She handed over her form and I slid it into the binder inside my satchel.

"I just need you to make sure he doesn't try anything on me," Sheila, my client today, explained. She readjusted her red headband that pulled her gorgeous hair back.

The silky black waterfall of curls that spilled down her spine was the first thing I noticed before getting off the city bus in front of the ice cream shop. The second thing was her orange dress that I misinterpreted as a pylon in the parking lot.

"I really didn't want to go on a date with him in the first place," she continued. "But I felt bad when he asked me. He had his heart broken so many times in high school and this was the first time I'd seen him since graduation..."

So this was a pity date. I almost felt bad for the sucker.

"Anyway"—she grabbed my hand and shook it in thanks. "I'm really glad you're here. My friends would never do something like this for me."

Before thinking, the old Leia surfaced and pointed out, "Are you sure they're your friends?"

She stuck out her bottom lip, brows scrunched and released my hand. "Yeah. I just don't want to put them in an uncomfortable situation. They're not used to being the third wheel." She lifted up her hand. "But you are."

I swallowed hard.

"Right?" she added.

It hurt to pull the corner of my lips into a smile. "Right. I've kinda been a third wheel all my life, so this is no biggie."

"Great!" She glimpsed over my shoulder in search for her date and glanced back down at me. Her hips met where my shoulder was so the height difference was pretty comical. "Don't they say the key to happiness is getting paid for doing the things you love? This is your job, right? You must be really happy."

I opened my mouth to answer, but her eyes lit up behind me and she waved her hand. "Oh, there he is!"

Her words seemed to cling to my head, and I couldn't shake off what she said.

Of course I was happy. Right? I mean, happiness was not wanting to die everyday and I certainly wasn't ready to go underground.

"Hey, it's so good to see you again!" she gushed, and pressed the small of my back. "This is Leia. An old friend of mine."

I lifted my eyes from the ground and jumped back. "Reid?!"

Startled, Reid's eyes grew before he regained composure again.

"You know this guy?" Sheila asked and looked between the two of us.

"God—did you put me in a sitcom or something?" I looked up at the black sky sprinkled in stars, receiving no response.

"She was in my AP English class," Reid lied, and shifted his attention back to his date. Clearly he didn't think how funny this situation was and wanted to hide it. "So how have you been, Sheila?"

She shrunk away from his open hand and pretended to adjust her headband. "Good. Now how about I get us a seat, yeah? Leia, you coming?"

"Give me a minute! I just have to check my phone!" I pointed to my purse and shooed her away. "You go ahead!"

Reid stayed with me as Sheila headed towards the ice cream shop.

When she wasn't looking, I slapped his arm. "Didn't you just get into town last night? How on Earth did you already hook yourself up with a date?"

"I'm trying this 'new Reid' persona who isn't afraid to take risks. And I had a massive crush on Shelia in junior high so when I bumped into her at the bus stop yesterday, we talked and it just kinda happened." A goofy high school boy smile stretched across his face. Then it shattered as he zoned in on me. "What are you doing here? Did she hire you?"

"That's highly confidential."

"C'mon. You know me, Leia."

"Not tonight I don't," I answered him and stepped towards the direction of Sheila.

He grabbed my arm. "Fine." His drew his brows together in all seriousness. "I respect that. I'm just hoping she brought you to help me out. She's probably just as nervous as I am on this date and needed backup."

I kept my lips sealed, and he dropped his hand. "Just...try not to get in my way, okay? I really like this girl."

I bit down on my tongue and nodded.

"Good." He put his hand on my shoulder, smiling big. "Thanks, Leia."

"Are you guys gonna talk all day or what?" Sheila called from the front of the shop.

"Oh yeah. We're fine!" Reid hurried after her as she already held open the door for the both of us.

+++

The ice cream dinner made me want to poke my eyes out.

The awkwardness shared between Sheila and Reid was almost as bad as watching the birth video in freshmen year. Except this time, I could look away and develop a sudden fascination with napkins.

