The Secret Poet by Georgia Beers

Author:Georgia Beers [Beers, Georgia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781635558593
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2021-03-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

“So I guess I’ll see you at the fireworks then.”

Those were Zoe’s parting words at the drag show the night before, and as I lay in my bed on Saturday morning, I heard them over and over again. The mix of emotions they caused was real, let me tell you, and I had no idea what to do with them, so I just tossed them on the pile with last night’s. I could have myself a nice emotional bonfire with the heap I was making.

Brittany and Zoe had hit it off, even though they’d only spent a handful of minutes together by the time she made it back to us at the bar. Must’ve been a salesperson thing, but they chatted nonstop as we finished our drinks once the show was over. As we stood waiting for our Ubers, they exchanged numbers, and Brittany had asked Zoe what she was doing the next night, which would be the Fourth of July.

Zoe had shrugged. “No idea. I think I might wander around, see if I can find a good place to watch the fireworks.”

I knew it was coming before Brittany even opened her mouth.

“Oh, you have to go to Ridgecrest Park! It’s up on a hill, and it overlooks the city, and you get the most amazingly clear shot of the fireworks. And they have vendors set up with food and drinks. It’s awesome and so much fun. We go every year, right, Aunt Morgs?”

I nodded. Smiled.

“Ridgecrest Park.” Zoe took out her phone and typed something in. A note, I guessed. “Perfect. Thank you.” And she’d turned those eyes on me, hit me with the cheekbones, and I felt my knees go all jellylike, damn traitors that they were. And her Uber had pulled up then and she’d said softly, “So I guess I’ll see you at the fireworks then.”

I think I nodded some more. I honestly don’t remember saying actual words, just nodding like a bobblehead on a dashboard. Because I was clearly a fourteen-year-old boy with a crush.

And after Zoe’s Uber had driven away and Brittany had leaned into me with a knowing smile and said, “A little crush going on there?” I kind of snapped at her.

“No. There’s no crush, and even if there was, it doesn’t matter. She is off-limits, okay? Off-limits.” And I karate-chopped my hand sideways through the air to punctuate my point. And then I stood there blinking, because not only was I surprised at my own outburst, but I was surprised by what I’d said. And I was angry about it. No mention of Zoe being out of my league. Not a word about her being too good for me and wondering why on earth anybody would think she’d be interested in me. Because I was pretty sure she was. She’d stood with her entire body pressed up against mine for the better part of an hour. Seemed like a pretty big clue to me. Friends didn’t do that. I couldn’t imagine standing that close to Adriana, even if we were packed into a room like sardines.

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