The Grump I Despise (When In Waverly 3)

Norah

My sisters have managed to drag me out of the house and away from the book I was planning on reading all weekend. I told them my weekend is all “booked,” but I’ve used that excuse one too many times. “We’ve seen your silly t-shirt with that joke,” Madeline said. So here I am, out in public on a Friday night.

There’s live music at Bob’s Burgers tonight, and they’ve given me no other option but to join them. They threatened to tie me up and carry me to the car if I didn’t come willingly. I’m not a fan of rope burn, so I’m walking into the place on my own two feet.

The four of us stand at the door, waiting to be seated, when my eyes land on him. He’s sitting at a round table in the middle of the restaurant with all his friends. His elbows are propped up on the table as he says something to the group. Jameson and his wife, Millie, instantly laugh, while Hannah’s mouth falls open. Seth, sitting in the seat next to him, slugs him in the arm. He jerks to the side and rubs his arm, but he’s laughing. I wish I could hear that laugh, but it’s so loud in this restaurant I can barely even hear myself think. Everything in my body feels warm and tingly as I watch Colby smile and joke around with his friends. I’m pretty sure that tingles and a warm body is indicative of some sort of illness, so I should skedaddle and have that checked out immediately. But I can’t seem to drag my eyes away from the man. They’re glued in place.

Chelsea slides up beside me and nudges me in the side. “What’s that dopey smile for?” she asks with a sly grin on her face. Madeline and Layla hear her and perk up instantly. Following my gaze over to Colby’s table, they begin accosting me with question after question.

“Has he asked you out yet?”

“Are y’all finally admitting you have feelings for each other?”

“I knew you found him as dreamy as every other woman in this town!”

And it goes on and on and on…

I try to tune them out, but they’re in my face, shouting over all the noise, and people are starting to get curious.

“Oh my gosh, stop!” I step away from them. I am not having this conversation in a packed public place—especially in a town like Waverly, where if the right person overhears, it’ll be all over town the next morning. News spreads faster than a wildfire around here. I’ve already been the object of speculation since moving back. I don’t need my love life, or lack thereof, to become the next topic of discussion. And besides, there’s literally nothing going on between us—at least not of the romantic variety.

Madeline and Layla are now ranking Colby and his friends in order of their hotness. Very mature, ladies—and inappropriate, considering two of them are very much married.

“What? They didn’t suddenly turn ugly just because they got married,” Layla jokes when she sees me giving her a stern look. Madeline and Layla both laugh and then turn their attention to the band getting started at the back of the restaurant.

Chelsea faces me with a serious look in her eyes, and I prepare myself for a big-sister mentoring session.

“You know, there’s nothing wrong with liking him. He’s a good guy, Norah,” she says in a hushed tone. I appreciate her attempt at keeping this conversation private.

“He’s too serious,” I argue.

“Maybe you need someone serious to balance you out,” she suggests, like I’m still the spastic, borderline wild child I was back in my teens. I’ve grown up…sort of. I don’t feel like I need anyone balancing me out, keeping me in check, making sure I don’t run wild. I like who I am, and I like the freedom I have to be myself, thank you very much.

The hostess calls our name and tells us to follow her. She walks in the direction of the empty table right next to Colby’s, and somehow, a simultaneous feeling of dread and excitement courses through my veins. As we approach our table, Hannah notices us and grabs my arm to stop me.

“Norah! It’s so good to see you again,” she says with a smile beaming across her face. Everyone at their table looks up at me, Colby included. His smile is gone, and his brows are scrunched up. My stomach does a flip-flop while I try to guess what that look means. Is he about to get up and leave? Is he angry that I’m here?

We called a truce, but I can’t figure out where we stand now. Do we still act like bitter rivals, or do we act like we’re happy to see each other? Or do we just ignore the other’s presence? This is all new territory for me, and I need a map to navigate it.

“I’ve been meaning to call you. Seth and I are having a little get-together at our house tomorrow night, and I wanted to invite you. You’re all welcome to come!” Hannah says, leaning over to include my sisters in the invitation.

“Oh, I don’t know. I have so many papers to grade,” I say. I nervously twirl my hair around my finger.

“Now you sound like Colby,” Hannah says with a laugh. Oh gosh, is she trying to say I’m boring? I am so not boring. I glance over at him to see how he took his sister’s joke, and he has a crooked smile on his face that makes the tingles kick it up a notch.

“Well, we can’t have that,” I joke. “I’ll be there!” I glance over at Colby just in time to see him smirk. That is now eight times that I’ve made him smile. I don’t know why I’m bothering to keep track. It just seems like important information.

“I’ll text you the details,” Hannah says, clapping her hands excitedly. Seth smiles at her and rubs her back. I look back to Colby to see him watching his best friend and little sister. He looks happy for them, but then he looks down at the table, and for just one moment, a sad expression crosses his face. It’s gone by the time he looks back up, but I saw it. He looks up at me, and his blue eyes lock with mine. It feels like there’s sort of a silent communication going on between us. Like he’s allowing me just a small glimpse into what goes on inside that very serious head of his.

Our waitress comes to our table to take our drink orders, drawing my attention away from Colby’s eyes, so I plop down into my seat with my back to him. It’s like there’s a thread of electricity between us, demanding my attention. I can’t focus on anything my sisters are saying next to me. I’m staring at my menu, but none of the words are computing in my head. All I can think about is the man at my back. The man I’m supposed to despise but definitely don’t anymore.

I almost bailed on Hannah’s party tonight, but once again, my sisters talked me into coming. I did tell Hannah I’d be here, and I don’t want to let her down. She has been a good friend to me. I’ve been feeling unreasonably tired all day, but I chalked it up to staying up too late with Madeline and Layla last night. After watching the band play, we came home and watched two movies. Both were ridiculous, but also hilarious, and we just couldn’t seem to let the night end. I’ve been living in regret all day, reminding myself that I’m here to stay. I’m not only here for a quick visit anymore. I don’t have to pull all-nighters to squeeze in as much time with them as possible. And also, I’m thirty-one now. All-nighters are for the young, and I am clearly not in that category anymore.

But now that I’m looking at the grilled meat that Seth and Colby have spent all evening preparing, I’m not so sure that tired assumption was correct. My stomach is churning, and sweat is starting to break out on my forehead despite the freezing-cold temperature in this house. It’s the beginning of February. Why do they have the air conditioner on?

I need to get out of here, pronto, but I rode here with Layla. I scan the room and see her in the corner, laughing at something some guy’s saying into her ear. She glances at me and gives me that look that says, Are you seeing how gorgeous this man is?

And he is incredibly handsome in that fresh-faced, young sort of way. I don’t want to ruin her night. I could call my mom and dad, but they’d both have panic attacks and fret over me for the rest of the night—or more likely, the entire weekend. That sounds worse than being stuck in this house with the horrible smell of food and the head-splitting music.