The Heartbreaker's Game

23 - Almost

Heather’s POV

We walked out the back door and sat down on the stairs to enjoy our break, admiring the cool breeze that swam upon our faces, leaving a tingling and prickly feeling as it grazed on our skin. The sun shone above us, high up proudly in the midst of the clear blue sky, with the fluffy white clouds keeping it company.

We looked around.

“You know, sometimes I forget how beautiful life can be,” he mused thoughtfully as he looked up to the sky. “It’s so . . . wow.”

I nodded, humming in agreement. “I forget at times, too,” I agreed. I paused and then grinned sheepishly at him. “Uh, I’m so sorry but, err, what’s your name again?”

He smiled, shrugging as though he wasn’t offended that I had forgotten his name. “It’s Jay,” he replied.

“Jay . . .” Why does that name sound so familiar?

“Bye, Jay!”

I gasped and turned abruptly toward him. “Do you, by any chance, know a girl name Darcy Simmons?” I asked him.

He seemed surprised. “Do you know her?” He nodded without waiting for me to respond. “We’ve met a couple of times and had gotten to know each other.”

I shook my head, rubbing my temple. So this is the guy she was trying to set me up with. Okay, in a way, he does remind me of Alex with his silliness. I glanced at him and nodded.

“Yeah, she’s my best friend,” I told him.

“No wonder,” I heard him mutter.

“Sorry?”

He shook his head, smiling. “It’s nothing,” he replied even though I knew he was lying. “Anyway, how did you know that I know her?” he wanted to know curiously.

I waved my hand. “Don’t worry, she didn’t talk about you,” I lied effortlessly. If he knew me better, he would have been able to tell that I was lying. Yeah right, she talks about you every chance she gets just so I could go on a date with you!

“Then how do you know?” He smiled, pursing his lips in amusement. “I’m really curious.”

I shrugged, trying to make it seem casual. How am I going to lie to him without making Darcy sound desperate or without him knowing that Darcy talks about him all the time?

“Well, how to say it . . . um. It’s just that, every morning before school, we’d come here and get a cup of coffee to start our day. So one time she reached here earlier than I did. When we were about to leave, she turned and said, ‘Bye, Jay’!” I explained.

Well . . . it wasn’t a lie, that story. I just edited a lot of things, starting from how much she talks to me about him.

“Ohhh . . .” He nodded understandingly, buying my lie. “I get it.” He smiled. “What a small world, huh?” he asked me.

I nodded. “I think it’s getting smaller.”

Jay just shrugged. Then he blinked, which was followed by gasp. “Oh, now I get it!” he cried out. “Heather!”

Jay’s POV

Now I understand why I thought Darcy was my girl. I should have known right from the start. Darcy was the connecting link between Heather and me! And also, when she first introduced herself I was pretty sure that I had heard her name before.

It was only until just now that I had figured it out. This is the girl that Darcy wanted me to go on a date with.

Seriously, talk about small world!