The Distance Between Us

heart pounds loudly in my ears. “Whatever happened the other night, anyway?”
    “With what?” he asks softly. Or maybe I can’t hear him because of the whole heart-pounding thing.
    “The hotel crisis of the decade. Did you find a replacement shirt?”
    “Yes. One trip down to LA is all it took.”
    Right. LA, the place where he saw Sadie Newel. My good mood leaves quickly. “Is that all?”
    He nods and I’m about to pull my hands away when he says, “Come to the benefit with me?”
    “What?”
    “It’s in two weeks. There’ll be dancing, schmoozing, sucking people dry of their money. It’s for my mom’s charity.”
    “Another career day?”
    “No.”
    I meet his eyes. Isn’t that something he should take his girlfriend to? “I have plans that night.”
    “Doing what?”
    “Avoiding a benefit.” I smile. “I better go. I’m really late.” Why aren’t my feet moving?
    “Bye, Caymen.” He lets go of my hands.
    I drop mine to my sides but then surprise myself by giving him a hug. He hugs me back, and I linger there longer than I should. Why can’t I just walk away from Xander Spence and not look back? The tardy bell rings behind me.
    “I gotta go.” I push away and turn to leave.
    “Caymen,” he says, stopping me.
    I turn back. “Yeah.”
    “The employee who doesn’t know how to use an iron?”
    “Yeah.”
    “He wasn’t fired. I know that bothered you so I . . . He wasn’t fired.”
    Why does this news make me want to cry? “Good. Maybe he should attend the next career day I host where we’ll learn how to properly iron all your T-shirts.”
    “I’ll extend the invite.”
     
    That afternoon as I’m sitting behind the register doing homework and my mom is wiping down counters, she chuckles.
    “What?” I ask.
    “Mrs. Dalton’s grandson.”
    “Xander?”
    “Yes, Xander. He was funny this morning.”
    “Oh yeah?” I ask hopefully. Maybe he really did make a good impression on my mom. Maybe it wouldn’t bother her after all to know we hang out.
    “I don’t believe he wanted you to throw away his trash. And then, after you left, he was telling me how much he liked your name and how he had just been to the Cayman Islands last year. He asked how often I went as though everyone in the world goes wherever they want whenever they want.”
    I’m usually the one making fun of the rich and she’s the one telling me to watch myself. For years it made me angry because I knew she felt the same way. And now Xander is the one she chooses to pick on? A lump forms in my throat and I don’t think I can talk through it. I try anyway. “He seemed nice, though.”
    She shrugs.
    Every defensive bone in my body is shaking.
    “Are you seeing Mason today?”
    Her abrupt change in subject renders me speechless.
    “I really like the sentiment of his tattoo. I’m not a huge fan of tattoos in general—they are just so permanent—but I like its message.”
    “Acceptance?” I ask, waiting for her to realize how ironic that is after what she had just said.
    “Yes, a beautiful message. I’m sure he meets a lot of people that don’t accept him at face value. I’m so proud of you for being able to look beyond that.”
    “Beyond what exactly, Mom? His skin color?”
    “What? No. This has nothing to do with his skin color. Geez, Caymen, what do you think I’m talking about?”
    “I don’t know; that’s what I’m trying to figure out.” I know what she’s talking about—his lip ring, his tattoo, his tic—but I’m too irritated to give her a break. Can she really not see the hypocrisy in what she’s saying?
    “I’m going to do my homework upstairs.”
    “Okay.”
    I make it to the door when it hits me—she suspects there’s something going on between me and Xander. That’s why she said what she did. Why she put down Xander and built up Mason. It’s her subtle way of steering me the way she wants me to go. That has to be it. I want to turn around and ask her if I’m right. But what does it matter when he has a girlfriend?
    Upstairs I pass the counter on the way toward my bedroom and see another pink-enveloped bill. All my irritation is immediately coupled with worry. I’m not sure which emotion is worse.

Chapter 25

    I look through the rack at the Salvation Army with Skye, trying not to think too hard.
    Skye sighs. “I guess I just don’t understand what happened.”
    “What’s there to understand? He has a girlfriend. I’m pretty sure that’s the end of the