Whitney

  I shrugged. “Actually, I don’t know. I thought the plan was foolproof, but then he said that he loves pizza. What if he was just saying yes because of the pizza?”

  “So you should have invited him to do something that he normally wouldn’t want to do,” Caitlin said.

  “I guess. But I don’t know what that is. We don’t talk that much.”

  “I could have Michael just ask him if he likes you.”

  I rolled my eyes. Was involving their boyfriends everyone’s solution to my problem? Why not just use the park’s announcement system? “No, I don’t want to get more people involved. Just help me figure out where to go tonight.”

  “Pizza Palace,” Robyn suggested. “It’s near where we live. It’s got more than pizza. It’s got games, so if it gets awkward at the table and you can’t think of anything to talk about, you can always go play something.”

  “You think it’ll get awkward? You think this was a stupid idea?”

  “No, I don’t think it was stupid. I also don’t think he agreed because of the pizza.”

  I wished I was as sure.

  “I’ll have Sean go on MapQuest and print you a map before we leave,” Robyn said.

  Sean worked in marketing now so he spent a lot of his time in the front offices. He had his own computer for designing marketing stuff. Sometimes we passed in the hallway when I was on my way to the P&E office.

  “Thanks, but I just need the address. The limo has a navigation system.” Besides, David was pretty good about figuring out where things were.

  “Okay. I’ll get it for you,” Robyn said.

  Robyn and I had bonded earlier in the summer when we chased off some bullies. Later we rescued a child who nearly drowned. She performed CPR, while telling me what to do to help. But I let her take all the credit because I knew a TV interview scenario when I saw it, and I didn’t want to appear on TV. I hadn’t wanted the i’s to see me and know I was working here.

  On the Fourth of July, Caitlin had saved a boy from choking, with no help from anyone. She and Robyn were now both designated park heroines.

  So while I’d helped Robyn, I hadn’t really done anything to make me stand out — not the way Robyn and Caitlin had. What was I going to do? Save a kid from a popping balloon?

  I wasn’t jealous of their accomplishments. But the two people who were the closest to being my friends had boyfriends now and had done something at their jobs to make them an important part of the water park. I was feeling like a total loser. I knew it was my fault because I hadn’t taken working here seriously. Oh, I’d planned a party for the employees and arranged a light show for the Fourth of July, but it wasn’t as though I’d averted a crisis.

  Add to that the fact that I was lonely since I’d discovered I had no true friends at my old school and was suddenly out-numbered by people who were making a difference, and I was getting a taste of the real world my dad had been talking about. I didn’t like it much.

  I shifted on the lounge chair and cleared my throat. “Okay, I have one other little problem.”

  Robyn sat up as though she’d been waiting for this moment, as though she’d known that eventually I’d break down and confess everything. “What’s that?”

  “Sunday, there’s going to be this big birthday bash for someone I know. They’re renting the water park after hours.”

  “Isn’t that, like, mega-expensive?” Caitlin asked.

  “They’re mega-rich.”

  “I think it’s cool that your friends want to have a party here,” Robyn said.

  “They’re not my friends,” I admitted. “They used to be, but well, they’re like Jasmine except they’re much, much worse.”

  Jasmine was an employee who worked one of the slides. She’d stolen away Caitlin’s first guy, Tanner, then tried to steal Michael from her, too. But Michael had been way more interested in Caitlin than in Jasmine. So now he and Caitlin were together.

  “They stole a guy from you?” Caitlin asked.

  “No. I’ve never had a guy —”

  “You’ve got Jake,” Caitlin said.

  “We don’t know that. My test was seriously flawed. Anyway, they call themselves the i’s. Marci, Andi, and Sandi, because their names all end in i’s.”

  “The i’s? So how old are they? Four?” Caitlin asked.

  I smiled. I should have known Caitlin would think they were as silly as I now did. Sometimes we did connect.

  “The thing is, with the party being here, I’m going to have to help with it, which means that they’ll see me —”

  “Are you embarrassed that they’ll find out we’re your friends?” Robyn asked.

