The Perfect Son by Freida McFadden(17)

His leg is pressed against mine and so is his upper arm. If we weren’t surrounded by other kids from track team, I wonder if he’d try for a kiss. The thought of it makes my heart nearly beat out of my chest.

But before I can get too excited, my phone starts ringing in my pocket. I recognize the ringtone. It’s my mother.

Great.

“Hang on.” I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone, which was a present for my birthday last year. But my mom put all these restrictions on it, so I can’t play too many games or watch YouTube. Oh, and there’s GPS tracking. So that she can know where I am at every single moment of the day. Seriously, why doesn’t she just put a microchip in my head? “Hi, Mom.”

“Olivia,” Mom says. “Are you still at that diner? It’s getting late.”

Sheesh, she knows I’m still at the diner. She’s got that GPS thing on my phone.

“It’s not that late.” I look down at my watch and then out the window. “It’s not even dark yet.”

“How are you planning to get home?”

“Um.” I glance at Liam, who has his eyebrows raised. “I’ll just walk.”

He’ll walk me home. I’m sure of it.

“Walk!” Mom says it like I suggested zip lining home. “Out of the question! I’ll drive over and pick you up.”

“Mom!” I try not to sound too whiny, but I really don’t want her to pick me up. Not now. Not when things are going so well. “It’s still really early. Can’t I stay? Please?”

“Don’t you have homework to do?”

“I did it at school.” (That’s a lie. There was no way I could concentrate on my homework when I knew Liam and I were about to have our first almost-date.)

Mom is quiet for a moment, thinking it over. I keep my fingers and my toes crossed that she says I can stay.

“No,” she finally says. “I’m going to come get you now. I want you home before it gets dark.”

“But Mom—”

“Not negotiable, Olivia.”

“Fine,” I grumble.

If Liam weren’t right next to me, I probably would have fought harder to stay, but I don’t want him to hear me fighting with my mother. You know—one of those fights where I explain to her that I am not a baby and she’s being absolutely ridiculous. Those can go on for a while, and I’ve noticed they don’t usually end well for me.

I hang up with my mother and shove my phone back in my pocket. “I’m really sorry,” I tell him. “My mom is coming to pick me up now.”

“Now?” His face falls. “You really have to go?”

“She’s worried about me walking home alone.”

His brows scrunch together. “I would have walked you.”

I know he would have. And his mother isn’t sitting around worrying about him walking me home, then walking home himself. Because his mother isn’t crazy like mine.

“I’m sorry,” I say.

“It’s okay.”

And then he reaches under the table with his left hand and finds mine. He gives it a squeeze, and then suddenly we’re holding hands. Oh my God, we’re holding hands! He grins at me, and I grin back. The only thing ruining it a little is that my hand is getting super clammy. I sort of want to pull it away from him and wipe it on my jeans, but I’m not sure how I would explain that one.

“Hey!” One of the other guys on the team is smirking at Liam. “Cass! What are you doing under the table? Hands where we can see them, buddy!”

Liam laughs, but his ears color slightly and he pulls his hand away from mine. My heart sinks in my chest, and at that moment, my mom texts me that she’s outside and I better get my butt out there ASAP.

“I gotta go,” I say to Liam.

He chews on his lip. “What if I tell her I’ll walk you home?”

“She’s outside. I really gotta go.”

“Okay.” He stands up so I can get out of the booth. He rubs at the back of his neck. “I’m glad you came.”

I smile up at him. “Me too.”

All his friends from track are staring at us. He keeps rubbing at his neck and smiling self-consciously. “Maybe another time then?”

I nod, trying not to let on how disappointed I feel right now. He’s not even asking me out for another night. But it’s not like we’re never going to see each other again. We’ve got math class together tomorrow. It’s my favorite class of the day now, and I don’t even like math. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“See you,” he says.

I wait one more beat, hoping he’ll change his mind and lean in to kiss me, or at least suggest going out again. But he doesn’t.





Chapter 15


Olivia



I am so mad at my mom.

I was having such a great time with Liam. He’s, like, the first boy I’ve ever had a big crush on. And he actually seems to like me back. And she ruined it. For no reason!

“Are you going to give me the silent treatment the whole way home?” Mom asks as she turns onto Maple Street.

I fold my arms across my chest. “You know Liam asked me specifically to come tonight.”