Falling for the Genie (Genie's Love, Book 1) (8 page)

Macy and I decide to meet at the mall. We were supposed to see a movie, but she and Andy need a few things for their apartment. They can’t seem to agree on the furniture, and she’d like my opinion. But I’m not prepared for the curveball she throws my way. She and Andy are eating at the food court. There’s someone else with them. A guy who seems to be our age. He has short, brown hair and a lean build.

When Macy sees me, she waves me over. A feeling of dread washes over me as I realize what she’s doing. This isn’t about furniture. This is a double date.

“Lily,” she says once I approach them. She gestures to the guy. “This is Max. He was Andy’s best friend before Andy’s parents got divorced and he went to live in California with his dad.”

Max smiles. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

An awkward silence passes. He sends me another smile, showing the whitest teeth I’ve ever seen. The only thing that spins around my head is one thought: I can’t believe she set me up on a date. I specifically told her I don’t want to go out with anyone.

Macy motions with her eyes for me to sit down near her, right across from my blind date. Now that I’m closer and have a better look, I notice he has deep dimples and a scar on his forehead. And in his brown eyes, a small gleam.

“We ordered a burger and fries for you,” Macy tells me. “That’s okay, right?”

I nod. I can’t talk. Why would she do this to me? I mean, I appreciate her trying to help, but I don’t want a boyfriend right now. With everything happening with my mom and Sebastian, I don’t have time for him. Besides, how do I explain the genie? I’d have to—assuming this works out—because I wouldn’t want to keep secrets from my boyfriend. Does that mean I’d have to wish and send my genie packing? I don’t want him to leave.

Macy kicks my foot from under the table. I jump, giving her a look. She tilts her head toward Max, who has his eyes on me. Did he ask me a question?

“Huh?” I ask.

“I asked if you like your job. Macy tells me you work together at Inferno.”

I nod. “Yeah…no, not really.”

He laughs. “I hear ya. I work as a waiter at a wedding hall for the summer. I’m going for pre-med. How about you?”

He directs that question to everyone, but his eyes stay on me. Andy and Macy spend the next few minutes talking about their colleges and hopes, dreams, aspirations. Andy wants to be a veterinarian, and Macy wants to be a journalist.

“And you, Lily?” Max asks.

I twirl my fry in some ketchup. “Culinary school.”

He leans back and grins. “Nice. I can make mac and cheese. That’s all I know.”

We laugh. “But I’m saving up,” I say. “Hopefully I can apply soon.”

“Lily is, like, the best cook ever,” Macy gushes. “She applied for a sous chef job at Inferno and she got it, but then she gave the position to another guy.”

Max lifts an eyebrow. “Really? Why?”

“Because that’s Lily. Always caring about others before herself.”

Now it’s my turn to kick her foot. She gives me a look, saying, “What?”

I force a smile. “Can I talk to you for a minute? In private.”

We walk to the side. This feels so juvenile. So high school. Macy always tried to set me up with guys. I appreciated it then, too, but sometimes she tries a little too hard. She’s painting me to be this awesome girl, when really I’m broken inside. The thought of opening my heart to someone freaks me out. I’m not ready.

“Talk.” Macy looks at the time. “You have five minutes. We can’t keep Max waiting. Isn’t he cute?”

I internally groan. “Yes, he’s cute but…”

“But what?”

I shut my eyes because I know what I’m going to say next will hurt her and that’s the last thing I want to do. But I need to. “Macy.”

“Yeah?”

I open my eyes and lean against the wall. “You know how much I appreciate you looking out for me, right?”

She nods.

“But I told you I’m not ready to date.”

“Yes, you are. You just need someone to push you. I’m that someone.” I start to shake my head, but she says, “Stop. Just stop doing this. I get that you’re hurting and I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but you can’t push everyone away. Max is a nice guy, someone who could make you happy. Why won’t you give him a chance? I mean, just check out those dimples.”

I don’t know. There’s so much crap in my life. I don’t think it’s right to drag a guy into that. When I tell that to Macy, she slaps her hands on her hips. “Excuses. All excuses.”

I look at the table, where Andy and Max are talking. Max scans around, searching for us. When his gaze meets mine, he smiles. “He probably thinks I don’t have a brain,” I say. “I acted like such an idiot.”