  “What? No! Why would you think that?”

  “Well, you’re rich, obviously, and they’re rich. Caitlin and I aren’t. Obviously.”

  “Money has nothing to do with this. They’re complete jerks. They do mean things. I just don’t want to be involved with them. Being around them — I know it’ll be a disaster.”

  “So tell Charlotte,” Caitlin said. “You always get what you want around here anyway. Tell her you don’t want to work on this party. I’ll bet she’ll let you out of it.”

  I sat up, leaned forward, and tugged on the hem of my shorts. “I guess I could do that.”

  It was a simple solution that might just work. But something about it bothered me. I just couldn’t figure out what.

  “I think that’s a really bad idea,” Robyn said.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “You’re letting them win. You like doing parties. And if they’re renting the entire park, after hours, then it’s going to be an awesome event. Are you telling me that you don’t want to be involved in making it happen?”

  Did she have to be so right? The park was large enough that I might not even run into them. And I liked working in parties and entertainment. I just needed to find a way to avoid Marci. I could help plan the party — which she was also right about. A luau would be awesome to arrange. I just wouldn’t be around when it actually took place. Or I’d find a way to work behind the scenes. Easy, no problem.

  “I can’t let her win,” I said. “You’re right,” I added begrudgingly.

  “Of course I am. I’m always right.” She grinned and scooted over on her lounge chair until our knees were almost touching. “Now we just need to concentrate on tonight, on figuring out if Jake likes you.”

  “How much do you like him?” Caitlin asked.

  I studied Caitlin. I didn’t see anything mean or conniving in her expression. Of course, with her wearing sunglasses it was difficult to be sure. But I was tired of watching everything I did, everything I said. I was weary of trying to protect myself, of keeping up shields. I took a deep breath and blurted out the truth. “I like him a whole lot.”

  She punched the air. “I knew it!”

  My stomach knotted up. “What are you going to do with the information?”

  She tilted her head slightly, like a confused dog would. “Help you get together with him.”

  “Oh. Really?”

  “Well, yeah. If it wasn’t for you, I probably wouldn’t be dating Michael now, so I sorta owe you. But even if I didn’t, that’s what friends do. Help each other.”

  It was a novel concept for me and made me a little nervous.

  “Okay. Great.” I had never looked so forward to eating pizza in my life.

  The park closed at eight. We all agreed to meet at the Pizza Palace at nine. I didn’t have much time to go home and change. But I did the best I could. I took a quick shower. I dried my hair and left it hanging loose, brushing my shoulders. I applied mascara to my eyelashes, a hint of blush to my cheeks, and just a touch of eye shadow. Because I wasn’t allowed to have makeup yet — Dad thought I was too young — I sneaked everything I needed out of Aunt Sophie’s cosmetic case. She wouldn’t miss anything. Her cosmetic case came on wheels because she used so much and hauled it all wherever she went.

  I changed into a denim skirt. I double-layered a red spa
ghetti-strap tank top over a white one. I put on a red-and-blue choker that had a touch of silver, and slipped on some denim wedge sandals that I knew would have Caitlin drooling. She was all about the shoes. I tossed all my stuff — - wallet, cell phone, brush, etc. — into an Armani leather tote. Then I hurried down the stairs.

  I planned to concentrate on Jake and ignore the disaster of Marci that was looming on the horizon. I figured that since the party was only a few days away, Marci would be sending out e-vites. I quickly checked my e-mail when I’d gotten home. Nothing. I was more relieved than hurt. Her not inviting me saved me the trouble of coming up with an excuse for not attending. Of course, I’d still be there — just in the shadows.

  During our meeting that afternoon, Charlotte had emphasized that she expected every P&E team member to be there on Sunday, pulling her weight. She might not have been imaginative, but she was smart. She recognized demanding customers when she talked to them on the phone.

  By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs, I was so tense that I thought I could snap in two. I didn’t want to think about Sunday. I just wanted to enjoy tonight, being with Jake. I wanted to figure out what, if anything, was between us.

