As soon as she could hear Rory’s dilapidated car chugging its way up the gravel drive, Isabel sprang from her chaise by the pool, shoved her feet into her flip-flops, and ran to the back door.
“Hey,” Rory said, slinging her purse over her shoulder. “What’s up?”
“I need to talk to you,” Isabel said, grabbing Rory’s arm and dragging her into the house. “Right now.”
“Can I at least go to the bathroom?” Rory asked.
“No,” Isabel said, dragging Rory down the hall to her room. She opened Rory’s door and ushered them both inside.
“Okay,” Rory said, sitting down on her bed and kicking off her flats. “What the hell happened?”
“I kissed someone,” Isabel said. “That guy I told you about. We kissed.” She let out a small shriek.
Rory jumped. “Okay,” she said tentatively. “That’s good.”
“God, I feel like such a dork,” Isabel said. “Look at me. It’s like I’m in sixth grade all over again. But I can’t stop thinking about him.”
“All right, back up. Start at the beginning. I thought you had work today.”
“I did,” Isabel said, tossing some hair over her shoulder. “And you were right—waitressing is hell. But luckily, Evan—his name is Evan—he works there, too.”
Rory stopped massaging her heel. “Wait. Evan works at the restaurant? Is that why you got a job there? Because of him?”
“It’s not why I got a job there,” Isabel said, bristling at Rory’s tone. “But it’s where I got the idea. He was telling me how much fun it was to work there and how cool the people who worked there were, and I was totally looking for something to do anyway and—”
Rory put her head in her hands.
“What? What is that for?”
“Nothing,” Rory said, shaking her head. “Go on.”
“Anyway, so, I had this feeling that he liked me after our coffee date,” Isabel said, pacing the room, “which I haven’t even told you about, by the way, but it went really well, and then today, at work, which was a nightmare, he was so sweet and was constantly coming up to me and saving my butt—seriously—and then when lunch was finally over, and he was telling me how well I’d done, he took me into the back to show me how to clock out and he kissed me. Right there. Right in the back!”
Rory’s face was blank.
“And it was a really good kiss. You know, I wasn’t sure how it would be, or what would happen, but it was really good.”
“That’s great,” Rory said, her face still blank.
“Why aren’t you happy for me?” Isabel asked.
“I am happy for you,” Rory said, standing up. “I’m just letting it all sink in.” She went into the bathroom and emerged with a hairbrush in her hand.
“Thanks,” Isabel said. “Now I need you to meet him.”
“What?” Rory froze with the hairbrush in midair.
“Because what if he’s bad news and I can’t see it? Like Mike?”
Rory sat down on her perfectly made bed. “Don’t you think you’d be able to tell this time?”
“I don’t know.…” Isabel flopped down next to her. “I mean, I think I’d be able to tell now, but I don’t trust myself anymore. I need a second opinion.” She grabbed Rory’s arms. “Please? You saw through all of Mike’s stuff. Right from the beginning.”
“A blind man could have seen through Mike’s stuff from the beginning,” Rory answered. “Fine. When?”
“I was thinking tonight.”
“Tonight?” Rory blurted.
“Yeah. We sort of talked about that I might go see a movie and that if I’m still out then I might text him after he’s done with the dinner shift—”
“So we now have to go see a movie?” Rory asked.
“No, we can just say we did,” Isabel said. “Duh.” She stood up. “I’m gonna go lie down. See you in a bit.” She left Rory’s room, feeling slightly hurt that Rory was so averse to her plan. And it didn’t help that Rory had been so unexcited for her about the news. It was so unfair. Last summer she’d practically done a jig when Landon asked Rory out. She’d never pegged Rory as the competitive type.
But it didn’t matter, she thought, taking the stairs two at a time. So what if she felt like an amateur? It was fun to feel this excited again. There was life after Mike. She knew that there would be.
Rory carried her paper plate over to one of the booths and sat down. The pizza joint was almost empty of customers, except for her and Isabel and a couple in their twenties with a toddler asleep in a stroller. The neon clock on the wall read 9:25. A radio played classic rock from behind the counter, where one forlorn employee halfheartedly stretched some dough into a pie.
“Don’t you think this is going to look a little bit obvious?” Rory asked. “I feel like I’m wearing a sign on my chest that says SECOND OPINION.”
“He thinks we were hanging out anyway,” Isabel said, sitting across from her. She lifted a greasy slice to her lips for a tentative bite. “It’s cool. Don’t worry about it.”
