19

Devon tried not to show her disappointment when she learned Jason was not taking her to the Cove for dinner. He claimed that it was impossible to get reservations, but when they drove past the swanky restaurant, it didn’t even look that busy. Instead he took her to the Alpine Inn, which was slightly run-down and smelled musty. Of course, it was not busy at all. Devon hadn’t been in this restaurant since she was in grade school, but she had detested the heavy, greasy German food then, and as she skimmed the menu, she felt pretty certain she wasn’t going to like it now.

“My parents always bring me here on my birthday,” Jason told her as he set his menu aside. “The borscht soup is killer.”

“Oh?” She nodded. Well, at least the prices were reasonable. He wouldn’t have to complain about the bill. He’d already complained about the cost of renting his tux as well as the wrist corsage, which in her opinion looked like it came from the grocery store anyway. Not that she was complaining. He’d also bragged that he was saving money by not having to chip in for the shared limo. He had borrowed his brother’s old Subaru instead, and he hadn’t even bothered to wash it or clean the junk food wrappers from the backseat. Not that she was complaining. No, she was not.

She smiled across the table at him. “What do you recommend besides the borscht soup?”

“The Wiener schnitzel is my favorite. My dad likes the chicken. It’s wrapped in bread dough and baked. Comes with gravy.”

“Uh-huh . . .” Everything on the menu sounded fattening and boring to her. Not nearly as appealing as the dinner her friends were fixing over at Cassidy’s house. Why hadn’t she insisted on being there? She wondered if it was too late to change their minds. But the waitress, who looked like the Swiss Miss cocoa girl, was asking to take their order.

Devon decided on the baked chicken but passed on the borscht soup. After the waitress departed, Devon excused herself. “I need to powder my nose,” she said with a forced smile.

He just laughed. “I don’t know why you girls say that. Don’t you think we know what you do in there?”

She faked a laugh like he was amusing, then hurried to the restroom, which was as lackluster as this restaurant, and called Emma’s number. “Are you guys eating yet?” she asked Emma.

“No, we’re having appetizers,” Emma said cheerfully. “Abby’s mom made these yummy shrimp things. To die for. Are you at the Cove?”

Devon considered lying, then wondered, why bother? “No, we’re at the Alpine Inn.”

“Oh?” Emma sounded concerned. “How’s that going?”

“Not terribly well.” Devon moved out of the way of a large elderly woman.

“Oh, my—what a pretty dress!” the woman exclaimed as she squeezed into a stall.

“Did you need something?” Emma sounded distracted on the other end. “I think it’s almost time to go into the dining room.” She laughed and said something to someone else. “Oh, you should see this place, Devon. I’ll take some pictures. Cassidy has all these candles in jars and strings of light, and the music is perfect. Too bad you had to miss it.”

“Yeah. Too bad.” Devon wanted to kick something . . . or someone.

“I better go now.”

“Well, I just wanted to tell you guys that you don’t need to send the limo to get us. Jason has his brother’s car. We’ll just meet up with you at the dance. Okay?”

“Okay. Have a great dinner.”

“Yeah, right.” Devon turned off her phone and slid it into her evening bag. “Like that’s going to happen.” Still, Devon knew it was her fault that she was stuck in this cruddy little restaurant. She was the one who’d suggested that a potluck at Cass’s house would be a disappointment. Jason probably would’ve gone for it if she’d mentioned that he could save a few bucks as well as be with friends. However, she’d imagined them dining alone in sophistication, not squalor.

It was unfair to blame him. And besides, she reminded herself, Jason was one of the hottest guys in school. Wasn’t that worth something? So what if his manners lacked a little polish. Or even if his taste in restaurants was pathetic. He was easy to look at. At the very least she could brag to others that she had dined alone with him this evening. Really, did the rest of it matter so much?

“Get over yourself,” she said as she emerged from the restroom. “Have some fun.”

“Everything was so delicious,” Lane said to the group sitting around the table. They’d finished with the dinner and were about to start on dessert. “You girls could open a restaurant if you wanted to.”

“Not without our parents’ help,” Cassidy reminded him. “My dad was the main chef tonight. But Bryn made the salad and Emma did the potatoes.”

“I helped make the dessert,” Abby announced as she set a piece of chocolate torte à la mode in front of him. “But if you guys like it, I’ll take the full credit.”

“This has been so much fun already,” Bryn said happily. “And we still have the dance to look forward to.”

“I’m glad I decided to do this,” Kent told Abby as she set a piece of cake in front of him.

“Decided?” Harris teased him. “Don’t you mean we let the girls bully us into it?”

“Bully you?” Bryn pretended to be hurt. “Really? Is that how you feel?”

“Hey, we just needed some encouragement,” Isaac said to Emma.

“And that’s exactly what we gave you,” Emma told him.

“Here’s to encouragement.” Bryn held up her water glass for a toast.

“To encouragement,” they all echoed.

“Devon called earlier,” Emma said. “I think she was wishing she was here.”

“Why didn’t they come?” Kent asked.

