"Great. Can't wait. Now will you focus on the problem? We're going to be here all day if you don't get started."
We remain there for the next two hours. And despite several interruptions from Max and Rusty, I actually learned some stuff. I have a lot more to learn but at least now I understand what I did wrong on the test.
"Hi, Cal," Birdie's mom says, coming in the kitchen from the garage holding a sack of groceries. "I didn't think you'd still be here."
"I'm a slow learner," I kid.
"No, you're not," Birdie says. "We got a lot farther than I thought we would."
Her mom walks over to us at the table. "How were the boys?"
"Monsters." Birdie gets up and pushes her chair in. "They're all yours now. I'm off duty."
"Are you two going to lunch?" She smiles at me. "There's a new sandwich shop down the street I've heard is really good."
"What do you think?" I say to Birdie.
"What? About lunch?"
"Yeah. It's on me, to thank you for helping me out."
"I thought you were paying me."
"Birdie!" her mom scolds. "You can't charge Cal. After all his family has done for you? All the nice trips they've taken you on?"
"I was kidding, Mom. Geez, relax."
"Let's go," I say to Birdie. "We'll try the sandwich shop."
"Okay, but I need to change. I can't go out like this."
"Why? You look great."
She laughs. "Yeah, funny. I'll be right back."
Her mom returns to the kitchen to unload the groceries. "So Cal, how are the swim lessons going?"
"Good." I walk over and stand by the counter. "We took some time off but we'll get back to it next week."
"I tried for years to get Birdie in the pool but she refused. I was shocked when she told me you were teaching her to swim. She must really trust you."
"I think it's more about wanting to go on spring break and not drown."
"Well, yes, there's that, but when we offered to pay for swim lessons at the Y she wouldn't do it. She won't learn from anyone but you."
"You were going to pay for lessons? Like recently?"
"As recent as a few months ago. There was a session starting in August but she wouldn't sign up."
August is when I offered to give her lessons. She acted like it was the worst idea in the world, but she still agreed to it. Even though she could've had lessons from someone else. Someone who actually teaches swimming. But instead she chose me. The guy she claims to hate.
"I'm ready." Birdie appears in a yellow sundress and sandals, her blond hair in a loose bun. "I'm still a mess but better than before."
She's not a mess. She looks gorgeous.
"Let me know how it is," her mom says. "Maybe your father and I will try it."
"Mom!" Max yells, running up to her. Rusty lags behind.
"Hi, honey, want some lunch?"
"Can you have babies from kissing?"
Her brows draw together. "Where did you hear that?"
"A kid at school. Birdie says it's not true but I don't believe her. She said to ask you. Is it true?"
"No. You do not have babies from kissing."
"Told you!" Rusty yells.
"Then how do you get them?" Max asks.
Birdie laughs. "I'm leaving. I've already had the talk. I don't need to hear it again."
"What talk?" Max asks.
"Bye, Mom! Have fun!"
Birdie laughs as we go to my car. "Bet she wasn't expecting THAT today."
"You think she'll tell him?"
"Not right now. She'll wait until Rusty leaves, then make my dad talk to him. Dads tell sons. Moms tell daughters. That's her rule."
"When did she tell you?"
"When I was nine, but I already knew. Do you know where we're going?"
"Shit, I forgot to ask."
"I think I know the place she was talking about it. Go to the corner and turn right. No, wait! Go left!"
"Are you sure? You just said to go right."
"Forget the sandwich place. I forgot it was taco truck day."
"What's that?"
"Every Saturday this taco truck parks in front of the hardware store. They have the best tacos. You have to try them."
"Are there places to sit?"
"No, I usually just sit in the grass."
"Um, okay."
"What's wrong?" She smiles. "Afraid to mess up your designer clothes?"
"The shorts aren't designer. Just the shirt. And no, I'm not worried about my clothes. I've just never done anything like this before."
"You've never eaten from a food truck?"
"No. I usually go to restaurants."
"You're missing out. Food trucks are great! Taylor and I used to go to this one that has gyros but I don't think they're in business anymore. Too many people got sick."
"Did you?"
"No, but I got sick from a sushi truck. And a burrito truck. The burrito one was the worst. I was sick for days."
"I'm starting to change my mind about this food truck idea."
"You're gonna love it." She points to the truck up ahead. "That's it. Just park on the street."
There's a long line leading up to the bright yellow truck that has tacos painted all over it. We get in line. It takes twenty minutes to get to the order window.
"Hey, Manuel," Birdie says to the guy taking orders.
"Birdie! Where you been, girl?"
"School. I'm back at college now so things are busy. How've you been?"
"Same as always. Can't complain." He smiles at her. "You want the usual?"
"Yeah, with extra salsa."
"And for your boyfriend?"
She laughs. "He's not my boyfriend. He's my student. I'm tutoring him."
"Know what you want?" he asks.
"I'll take the number three."
He rings us up. "Eight ninety-five."
"That's it?" I say, thinking it must be wrong. I give him the money.
