P.S. I Like You(44)

“Why did you bring her a gift?”

“Because it’s polite to bring people gifts when they have you over.”

“I’ve never done that before,” Wyatt said thoughtfully. “Except for birthday parties, but this isn’t a birthday party.”

Cade draped his arm over Wyatt’s shoulder. “You’re right.”

They left and I took a deep breath. I could do this. I’d just imagine Cade as the guy I’d been exchanging letters with, the one my brother looked up to, not as the one who mocked me in the halls and warned guys away from me.

Just as I was about to see if my mom needed help in the kitchen, the doorbell rang again. I turned around and answered it. A guy holding a bottle of sparkling cider stood on the porch. His dark hair was a mess, but his clothes were wrinkle-free and dressy so I assumed the hair thing was purposeful. Considering my own hair on most days, I really should’ve been more forgiving of unruly hair.

“Hi,” I said.

“I’m Mark.”

Ashley’s friend … boyfriend? “Oh, right, food teeth guy.”

His brow furrowed. “Excuse me?”

“Nothing. Come in. I’m Lily.”

“Ah,” he said as if he now understood some mystery. What had my sister told him about me and how could I already have proven whatever that was in two sentences?

“Ash!” I yelled, stepping inside. “Your … boy is here!”

Ashley came sweeping into the room in a cloud of perfume and hairspray. I wasn’t even sure what about her hairstyle required hairspray, but she’d used a lot of it. “Mark! Hi! Oh is that for us?” She gestured toward the bottle he held. “Thank you.” She threaded her fingers between his and led him away.

When had our house become the destination for Thanksgiving visitors? The type that brought gifts? This was going to be the strangest Thanksgiving ever.





Just because our visitors had some form of etiquette training didn’t change my family’s manners. The second my father uttered the word amen, my brothers and little cousins dive-bombed the counter where all the food was laid out. They were digging through turkey pieces before anyone had a chance to move.

The kitchen became a flurry of activity—my mom taking lids and foil off of everything, my dad calling out for the dark meat, my sister pouring drinks, my grandparents directing from their places at the table, my aunt wrestling her daughter into a high chair while the baby screamed bloody murder and her other two kids ran circles around the counter, my uncle barking orders at his kids. Cade stood as if frozen to the tile, unsure of what to do. Visits to my house needed to come with a training manual.

I looked at the clock on the stove. It was 2:05 in the afternoon. One hour—that’s how long Cade would last before he made an excuse to leave. I’d bet my broken guitar on it.

I gave him a smirk. “I warned you. And if you want any food, you’ll have to take the plunge.”

He did just that. In two steps he had a plate and was filling it expertly. He wound in and out of bodies until he arrived at the end of the counter, where Ashley held up a drink for him. I was the only one frozen to the tile now. The empty roll basket mocked my amateur move of waiting too long. Wyatt’s plate had three rolls precariously stacked and I snagged one as I walked by.

“Hey!”

I patted his head and took a bite, then grabbed a plate. The table was already full as were the bar stools at the counter. So after I filled my plate, I went outside to the picnic table where it was possible to eat comfortably in November, because it was Arizona—the state that tried to kill its inhabitants every summer but made them forget about its attempt by being exceptionally kind every winter.

I dropped a green bean into the rabbit cage as I walked by. Then I sat down. Soon I was joined by Ashley (and her boy). And then Cade came out. My stomach dropped. He was Wyatt’s guest. Shouldn’t he have stayed inside with him?

Mark looked a little deflated, his wild hair flatter than it had been upon arrival. “It’s much quieter out here,” he noted, looking around in relief.

“Not for long,” I said.

“Well, I can’t stay too long, anyway,” he said.

Wow, ten minutes and Mark was already laying down the exit strategy.

“You can’t?” Ashley asked.

“I told you, right? My grandparents are expecting me soon.”

I waited for Cade to say something similar, jump on the easy excuse, but he was too busy eating.

“I don’t think we’ve officially met,” Ashley said to Cade. “You’re Wyatt’s coach, right?”

Cade looked up, and swallowed. “And Lily’s friend,” he said, winking at me.

“You two are friends?” Ashley asked, the surprise in her voice a little insulting.

“More like acquaintances,” I said coolly. Who hate each other, I almost added but stopped myself in time. “We hang out in completely different groups.”

The back door flew open and Jonah and two of my cousins came running out. The two little ones went straight for the grass but Jonah went to the rabbit cage.

“Hey, Coach!” Jonah called. “Do you want to see Bugs Rabbit?”

“You mean Bugs Bunny?” Cade said.

“No, it’s a rabbit.”