.

"I won't," she assured me. After a moment, she said, "But do you think he likes you back?"

"If you like someone, you don't try to make money off their feelings," I said. "That's kind of a jerk move."

"True." Deena pulled into her driveway. "And we're here."

We got out of the car. "You know," Deena said as we walked toward the front door, "if you wanna make him jealous, Dana's single."

I made a face. "First of all, I don't want to date your brother. Second of all, I would never use someone like that."

She laughed. "I know. I was kidding. You're way better than that." She got out her key and unlocked the door.

Deena was a triplet. Her siblings, Dana and Dinah, went to some fancy STEM academy. Dana was looking into engineering, and Dinah wanted to be a neurosurgeon. Deena wasn't interested in STEM, which is why she went to a regular high school with me.

"I'm home!" Deena called.

"Hey baby sister." Dinah said walking out of the living room. Dana followed, smirking.

Deena rolled her eyes. She was the youngest – fourteen minutes younger that Dana and six minutes younger than Dinah – so they all called her the baby.

"Hi peoples," I said.

"Hi Jessa," Dinah said.

"Mom's at the grocery store," Dana told Deena. "She'll be back soon.

"Okay," Deena replied, putting her keys back in her backpack.

We headed up to her room, which was a lot of orange and white. She had a circle-shaped bed with a sheer white curtain around the head of the bed and a bunch of pink and white floral-printed throw pillows.

We flopped down on the bed. "So what are you gonna do?" Deena asked.

"The bet wasn't that I'd start liking him, it was that I'd date him," I pointed out. "Technically Daniel hasn't lost."

"Yet," Deena said. "It's 'til the end of the year, right?"

I groaned. "I don't want to like him though. Betting on whether or not someone starts dating you? Who does that?"

"That is pretty insulting," Deena agreed. "But Erica's a good guy, besides all that. If you like him and he likes you back, you should give him a chance. And, if you think about it, he's not the type of person who would do something like that unless he actually did like you."

"I still think he doesn't like me back," I said. "He got botched up over spring break. Probably spent too much time over at Daniel's house around his sisters."

Deena shrugged. "Believe what you will. I'm just telling you what I think."

"So when are you and Daniel gonna go out?" I asked.

Deena rolled her eyes. "Jess, you need to stop, okay? I go at my own pace. I'll ask him out when I'm ready."

"What if he asks you out first?"

"Then I'll say yes," she said, looking at the pillows.

"So why are you waiting?"

"I've never asked anyone out before." She hugged her knees. "I'd have to get up the courage."

"Fine," I said. "So what am I supposed to do now?"

"I don't know. Who do you want to win?"

"Neither," I replied. "I've disowned both of them as friends."

"Well then you're screwed," Deena said. "One of them's gotta win. Either you date him or you don't. Those were the stakes. There's no in-between."

I sighed. She had a point.

"Deena?" her mom called from the bottom of the stairs. "Are you and Jessa up there?"

"Yeah!" Deena called back down.

"Are you guys hungry? I got some more food!"

"Okay!" Deena replied. "We'll be right down!"

We got up and went downstairs to the kitchen. Jenna, Deena's mom, was putting the groceries away, and Dana and Dinah were sitting at the kitchen table having a debate over whether or not winter was better than summer.

"You agree with me, right Deena?" Dinah said.

"Can't help you there," Deena replied, pulling a jar of peanut butter out of the cabinet. "I'm more of a fall person."

Dinah snorted. "That's just cuz your birthday's in October."

"So?" Deena shot back. "So's yours."

"It's because her boyfriend's birthday is in September," I said.

Deena glared at me.

"What about you Jessa?" Dana gave me a mischievous smile. "You like winter better, don't you?"

"Actually, spring is my favorite season," I replied. "Sorry."

"You guys want some apples with that?" Jenna gestured toward the peanut butter.

"Sure," Deena said.

Jenna Mathews was a veterinarian and looked scarily like Stacey Dash. She and my mom had met through Deena and me, and they'd practically become best friends.

"There are some in that bag over there," she pointed to a bag in the corner.

Deena picked two apples out of the bag, washed them, and started cutting them into slices.

"Your mom and I are going to hang out while you two are at the party," Jenna said. "So make sure you guys tell Daniel that he'll be picking both of you up from Jessa's house."

"Okay," Deena said.

"Apparently we're having dinner with Laura. Alexis wants to see if I like her."

"She's pretty cool," I said.

"That's good. I know it can be difficult to get along with step-parents."

I nodded.

"Have you talked to your dad much?"

"Not since he came back in town and we met Laura," I said. "That's been the only time since he left."

"Oh. Well, hopefully you all will work everything out."

"How long was he in Switzerland?" Deena asked as we walked out into her backyard.

"A year and two months," I replied, looking at the ground.