One Hundred Percent excerpt

[Restaurant scene with Trinity, Miles, his mom, Ella, and Trinity's date, David.]

"I wish Donnie was here," Ella said. "I bet he'd love to catch up with you, too. Why don't you come over for supper tomorrow night?"

I slurped some water, careful not to choke under pressure. "Sure, I think I'm free."

Wait, what! Why did I say that so fast?

"Tomorrow?" David said. "We have that thing."

"What thing?" Ella said.

"That movie we talked about seeing," David said. "Right, sweetheart?"

I blanked on us talking about any movies but recognized a lifeboat when I saw one. "The movie, yes." I furrowed my brow and racked my memory. "Right, that one. It slipped my mind, but it looks good."

Miles narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing me. "I don't think she knows what movie you're talking about, bud."

David frowned.

"What?” I shrugged and shook my head too fast. “Of course I do."

"Oh, really?" Miles propped his forearms on the table, a fork and knife in his hands ready to slice and dice his steak. "Which movie was it again?"

Oh, shit! I honestly didn't remember him mentioning any movies earlier.

"Um." I faked a laugh and looked at Ella. "I can't remember the name, but it's the one with . . . the guy who was also in that other movie with . . . " I stared at David, trying to read his mind, but he gave me nothing to work with. I bet he'd be terrible at Charades. "The one with robots in it?"

Why the hell did I say robots? That really limited the number of actors I could be referencing! And I didn't actually remember him saying anything about robots.

Miles hitched his lips up on one side, but it didn't look friendly or inviting. "Robots? What kind? Alien or man-made?"

"Yes," I said.

"Pick one," Miles said.

"Well." I scratched at the dried paint on my hands under the table. "If I had to choose—"

"You always have to choose when you have choices," Miles said, his voice tighter.

I tried so hard not to glare at him, my eye twitched. "Then I guess I'd choose aliens."

David glanced between us suspiciously, not so oblivious to the tension anymore. And neither was Ella. She studied us, a problem to dissect.

"Is she right?" Miles said.

"I'm not sure," David said. "I don't really watch alien movies."

"I could easily be wrong," I said. "I'm terrible with names."

David cracked a charming smile. "Yes, I know. I had to introduce myself to you like, three different times."

Miles hid a smile at David's expense.

I sat up straighter. "That's not on you, David. My memory is terrible. I have to meet most people several times before my brain catches up."

"Oh, really?" Miles lounged back in his seat confidently. Why did he have to make that look so inviting? "You only met me once. Guess I really stood out in your memory. Like I was special or something."

I shook my head at my plate. "It was five times, at least."

"That's not the way I remember it," Miles said.

My voice strained. "Maybe you're remembering it wrong."

"My memory is perfect," Miles said. "And I know we only met once because the second time I ever saw you, you yelled my name across the school parking lot before I could even say hello."

I cut my eyes to him. He remembered that?

"Well." I fidgeted stiffly. "You were lounging on my car like you owned it and I didn't want you to crush it under your staggering weight."

He choked on a clipped, insulted laugh. "Did you just call me fat?"

"No, but you're tall and . . ." Muscled. "You're not small and my poor car struggled every time you rode anywhere with me."

"Because it was a tiny piece of shit."

"No, because you were a big piece of shit,” I snapped.

Miles raised his eyebrows. "Oh, so it's like that?"

Free on Amazon until February 12, 2020. https://www.amazon.com/Hundred-Percent-Ezra-County-Book-ebook/dp/B083W29VF5/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=cat+phoenix&qid=1581205260&sr=8-10