Page 86 of Never Not Friends

“Yeah, Emma and I went to dinner and a movie.”

My eyes dart to her. “On a school night?”

“She’s not the student, Vinny.” Juliet laughs beside me. “I think it’s okay if Emma stays out late.”

Shane laughs. “Isn’t tonight technically a school night too?”

Emma’s stare stays on mine for one second before flipping back to him. The conversation moves on around me. Nate and Hess get loud, drawing laughter, and instead of shrinking back, Shane joins in.

At one point, Emma laughs so hard a piece of her burger accidentally flies out of her mouth. That happens whenever she laughs hard with food in her mouth. Her cheeks pinken, but Shane to the rescue, wiping it off the table with a napkin.

“They’re cute, huh?” Juliet says so only I can hear.

“Who?”

She looks at me like I’m an idiot. “Emma and Shane.”

“Oh.” My eyes drop to my empty plate. I use my fork to push around a few uneaten pasta noodles.

“Don’t you think?”

I steal a look at them. Shane has one arm around the back of her chair, the other reaching across his body to hold her hand as it rests on the table. He says something low, and she laughs again.

My eyes go back to my empty plate. “I guess.”

Juliet bumps her shoulder into mine. “What’s with you?”

“I don’t care who Emma dates.” The words come out defensively.

Juliet’s lips pinch together as she studies me. “Are you still mad about your dad and the seating arrangement?”

“No.” I sit back in my chair.

“Okay.” She stares at me for a second more before turning back to the conversation.

Camila stands and starts clearing dishes away. “Should we play Camel Up since Blair isn’t here? She hates that game.”

“Where is Blair?” Nate glances around like he’s just realizing her absence for the first time.

“She got assigned a work trip all of a sudden,” Camila explains.

“What does Blair do for a living?” Shane asks.

Everyone goes silent for a second, looking around, waiting for someone to answer.

“We don’t really know,” Carly finally says. “Something with computers, I think.”

“She travels a lot, whatever it is,” Hess chimes in.

“So Camel Up?” Camila reaches over me to clear away a bowl of watermelon.

Juliet smiles at her. “Sounds good to us.”

“Don’t worry,” Emma says to Shane. “I’ll teach you how to play.”

He squeezes her hand. “Or we can just be on the same team.”

Emma hates playing on teams. For such a sweet girl, she’s pretty competitive when it comes to board games. Pretty much the only time she’s assertive is during Settlers of Catan.