Rory shrugged and took a bite of her sausage and onion. As much as she wanted to help Isabel avoid another dating disaster, part of her wished she could have stayed at home. That way she and Connor might have been able to regroup after last night’s dinner. Connor had talked nonstop with his St. Paul friends and Rory had sat at the end of the table, trying to seem interested in the time Nico almost got suspended for throwing a party in her room, or the time Caleb snuck off campus to go to a Phish concert. When Connor finally noticed that she’d gotten quiet he tried to change the subject to Stanford, but it was so obvious it made her cringe. Don’t, she wanted to say. Don’t make it worse. Then Augusta interrupted and turned the subject back to St. Paul’s, which had almost been a relief.
When they left she kept waiting for him to say something like Hey, I’m sure that was kind of boring for you or I hope you didn’t feel left out or Sorry our romantic dinner got hijacked by my friends. But he only talked more about his friends and their boarding school misadventures until she began to think that she probably had no right to expect an apology. Lately things with Connor had gotten so confusing. There seemed be a disconnect between what she thought he might do, and what he actually did. She hadn’t remembered that being the case last summer.
At her door she’d kissed him good-night.
“Long day?” he’d asked, smiling.
“Yeah, really long,” she’d said, trying to smile back.
“Okay,” he’d said, and kissed her again. Then she’d gone inside and shut the door.
Now she wondered if a little time alone with him tonight would have erased last night from memory. Unfortunately, she hadn’t had a chance to find out. Isabel, still hyped up from her big kiss, had hung out with them in the kitchen during dinner, and then had bluntly told Connor that he wasn’t invited along on this fact-finding mission.
Connor didn’t care. “You guys have a good time,” he said. “I’m going to go to bed early.”
“But we should be back in an hour,” Rory said. “You’re going to bed before then?”
“I’m gonna get up early in the morning and run,” he explained. “You guys have fun.” He kissed her on the cheek.
So two nights in a row of not being together, Rory thought. She hoped this guy Isabel was so crazy about was worth all this trouble.
“Oh, wait, here he is,” Isabel said, wiping her hands with a napkin.
Rory looked over at the door. A tall, slim guy with messy blondish-brownish hair walked into the restaurant. He had the gentle quality and slightly awkward gait of someone who’d always been taller than his friends, which was a point in his favor, Rory thought. As he approached their table, he smiled broadly. And he’s not afraid to show that he likes her, Rory thought. Another point in his favor.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hi,” Isabel said and gave a short little wave. She seemed nervous. “How was the dinner shift?”
“Man, if you thought lunch today was bad,” he said to Isabel, sliding into the booth next to her, “tonight was like the Attack of the On-the-Siders. Everything on the side. I think Bill needs to rethink his sauces.” He gave Rory a friendly smile. “Hi,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m Evan.”
“I’m Rory.” She shook his hand and became aware that he had very attractive green eyes.
“You guys just saw a movie?” Evan asked.
Rory and Isabel both nodded.
“Which one?”
Rory waited for Isabel to take the fib.
“That one with Tom Cruise,” Isabel answered vaguely.
“Oh yeah? Was it good?” Evan asked.
Isabel seemed to be drawing a blank, so Rory stepped in. “It was okay. Not as good as the one last year.”
“Rory’s staying with me for the summer,” Isabel put in, neatly changing the subject.
“Oh yeah? Where from?” Evan asked, picking up Isabel’s discarded straw wrapper.
“New Jersey,” Rory answered. “And please, don’t tell me it’s beautiful.”
Evan chuckled. “You’ve been hearing that a lot, I take it.”
“Constantly. It seems like everyone I speak to lately thinks New Jersey is gorgeous.”
“My dad’s from New Jersey,” Evan said. “Parsippany. Which is not the most gorgeous place in the world.”
“I’m sort of close to there. Stillwater. In Sussex County.”
“Still-water?” Evan asked, amused. “Wasn’t that the name of the band in Almost Famous?”
“Yup.”
“I love that movie,” Evan said.
“Me, too.” Rory looked across the table at Isabel, who was nervously popping her straw up and down in her drink. Time to rein it in, she thought. “Isabel said she had a great first day at work,” Rory said.
“She did,” Evan said, turning his attention to Isabel. “And she didn’t even have time to train.”
Isabel beamed. “I messed up a little bit,” she conceded. “But yeah, it went okay. My feet are pretty sore, though.”
