There's Something About Sweetie(60)

Sweetie, on the other hand, was … To be honest, Sweetie was worlds away from him. She was sweet and soft and mild, a daisy growing among thorny weeds. Somehow, in spite of everything, she managed to round out his rough edges to fit with her soft ones. Somehow, it felt right. But still, Ash was terrified he’d inevitably break her heart because he couldn’t be what she wanted, just like his friends had warned him. How could someone like him—selfish, never-made-a-relationship-last Ash—give Sweetie everything she wanted? Everything she deserved?

Sweetie was a different species entirely from Celia—and from everyone else he knew, to be honest. Heck, he’d never before dated anyone who’d come up with something as heart-meltingly cute, as ridiculously brave, as the Sassy Sweetie Project. As he walked to his Jeep to drive to Samir’s house, Ash smiled suddenly at the memory of how she’d completely frozen after she’d blurted that out to him, looking like freaking Bambi in headlights. She was so unbearably adorable sometimes. His smile fading, he thought, And that’s why you need to be the man she deserves, Ash. You seriously cannot—canNOT—mess this one up.

No pressure.




“Said, the universe couldn’t keep us apart …”



Sweetie stopped singing at the sound of applause and opened her eyes to see her friends clapping and cheering like she’d just won the gold at the Olympics. They were all gathered in Kayla’s parents’ four-car garage, half of which was empty and perfect for their rehearsal space. She rolled her eyes and laughed. “You guys. I’m not even done singing that part.”

“Yeah, well, this is your second go-around, so I think we got it,” Kayla said, her bracelets jangling at her wrist. “And you are inspired today.”

“You could go to LA and be discovered,” Izzy said, her hands clasped in front of her chest. “Seriously, Sweetie.”

Suki narrowed her eyes. “Something’s different, though,” she said slowly, tapping a drumstick against her chin. Her long, silky black hair hung in waves down her shoulders.

Sweetie tugged self-consciously at her own bun. “Yeah. I’ve been practicing.”

“Nuh-uh,” Suki said, shaking her head. Then, widening her eyes, she grinned. “Oh. I get it.”

“What?” Kayla looked from her to Sweetie, who was now studying her shoes with intense fascination. “What do you get?”

“Share with the class, Suki,” Izzy said, and slurped at her Sprite.

“She’s singing like this because she believes what she’s singing now. It’s a love song, guys.” Suki snickered. “I’d say things with Ashish are heating up.”

“Ohmigod, is that true?” Izzy said, and then choked on her drink in her excitement and had to be pounded on the back by Suki.

“Calm down,” Sweetie mumbled.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” Kayla crossed her arms. “Yeah, I can tell by the way your face is.”

“My face is how it always is!” Sweetie threw her hands up. “Sheesh.”

“You mean ‘Ashish,’” Suki said, and then they all burst out laughing.

Sweetie glared at them, but she felt the smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Oh, come on. There was no way to be mad at them. Not when they were 1,000 percent right. “Okay, yes,” she said, taking a seat on the worn, old corduroy couch that had been Kayla’s mom’s in college. “Things are going well. I mean, for me they are.”

Kayla sat next to her and crossed her legs. “What do you mean, for you they are? What about Ashish?”

“He’s still having a hard time with this girl he broke up with. We totally had a moment this morning at the Holi Festival. He kissed me. And I told you about our first kiss in his car, right?” She grinned around at her friends and they all nodded. “But then at the Holi Festival he pulled away right in the middle of it. We talked about it, but basically he had his heart shattered and now he’s afraid, you know? So I told him I’d wait for him. He told me he’s physically attracted to me”—Sweetie’s cheeks burned in both happiness and embarrassment—“but he still feels this emotional distance. So I told him that’ll probably come later, right? With time.” She looked around at the girls again, but this time their grins had faded. “What?”

There was a beat of silence. Then Suki spoke. “You’re okay with him only wanting you for your body? Because I’m pretty sure that’s what you just said.”

Sweetie felt her temper flare. Suki could be so blunt sometimes, even when she was wrong. “That’s actually not what I said. Like, at all. I said the emotional connection will come later.”

“Yeah. Meaning right now he just wants you for your body.” Suki raised her eyebrows, like, Duh.

“It sounds like you guys are having a good time,” Kayla rushed to add, seeing Sweetie’s expression. “But, um, Sweetie … it sounds like you’re really falling for him and he … might not be?”

“Right.” She looked around at them all and shrugged. “He’s not yet. But that doesn’t mean things can’t change. We’ve only been on two official dates, guys. And for me, this is about more than just Ashish. This is about me proving something to myself.”