Love, Life, and the List
Page 29
“I do private lessons,” he said in a mumble, as if he didn’t want to admit that.
“Oh, Mr. Private Lessons, excuse me,” I teased.
“I know. It sounds so pretentious.”
“I was just kidding. That’s great. It’s not like we have sculpting teachers at our high school. I’d love to see your stuff sometime.”
“Sure. That would be great. I’d like another artist’s opinion.”
“Not sure my opinion amounts to much, but I do love art.”
“You’re the most talented artist at our school. Your opinion would mean a lot.”
“You’ve seen my art at school?” I asked, surprised. I hadn’t seen any of his art.
“I visit the art room a lot. You’re good.”
“Now you’re just throwing flattery around haphazardly. You have to be careful with that. It can get away from you.” I suddenly remembered something Rachel had said what felt like ages ago now at the movie on the beach. “Wait, did you ask my friend Rachel about my art once at Starbucks.”
“She told you.”
I nodded. He was mystery boy. She had said I should ask him out and here I was on a date with him. Not only did he appreciate my art but he was an artist. It was like all my relationship goals in one. Was it fate?
“You okay?” he asked.
“What? Yes.” I looked to my right, away from Elliot, trying to clear my head when I saw something. “He’s still there.”
“What?” Elliot asked, understandably confused.
I pointed. “That man chained himself to a tree. He’s been there for like four days.”
“Why?” Elliot asked.
“I guess some housing development wants to tear it down. He’s trying to save it.” There was a big bulldozer parked to the right of the tree that hadn’t been there last time. Nobody was inside of it. It sat there like a reminder or a warning of what was about to happen. “Do you think he’s eaten anything? Or is he starving himself as a statement too?”
“I have no idea. I hope he’s eaten something.”
“I don’t know that I’ve ever been that passionate about . . . well, anything,” I said.
“You can’t think of anything you’d chain yourself to in order to save?”
“My family, of course. My friends . . . maybe.” I added that last word with a smile. “But nothing that couldn’t talk.”
“I guess I can’t think of anything either,” Elliot said. “Although . . .”
“What? You thought of something?” I asked when he didn’t finish.
“If I say it, I’m going to sound pretentious twice in one night.”
“Now you have to say it.”
“There’s this sculpture I did. It took me months, and I poured my soul into it. If someone told me they were going to destroy it, I might pull out a chain. Not sure if I’d follow through to the bitter end, but I’d call their bluff for sure.”
He’d sculpted something he was that passionate about? I let my mind travel through all the paintings I had ever done. Sure, I’d be sad if someone wanted to destroy them, but . . . like Mr. Wallace had been happy to point out, apparently I’d never poured my heart into a piece.
“See. Pretentious,” he said, and I realized I hadn’t responded.
“No. Not at all. That’s cool. Now I really want to see your stuff.”
“Now I’ve set your expectations way higher than they should be.” He smiled my way and then turned onto Lacey’s street, which was already full of cars. I looked up and down the road until I found Cooper’s car, parked on the other side. I immediately relaxed. Cooper was here, and my date was proving to be very interesting. Maybe I’d actually enjoy this night more than a night on the pier watching fireworks. Maybe this would be my new thing. We parked the car and walked up the hedge-lined path.
“Abby!” Lacey said when she answered the door. “And Elliot. Did you come together?” She raised her eyebrows.
“Yes,” Elliot said. “Thanks for having us.”
She moved aside and held her arm out. “There’s food and drinks in the kitchen and my dad is barbecuing out back.”
Her house was full of people. “Just a small barbecue, huh?” I asked, with a smirk. I already knew she didn’t do small parties.
She shrugged. “Yeah . . . it got a little bigger. Let me greet a few more people and I’ll meet you out back.”
Elliot and I walked through the house, which wasn’t as big as I had imagined it would be from all the talk at school, but it was nicely decorated and updated. A lot of people we passed I recognized from school, but a lot I didn’t. I saw Cooper across the pool, in a group of people, talking animatedly, his hands flying all around him. He must have been trying to convince his audience of whatever he was saying—that’s when he’d get super animated like that.
