The Boyfriend Project Read online

  With a screech of tires, Chase peeled out and I grabbed onto the edge of the seat. I was never going to complain about Jeremy’s cautious driving again. I slammed my eyes closed. Of course I wasn’t because I wasn’t going to be driving with him again. Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes.

  “So where is this all happening?” I asked.

  “Warehouse district.” That was an old part of town where they had converted some of the warehouses into bars, shops, and entertainment venues.

  I tried to think of something to talk about. “Okay, just so I don’t come off as a fool, tell me how you know something is steampunk.”

  “It’s just a world where everything is steam driven. There are even some stories with steam-driven computers. The costuming is usually Victorian, but it can be anything really.”

  “Well, in my steampunk world, it’s obviously a short skirt and a lacy top.”

  He glanced over. “You look cute.”

  It took us a while to find a parking place. The warehouse district was hopping on Saturday night. When Chase parked, he got out of the car and waited on his side. Didn’t come open my door. As I got out, I could see him fairly bouncing on the balls of his feet. This wasn’t how I ever would have thought about spending my Saturday night, but he was excited about it. I was determined to be a good sport and not ruin his fun.

  Besides I might have a blast.

  We walked along the crowded street until we reached the designated warehouse. People dressed in assorted costumes, many of them with goggles, which seemed to be a staple for steampunk, were mingling around outside. Chase took my hand and a little shock of awareness went through me. It was only a hand, but it felt different, it was different. It wasn’t Jeremy’s. Chase led us through the crush of people to the door where he handed over some money for entrance. The backs of our hands were stamped and inside we went.

  It was wildness!

  As Chase took my hand again and we wended our way through the crowd, I felt a little out of place with my makeshift costume because obviously most of the people here took their costumes seriously. Some were really elaborate. One guy was dressed in something that looked like a metal skeletal frame. The room was dimly lit, smoke and fog swirling around. Music was blasting. Mechanical gadgets were displayed on various tables.

  “Here we go,” Chase said, and he led me farther into the alternative world.

  I saw Darla, Tommy Simms, and a couple of other guys from the construction site sitting at the top of a U-shaped couch, a short table in front of them. Darla was wearing a flowing skirt, hiked up on one side, and a wide leather belt with some sort of metallic hooks joining it together. Tommy, Nathaniel, and Ethan only had goggles dangling around their necks. So not everyone was into dressing up elaborately.

  Chase sat on the side perpendicular to them and tugged me down beside him, and I suddenly found myself facing Jeremy. I hadn’t even recognized him. He was wearing what looked like a safari hat with goggles perched on it. He looked as uncomfortable as I felt. Nestled up against his side was Jade.

  “I’m so glad you came,” she said, but it was obvious she was talking to Chase instead of me. She wore tight leather shorts and a corseted top. It looked so snug that I didn’t know how she could breathe. Her leather boots laced up past her knees. Goggles dangled from her neck. She wore a hat similar to mine but somehow it was more provocative, sexy, maybe because she was comfortable in it, or maybe because she had it at a rakish angle.

  From her fingers, she dangled two yellow wristbands. “You have to be wearing one of these to buy alcohol. It means they carded you. I stole a couple from the bartender.” More than a couple, because she was wearing one. So was Jeremy. It seemed so unlike him. We drank at private parties, but we’d never done anything in public. Of course just because we were wearing the wristbands didn’t mean we had to buy or drink.

  Without hesitation, Chase held out his arm. Reaching across the table, she wound one around his wrist and secured it. Then she arched a brow at me.

  I didn’t want to be seen as a spoilsport. So I stuck out my arm, and Jade attached a condemning wristband.

  “Cute outfit,” she said, although her tone was more mocking than complimentary.

  Still, I said, “Thanks.”

  She settled back onto the sofa, so close to Jeremy that light couldn’t have seeped between their bodies. I wanted to pretend that I was cool with this, seeing them together, even though it was killing me. “I had no idea this went on,” I admitted.

  “Yeah, it’s an annual thing,” Jade said. “Last summer was my first time to come. I love it. People who are into steampunk are so cool. Even if you aren’t into it, it can still be fun, especially if we drink up.” She stood and crooked a finger at Chase. “Come on. Your turn to buy.”

  “You okay with me going?” Chase asked.

  Not really, no. She’d already stolen one guy from me. But again, I wanted to be cool. “Sure.”

  Getting up, he followed her into the dark world of automatons. I felt really awkward, wished I wasn’t here. I couldn’t believe Chase had brought me. Had he wanted me to see Jeremy with Jade? Had he wanted to show Jeremy that I was on a date with him? Was he trying to make me face reality? In one way it seemed cruel and yet in another way, he’d given me the chance to prove to Jeremy that I was over him. Or at least pretend I was. The awkwardness thickened. I had to do something.

  But before I could think of anything, Jeremy leaned forward. “How’s Bogart?”

  He couldn’t have asked anything that would put me more at ease, that would make me stop thinking about the strangeness of sitting here with him when I was no longer with him. “Good. I still walk him every night.” Alone. But that was okay. “Although I’ve had to shorten the distance. Sometimes it’s a struggle for him to make it too far. I think it’s because of the heat.” Or at least that’s what I told myself.

  “Your mom still dating Mr. Morris?”

  Even though tomorrow would mark a week since our split, he was asking questions like we hadn’t seen each other in years. Was this what it would be like when we ran into each other in the dorm? We’d been so close and now we were practically strangers. “They had a date last night.” Mr. Morris had picked my mom up at the house. I wanted to tell Jeremy how odd but how right it had seemed to see them together. But my feelings were too personal, a part of myself that I couldn’t share with him anymore. At that moment, all that we’d lost hit me harder than it had before.

  Over Jeremy’s shoulder, I saw Chase returning. He was holding a tray of drinks. Jade followed along behind him, sipping a pink concoction. She slid onto the sofa and snuggled against Jeremy. Setting the tray on the table, Chase sat beside me and grabbed one of the drinks. It was in a cocktail glass and it looked like fog was rising from its surface. He handed it to me. I took a sip. It was very strawberry but I recognized the kick of something stronger.

  “How do they make the fog?” I asked.

  “Dry ice,” Chase explained.

  “Aren’t you going to try one?”

  “No, I’ll stick with club soda since I’m driving.”

  Everyone else had helped themselves to a glass. Jeremy downed his as though it were water. I guessed he hadn’t suffered too much after Scooter’s party.

  “Who’s your designated driver?” I asked him.

  He set the empty glass aside. “I’ll be fine by the time we leave.”

  “You’re fine right now,” Jade said with a stupid wiggling of her shoulders. Standing, she took Jeremy’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “Let’s dance.”

  Then she led him to an area where people were doing a lot of bobbing up and down.

  “That girl has way too much energy,” Darla said.

  The three guys from the construction site got up. “We’re going to check out the babes,” Tommy said by way of explanation as the other two wandered away. Then he went after them.

  “There was a babe right here,” Darla muttered, before finishing off her dri