Halfway through the night, Sheila texted me and asked to (and I'm quoting here): HELP ME THE FUCK OUT.

Poor girl. Talking to him must've been like pulling teeth.

I took a sip of my chocolate milkshake, cracked my knuckles under the table and summoned the social skills inherited from my mom. 

I never questioned my excellent small talk skills, and people often wondered how I'm not a social butterfly.  People exhausted me; I was born an introvert.  But that was only the half the reason.      

It was like the words that poured out of my mouth were liquid gold and everyone was drawn by it.

I worked my small talk magic and soaked up the awkwardness that drowned the two of them into misery.

At first, Reid kept eying me whenever I jumped into their conversation. It took a little more effort before he was laughing at my jokes and commenting on this amazing story I made up on the spot.

Even Shelia was under my spell.

You'd think someone with my skill wouldn't be a member of the anti-social club. If only you had a past like mine you'd understand.

By the time the ice cream shop closed, I began to draw the conversation to a close.

We ended up in the parking lot, and once Reid started to talk about his new fascination with hockey, Sheila checked the time on her phone. "Hey," she interrupted Reid. " I have work tomorrow so I gotta head out. Sorry." She squeezed his arm. "I had a good time though!"

Reid shoved his hands in his pockets and a rosy tint grew across his cheeks. "I had a blast too! We should totally do this again." He reached in to peck a kiss on her cheek, but she put her phone in front of her to text someone.

"For sure! I'll call you tomorrow." Hesitant, she patted his shoulder, and embraced me in a quick hug. "Thank you so much, she whispered in my ear. "I'll send the money through PayPal. You're a life saver."

I flashed her a small smile as she pulled away. "Night guys!" she sang and freed herself from the pity date.

"Be free, my little pylon," I called out under my breath as she disappeared into the night.

The headlights of her car flashed on and we watched her pull away before Reid spoke up. "I think that date went really well!" He spoke while staring towards her direction, lost in a hopeless love that shared the same fate as the Titanic. 

"Yes. I already see a happy ending between you two. Like Romeo and Juliet."

Unfortunately, he was tangled in the late night rush of high school romance and hormones to pay attention. 

"C'mon." I had to grab him by the elbow and steer him towards the bus stop, the streets fairly empty at this hour.

"I thought you were supposed to take the car today?" Reid asked, looking around for the van.

I shrugged and leaned against the bus pole, resting the back of my foot on it. "I had it for the morning, but Luke needed it to play ball with the guys."

"So you just lent it to him?"

"He's my brother. He needed it more."

The bus drove through a puddle, spraying the murky brown water across my laced socks and vintage shoes. "Seriously?!" I stared down at my stained clothes, the wet lace dripping down my legs.

"You always get the end of the stick, don't you?" Reid mentioned. The bus squealed to a stop a few feet ahead of us.

Once the doors opened, he opened his hand out for me to step up first.

"No. I'm just looking out for my brother. I am older by thirteen seconds." Most of the seats empty, I grabbed one in the middle so the driver couldn't overhear our bicker. I could already feel this conversation heading into the wrong direction.

"More like letting him walk all over you." I opened my mouth in protest, but he added on, "For a smart girl, I'm surprised you can't see it."

I punched his arm, and he winced, rubbing his shoulder with a scowl. "Says the guy who thought his date went well," I snapped. A slip of regret leaked into my heart yet my anger washed in faster.

"Did Sheila say anything about me?" he asked, a call for reassurance in his voice.

My heart clenched to see the hope glow in his eyes. Well, it wasn't like I'd be seeing Sheila anytime soon. "In all honesty," I began. "She pitied you and accepted your offer to take her out because she felt bad." 

Startled, he leaned back in his chair. "I don't believe you. She digs me!"