“Do you want anything to eat?” Elliot asked, nodding his head toward the barbecue off to our right. Smoke filled the air above it, accompanied by the smell of cooking meat.
“I’m okay for now. Do you want something?”
“I’m good. Look, there’s Cooper. Should we go say hi?”
“Sure.”
“Abby!” Cooper yelled in excitement when he saw me. Iris was by his side, and she waved at me. I smiled back.
“Everyone,” Cooper announced loudly, “this is Abby and Elliot.”
A few people said their own names. The others I already knew.
“Abby, remember that one time I pushed you into the pool at that hotel where they had the art you wanted to check out?” Cooper laughed. He’d pushed me in after we looked at their ballroom full of paintings. We’d been on our way home anyway. Then he jumped in after me, probably knowing how mad I was going to be. But we ended up splashing each other until hotel management came and kicked us out.
“Yes, and if you do that tonight, you are dead to me.”
“Someone needs to be pushed in.” He looked at Iris with a flirty eyebrow raise.
“No way,” she said. “I agree with Abby. Death.”
We smiled at each other.
Lacey joined our group by hooking her arm in mine and laying her head on my shoulder. “I didn’t know you were bringing a date tonight,” she said under her breath. “I was under the impression that you and Cooper . . .”
“Nope.” I said just as softly back.
“By choice?”
She must have caught more of my rambling confession at the theater than she’d let on. “Nope,” I said.
She was quiet for a moment and I couldn’t see her eyes, but I assumed she had been studying Cooper when she said, “Well, he smiles too much and doesn’t know how to dress anyway.”
I held in a laugh. Those were both things I liked about him.
“And Elliot is a cutie.”
We had mumbled this exchange quietly, but definitely not subtly, and when I glanced across at Cooper, he gave me a questioning stare.
I shook my head.
Then his eyes went to Lacey’s arm still linked in mine, and I knew what his expression was asking—what is that all about?
“Do you want a burger?” Lacey asked me, louder this time. “I want a burger.”
“Sure,” I said.
“Come on, Elliot, let’s go get food.”
“Oh, Mr. Private Lessons, excuse me,” I teased.
“I know. It sounds so pretentious.”
“I was just kidding. That’s great. It’s not like we have sculpting teachers at our high school. I’d love to see your stuff sometime.”
“Sure. That would be great. I’d like another artist’s opinion.”
“Not sure my opinion amounts to much, but I do love art.”
“You’re the most talented artist at our school. Your opinion would mean a lot.”
“You’ve seen my art at school?” I asked, surprised. I hadn’t seen any of his art.
“I visit the art room a lot. You’re good.”
“Now you’re just throwing flattery around haphazardly. You have to be careful with that. It can get away from you.” I suddenly remembered something Rachel had said what felt like ages ago now at the movie on the beach. “Wait, did you ask my friend Rachel about my art once at Starbucks.”
“She told you.”
I nodded. He was mystery boy. She had said I should ask him out and here I was on a date with him. Not only did he appreciate my art but he was an artist. It was like all my relationship goals in one. Was it fate?
“You okay?” he asked.
“What? Yes.” I looked to my right, away from Elliot, trying to clear my head when I saw something. “He’s still there.”
“What?” Elliot asked, understandably confused.
I pointed. “That man chained himself to a tree. He’s been there for like four days.”
“Why?” Elliot asked.
“I guess some housing development wants to tear it down. He’s trying to save it.” There was a big bulldozer parked to the right of the tree that hadn’t been there last time. Nobody was inside of it. It sat there like a reminder or a warning of what was about to happen. “Do you think he’s eaten anything? Or is he starving himself as a statement too?”
“I have no idea. I hope he’s eaten something.”
“I don’t know that I’ve ever been that passionate about . . . well, anything,” I said.
“You can’t think of anything you’d chain yourself to in order to save?”
“My family, of course. My friends . . . maybe.” I added that last word with a smile. “But nothing that couldn’t talk.”
“I guess I can’t think of anything either,” Elliot said. “Although . . .”