“No, you didn’t. Please, Lil. I think this guy could be good for you.”

How can she know what’s good for me when I don’t even know myself? I think back to how Sebastian described the perfect guy for me. Can Max be that guy—or at least come close to it? Maybe. I just need to give him a shot. I’m not sure I’m ready, though.

Macy touches my shoulder. “Just get to know him. What harm can it do?”

She’s right. I suppose it won’t hurt. My heart is in shambles, but maybe it can be pasted back together. Maybe it’s okay to be vulnerable. I do want to be happy. And as for having to explain my genie…I’ll worry about it when I get there.

Sebastian’s face enters my head and my stomach muscles tighten. I don’t know what we are. If we even
are
anything, but I’m going to have to talk to him. Maybe this thing with him might be nothing at all.

For now, I’m going to keep my options open. I nod to Macy. “Okay.”

She pulls me into a hug. “Yay. Trust me, you’re going to love him.”

“You know him well?”

She twists her mouth. “No, but I’m really good at reading people and I am definitely getting good vibes from him.”

I trust her judgment. “Okay.”

***

Sebastian is looking through some books he must have found in the living room. As I get closer, I notice they’re yearbooks. Mine and Daisy’s. I contemplated taking them and the other pictures with me when I moved out or leaving them at Mom’s, but I wanted to keep all the memories. I haven’t looked at them since I left.

Sitting beside him, I point out different memories, elaborate on the things he can’t see from the pictures. Like the time Daisy tried to stop a food fight in the cafeteria. In the yearbook, all we can see is her and her friends covered in food. Sebastian smiles. “From all the stories you tell me, I feel like I know her. She was very sweet and caring, like you.”

I wring my fingers in my lap. I’ve never thought of myself like that. To me, I was the little sister learning everything she could about her big sister and trying to emulate her.

We go through the yearbooks and pictures and I find myself smiling at the memories. Something flickers in Sebastian’s eyes. I wish he’d tell me what he’s thinking.

“Hey, Sebastian?”

“Yeah?”

I hesitate, my gaze on the floor. “Are we ever going to talk about what happened at prom?”

“What happened?” He seems completely clueless.

“You know, the ki—”

He gets to his feet. “I think you have more pictures in that shelf over there. I’ll go get them.”

“Sebastian…”

He’s back with a stack of photos and lowers himself near me. He doesn’t say anything as he flips through the pictures, his eyes filled with intrigue. I know there are many embarrassing pictures of me growing up, but I can’t think about that now.

I place my hand on his. He looks at it, then at me. “What is it?”

I tuck my hair behind my ear. This is the moment of truth. “I met someone. Today at the mall.”

He doesn’t respond. No emotion is registered on his face.

“A guy,” I continue. “Max. We exchanged numbers. Does that bother you?”

His eyebrows crease. “Bother me?”

I nod.

“Why would it?”

“Well because….” I start, then stop. His eyes flash with indifference. “Never mind.” I don’t understand. If he doesn’t care, why did he change the subject when I brought up the prom?

“I’m happy for you,” he says, smiling. I’m not sure if it’s forced.

When I’m lying in bed wide awake a few hours later, I make up my mind. As much as my heart spins when I think about Sebastian, the truth is it’s only a fantasy. Sebastian is a genie. He’s not human. He doesn’t really exist. It’d be silly for me to chase him. Besides, he made it seem like he doesn’t care. Maybe that’s true, since he’s not a real person. Although a part of me suspects he’s hiding his true feelings. Either way, he knows just as well as I do that we can’t be together. I’m going to finish up my wishes and he’s going to leave.

I’ve only known Max for a short while, but he seems like a nice guy. He has a cute smile, and he listened to everything I said, even though it probably bored him to death.

I’m going to have to push my feelings for Sebastian aside and give Max a shot. As much as that hurts, it’s better for the both of us.

Max asks me out and I say yes. We’re at the beach, strolling along the boardwalk. The weather is nice today, not too hot. Perfect for a first date. Max has made me laugh more times than I can count and he seems very interested in my thoughts and opinions. In my life. I haven’t told him about Daisy or Mom yet, but I hope to as we grow closer.