"Oh, she didn't. You're probably the guy who the girl meets before she finds the one. After this date, her and her girlfriends are gonna put you in the 'floppy date' category and give you a mean nickname. Hell, they already have one for you right now."

"I don't have a nick name!"

"You'll be the 'remember when I dated Reid the Weed'."

"I don't smoke weed."

"But have you seen your head? Even a lawn mower can't save that ugly shrub you call hair."

He touched his hand several times, in search of something he could never see. "What? Why? What's wrong with my hair?"

"Everything," I said, making what Luke would call a 'bitch-ass-comment'. I think I was hanging around that annoying doofus too much, some of my lingo now mixed with his.

He crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine. If we're talking about self-improvement, your third wheeling business could use some help."

I scoffed and made an exaggerating laugh. "Ha. Like what? I practically carried the conversation all night."

"Like..." His eyes went in all directions, trying to find an error in my flawless skill. "Like how you should talk about yourself more."

"And you're a social expert now? People love it when someone else talks about them in a positive light," I said, crossing my own arms now.

Poetically speaking, we were both protecting our hearts. These jabs hurt, but I was too caught in my anger to stop.

"You're such a mystery. It's annoying," Reid spat, and turned his head directly in front of him.

"Annoying?!"

"Yeah. You're so moody and distant and isolate yourself from people unless you're getting paid."

"God—you sound like Luke!"

Someone cleared their throat.

I glimpsed over Reid's shoulder and noted the stranger sitting two seats down from us. My face loosened up, sneaking them an apologetic smile. "Sorry for our behavior. I'm usually not like this," I told them.

"You both should be on a sitcom," they answered gruffly under the hood of their sweater.

I snorted and remarked, "Trust me. I have seventeen years of proof that I am. Everyone else is always laughing but me."

"Even if we did have a sitcom, we probably won't make as much money as your third wheeling business." Reid poked my shoulder and smirked. His icky behavior vanished, replaced by a playful smile that seemed to relax me, which was stupid since a second ago his face made me want to hit him with a chair.

"Do you have a business card?" the stranger asked me.

"Yeah! Give me a second." I undid the latch on my satchel and pushed aside a few papers before grasping the card. "Here you go." I reached over Reid to hand it, but he snatched it out before the other guy could take it. "Hey!"

Reid peered down at the card and frowned. "Did you make these?"

I shoved my hand back into the bag, pulling out another card and stood up. "Yes. All handmade cards by yours truly." I walked over to the stranger and handed them my card, smiling bright.

He grunted a small "thank you" and put it inside his jean pocket.

The bus skid to a halt and I grabbed the pole, stumbling back into my seat. "Why? Do you have any comments about them?" I asked Reid.

I shoved my hands in his face, flashing him the glitter stuck under my nails and bits of dried glue stuck on my finger tips. "Don't even get me started on how my hands still smell like Elmer glue," I pointed out.

He flipped the card over. "No. I think they're incredibly unique, however, if your business is really picking up, I suggest you find a faster method to produce these. What if you scanned the design and printed out the cards?"

The bus picked up again, driving past the library. "I'm not exactly a techy kind of person..."

"I'll help you." Before I could respond, he kept flipping the card back and forth in search of something. "You only put your cell number and email?"

I tucked my hands under my thigh and crossed one leg over the other. "I like to keep my personal life confidential. I want to control what they know about me."

"You're such an interesting character," he replied, staring at my face as if he was nitpicking and taking away every detail and tried to make sense of it. "Your friends must get enjoyment out of you."

A pang of sadness hit my heart. It crept deeper, trying to rip open childhood wounds that took years to bandage.

"This is our stop," I quickly said, taking the topic off the table.

The tires screeched to halt, and I heard the puddles splash against the side of the bus.

I stood up in a rush, and stumbled forward again, nearly flying out the front window.

I gripped onto the pole, and gave the driver a meek smile. "Thank you," I told her. "Have a good night."

"Leia—slow down!" Reid called behind me.