"You wanna go out tonight?" Manuel asks Birdie. "There's a concert at the park. It's that band we heard last summer."
"Maybe. I'll text you if I can go."
He hands us two paper baskets and two drinks. "Enjoy."
"How well do you know that guy?" I ask as we walk to the grassy area next to the parking lot.
"We're just casual friends. Why?"
"I think he wants to be more than friends."
We sit on the grass and set our food down.
"We go to concerts sometimes. That's it."
"And you don't consider that a date? Going to a concert with a guy?"
"Is this a date?" she asks, biting into her taco. "I'm a girl. You're a guy. Does that make this a date?"
"Birdie, you know what I mean. That guy just asked you out."
"He didn't ask me out. He has a girlfriend. She goes with us to the concerts."
"Oh." I bite into my taco. "These are really good."
She sets her taco down. "When are you going to stop?"
"Stop what?"
"Stop trying to control who I date. It was bad enough when you did it to Taylor but at least that makes sense. You were just being a protective older brother. But you're not my brother and you don't get a say in who I date. You should've told me the truth about Steve but I've decided to let that go. But if you keep this up, we're not going to be friends anymore. I mean it, Cal."
"I'm not trying to control who you date. I just don't want you dating guys that don't treat you well. Like the guys at my frat house."
"What about them?"
"They're all assholes. I wouldn't want you dating any one of them. And not because I'm trying to control who you go out with, but because I know them better than you do."
"They can't all be bad. You don't even know all of them, especially the freshmen. Just agree to stay out of my love life, okay? That's all I'm asking."
As we eat our tacos I think about what she said. Maybe I am too protective of her but it's because I care about her. She goes out wit
h guys that ghost her, dump her via text, make her pay for dinner. And she puts up with it!
But it's more than that. It's about me. I've had feelings for Birdie longer than I want to admit and seeing her with someone else—someone who doesn't treat her well—drives me crazy.
"Damn!" Birdie says, looking down at her dress.
"What happened?"
"I spilled salsa on my dress." She dabs it with a napkin.
"I can't even see it."
"It's there, but it's small. I'll wash it when I get home."
"Shit, I forgot your dress."
"What dress?"
"The one I had cleaned. I was going to bring it today but I forgot."
"You want to go get it now?"
"We could do that."
We get up and toss our trash.
"Bye, Manuel!" She waves at him. He blows her a kiss and she says to me, "He does it to everyone."
"Not me."
She laughs. "You have to get to know him first. Hey, why don't we meet them at the concert tonight?"
"You're inviting me to the concert?"
"Only if you want to go."
"Yeah, let's do it."
We go to my apartment and end up spending the afternoon there, watching one of the movies she has to watch for class. It's an old black and white mystery.
"Why did all the women wear gloves back then?" Birdie asks.
"They had to protect their hands from germs. People couldn't risk getting sick back then. You could end up dead from a cold."
"I think it was more of a fashion thing."
My phone dings. It's a text from Lara.
What time are you picking me up?
"Shit," I mutter.
"What's wrong?"
"I forgot I was going out with Lara tonight."
"You forgot? How do you forget you have a date with your girlfriend?"
"It just slipped my mind."
Birdie gets up. "Let's go. It's after four and you have to drive me home. With traffic you won't be back here until five. What time are you picking her up?"
"We didn't set a time."
"You want to call her?"
"I'll just send her a text." I look down at my phone, then up at Birdie. "I'm really sorry I can't go to the concert with you."
"Don't worry about it. I'll call Isla. She might be free. Let me grab my dress and then we can go."
I'd rather go to the concert with Birdie than on a date with my girlfriend. That should tell me something. I think it's time to end things with Lara.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Birdie
"You're doing great," Cal says as I attempt to swim across the shallow end of the pool.
I stand up and wring my hair out. "I think I'm done for today."
"Try it one more time."
"I can't. I need to get going. It's already noon and I need to get home and study before—"
"Before what?"
"Before I go out tonight. Isla and I are going to a movie."
"She's not going out with her boyfriend?"
"He had to work."
I feel bad lying to Cal but I can't tell him I'm going to the party with Jared tonight. He told me to stay away from his frat brothers so I know he'd try to interfere if I told him Jared asked me out.
I've been texting Jared all week but didn't get many texts back. We also never had the lunch we talked about. He said he's been really busy with school and rehearsing for a play. Last Saturday he was in LA to audition for a movie role but didn't get it.
This morning he texted me to make sure I'm still coming to the party tonight. I told him I'd be there and then asked if we could go to dinner before we go to the party. He never got back to me.
"What are you doing tonight?" I ask Cal.
"Not sure. I might stop by the frat house. They're having a party."
Shit. I was hoping he wouldn't be there.
"I thought you didn't like those parties," I say.
"I don't, but I'm still supposed to go. I missed the last two."
"I'm sure you could miss another one. Why don't you stay home and research golf courses?"
"On a Saturday night?"
"Why not? You love looking at golf courses."
"I do, but not on Saturday night. I'll probably just go to the party."
"Why don't you go to your parents' house? You haven't seen them all week."
