"You sure you want to go to Sweets for lunch?" I ask Bella as she drives us down a long road.
"I promised Wendy that I'd visit."
"I know, but I already got us breakfast from there this morning. Don't you want to change up your taste buds a bit?"
"Nah. It's fine. I'll order a salad or something. Unless you don't want to go there?"
"They have the best caprese sandwich in town. Of course I want to go there," I grin.
Wendy runs to Bella the second that we walk through the door. I'm not kidding. Runs.
They hug for what feels like a century and then she walks me and Bella over to one of the couches.
She shocks us both when she whips out a notepad and asks us what we want. I've never seen Wendy take a customer's order before...and I'm here quite a lot.
"No more Danny?" I'm the one to ask, not that Bella cares to know about her ex. Every time someone utters his name, she cringes.
"Let's just say that I told that prick not to let the door kick him on the way out," Wendy jokes.
"You should've said the opposite," Bella mutters under her breath.
"You fired him?" I ask.
"Ooooh, yeah," Wendy whistles. "That guy worked here for way longer than he should've."
Wendy doesn't give us any more detail than that and we don't press further because we have no desire wasting our time talking about someone who most definitely does not deserve it.
"I'll be back with your orders, girls," Wendy says before scurrying off.
Bella taps her fingers together like she's itching to gossip. "Soooooo, tell me everything that's happened between you and Brooks so far this summer. Well, wait...not everything, but everything!"
I start chuckling and my cheeks flush. "Where do I even begin?"
"Oh. My. Goodness," Bella shrieks. "Has that much happened?!"
"I don't even know. Everything between me and Brooks feels so fast." I steady my palms in the air to clarify. "Not in a bad way, though. In an...exhilarating way."
"That makes sense. I mean, Rem, you're not a slow-moving kind of girl."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean...you're spontaneous. Always have been. You're go-with-the-flow. You rarely ever have a plan, and you're definitely more free-spirited than anyone else I know."
"Yeah, I used to be like that. Can't say that's been the case this summer."
Bella dips her head down to look at my face better, but I hide it away. I don't want her to see me crack, even though she's my best friend.
"Everything okay, Rem?" she asks concerningly.
I pick my head back up and try to muster up the best smile I got. I settle for half of one. "You know what's been going on with my dad..."
"With his job?" she asks, and I just nod. "Yeah. How's he doing?"
"He's hanging in there. Trying to find something, but it's hard."
I close my eyes and take a deep breath in, hating that I've been keeping in what I've been wanting to tell Bella...wanting to tell Brooks...this entire summer.
"I'm not going to Tulane in the fall," I finally confess.
"WHAT?" Bella shouts in disbelief, hitting the table with her palms. Seeing the hurt in my eyes, she retracts a bit and calms her voice. "Why not?"
YOU ARE READING
Under the Stars (Sequel to Across the Pond)
רומנטיקה*The sequel to Across the Pond* Brooks Caldwell is the bane of my existence. Has been ever since I've known him. And, of course, luck would have it that I'm forced to spend my entire summer in his presence when I'm offered a job at the posh country...
