“Why is that?”
“Because I couldn’t talk to you.”
“Talk to me? You freaking called me Rosie-Blowsy.”
“Yeah, I was kind of an idiot, huh.”
I nod. This handsome idiot who still has his arm around me is none other than that creator of the hottest animated show on TV about a group of high school misfits, aptly entitled Misfits. The merchandising alone has got to be millions, I muse. No one ever, in a gazillion years, would have ever guessed that he would be the Most Likely to Succeed in our high school class. No one actually thought he’d graduate.
“Let’s take it from the top.” He smiles at me. “Hello, Rose.”
“Hello, Danny.”
“It’s good to see you.”
“Good to see you, too.”
“I was hoping you’d be here.”
“Me?” I wasn’t exactly someone who hung out with him.
“Yeah, you.”
“But we weren’t…”
“Friends? No, we weren’t. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t like you.”
“You liked me because I let you cheat off me that one time.”
“Oh, yeah, definitely, that was a perk. Why’d you let me? You didn’t seem like the kind of kid who would.”
“You were cute and funny.” I shrug, feeling a little uncomfortable with my admission.
“You liked me.” His smile isn’t smug, there’s a hint of surprise.
“For a derelict, yeah.” I’m going to make him work for it.
“You liked me.” He appears satisfied with the knowledge.
“Is that a surprise?” If I had balls or a few more glasses of wine in me, I might admit to him that I fantasized about him kissing me and touching me and that a very vivid dream one night made it impossible for me to even look at him in class for the next two days.
“It definitely is.”
I just smile. I’m not quite sure what to say. “So, Danny, what was that all about?”
“Well, I saw you were out
here and that you were holding a glass of white wine, I thought I’d grab you a refill and come and say hi. By the time I got out here, he was here talking to you and I could tell by your body language, the way your arms were crossed over your chest, and the look on your face, that you were really uncomfortable.” He pauses and takes a sip of his drink. “And I never liked him anyway.”
“What? You didn’t like Connor? I didn’t even know you knew him.”
“Since second grade, actually.”
“Really?” I’m surprised. Coming from a different elementary and middle school than Connor, I had no idea that he and Danny even knew one another.
“He was a whiny little ass even back then.”
“But why did you pretend to be my boyfriend just now? To fuck with him?” My 10th grade fantasy guy just used me for schoolyard vengeance against his grammar school foe.