“I owe Andy, big time,” he says as we stop for hotdogs.

“For what?”

“For introducing us.” He smiles, displaying those deep dimples. “Truth is, I wasn’t so into the idea of dating. I just came out of a hard break up. But I’m really glad I put myself out there and met you, Lily. If not for this I’d probably be home, blowing up some zombies.” He chuckles, shaking his head.

If not for this, I’d be home hanging out with Sebastian. I push that thought aside. I won’t think about him right now.

“I’m sorry about your break up,” I say.

He nods. “I try not to think about it.”

This is a little awkward. Here we are on our first date and we’re talking about his ex. Is it any different than my thinking about Sebastian? We both need to move on and forget about the people we can’t be with. Maybe we can do that by getting to know each other.

“So you like zombies?” I ask as we continue walking. There are many people around, families with kids who bump into us as they chase each other. Max ruffles a little boy’s head as he accidentally crashes into him.

“Yeah, I do.” He smiles. “I used to chase my older brother like that. My family would come to the beach every Sunday when the weather was nice.”

“Sounds like fun.” My mother couldn’t take us to many places because she was constantly working, but we always had fun, even when doing chores. Daisy made a game out of everything. Max looks at me like he expects me to talk about my family. I’m not ready for that yet.

“I don’t really like zombies,” I say instead. “I might be a cliché girl, but I like romance.”

He nods, “You’d like a guy to be romantic with you. Got it.” He winks.

I laugh a little. We get quiet and the only sounds are the kids’ yells.

“I love kids,” Max says as he watches them run around. “I’d like to be a pediatrician.”

“That’s really nice.”

He nods, smiling again. “When I was younger, I used to love watching documentaries on medicine. When my friends were watching superhero movies, I was watching doctor shows on TV. I was just so intrigued by medicine and I knew I wanted to go into that field. In high school, I volunteered in the pediatrics department in the hospital near my house and I knew that’s where I belong.”

He has such high hopes and dreams. He’s making me feel inspired, and all I want is to get to know him better.

We continue walking in silence before he asks, “What’s your favorite dish?”

“To cook or eat?”

“Both.”

I laugh. “I love making everything, but my favorite is…hmm…”

“Pasta,” we say at the same time, then laugh. His eyes sparkle. Is he wondering what else we have in common? Because I sure am.

We walk on, talking about restaurants we’ve eaten at, a little about work. “Maybe, I can take you out to see a movie, if you’d like.”

He wants to go out with me again? My insides fill with excitement, but my heart doesn’t flutter. It worries me, of course, but maybe we need more time. Maybe without all these people around. Maybe I’ll need to open myself a bit more. I hope to be ready soon. I don’t know why it was so easy with Seb—no, I won’t think about that now.

“Okay,” I say.

After the boardwalk, we sit on the sand for a bit before going for a swim. Max isn’t a very good swimmer, so he doesn’t stay in there for too long. I decide not to leave him alone, and we end up sitting back on the sand and talking. He tells me more about his family and his childhood, places he’s visited. How he got that scar on his forehead from a fishing accident when he was ten. He tells me his older brother lives in Queens and he’s married with two kids.

“I’d want a large family one day,” he says.

I give him a small smile as a sinking feeling comes over me. I’m not ready to think about, let alone talk about, having kids. What would I tell mine when they ask about their other grandmother—my mom? Would I have to lie and tell them she’s dead?

“So Andy tells me you grew up in California?” he asks.

I scrunch some sand between my fingers. He’s just asking a general question. There’s no need to freak out yet. I don’t have to spill out my life’s story right now.

“Yeah.”             

“What brought you to New York?”

The truth is I needed to get away. Daisy died and Mom was practically a zombie. She wanted nothing to do with me. Since Macy is going to go to school here, I figured I’d go along with her, get a job, and try to get into culinary school.

I shrug. “Why not New York?”             

He gazes at me for a bit. Does he sense I’m not being straight with him? He breaks his stare and focuses on the swimmers.

I can’t do this. I can’t sit here with this nice guy and pretend everything is okay with me. “There’s a lot of…crap that happened in California,” I say. “Things I’m not ready to talk about yet.”

