Secret Diaries (Heartlake Cliche #1)

Chapter Eight

 February 14, 2007

 How come I always end up alone on a Valentine’s Day?

 
      “Please don’t tell me she left…again,” Nick said, exasperated.

      He took his seat opposite Grace at the table, munched on the burger and fries he had previously bought, then looked straight at the girl he expected to see. From the moment Rachelle called him, he had known something like this would happen…again. His promised interview with Grace Enriquez had happened six days ago, Wednesday. He thought being seen in a public place with Grace had long been over but apparently, his best friend had other thoughts.

      Nick did not consider that anything was up the first time Rachelle called him and asked if he could go shopping with her. She did that all the time. The only thing that surprised him was the presence of Grace. It had been rather awkward at first but since it was quite difficult to keep up with Rachelle when she was on a shopping spree, Nick and Grace had ended up stuck walking alongside each other. They did not have a choice but to somehow try having a conversation if they want to stop feeling ill at ease. By dinner time, Rachelle had excused herself and never came back. Nick, being a gentleman, volunteered to walk with Grace at least until she reached the Loop.

      The second time was two days ago. Rachelle wanted to visit the Heartlake State Museum. Nick did not know what to feel about that but he still went. The instant he saw Grace, he began getting suspicious. When Rachelle made an excuse to leave the two of them alone again, he was sure of it.

      His best friend decided to play matchmaker.

      The girl he loved would rather see him with someone else.

      And she was definitely happy about it.

      Damn.

      Grace’s voice interrupted his reverie: “Well…She said her booker just sent her a message asking to meet with her. It seemed important so I said I’d tell you when you come back from the ticket counter.”

      The three of them were supposed to watch a movie. And a freakin’ rom-com at that.

      He should have strangled his best friend before she could leave. He was in love with her, yes. He would put up with her matchmaking nonsense, no. He started to open his mouth to tell Grace that maybe they ought to go home but before he could even speak, he saw her face. She obviously wanted to watch. That was the look on Rachelle’s face when she wanted something that she couldn’t possibly ask for. He looked at the tickets in his hands and made a decision.

      “C’mon. Let’s go,” he told her with a nod as a signal to leave. He saw her disappointment.

      They were walking silently but then he turned right towards Cinema 4 that would show the movie they were supposed to watch. Grace pulled a small part of his left shirtsleeve. He turned back to her questioningly.

      “The escalator’s the other way,” she said, tilting her head in the opposite direction.

      “I know that.”

      “Then why’d you go this way? Aren’t we supposed to leave?” She started to look a bit less disappointed.

       “We’re here, we have tickets,” Nick said, raising the tickets at eye level. “It would be a waste not to use it. And so, we’ll watch the movie.”

      Her eyes widened with disbelief. Then she started to grin with obvious excitement. He smiled as a response then turned towards the cinema again, Grace walking almost beside him.