Chapter Text
If Lara Jean had a clear head, she would have thought that making out with Peter Kavinsky in the middle of the intersection at Maple and Oak was risky. She would have also probably reasoned herself out of following him to his apartment, her purse tossed somewhere near the general vicinity of his kitchen as he kissed her. She had never been kissed to distraction before, but here she was, absolutely distracted in the best possible way as his mouth moved deftly against hers. Peter Kavinsky knew how to kiss. Yes, he did. They stumbled blindly toward some sturdy surface, nearly taking a lamp down on their way. The near-miss brought them both to their senses, the moment breaking enough to allow them both to think and breathe. Foreheads pressed together, Peter murmured, “Sorry. I-I got a little carried away.”
“No, it’s okay,” she said. “I did, too. That was…” she trailed off, a wide grin spreading on her face. “Wow.”
“I couldn’t have put it any better.”
He leaned in and kissed her gently, his lips barely brushing against hers. He had thought of this moment for so long, and it was finally happening. His phone felt heavy in his pocket. Just this morning he had been texting her as the other him. The one that he had always thought of as the person she actually liked. But, here she was in his apartment. He had been wrong all the time, convinced that she would never like him. Suddenly, he saw everything so clearly, and he took a deep breath before he said, “Lara Jean, I have to tell you something.”
She looked up at him expectantly. “Yes?”
“I-“
Suddenly, Owen burst through the front door. Lara Jean pulled away from Peter immediately and he instinctually reached out for her. Owen, realizing he walked in on something that he definitely should not have, backed toward the door and said, “Sorry, bro. I didn’t know you had someone over.”
“I was actually just leaving,” Lara Jean said, self-consciously smoothing her hair down. She looked over at Peter and gave him a shy smile. “I’ll see you later?”
Peter nodded. “I’ll see you later.”
Lara Jean gave Owen a sort of odd salute as she slipped past him, closing the door behind her. Owen turned to Peter with wide eyes and went, “Dude. What did I just walk into?”
“It’s a long story,” Peter said irritably, walking over to the kitchen to get himself a beer. “Thanks for that by the way. You had impeccable timing, as always.”
“Calm down, drama queen. I’m sure you’ll have no problem starting where you guys left off.”
“It’s a little more complicated than that,” Peter said, twisting the cap off his beer and taking a large sip. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and put it on the counter, staring at it forlornly. That stupid phone was what started all of this trouble. Without it he could have just met Lara Jean organically. Who knows what would have happened then.
“Why does it sound like you’ve already screwed up?”
Peter took a deep breath. “Remember that number you keep making fun of me for?”
“The Jane Austen chick?”
Peter nodded. “Yeah. It’s Lara Jean.”
Owen stared at him. “I’m sorry, what?”
“And I’ve known for a while. Like, a while, while. But she hated me back then so I couldn’t tell her.”
“Sound logic.”
“So, I figured that I would befriend her. Just sort of see how it went. And, well, you saw how it went. And I was about to tell her, but…”
“But I walked in with my impeccable timing,” Owen said, nodding slowly. “Okay, so I see where this may be problematic.”
“I’ll just tell her the next time I see her,” Peter said. “You know, unless we’re in public. Because that’s a lot of pressure. And, I don’t perform well under pressure. Maybe I should ask to her dinner. But, is it weird to ask her out on a date without her knowing this? I mean, I hope it doesn’t change things, but it may, and –“
“Or you could just text her that you want to meet,” Owen said, pulling his brother from his spiral. When Peter looked over at Owen, he saw with horror that his brother was using his phone.
“Owen, what-“
“Problem solved,” Owen said with a tap of his thumb. He put the phone back on the counter, noticing the stricken look on his brother’s face. “You know this was the quickest way to resolve this problem.”
“It needs to be me telling her this. Not that me!” Peter said, gesturing sharply toward his phone.
“It’s all the same you. What’s the difference?”
Peter sputtered, beyond words, and finally managed with, “It-it’s different! How did you even know my passcode?”
Owen gave him a look. “Come on. Of course I know your passcode.”
Peter groaned. “Okay. You know what, we can fix this. We…” he opened up his text messages and saw the conversation bubble, “…she’s typing.”
“Yeah man, I told you it would work! Progress!”
____________
Lara Jean typed and deleted her text message for the third time. How was she supposed to text him when she was making out with Peter Kavinsky not even an hour ago? She was a horrible person, and what made her even more horrible is that she wanted to meet him. He had taken up so much of her headspace for the last few months, how could she not? Again, Lara Jean typed and deleted.
____________
“Does she know we can see this?” Owen asked, watching the conversation bubble appear and disappear.
Peter frowned. “I don’t think so.”
_____________
“The Bachelor is on at seven, so you have thirty minutes,” Kitty said, letting Lara Jean into her apartment.
Lara Jean dropped her purse on the couch and said, “I made out with Peter Kavinsky and text guy wants to meet me again. So, I’m freaking out a little.”
Kitty shrieked. “Okay, forget The Bachelor. This is so much better! When did you make out with Peter? Why? And, how was it?”
“About an hour ago. It just sort of happened. And it was...” she trailed off, her cheeks burning when she remembered the feel of his mouth against hers.
“That good?”
Lara Jean nodded emphatically. “But, now text guy wants to meet. And we really click. I mean, the kiss was good with Peter, but what else do we really have in common?”