He nods. “I get that.”

The conversation shifts to other things, like school, work, current events. When Max drops me off at my apartment and I say good night, he takes my hands, stopping me.

“Is it okay if I kiss you?” he asks.

Of course it’s okay. I wish he wouldn’t ask, though. In all the movies I watch, the best moment is when the guy and girl kiss, especially when the girl doesn’t expect it. I know Max and I aren’t in a romance movie, but I want to be surprised.

“You don’t have to ask,” I tell him. “Just do it.”

His face reddens and he massages the back of his neck. “I know, I don’t normally ask, but Macy advised me not to rush into anything, and you said a lot of crap happened back home. I didn’t want to overwhelm or upset you.”

I smile and pull him close to me. When our lips touch, all I feel is just that—his lips. A warm feeling doesn’t enter my body. Chills don’t rush up and down my spine.
Nothing
. It’s as though I’m kissing my male friend. It’s nice, but it doesn’t move me. Not like Sebastian’s did. But that’s sure as hell not a reason to end things. I’m positive that with time, I’ll melt into a puddle when we kiss.

When I pull off, I catch a shadow at the window. Black hair and golden skin. Sebastian.

Max rests his palm on the side of my neck. “I’ll call you.”

My eyes don’t leave the window. He was watching. Why? I need to talk to him about this. About us.

“I had a great time.”

He grins. “Me, too.”

***

“Is that him?” Sebastian asks once I enter the living room, where he’s watching a game show. He doesn’t look at me.

I sit down near him. “Yeah.”

He doesn’t respond, and I can’t understand the expression on his face. I need to know if he has feelings for me. I had a great time with Max, but that was it. If kissing Sebastian stirred something deep inside me, I need to know if there’s something there before I make a decision regarding Max. It wouldn’t be fair to string him along when my heart might belong to someone else.

“We need to talk about what happened at prom,” I say. “About the kiss and what it…meant.”

His gaze moves to me. “It meant nothing.”

A knot forms in my stomach. “What?”

There’s no expression on his face. His eyes are as cold and hollow as ever. “What happened at your prom meant nothing. I just gave you a magical night. That’s it.”

I don’t believe him. The kiss
meant
something to him. I know it did. “You’re lying.”

He shakes his head.

“You’re lying,” I say louder.

He shakes his head again. “I told you I don’t have needs. I don’t feel things like humans do.”

“You
felt
something that night.”

He just stares at the TV.

I take his hand. He pretends not to notice. “Tell me that whatever this is…whatever happened means something,” I say. “Please.”

He looks at me. Gazes at me for what feels like minutes before talking slowly, letting each word sink in. “I just wanted to give you a magical night, that’s all. It didn’t mean anything. You don’t mean anything.”

That should be it. I should accept his words and try to move on and see if I can have something special with Max. But deep down, I don’t want to accept this. I saw the way Sebastian looked at me. I felt his heart pound. For some reason, he’s keeping his true feelings hidden.

“The day after prom,” I say, “when I brought up the kiss, you changed the subject. Because you felt something. Don’t deny it.”

“I didn’t feel anything. I stopped you before you turned it into something it’s not. Before you could grow attached.” He swallows. “Like you’re doing now.” I’m about to say something, but he narrows his eyes. “It meant nothing, Lily. Nothing.”

He can say it over and over, but his words are false. I understand what he’s doing. Whether we like it or not, we can’t have a future together. I know that. I just wanted him to admit he felt something. The way he’s behaving, his cold attitude, confirms that.

As much as it hurts, it’s better this way. Because if I grow close to him, it’ll be harder to let him go. What we had—short as it was—was special, something I’ll remember forever. But it wasn’t real. Max is real. He’s great. He’s someone I could have a shot with.

I clear my throat. “Do you want me to finish up my wishes?”

He breaks his gaze from the TV, and I see emotions in his eyes. Pain. Loss. He knows what we’ve just done, and he
feels
. “No, not unless you need to. Don’t rush your wishes.”

I nod.             

“But I’ll remain in my lamp and get out of your way.” He stands and turns toward my room.

“Seb—”

He faces me. “No, Lily. We can’t be friends. I am the genie and you are my master. That’s all it can ever be.”