Trailing Stars (Trailing Stars #1)

Chapter 9

I force a polite smile on my face. "It's fine. You clearly love them."

"I do."

He smiles to himself as he puts all the gifts and gift bags into a plastic bag for me. I pay him what I owe, already backing away from the counter before he can get a good grasp on the money. As I leave, three kids run past me to the counter. I recognize them as the ones from the park yesterday. The ones that said hi to Clara. They crowd around Nick, each of them trying to vie for his attention. I leave before I can impose on something personal.

The second I walk outside, all I want to do is take a moment to breathe, but Clara barrels into me, wrapping me in a hug. I stagger backward, but before I fall, she steps back, steadying me. I force a smile on my face, hoping it matches hers.

"I thought that was you," she says.

Over her shoulder, Nathan mouths an apology to me. Clara follows my gaze, glaring at Nathan. He doesn't bother to stop even when Clara hits him on the arm. I can't help but laugh, already feeling my chest loosen.

The smile comes back to Clara's face as she turns her attention to me. "What are you doing?"

I hold up my bag. "Christmas shopping. What's up?"

"We were just wondering if you wanted to hang out."

"She would." Hannah gets out of her car, shutting the door. She joins us, her arms crossed over her chest. "But we really need to get home and wrap the presents."

Clara arches an eyebrow. "Can't Mona do that with us?"

"I'm sure our parents are waiting for us."

"Well..." Clara glances down at the bag in my hand. "Did you guys buy separate gifts?" Hannah nods. "Then, if you go home and wrap your presents, it'll seem like there's only one set when there are really two. It could be a surprise if Mona wraps her gifts with us."

Hannah starts to argue, but she closes her mouth, thinking it over. "That's..." Hannah narrows her eyes. "Pretty smart..." Clara beams. Hannah doesn't, but it doesn't seem to affect Clara at all. If anything, Clara's smile broadens. My sister barely stops herself from narrowing her eyes, but I hear her exhale as she turns to me. "Don't stay out too late, Mona."

I nod. "Got it."

Hannah gives me a meaningful look and my friends a glance before she gets in her car. Our eyes meet through the windshield for a second, and even in that short span of time, I know she's scrutinizing... everything...

When Hannah's car is out of sight, Nathan sighs. "Sorry about Clara. She can be insistent."

Clara rolls her eyes, throwing her hand out as she turns to Nathan. "Oh. I'm sorry. I must be mistaken because I'm pretty sure it was your idea to go ask Mona if she wanted to hang out."

Nathan glares at her. "What? No, it wasn't."

"Oh, really..." Clara lowers her voice to imitate Nathan. "Oh, hey. I think that's Mona with her sister. Do you think she's busy? It was fun hanging out yesterday. Do you think she would want to do it again? It's always better when she's around." Nathan stares at her, his face a light shade of red. I feel the heat seep into my own cheeks and avert my eyes to Clara. She gives Nathan a smug look. "Is that not how it went? I'm pretty sure that's how it went."

Nathan doesn't respond. Instead, he turns to me, the color still in his cheeks. Words spill out of him in a rush, and his smile seems more strained than I've ever seen it. "So you need to wrap the gifts?" I nod, letting him take the bag. Our fingers brush, and he pauses, his eyes flickering from the bag to me. He swallows, his voice coming out slower and quieter than before. "We can go back to Poems and Tales and wrap them upstairs."