Did I mention I sometimes felt that my mother gave me whiplash?
“You know your mom’s gonna be following you around until she isn’t able to get around anymore, right?”
The idea of that made me widen my eyes, which only triggered further laughter from Reed. The guy absolutely loved to torment and to watch others be tormented. He also loved how my mother hovered over Grace and me; the more embarrassed we were, the better it was for him.
“Looks like we’re all going out for pizza,” dad said with a slap on my shoulder. “You better go inform your friends and prepare them for the family.”
“The family?”
“Yep,” he added with a nod. “You know she’s set forth the phone tree, and by the time you reach the pizza joint every member of our crazy ass clan is gonna already be there waiting.” He walked away with a little extra hop in his step, and I found myself trying to come up with a way to repay him simply for his obvious gloating.
As I walked back to my friends, I noticed AJ standing off talking to Dane and Collin. She was smiling, and when she threw her head back in laughter, I stopped for a moment and just watched. I wouldn’t pretend I hadn’t noticed her over the years, but seeing her now, all relaxed and enjoying herself, it was like I was seeing her for the first time. She was gorgeous, and something about the way she held herself assured me that she seriously had no clue just how appealing she was.
When she peered in my direction and our gazes locked, she paused for a moment and gave me her shy smile. It was in that moment I felt that crazy twinge of hope in my chest, that racing heart, that excitement, that rush of adrenaline when being presented with something new. I hadn’t felt it in so long, it was slightly shocking that it had reappeared with only a simple glance.
“Dude, your mouth is hanging open.” I ignored Terrance and his need to point out what was already obvious to me. “You thinking you might give the girl a chance?”
“I asked her out already and she declined.” I was still a little puzzled by that one. I thought she was interested, but I guess I’d been wrong.
“Think about this.” I looked away from AJ, finally breaking our connection and concentrated on my best friend the philosopher. “I’ve watched her watch you from afar for a long time now. She’s been to all the same parties, all our games, yet it took you until now to notice her. She’s not a dumb girl, Rhett. She knows you’ve been hung up on Harley since she left.”
Normally my reaction to any mention of Harley would have had me feeling a deep, empty ache inside, a longing to see her or even hear her voice. Yet recently that ache had grown a little less intense, leaving only a sense of something that once was, yet no longer existed.
“Can you do me a favor?”
“Sure,” he said without hesitation.
“Can we not discuss Harley anymore?” He stared back at me, and I could see the surprise in his eyes. “You were right. She is the past, and it’s time for me to move on.”
He remained quiet, yet I couldn’t miss the slow smile as it crept over his lips. With a simple nod of his head, I felt better about what I was about to do. “Get the guys rounded up. Apparently Mr. And Ms. Jackson are taking us all out for pizza.” My own happiness grew—my father was about to supply a whole lot of hungry guys pizza, on his dime. There’s payback for loving my misery. “I’m gonna go over and give this asking AJ out thing another shot.”
“Don’t let her say no,” he hollered out from behind, and I chuckled. Smooth, man. Real smooth. But the thing was, I didn’t intend to let her shoot me down again.
As I stepped up next to Collin’s side, he immediately turned to me and started talking about the play I made. I stared straight ahead, completely focused on AJ, who was also watching me. I found myself enjoying the way her cheeks reddened from my undivided attention on her.
I knew I was taking a chance of being shot down again, only this time in front of my teammates.
“You hungry?” I asked AJ. I looked at her alone but noticed the guys were eager to answer my question themselves. “You shot down my offer to feed you a few days ago, but I’m not gonna let you tell me no this time.” I grinned when I saw her eyes widen in what I would describe as surprise just before she arched her brow in an attempt to hide her interest. “I understand why you said no, I do. But I need you to know that I plan on trying every single day from this one forward until you agree. That could get slightly annoying.” She looked down, and I saw her shoulders shake with laughter. “It’s just pizza, AJ, but there are a few conditions.”
She looked up at me once again, and I saw the corner of her mouth tip up in a smile. “And what would those conditions be?”
“One, you let me pay for your pizza.” She crossed her arms over her chest, and I tried not to focus on the attention it brought to her tits. “Two, you sit next to me.” I noticed her smile growing wider. “Three, you agree to see a movie with me Saturday night.”
“I do really like pizza.” I could immediately sense she was teasing me, but I let it go. I was enjoying this little game. It was the first
