Play Maker(45)

I quickly looked away.

“Do you like our shirts?” Mikey asked, pulling at his.

“You look great,” I told him. “Where’d you get those?” I hadn’t meant for it to sound accusatory, but I saw Nicole flinch. Luckily Mikey didn’t seem to pick up on it.

“They were on our chairs!”

“That’s great.”

“We had a really nice time,” Nicole said, her voice more quiet than usual.

I should have looked at her, but I didn’t. I didn’t even respond. In that moment, I was uncertain of my own feelings, but I had made a promise to Mikey and I was going to keep that.

“Want to go meet some Doctor Who people?” I asked. I could figure everything else out later. “I think there are a few on the other side of the room.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Mikey pumped his fist in the air and pulled away from Nicole.

“Have fun,” she said, but Mikey was already halfway across the room.

I saw the hurt and confusion in her eyes, but I ignored it and quickly followed Mikey to where some of the football-loving actors were milling about. Fulfill promises now. Deal with everything else later.





27





Nicole





What was going on? I thought, watching James and Mikey cross the room. James had invited me, hadn’t he? Why was he ignoring me? At first I had thought I was imagining things, but no, he was very clearly avoiding eye contact and giving me the cold shoulder. I felt hurt and confused by his behavior.

James entertained Mikey while Ethan entertained Maya. My mom was somewhere talking to Sheryl and her husband. I stood in the middle of a crowded room, completely alone.

This is what you wanted, I reminded myself. No strings attached. No tenderness, no special treatment, no kisses hello.

So why did it bother me? Why did I feel so slighted?

I tried to shake it off and focus instead on how happy Mikey was. Because even though James was ignoring me, he was doing his best to make this the best possible night for my brother.

“This is pretty nice of him,” Maya said, surprising me. I hadn’t seen much of her since we arrived and she had run into Ethan.

“Yeah, it is,” I said, keeping an eye on Mikey. I watched as James introduced him to the actor who played Ten. My brother’s smile had never been bigger. I held my breath, hoping Mikey wouldn’t fling himself into his arms like he had with James, but Mikey just seemed to freeze, his excitement morphing into nervousness and then back to excitement as the actor smiled at him and shook his hand, treating my brother just like he was any other enthusiastic fan. That seemed to break the spell, and Mikey pulled off his backpack, rooting around for the DVDs and pictures he had brought. My stomach dropped when I saw that he had snuck in a few more things than I had originally allowed, but the actor seemed happy to sign everything that Mikey gave to him, even posing for a few photos that James took. I knew he would want to frame those and put them next to his bed. I was so happy for him. This was going to be a night Mikey remembered for a long time.

Maya wrapped her arms around me in a hug. “He looks like he’s having a good time.”

“He’s having a great time.”

Mikey spotted us and waved. We both waved back. I noticed that James didn’t even

glance back.

I turned to Maya, remembering what had happened between her and Ethan. My own one night stand was becoming complicated and confusing. At least I could count on her to distract me with her own adventures.

“Ok. Spill,” I ordered.

She feigned innocence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I rolled my eyes. “Puh-lease. Obviously there’s something going on between you and Ethan. I didn’t even realize that you knew each other.”

“Well, we don’t.” Maya ducked her head and I realized she was blushing. She never blushed. “I mean, we really just met one time at the bar. And then again. Last night. Late last night.”

My mouth dropped open. “You guys hooked up?” Usually Maya and I kept each other pretty well appraised of each other’s adventures. And she hadn’t said anything to me until now. What else had I missed?

She grabbed my arm. “Shh,” she urged. “Not so loud. I didn’t expect to see him again. Obviously.”

“How was it?” I asked her, still not sure if she had been happy to see him.

Maya let out a satisfied sigh. “It was wonderful, Nic. He was, well, he was great.”

I gave her a hug. “That’s fantastic!”

“Yeah, except I wasn’t supposed to ever see him again!” She huffed with frustration. “This makes things a little more complicated.”

“Why?”

“Because I was kind of happy to see him tonight.” Maya bit her lip as if she was embarrassed of this fact. “And we’re having a really nice time.”

I glanced over to the other side of the room where Ethan was talking politely with my mom. He saw us looking and gave us a tentative wave. We waved back.

“He’s really cute, Maya,” I told her. “And seems really sweet.”

“He is,” Maya agreed. “But you know the rules.”

“I also know that we made the rules, something you made sure to remind me of last week.” I noticed that my best friend was glowing. “You like him. And he clearly likes you. Is the sex good?”