"I know what," he said, suddenly brightening. "Forget Waverly's birthday party. I'll pay you a visit instead. How's that sound?"
"What? Pay me a visit? What do you mean?"
"You'll invite me to your house Saturday night, and I'll show up there instead of the party."
"It's not my house."
"So? You're living there. Invite me."
"I don't know." I couldn't help sounding flustered. "I'll--"
"What's wrong with that? People can visit you, can't they? They're not shutting you away in some attic or basement on weekends, are they? Your cousin can be our chaperone the whole time if she likes."
"But you'll miss your friend's party."
"So what? It's not going to be anything great. I've been to parties at Waverly's house before. Don't you want me to visit you?"
"Yes, of course, but . . . okay, I'll ask," I relented, seeing any other answer would make no sense. "Great."
Later, between my creative writing class and the last period, Lynette Firestone caught up to me in the hallway and bumped my shoulder to get me to stop walking.
"You're moving pretty quickly on Germaine Osterhout's boyfriend," she muttered. "Everyone's talking about it and teasing her."
"No one told me he was her boyfriend, and I think he has a mind of his own."
"Just warning you," she said. "She's not the one to turn into an enemy. I know from experience," she added, the corners of her mouth drooping.
"Actually, you have that backward."
"What? What do you mean?"
"I'm not the one to turn into an enemy," I said, and sped up to my last class of the day.
At the end of the day, Trevor walked me out, both of us expecting Ann to be waiting there as she was the day before, but she was nowhere in sight.
"Are you sure she's picking you up?" Trevor asked after a good ten minutes. Most of the other students had gotten into their cars or had been picked up quickly by their parents. We were practically the only ones standing around. The parking lot had nearly emptied out.
All day the sky had shifted from partly cloudy to complete overcast to an occasional sprinkle, and it looked like it was gathering bruised clouds from the east to deliver more of a downfall. The breeze picked up and blew dust across the drive. Trees wavered and shivered. I could see the humidity in the air. Even the birds were in retreat.
Where was she? I wondered. Maybe she really had gotten sick last night, but why wouldn't she let me know she wasn't coming for me? I fingered the card in my purse that Wade had given me. He had offered it with an expression on his face that told me to expect to need to call him, but I couldn't help thinking I would be taking him away from his work, and maybe cause trouble between him and Ami, if not between Ami and me, especially if she was on her way and I jumped the gun.
I strained my neck to look down the street, but there was still no sign of her, and I did have another driving lesson to begin in twenty minutes. What about that?
"Should I run you home?" Trevor offered.
"I don't know. What if she comes and I'm not here?" I said, practically wailing.
"We'll look out for her on the way. If we see her, I'll blow the horn and get her to stop."
I shifted from one foot to the other. My nerve endings felt like guitar strings twanged and vibrating through my heart. The first heavy raindrops fell.
"C'mon," Trevor said, seizing my left arm and pulling me toward his black Mercedes sports car. "I just got this car recently anyway, and I want to show off. It's silly to wait in the rain, and it looks like it's going to be quite a downpour."
My reluctance weakened, and I permitted him to take me to his car, open the door, and help me get in. It did smell new, especially the leather.
"It's a beautiful car," I said when he got in.
"Yeah. Dad gives me one to use, and then he sells it as a used car, but gently used, if you know what I mean," he said, smiling. He started up and backed out of the spot.