The Secret Life of Emily Blu

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Do you and Jonas want to go on a double date on Saturday?" Claire asks me Thursday in music class.

I glance up from the sheet music I've been pouring over. "What?"

"Do you and Jonas want to go on a double date with Kegan and me on Saturday?" Claire repeats herself with a smile.

I blink at her, not sure what to say. "I've never been on a double date before," I admit.

"They're fun! You should text Jonas now. Kegan already said he was cool with the idea."

"Are Kegan and Jonas friends outside of... you know..." I trail off, unsure how to explain their relationship.

Claire laughs. "You weren't here then, but Jonas and Hardy used to be thick as thieves. Jonas might not have played football, but he was around all the time. All the guys know him."

I frown at this. "Hardy isn't going to get mad at Kegan, is he?"

"Hardy is a lot of things, but he's fair. He never made anyone choose sides when they stopped being friends. He also never shared what happened that made them stop hanging out, either."

I glance across the room at Hardy who is bent over his desk and scribbling furiously on his sheet music. My heart twists in my chest. I don't want to admit to myself that I miss his company, but there's something about him that draws me in. Maybe it's because he's a walking contradiction. He's football captain, star quarterback, and was dating the most popular girl in school until recently, but he still works hard in class and made a point of befriending the new girl. Hell, even though I get why he and Jonas aren't friends anymore I can't help but respect the fact he never made his other friends and teammates pick sides. That's classy.

"He'll get over it," Claire says softly, following my gaze.

"Get over what?"

"That you're dating Jonas. Hardy isn't one to hold a grudge."

"Except for when Jonas is concerned," I point out.

Claire frowns at this. "That's a good point."

"It's fine," I say, forcing myself to smile. "I barely knew him." I pull out my phone and text Jonas, running the double date idea by him. "Jonas thinks it's a great idea."

On Saturday Jonas picks me up on his motorcycle.

"How long of a ride is it to where we're going?"

Jonas shrugs. "We're going to Jerry's Snow Cones so it's probably a 20-minute drive from where we are now. I'm going to warn you right now – we're going to go through a sketchy neighborhood but it's totally worth it. They're an icon in Memphis."

I nod, not sure what he means. I don't know what constitutes a sketchy neighborhood in a metropolitan area of over 1.34 million, but I guess I'm going to find out.

I cling to his back the entire ride over and take in the area. I don't know if I'd consider the area sketchy so much as poor.

We stop in front of a brightly painted building which looks more to me like a glorified pop-up stand. It's hot pink and teal and yellow and seems completely out of place smack dab in the residential neighborhood.

Kegan and Claire are already the last in line and we hop in behind them.

"What's the best thing to get here?" I ask, staring at the very long menu posted above the window.

"The foods actually decent," Kegan says, "but they're known for their snow cones. I always get the supreme – that means there's soft serve in the middle of the snow cone."