Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 103102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Lexi is drop-dead gorgeous, yes, but I don’t want her solely because of her round blue eyes, her soft lips, her curvy figure.
I want her because she’s Lexi.
She’s the sun and I’m the planet in her orbit, powerless to resist her gravity.
Of course the adventurer in my graphic novel would describe love this way. What other way is there to describe it?
My sister keeps talking, the guests keep mingling, the music keeps playing. But I don’t hear a thing. Only the notes Lexi creates in my head. A beautiful melody, as romantic and timeless and easy as a dance.
Fern follows me inside, from the backyard into the main room. For a few minutes, she stands with me, watching Lexi greet her father’s friends professionally and her school friends casually. As usual, Lexi slips between modes perfectly. She stays charming and effervescent and inviting.
After Fern finishes her punch, she leaves—probably to go see that bartender—and I stand at the wall, alone, watching the action. Every time Lexi finishes chatting with a friend and goes in search of another conversation, I tell myself, This is it. I’m going to talk to her.
Every time, I’m too slow. My heart is thundering and my feet feel like lead.
She starts another round of banter before I work up my courage. The party fills up. Two dozen people mill about the large living room. Then three.
Mr. Huntington, the patriarch of the family, taps a wineglass with a fork to call a toast.
Once the room has quieted, he holds up his glass. “Today is one of the proudest days of my life. My daughter Alexandria Huntington’s sixteenth birthday.”
As if she’s drawn by magic, Lexi floats (really floats) to her father. The crowd parts for her. The room focuses on her. The entire world stops for her.
Because with Lexi, we’re all the planets, powerless to resist her orbit.
She embraces her father with a hug and a bashful smile. “Dad,” she says shyly, then releases him, and her smile widens. “You’re embarrassing me.”
“That’s my job, as your father.” He raises his glass again. “And it’s your older sister’s job, too.” He points to the back of the room. To the double doors that lead to the kitchen, not that you can tell, given the size of the audience.
Again, the room parts. People move toward the couch on the right or the shelves of classic literature on the left, to make room for a pastry chef holding a massive, three-tier cake.
And right behind the chef?
Lexi’s older sister, Deanna Huntington.
Even though she’s only two years older than Lexi, the same age as I am, Deanna is hopelessly out of place at the party. Why am I here energy radiates from her. It’s not just the heavy combat boots or the thick eyeliner or the zippers on her asymmetrical dress. It’s something about her.
Like me, Deanna doesn’t fit into this big, beautiful world. She’s not bubbly or blonde or bodacious.
And like me, Deanna adores her sister. The second she and Lexi make eye contact, all that awkward energy disappears. She’s happy to be here, celebrating her sister’s Sweet Sixteen.
Deanna follows the pastry chef to the table in the middle of the room. The moment he sets the pastel-pink cake down, Deanna raises her hand to get everyone’s attention and starts the birthday song.
Mr. Huntington chimes in first. By the third word, the rest of the crowd is singing along. Happy birthday to Lexi. Happy birthday to the most beautiful, charming girl in the world.
After the song, Mr. Huntington pats Lexi on the shoulder with pride. He looks around the room, taking in all the sentimental glory. I can imagine what he’s thinking, because it’s written all over his face. His little girls, growing up before his eyes.
With one big breath, Lexi blows out her candles. What’s her wish? What could the girl with everything—popularity, looks, success, money—possibly want?
She shoots smiles around the room, noting the many admirers, the perfect pink hue of her cake, the look of wonder on my face—
Wait…what?
Lexi Huntington’s beautiful blue eyes fix on me. For a brief moment, the stars align. The warmth of her stare encompasses me. My stomach flutters. My heart pounds so hard I feel it in my throat. My entire body buzzes with delight.
My hours studying the hue and shape of her eyes from afar failed to prepare me for the intensity of her stare.
Then, just as quickly, she smiles at someone else, a broad-shouldered guy in a leather jacket, and all the light flees the universe at once.
Maybe, in Grandma’s books, I could get together with someone like Lexi. But here, in Orange County? Why would the Homecoming Queen date the president of the Graphic Novel Club?
Right now, I’m not on her radar.
Right now, I’m no one. Just another face in a room full of faces.