“What? You thought of something?” I asked when he didn’t finish.
“If I say it, I’m going to sound pretentious twice in one night.”
“Now you have to say it.”
“There’s this sculpture I did. It took me months, and I poured my soul into it. If someone told me they were going to destroy it, I might pull out a chain. Not sure if I’d follow through to the bitter end, but I’d call their bluff for sure.”
He’d sculpted something he was that passionate about? I let my mind travel through all the paintings I had ever done. Sure, I’d be sad if someone wanted to destroy them, but . . . like Mr. Wallace had been happy to point out, apparently I’d never poured my heart into a piece.
“See. Pretentious,” he said, and I realized I hadn’t responded.
“No. Not at all. That’s cool. Now I really want to see your stuff.”
“Now I’ve set your expectations way higher than they should be.” He smiled my way and then turned onto Lacey’s street, which was already full of cars. I looked up and down the road until I found Cooper’s car, parked on the other side. I immediately relaxed. Cooper was here, and my date was proving to be very interesting. Maybe I’d actually enjoy this night more than a night on the pier watching fireworks. Maybe this would be my new thing. We parked the car and walked up the hedge-lined path.
“Abby!” Lacey said when she answered the door. “And Elliot. Did you come together?” She raised her eyebrows.
“Yes,” Elliot said. “Thanks for having us.”
She moved aside and held her arm out. “There’s food and drinks in the kitchen and my dad is barbecuing out back.”
Her house was full of people. “Just a small barbecue, huh?” I asked, with a smirk. I already knew she didn’t do small parties.
She shrugged. “Yeah . . . it got a little bigger. Let me greet a few more people and I’ll meet you out back.”
Elliot and I walked through the house, which wasn’t as big as I had imagined it would be from all the talk at school, but it was nicely decorated and updated. A lot of people we passed I recognized from school, but a lot I didn’t. I saw Cooper across the pool, in a group of people, talking animatedly, his hands flying all around him. He must have been trying to convince his audience of whatever he was saying—that’s when he’d get super animated like that.
“Do you want anything to eat?” Elliot asked, nodding his head toward the barbecue off to our right. Smoke filled the air above it, accompanied by the smell of cooking meat.
“I’m okay for now. Do you want something?”
“I’m good. Look, there’s Cooper. Should we go say hi?”
“Sure.”
“Abby!” Cooper yelled in excitement when he saw me. Iris was by his side, and she waved at me. I smiled back.
“Everyone,” Cooper announced loudly, “this is Abby and Elliot.”
A few people said their own names. The others I already knew.
“Abby, remember that one time I pushed you into the pool at that hotel where they had the art you wanted to check out?” Cooper laughed. He’d pushed me in after we looked at their ballroom full of paintings. We’d been on our way home anyway. Then he jumped in after me, probably knowing how mad I was going to be. But we ended up splashing each other until hotel management came and kicked us out.
“Yes, and if you do that tonight, you are dead to me.”
“Someone needs to be pushed in.” He looked at Iris with a flirty eyebrow raise.
“No way,” she said. “I agree with Abby. Death.”
We smiled at each other.
Lacey joined our group by hooking her arm in mine and laying her head on my shoulder. “I didn’t know you were bringing a date tonight,” she said under her breath. “I was under the impression that you and Cooper . . .”
“Nope.” I said just as softly back.
“By choice?”
She must have caught more of my rambling confession at the theater than she’d let on. “Nope,” I said.
She was quiet for a moment and I couldn’t see her eyes, but I assumed she had been studying Cooper when she said, “Well, he smiles too much and doesn’t know how to dress anyway.”
I held in a laugh. Those were both things I liked about him.
“And Elliot is a cutie.”
We had mumbled this exchange quietly, but definitely not subtly, and when I glanced across at Cooper, he gave me a questioning stare.
I shook my head.
Then his eyes went to Lacey’s arm still linked in mine, and I knew what his expression was asking—what is that all about?
“Do you want a burger?” Lacey asked me, louder this time. “I want a burger.”
“Sure,” I said.
“Come on, Elliot, let’s go get food.”
