Complete Nothing (True Love #2)(46)

“I don’t know about this,” my mother said. “Going out with some boy so soon after breaking up with Peter. I don’t like it.”

“It’s just one date, Tanya,” my father said in a placating way. “It is just one date, right? Not planning on running off and marrying the boy.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed. “No, Dad.”

“Now, Peter. He was marriage material,” my mom said, fiddling with her pearls.

“Mom!” I blurted.

“Bet you wouldn’t say that if you’d seen what he did at the pep rally today,” Casey said under her breath.

My stomach turned just thinking about it—Peter’s tongue shoved down Josie’s throat for everyone to see—but I pushed the image away as quickly as it had come. This was going to work. Somehow or other Peter was going to see me with Keegan tonight and remember what we had. What it meant. How good it was. That plus the insane spirit basket I’d left in front of his house earlier today were going to do the trick. He was going to dump Josie Big Lips on her perky butt and come running back to me.

“What?” my mother asked Casey.

“Nothing!” we both replied.

“Does your heart actually break when you get dumped?” my brother asked, looking up from his iPad, his red hair sticking out like he’d shoved a fork in an electrical socket as he sat on the bottom step of our curved staircase. “And like, how much does it break? Do pieces fall off? And how many pieces are there? Can it break so much that you up and die?”

“It feels like it can,” I replied.

“Corey, go upstairs and wash your face,” my mother said, dragging him up by the elbow. “You look like you’ve been rolling in ketchup.”

My brother barreled up the steps, tripping once before making it to the top.

“There he is!” Casey squealed, then flattened herself against the wall so he wouldn’t see her. She widened her eyes at me in a meaningful way. “Killer car.”

“Really?”

I glanced out the window and saw a black Mustang with a double royal-blue stripe painted from its nose to its windshield, across its top, and down to its tail. It shone in the waning light of day as if it had just been washed and buffed, and the engine made a deep growly noise as he eased it toward the curb in front of our house.

For a long moment no one moved. I looked at my mom. She looked at my dad. He stood in front of the tall skinny window next to the door and pushed the curtain aside.

“He’s not getting out of the car,” my father said. “If he’s one of these kids who thinks it’s perfectly acceptable to honk the horn—”

Then the engine died, and we heard the door open and close. Relief flooded through me. It didn’t really matter what my parents thought of Keegan, because it wasn’t as if I was going to go out with him forever, but it would make this one night easier if they approved.

“Everyone get out of here!” I whispered. “You can’t be waiting by the door when he rings the—”

The doorbell rang. My mother and sister scurried toward the kitchen. I was surprised by how nervous I felt when I knew this was not a real date. What if he didn’t like me? What if we had nothing to talk about? But there was no going back now. My dad waited a couple of seconds, then opened the door.

“You must be Keegan!” he said, offering a hand.

“Yes, sir, Mr. Catalfo.” Keegan sounded completely confident and at ease. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You too. Come on in.”

My mom and Casey peeked out from the kitchen as he entered, then disappeared the second he turned toward me. When my eyes met Keegan’s, my nervousness swelled, closing off my throat and prickling my palms. I swear it was like somehow, between Wednesday afternoon and Friday night, he’d grown exponentially better-looking. And he’d already been gorgeous on Wednesday. He was wearing his St. Joe’s varsity jacket over a button-down shirt and jeans, and green was 100 percent his color. He was clean-shaven, and when he smiled his teeth were so straight it was almost wrong.

“Hi! Good to see you,” I said, feeling awkward in front of my dad.

“You too,” he replied. “Ready to go?”

“Oh, um . . . yeah.”

We stepped outside together and it was weird, just doing that with someone who wasn’t Peter. Everything about this was weird.

“Where’re you two off to?” my father asked, leaning against the doorway.

“Dad!” I hissed.

“I thought we’d hit Dave and Buster’s at the mall, if that’s cool with you,” Keegan said, smiling my way.

“Definitely! Sounds like fun.”

I’d been to Dave & Buster’s with Lauren’s family once, and we’d had the best time challenging each other on the random video games. Plus, they had good salads there, unlike most of the other chain restaurants. I could rank the salad selection of every establishment within a twenty-mile radius of my house.

Keegan led me to his car and walked around to the driver’s side. Peter always opened the passenger door for me, but it was no big deal. I slipped into the seat and took a deep, calming breath. The inside of Keegan’s car smelled like leather, fresh-cut grass, and french fries. I knew instantly that I was always going to associate those scents with this moment. My first date with someone other than Peter. As Keegan got in next to me, I whipped out my phone and texted True.