  “Where are you heading?” Aunt Sophie asked.

  I squeaked and stubbed my toe on the marble floor as I staggered to a stop. I was so absorbed worrying about Marci and the party that I hadn’t noticed my aunt standing in the doorway that led to the living room. She wore a silk lounging outfit. Her white-blond hair was pulled back and held in place with an expensive jeweled clip. She was holding Westie, my little dog.

  She was totally glamorous. I didn’t understand why she wasn’t married. As far as I knew, she didn’t even have a boyfriend.

  “I thought I told you,” I said, catching my breath and hoping my heart rate would return to normal. “I’m meeting some friends at the Pizza Palace.”

  I had told her, but it was sort of a hit-and-run telling. I’d mentioned it as I hurried to my room earlier, hoping she would catch just enough to know I was going out, not enough to feel that she needed to give me the third degree and gather all the details for Dad. If I was too young to wear makeup, I knew Dad would think I was too young to have a boyfriend.

  Now Aunt Sophie was furrowing her brow and shifting into what I recognized as her Law & Order stance. “Who are these friends?”

  “I work with them at Paradise Falls.”

  She tapped her French-manicured finger on Westie’s nose. His little pink tongue darted out and licked her finger. “Is that Jake boy going to be there?”

  She’d met Jake when I had a small party at the house just before the Fourth of July. I helped arrange the park’s laser light show, so I invited everyone who was involved for a sneak peek. I couldn’t tell from Aunt Sophie’s voice if she thought Jake being at the pizza place was a good thing or a bad thing — so I wasn’t exactly sure how to answer: with the absolute truth or a version of the truth that wouldn’t get me in trouble if it was discovered.

  I decided on the truth. “Maybe.”

  I mean, honestly, there was always a chance he wouldn’t show.

  She nodded. “Okay. Have fun.”

  She strolled back into the living room. Just like that. She was letting me go. I couldn’t believe it had been that easy. Even knowing a guy was going to be there, she hadn’t objected. Jake must have made a really favorable impression on her. Huh. I didn’t even remember them talking.

  But I wasn’t going to question her. Maybe, unlike Dad, she recognized that I was growing up. Or maybe she just wanted to get back to her favorite TV program. Whatever.

  I rushed outside where David was waiting with the limo. I had given him the address earlier, so I just clambered inside, took my seat, and buckled up.

  The Pizza Palace wasn’t much of a palace. Little colorful flags waved from atop some pathetic spires that I guessed were meant to represent a castle. When I got inside, I walked over a wooden drawbridge and through an archway into the food area. I saw Robyn, Sean, Caitlin, and Michael sitting at a round table. I glanced around. I didn’t see Jake. I would be mortified if he didn’t show.

  I walked over to the table and took one of the empty chairs. “Hey, sorry I’m late.”

  “Actually, I think we were early,” Sean said. Like his sister, Caitlin, he had dark hair and the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. He also had a killer smile, which he flashed at me.

  I’d liked him the minute he introduced himself as my supervisor my first day working at the water park. I was nervous and he assured me that everything would be just fine. He promised that I would enjoy working with Robyn. He was a terrific supervisor and a nice guy. He and Robyn seemed perfect for each other.

  I also liked Michael as soon as I met him. He had dark hair and the most fascinating silver eyes. The first time I spoke to him, I found myself distracted by his eyes. I enjoyed talking with him, but it was pretty obvious from the start that he was interested in Caitlin. He asked me a lot of questions about her. I didn’t know many of the answers, but it didn’t seem to matter to him. I’d known the answer to the most important question: at the time she didn’t have a boyfriend. I was glad that he was dating her now. Even if it meant that I was the only one without a boyfriend.

  Sean lifted the pitcher of root beer and poured some into a frosty mug. Then he pushed it toward me. He was a take-charge kind of guy.

  “We were waiting to order the pizza until everyone got here,” he said.

  “We’re expecting one more, right?” Michael asked.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Jake. You know him, don’t you?”

