I ended up playing twenty get-to-know-you questions with Carrie until our food arrived. Besides being really sweet, she was running for student council and volunteering at the animal shelter on the weekends. I felt like a total slacker in comparison.
Although I was having a good time, I had to fight every instinct I had to talk to Levi whenever a thought came up that I knew he’d enjoy or have a comeback for. I needed to be on my best behavior. We had our dates to consider. After all, it was a pretty big miracle we could find members of the opposite sex who enjoyed our company as much as we did.
We arrived at Keith’s house when the party was in full swing. Everybody from the football team, cheerleading squad, and marching band was there.
“Hey, California!” Keith came over and did that guy hand-slap/chest-bump combination that must be taught in some dude class. “Welcome, welcome, all!” He looked me up and down, and I gave him a stare that made it clear I wasn’t the least bit interested in anything he was looking for.
“Hey, man,” Ian said, coming between us. “Thanks for the invite.”
“Oh, right, you two are together. See, I keep forgetting that, since she’s always with him.” He pointed to a clearly annoyed Levi.
“Keith, this is Carrie.” Levi gestured in her direction.
For whatever reason, Keith laughed. “Okay, I get it, I get it.” He reached down in a cooler and pulled out some cans of pop. “I’d say go long, Levi, but I don’t think my mom would appreciate getting pop on the carpet.” He laughed again. We all remained stone-faced.
We each took a can and made our way over to the corner of the kitchen.
“Don’t let him get to you,” I said to Levi.
“But he’s right. I can’t catch anything … except grief.” He shook his head.
I turned my back to Carrie and Ian. I knew how embarrassed Levi got about his lack of catching skills. “You’re getting much better. The other day, Adam was telling me you caught a ball nearly all the way down the block.”
“I guess.” His voice was faint. “But it’s so humiliating sitting on that bench every single game.”
“I thought you only wanted to play football to make some friends and fit in.”
He shrugged. “But it doesn’t mean I don’t want to play.”
“I know, but look around. You’re at a party and Keith invited you.”
“He invited everybody.”
“But at least you’re here. And he’s ribbing you. Isn’t that the bro way of being friendly?”
“The bro way.” He laughed.
“You know, how guys show affection. Or mark their turf. Kind of like how dogs pee on something to let you know it’s theirs.”
“Do you have any idea of what you’re talking about?”
“Of course not,” I admitted. “But does it at least make you feel a little better?”
“Yeah, just a little.”
I elbowed him playfully. “Well, that will not do. Clearly my job here is not done. Let me count the ways that you’re a stud.”
“Wait, wait.” Levi pulled out his phone. “I need to record this. I may even make it my ringtone.”
I grabbed his phone and spoke directly into the mic. “I, Macallan Marion Dietz, do hereby swear that Levi Rodgers is a total manly man, the ultimate bro. Reason number one, he does a mean British accent. Reason number two, he knows to always compliment a lady’s cooking skills. Um, reason number three. Um …”
“Nice.” He grabbed his phone back. “You can’t even come up with three reasons?”
“See, there are just so many reasons, my poor brain is on overload.”
“Good save.”
“Phew!” I wiped my brow dramatically.
“Hey!” Danielle approached us. “I didn’t see you guys come in. But then I saw your dates outside and figured you were doing that thing you do.”
Danielle could read the nonverbal exchange Levi and I shared. “Let me guess. You didn’t realize your dates left.”
I grimaced.
She shook her head. “You guys are too much.”
“Clearly,” Levi and I said in unison.
“Well, may I suggest that you take your party outside and keep your dates company?”
“Thanks!” I gave Danielle a quick hug before she returned to her marching band friends.
Levi and I went to the glass patio door and saw Carrie and Ian leaning against the deck railing. Ian was telling some story that was making Carrie laugh.
“Well, at least they’re having a good time,” Levi remarked. “In fact, it looks like they’re having a better time now than they did at dinner.”
“Levi.” I stopped him from opening the door. “I think that maybe it’s not the best idea for us to go on double dates.”
He nodded. “I know. It’s hard to throw anybody into our mix. I don’t want to mess things up with Carrie.”
“You and I will still hang out. I’m only saying that maybe date night should just be date night. Not forcing our dates to put up with the two of us.”
Levi’s gaze was fixed straight ahead. His jaw was tightly clenched.
“Levi?”
When he didn’t respond, I followed his stare. Ian moved closer to Carrie and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She blushed, but leaned into him. He then put his arm around her.
“Are they flirting?” I gasped out. There was no way this was happening.
Levi and I remained frozen as we watched Ian and Carrie get closer and closer. He said something else that made her laugh. She twirled a piece of hair with her finger. Then he leaned farther into her. Her smile dropped. They were studying each other. Intensely.
I recognized that look on Ian. He tilted his head and put his index finger up to her chin.
This was so not happening.
“I can’t …” Levi’s pained voice snapped me into action.
I slid the glass door so quickly it rattled.
“How could you?” I found myself in front of Carrie. I know I should’ve been more upset with Ian, but at that moment I was furious at Carrie. Levi had been on a few dates with her, he’d asked her to come hang out with his friends and go to a party he was invited to, and this was how she repaid him?
Carrie shrank from me. But Ian stepped closer. “Are you being serious right now?” I’d never seen him mad before. But he was mad now.
“Are you being serious right now?” I threw back.
He looked at me with disgust. “Do you realize how messed up this is? You’re mad at Carrie? Do you even care about me? You know what — you don’t need to answer that. It’s clear that your only concern is Levi, not your boyfriend. No, wait, your former boyfriend.”
“Let me make sure I’m getting this straight.” My mind was trying to keep up with everything that had happened in the past few minutes. “You were flirting with another girl. If I hadn’t stepped in, you were probably going to kiss another girl. You were going to cheat on me. Yet you’re mad at me? And you’re breaking up with me?”
“Do you have any idea how much this hurts me?” Ian’s voice cracked, and I could tell it was completely genuine. I felt awful. Maybe I had hurt him. But I certainly knew I didn’t do anything that justified cheating.
“How are you putting this on me?” Confusion swirled around in my head. Ian and I had never fought. Not once. We were talking about going into Milwaukee for our one-year anniversary. And now he was breaking up with me? “Have you been drinking?”
“You know I don’t drink,” he snapped at me. “Maybe I did do this on purpose, for you to see what it’s like to have your boyfriend give another girl all your attention. I really like you, Macallan. But I can’t sit here and play second best to Levi anymore.”