“I’m not sure,” Emma said. She was still feeling sorry for Devon and wondering why Jason would’ve picked that restaurant to eat at.

“Because Jason wanted to spend money to impress her,” Bryn said in a teasing tone. “At least that’s what Devon thought.”

“That doesn’t sound like the Jason I know,” Harris said.

Lane nodded. “Yeah. Jason is usually kind of a cheapskate.”

“Then why didn’t he want to come here?” Cassidy asked. “The price was certainly right.”

The guys exchanged knowing looks but didn’t say anything.

“Well, it doesn’t matter,” Bryn said. “We’re having a good time, and we’ll catch up with them later anyway.”

Emma still felt slightly worried for Devon’s sake. The more she learned about Jason, the less she liked him. Even so, she hoped that Devon wouldn’t be too disappointed over tonight. Especially after Devon’s work on getting the DG together. Really, based on how it was going at Cassidy’s house, the DG had been a success.

The parents had already arrived armed with cameras, so shortly after dessert was finished, the four couples took turns posing. After about twenty minutes, the limo arrived and gave them the perfect excuse to make an exit.

“You girls are still having that sleepover at Bryn’s house after the dance, right?” Abby’s overly protective dad called this out loudly enough for everyone to hear. Almost as if he didn’t trust his daughter. Or maybe it was the boys he didn’t trust. For a split second, Emma was glad her father wasn’t around to embarrass her like that. Then again, maybe it would be nice.

“I feel like a celebrity,” Bryn said as they got into the back of the stretch limo. “This is too fun.”

“Too bad Devon is missing out,” Emma said wistfully.

“Hey, it was her choice,” Abby reminded her.

They continued to laugh and joke, enjoying themselves all the way to the school, where the dance was being held in the gymnasium. Although the gym was decorated, the girls agreed as they gathered in the bathroom that it felt anticlimactic after their lovely dinner.

Still, they had fun dancing and being together. Eventually Devon and Jason showed up. Emma could tell that Devon was trying to put on a game face so that the rest of the group wouldn’t guess how unhappy she really was, but Emma had known Devon for years. She knew that Devon wasn’t just unhappy, she was mad.

“Come to the restroom with me,” she said as she grabbed Emma by the hand. “I need a girlfriend.”

“Sure.” Emma waved at Isaac. “I’ll be back in a few,” she called.

“I am so mad,” Devon hissed as she ushered Emma toward the restroom. “I have to let off some steam before I explode all over everyone.”

“I’m sorry,” Emma said. “Was dinner really bad?”

“Don’t even get me going.”

Emma was about to say how great their dinner was but stopped herself. That would not help. “Well, you’re here now,” Emma said positively. “Maybe it’ll get better.”

“Yeah.” Devon touched up her lip gloss. “I don’t think it could get worse.” She lowered her voice. “Jason is, shall we say, very frugal.”

“Hey, frugal is good,” Emma told her. “I’m frugal too.”

Devon rolled her eyes. “I mean he’s cheap, Emma. Stingy. You should’ve seen the miserly tip he left. Sure, the waitress was awful, but it was still embarrassing.”

Emma put a consoling hand on Devon’s shoulder. “Put it behind you,” she said soothingly. “Just have fun. Everyone else is. And we could say it’s because of you, Devon. You were the one who thought of the DG.” She smiled. “And it worked.”

Devon’s stressed expression relaxed a little. “Yeah, it did, didn’t it?”

Emma nodded eagerly. “All thanks to you.”

Devon actually smiled now.

“Let’s go have fun,” Emma said cheerfully.

“Yes!” Devon said with enthusiasm. “Let’s!”

For the rest of the evening, Devon was back to her usual happy-go-lucky self. She seemed as if she’d completely forgotten her lousy dinner date, and Emma felt like having Devon and Jason around made it more fun and lively for everyone. As the evening was coming to an end, Jason and Devon announced that they were getting ready to leave.

“Last ones to arrive and first ones to leave,” Bryn observed.

“You guys think you’re too good for us?” Abby teased.

“Maybe we just need some alone time,” Jason told them with a twinkle in his eyes.

“I’ll catch up with you girls at Bryn’s house,” Devon told them. “Don’t wait up for me.” She laughed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Emma asked no one in particular.

“Who knows?” Cassidy just shook her head.

Emma tried not to obsess over Devon, but she couldn’t help but feel concerned. What if Devon was in over her head with Jason? What if what Bryn had overheard Amanda saying in the restroom was true? Emma had seen that gleam in his eye. He seemed awfully eager to get Devon alone. And he’d already boasted to everyone that he didn’t take the Worthington speech seriously.

What if Jason didn’t behave like a gentleman tonight? Still, Emma assured herself, if anyone could handle a boy like that, it would be Devon. Good grief. Devon had gone to one of the roughest public high schools in the city. She’d been around all sorts of boys—and liked to brag about it to Emma sometimes. Really, with the dance about to end, it was a waste of time for Emma to fret and worry about Devon. Devon could take care of herself!