Free Cursed by Monica Wolfson Page A

said.
    “That’s ok,” Jenna interjected. “You aren’t the only one.”
    Cady glared at Jenna but wiped the hostile expression off her face within a nanosecond. Cady smiled at Evan and put her hand lightly on his forearm.
    “I just meant you don’t seem like Sasha’s type,” she said lightly caressing his arm. “Isn’t she dating Sean? He’s one of those partier athlete types.”
    Sasha panicked. What was Cady doing? She didn’t want Evan to think she was dating another guy, especially not that octopus Sean.
    “I’m not dating anyone,” Sasha announced loudly. The conversation around the table stopped. Embarrassed Sasha moved the food around on her plate trying to pretend she didn’t exist. Jenna regarded her with sympathy, while Hannah elbowed her in the ribs.
    “That was really loud,” Hannah said equally loud. “I think the whole restaurant heard.”
    “Shut up,” hissed Sasha.
    Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw a small smile on Evan’s face. Cady’s face was a mask of stony disapproval.
    Sasha stared at her favorite food that she couldn’t force herself to eat. Her throat was tight with sorrow. This dinner was turning into a disaster and her mother came to her rescue.
    “Jenna how do you decide what color to dye your hair?”
    They engaged in an animated discussion about whether blue or pink made a grander statement.
    Sasha turned to Cady hoping to distract her from Evan.
    “What big event did you cancel to come here?” Sasha said. “I thought you were busy.”
    Cady took a sip of her drink.
    “I didn’t cancel,” she said. “I’ve pushed it back. It’s not like this party is going to go late into the evening.”
    Sasha smiled at her dig.
    “I hope not,” Evan said with an exaggerate look of relief. “I’ve still got to study for an exam tomorrow.”
    Jenna and Evan launched into a debate over whether schools should do away with midterms and just rely on assignments and final exams for marks. Sasha stayed quiet enjoying listening to Evan talk. He was much more intellectual than she thought and seemed very focused on his studies.
    “Evan,” Sasha’s father asked him while Sasha picked at her tiramisu birthday cake. “Where are you from? You don’t sound like a Texan.”
    Evan seemed to collect his thoughts before speaking. “I was born in California but I’ve lived all over.” He didn’t elaborate.
    “Military?” Sasha’s father pressed.
    “Yes sir,” Evan said.
    Sasha’s father nodded and didn’t pry further. It was obvious Evan didn’t want to elaborate. Even Sasha didn’t know his living situation. She just assumed he lived with his parents but now she remembered that he only spoke of his grandmother when they were at his house. Gosh how selfish of her that she’d never inquired about him and only talked about herself. She promised to rectify the situation as soon as possible. She was very interested in the intimate details of his life.
    “How did you meet Sasha?” Cady asked even though she already knew. Sasha frowned not sure where Cady was leading with her questions.
    “I work at the Second Cup,” he said. “We met a few days ago when she came in for a hot chocolate.”
    Evan turned to Sasha and winked. “It was a hot chocolate wasn’t it?”
    Sasha smiled at the private gesture and nodded. “I’m surprised you remembered,” she said. “I mean you must get a hundred orders a night.”
    Evan’s face turned serious as he turned to her and spoke in a low voice.
    “I won’t ever forget your order,” he said. “It was a standout night.”
    Sasha’s face flushed and she hoped he meant it was a memorable night because he met her but she had a feeling he meant he couldn’t forget the night because of the robbery.
    Cady giggled and covered her mouth as if she were in on the private joke. “I didn’t know hot chocolate made such an impression on guys,” she said fanning herself. “I’ll have to make sure I order it the next time