He gives me a funny look. "Why are you trying to talk me out of going to the party tonight?"
"I'm not. I just think you'd have a better time doing something else."
"What movie are you going to? Maybe I'll tag along with you and Isla."
"Um, no. You can't. It's girls only."
"You're acting really strange. Is something going on?"
"No." I get out of the pool and grab my towel.
"Are you sure?" Cal asks, staring at me like he knows I'm lying.
"I just don't know why you'd go to a party you don't want to go to."
"Because I don't want to sit at home on a Saturday night."
Cal and Lara broke up last Saturday. He said she was becoming too much like his ex. But Lara's the one who suggested the breakup. It happened during dinner after Cal told her he's not going back to professional golf. Apparently that's the only reason she was dating him. She was hoping to benefit off the money he'd be making. When she found out that's not going to happen, she broke up with him.
"You have other friends," I say. "Go out with one of them tonight."
"Maybe. I'll figure it out." He gets out of the pool and dries off. "You want to have lunch before you go?"
"Only if lunch is celery and spinach."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm doing a cleanse. I started it last week."
"A cleanse? Like one of those juice diets?"
"I don't have a juicer so it's more like pureed vegetables."
"That's all you're eating?"
"Drinking. There's no eating allowed."
He wraps the towel around his waist. "Why are you on a diet?"
"I just want to lose a few pounds." I walk to the door. "I'm going to change and then head out."
"Birdie, wait." He catches up to me. "Is this because of that stupid comment on that website?"
"No, and stop telling me what to do. If I want to go on a diet, I will."
"I'm not telling you what to do. But those cleanses can be dangerous."
"They're not dangerous. Everyone does them. And this is a healthy one. It's all vegetables."
"If it's so healthy, then why have you had a headache all week?"
"I'm not debating this with you." I open the sliding door. "I'll see you later."
"What about the tutoring?"
"I don't have time today. Can we meet on Monday?"
"That doesn't leave me enough time to get ready for the test on Tuesday."
I sigh. "Okay, we'll do it now but I can only give you a half hour."
"I'll go get my laptop."
I'm so hungry I don't know if I'll have the energy to tutor him. I wanted to go home and take a nap. I've been doing this cleanse for three days now. It ends after today but I'm stopping it early so I can eat tonight. Otherwise I might collapse on my date.
I've been on a few diets before but this one is the worst. Drinking my meals doesn't work for me. I need to be able to chew something. I can't wait to eat again. Just a few more hours.
The cleanse was so I could fit in this dress I ordered online that's too small. It's a short red dress that I want to wear to the party tonight. I tried it on last night and it actually fit so at least the cleanse worked.
Cal comes out to the patio with his laptop. "Want to work here or inside?"
"Here. I can't be in there when your mom's baking cookies."
"I just had three," he says, sitting beside me at the patio table. "They're really good."
"Don't tell me that! I'm starving."
"Would you just eat something? This is stupid."
"I
t's not stupid. It's working. I've lost five pounds this week."
"Five pounds you didn't need to lose."
"Open your laptop. Let's do this before I fall asleep."
"You didn't sleep well?"
"I slept fine. It's the cucumber breakfast making me tired."
"That's it." He gets up. "I'm getting you food."
"I won't eat it. I've been doing this for days. I'm not giving up now. I only have a few hours left."
"And then you're eating again?"
"Yes."
He sits back down. "I still don't understand why you're doing this."
"You don't have to. Now let's hurry up and get started."
Barb comes out to the patio, holding a plate. "I thought you two might like some freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies." She sets them on the table.
"I'll have some," Cal says. "Birdie can't. She's on a diet."
"A diet?" Barb asks with concern.
"It's not a diet. It's a cleanse."
"She's been starving herself for days." Cal takes a cookie, smiling at me. "Still warm."
"You're mean," I say, backing away.
"I've heard those cleanses can be dangerous," Barb says.
"This one's not," I say. "I found it in a magazine."
"And that makes it healthy?" Cal says, rolling his eyes.
"It was a health magazine," I clarify.
Barb picks up the plate of cookies. "You sure you don't want just one?"
"No, but thanks. They smell delicious."
As Barb goes back in the house, Cal bites into his cookie. My stomach growls seeing the melted chocolate slowly falling over the crumbly center where Cal took a bite.
"So good," he says, smiling.
"I hate you," I mumble.
"What's really going on here?" He takes another bite. "You have a hot date tonight?"
"I told you I'm going to the movies tonight."
"Which one?"
"We haven't decided yet."
"You wanted to lose weight to go to the movies with your friend?"
"Cal, if you don't stop talking about this, I'm leaving. I told you I'd give you a half hour and you've already wasted five minutes."
He opens his laptop and we go over the things that will be on next week's test. He has a lot of questions so I end up being there an hour.
When I get home I try on the dress again. It fits even better today.
I still haven't heard from Jared. He better not cancel on me. Not after I starved myself all week to fit in this dress.
Kinda Hate You: An Enemies to Lovers College Romance Page 23