“Get used to that,” Rory said.
“You wait tables, too?” Evan asked her.
“Not right now, but I do at home. Have been for a few years. There’s a pizza place in my town—”
“I do, too,” Evan said, holding up his hand for a high five. “Every day after school.”
“Me, too.” Rory gave him a high-five and then glanced at Isabel across the table one more time.
“Rory’s dating my brother,” Isabel said, somewhat bluntly.
“Oh,” Evan said, as if this were incredibly interesting.
Rory felt herself almost blush. “But Isabel and I were friends before.” She paused. Isabel looked like she was waiting for Rory to elaborate. “We’ve been dating since the end of last summer,” she added.
“Oh,” Evan repeated again as if this was incredibly interesting. “So you’re out here spending time with Isabel and her brother?”
“And I’m interning at the East End Festival,” she said, wanting to get off the subject of Connor. “I’m working on the film end of things.”
“No way,” Evan said, lighting up. “I was thinking of submitting a short to them. But I know I missed the deadline.”
“Yeah, I think they just finalized the lineup,” Rory said, thinking of Amelia’s film. “But I’m sure your short is great.” She cast a glance at Isabel, who was still watching them quietly, with an inscrutable expression. Stop talking to this guy, she thought. But it was so easy. So much easier than it had been talking to Connor.
Isabel put her hand on Evan’s arm, subtly but effectively turning his attention toward her. “I’d love to see it,” she said, fixing him with a meaningful look that Rory recognized. “Maybe you can show it to me sometime?”
“Sure,” Evan said. “Anytime. Of course, you might have to have a crash course in comedy before you see it. So you can appreciate its genius. Just kidding.”
Isabel giggled. Evan stretched his arm around the back of her chair.
Rory took this as her cue to get really interested in her pizza. As she ate, Isabel and Evan started talking about the restaurant. It was clear that Isabel’s interest in him was mutual. Evan had a silly grin on his face the entire time they talked, and he edged himself closer to her every few minutes. Isabel, for her part, had slipped into the role of coquette pretty easily. It was nice to see her so happy again.
Finally the guy behind the counter announced that he was closing, and the three of them got to their feet. Evan walked them to the parking lot. A bright, creamy moon shone down over the tops of the cars.
“Well, thanks for texting me,” Evan said. “It was nice to hang out for a while.”
“Yeah,” Isabel said. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”
Rory walked straight ahead to the car while the two of them hung behind. She was pretty sure that they kissed, but she didn’t hear anything, and she didn’t want to turn around to find out.
When they got in the car, Isabel paused with her hands on the wheel in the dark. “So… what’d you think?” she asked, staring straight ahead through the windshield, as if she was too embarrassed to look Rory in the face.
“I think he’s great,” Rory said.
“Really?” Isabel asked, whipping her head around to face Rory. “You do?”
“Yeah. I do. He’s like the anti-Mike. He’s awesome.”
Isabel started the car. “I totally knew it,” she said, backing out of the spot. “I got a great vibe off him from the moment we met. I wanted to be sure.”
Isabel pulled onto Main Street. “Hey, I don’t want to put you on the spot or anything,” Isabel said, “but are things okay with you and Connor?”
“Yeah, sure, things are fine,” Rory said. “Why?”
“You seem kind of down tonight. Thought you guys might have had a fight.”
I wish, Rory thought. At least there’d be a chance of making up. “Nope,” she said. “No fight.”
Isabel glanced at her, and even in the darkened car, Rory could see the concern in her eyes. “Things aren’t winding down between you guys, are they?”
Rory was jarred by Isabel’s choice of words. Winding down had a pretty terrible ring to it. And she wondered for the first time if that was what Isabel secretly wanted. “No. Not at all. We ran into some of his boarding school friends last night at dinner. So it was kind of a weird night.”
“Ugh, those people,” Isabel snorted. “No wonder.”
They didn’t say anything else on their way home. Rory wanted to ask Isabel if she could see evidence of things winding down, or if she felt that things might be winding down, or, even more to the point, if she wanted things to be winding down, but she stayed quiet. No sense in looking like an obsessive freak, Rory thought. Or in creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
When they got back into the house, Rory went up to Connor’s room to see if he was still up. It was dark under his closed bedroom door. He’d gone to bed, just as he’d said. It wasn’t a surprise, but she went to bed feeling slightly rejected anyway.