Iron & Wine

Chapter Nineteen - All That Glitters

"Cuttin' it pretty close. I'm telling Julie on you," he teased.

"I'll have one tonight, promise. What are you going as?"

"See, that's one of the joys of having a girlfriend. Julie is picking one out for me."

"Hmm, be careful you don't end up as the back end of a horse or something," I joked.

His cute brown eyes went wide with worry. "You think she'd make me wear something stupid?"

"Oh, Will, no. Julie wouldn't do that. Maybe as a joke, but she wouldn't make you wear it. Don't worry. Knowing her she'll have something pretty awesome." I gave him a reassuring smile and glanced around anxiously for Jack.

"Are you waiting for someone?" Will asked. He was probably wondering who on earth I'd be meeting. I spent all of my time with him and Julie; I didn't really hang out with anyone else.

"Um, sort of, I mean, yes. Yes I am," I stammered. Suddenly, the thought of explaining about Jack to Will seemed horribly awkward. I mean, all he knew of Jack was that he was this arrogant guy that I couldn't stand, or get rid of. I hadn't had a chance to explain the whole brother sister incident to anyone yet. And how would I introduce him when he got here? 'Will, this is Jack, the guy that I no longer loath because I realize that I like him. Oh yeah, and he's Celadine's brother.' I let out a frustrated sigh.

"You don't sound too thrilled about meeting this person," Will pointed out as he wiped down the counter in front of me. No, I just was so confused. I wasn't even dating him or anything. "Anyone I know?"

"Kind of. Remember the guy I told you about from the bus, and the pool hall?" I asked. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.

"The creepy stalker guy? Why the hell are you meeting him?" he asked, concerned now. Then he whispered and leaned in close, "Is everything okay?"

"So I'm a creepy stalker guy?" asked someone from behind me. I turned to find Jack standing right there. I hadn't even heard him approach us. He wore that same coy smile that contrasted with his strikingly beautiful blue eyes. They were exactly like Celadine's violet ones, with their dark lashes and eyebrows.

"Sorry, no," I apologized. "Um, that's just...uh...what my friends and I called you before...before I found out who you were." I hated how my mind wouldn't cooperate with my mouth whenever I was around him. I saw that Will was totally confused.

"Will, this is Jack, Celadine's brother." I said, emphasizing the word brother. "Jack, this is my friend, Will." I motioned to each of them.

Jack held his hand out across the counter to shake. "Hey, it's nice to meet you."

Will hesitantly shook it and looked back and forth from me to Jack. "Yeah, nice to meet you, too. So what exactly are you guys up to tonight, anyway?"

I eyed him, trying to figure out what his opinion was on this whole thing. I wished I could just read his mind or something, the way I could with Julie. I could definitely tell that he felt unsettled about me spending time with Jack, and since I didn't seem to be able to form words, Jack answered for me.