“That you want to bone each other.”
“Kitty, be serious.”
“I am. That type of chemistry should not be discounted. But, I also get the allure of text guy. You know, you should try out both.”
“That feels gross.”
“No, it is being a modern woman. Give me your phone, let me see the message.”
Lara Jean handed her the phone as she said, “So, it’s not weird to arrange to meet up with one guy when you just made out with another? Because it feels weird.”
“Not weird at all.”
Lara Jean noticed that Kitty was typing and immediately asked, “Hold on, what are you doing?”
“Nothing, just-“
“Kitty, give me my phone right now.”
“I’m almost done,” Kitty said, twisting away from Lara Jean’s grasp. “I just-“
“Kitty! Give me my phone!”
Kitty ran away from her and yelled over her shoulder, “You’re going to make me make typos. Do you want him to think you can’t spell?”
“Kitty-“
“Done!”
Kitty handed Lara Jean back her phone, and her sister reluctantly read the message. “You recommended that we meet at Bid-A-Basket? Seriously?”
_____________
“What the hell is Bid-A-Basket?” Owen asked.
“Wait, I think I heard about this. People make baskets and then other people bid on them.”
“Oh. So, it’s super self-explanatory.”
Peter shrugged.
“Sort of a weird place to plan a meeting, but hey, I’m into it. What should we say back?”
______________
“I cannot believe you chose Bid-A-Basket. He’s going to think I’m a huge weirdo.”
Lara Jean’s phone buzzed and Kitty immediately picked it up and read the message. “Yes! He’s into it!”
“Wait, seriously?” Lara Jean said. “He said yes?”
“Okay, we need to figure out how you’ll know each other.”
“Well, I should give him my name, right? I mean, it kind of feels like the time.”
“No, you’ve gone this far without names. Why turn back now.”
Kitty typed furiously and Lara Jean considered stopping her, but honestly, by this point, why?
_____________
“Okay, okay, she texted back,” Owen said, reading the message.
“What does it say?”
“She will be the first basket up for bid,” Owen read. “Huh. She’s really going with this Bid-A-Basket thing, isn’t she?”
“So this is happening,” Peter said nervously. “Bid-A-Basket is only a few days away.”
Owen nodded, quiet for a moment, and then asked, “What if someone outbids you?”
“Owen, I swear to God, if you bid against me…”
______________
Lara Jean avoided Peter before Bid-A-Basket, thinking that it was best to have a clear head before she went into meeting text guy. She spent months building this guy up and she wanted him to have a fair chance. So, no Peter. For once, her efforts to avoid him worked. Before the big day, she had only seen him from afar at the grocery store where she successfully turned down a different aisle and checked out without an encounter.
Bid-A-Basket was held in the town square, a makeshift stage set right in the middle for the bidding. A crowd already formed in front of the stage, the air charged with excitement. Lara Jean stood nervously at the side of the stage with Kitty. She clutched her basket tightly.
“I can’t believe we’re finally going to see text guy,” Kitty said. “He’s probably out there right now.”
Lara Jean scanned the crowd, her chest tightening when she saw Peter. She forced her gaze away to take in the other faces. They were all mostly familiar and she had a panicked moment when she considered that he wouldn’t show.
“Promise me that you’ll bid on my basket if he’s not here,” Lara Jean said suddenly.
“Lara Jean, he is going to show.”
“Just promise me.”
“I’ll bid on your basket,” Margot said, joining them. She gave Lara Jean a hug and said, “Kitty filled me in on everything.”
Lara Jean looked over at Kitty and her youngest sister gave her a slight shake of her head to tell her that not everything had been shared, i.e. the Peter of it all. Lara Jean let out a shaky breath and said, “Thank you, Margot.”
“The Covey girls have to stick together,” Margot said.
“But he’ll be here,” Kitty said. “I have a good feeling.”
The town mayor stepped on stage and announced the beginning of the event. Lara Jean didn’t listen to his opening remarks, too nervous to focus on the words. Before she knew it, Kitty was nudging her toward the stage and she climbed up the steps, feeling her heart thundering in her chest as she looked out into the crowd.
“Our first basket is from our very own, Lara Jean Covey. Lara Jean’s baskets never disappoint, people. So, we’ll start the bidding at ten dollars! Do I have a ten dollars?”
There was silence, until a voice rang out in the back.
“Fifty dollars!”
The crowd parted and there he was. Peter. She looked at him in confusion and he gave her a small shrug, his face open and nervous. The pieces quickly came together. It was him. All this time, it was him.
“Well, young man, that’s not really how bidding works, but…fifty it is! Do we have fifty-five? Going once. Going twice. Sold, for fifty dollars to Peter Kavinsky! Fantastic start to Bid-A-Basket, people! Let’s keep the momentum going!”
Lara Jean shuffled off the stage, her entire body tingling as she watched Peter approach. Off to the side, she vaguely noticed Margot head toward her and Kitty stopping her. Peter stood in front of her and she said, “It’s you.”
“Lara Jean-“
“I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you so badly.”
Peter stepped forward and gently took the basket from Lara Jean’s hand and placed it on the floor. He cupped her cheek with one hand and leaned in, stopping just short of her mouth. Without a second thought, Lara Jean closed the distance.