  “I think so. The ice-cream guy, right?”

  “That makes it sound like he’s made out of ice cream,” I said. I hated labels.

  Caitlin laughed. “Sorry, I just think of him that way because he works the ice-cream cart.”

  Michael winked at Caitlin, and I wondered what she’d told him about Jake and my interest in him. Probably everything. Not that it mattered. It was probably pretty obvious anyway — otherwise, we wouldn’t all be sitting there waiting for him.

  I glanced around again. I had never been here before. Kids were jumping around in an inflatable castle. Tunnels and slides ended at a large sandbox-looking thing filled with foam balls to cushion the landing. Skee-ball alleys and video game machines were arranged along the walls. It appeared that the Pizza Palace competed with Paradise Falls for birthday parties, because several tables were reserved for groups, and at one table the birthday kid wore a paper crown.

  I wondered where Jake was.

  I suddenly felt very uncomfortable. I arranged this little outing and it was slipping completely out of my control. I turned my attention back to those at my table. “Maybe we should go ahead and order.”

  I didn’t want to say it out loud, but I was beginning to think that Jake wasn’t coming. Maybe he didn’t know how to say “not interested” in person.

  “Sorry I’m late.”

  I nearly jumped out of my skin as the chair next to me scraped across the floor. Then Jake was sitting beside me. He had changed his clothes, too. He was wearing jeans and a red T-shirt. Because he was so tanned, it looked really good on him.

  Robyn gave me a secretive wink. I was starting to think that coming some place with food was a bad idea, because my stomach was starting to tighten up. I wasn’t sure how I was going to eat. I was sitting beside Jake and we were doing something that had absolutely nothing to do with work. I wasn’t exactly sure what to say or do.

  “Okay, I’m starving, so let’s figure out what we’re going to eat,” Sean said.

  We went with an extra large pepperoni and an extra large vegetarian. The guys went to place the order. It was only after they left that I realized I should have gone, too.

  “This was my idea,” I said. “I should pay.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Caitlin said. “Sean got some money from our parents.”

  “Yeah, but —”

  “Don’t worry abo
ut it,” she insisted again. “You can buy the next round of root beer or something.”

  “Oh, okay.” I was used to being with people who expected me to pay because my dad made so much money. Caitlin and Robyn were just so different from anyone else I’d ever hung around with.

  I was sitting next to Robyn. She squeezed my hand. “Relax. Everything’s going to be fine.”

  “I sorta feel like a fish out of water.”

  “That’s funny,” Caitlin said, smiling brightly, “since we’re at a water park all day. And now we’re not. Get it?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I wasn’t even thinking about that. I’m having a hard time thinking at all. Major brain freeze going on, and I just don’t feel like I’m in charge.”

  “It’s like when we all played miniature golf,” Robyn said.

  Earlier that summer, I had arranged for some of the people from work to play miniature golf together. “Not really. I could boss people around then. It was my party and I was paying for it.” And it had still been a little work-related. Tonight had nothing at all to do with work.

  “Didn’t Jake hang out with you then?” Robyn asked.

  I nodded.

  “And he showed up tonight?”

  I nodded again.

  Robyn grinned. “It has to mean something.”

  “But what exactly?”

  Robyn wiggled her eyebrows. “Guess we’ll find out.”

  “What if he tries to kiss me?”

  She laughed. “Then it means he likes you.”

  “And what if he doesn’t try to kiss me?”

  “Well then, obviously, he’s just shy.”

  I couldn’t help myself. I laughed. She was such an optimist. She had a way of making me feel good about myself, of giving me hope that maybe I wasn’t crazy to be interested in Jake. “So you think he likes me just because he’s here?”

  “Absolutely.”

  I wanted to believe that was true.

  The guys came back to the table.

  Caitlin started to say something about Paradise Falls, but Sean interrupted her and said we couldn’t talk about work. The subject was off-limits. I sort of wanted to know what she was going to say. Learning what people liked and didn’t like resulted in improvements and I had no qualms whatsoever about making suggestions.