“No, come on,” I said, giving her shoulder a little shove so she went swinging sideways. “Let’s do this. Forget whatever Rose told you about smizing and just...talk to me.”
She licked her lips and studied the ground. “This is so embarrassing.”
“It’s really not,” I said. “If you’re shy around boys—”
“Ugh.” Her groan cut me off mid-sentence. “Stop. You sound like my dad or something.” I watched her for a long moment because...the girl was stinkin’ cute when she was flustered. “I’m not shy,” she said.
“Okay.” I didn’t point out the fact that we’d been sitting at the same lunch table for years and I’d yet to hear her say more than two words to anyone other than Jax.
“I just don’t know what to talk to him about,” she muttered.
Him. The crush. I shifted, no longer comfortable on this swing.
I let her sit there in silence for a bit as I took in the dark playground around us and the sounds coming from just beyond the treeline. By the sounds of it, the party was in full swing. Laughter and shouts were even louder than the music.
Other than that the neighborhood was quiet and peaceful. It was just a matter of time before this party got busted.
“So, you play baseball?” Her question was sudden and so awkward it made me grin.
“I do, yes.”
I could see her swallow in the moonlight. “How’s that going for you?”
“It’s going just fine, thanks.” I couldn’t have hid my amusement if I’d tried. So I didn’t try.
She bobbed her head, her hands moving over the chains, open and closing around the metal like she was looking for the perfect grip. “That’s nice.”
“Isn’t it, though?”
I’d admit it. I liked watching her squirm.
She straightened suddenly and turned my way. “Do you like cars?”
My eyes widened in surprise. I had not seen that coming. “Uh, not particularly.”
She looked so bummed by my answer that I felt compelled to add, “Do you?”
She shook her head. “Not particularly.”
I stared at her profile. Not exactly pretty, but I knew she could be when she smiled. But pretty was overrated, in my humble opinion. I knew a lot of pretty girls.
Pretty didn’t make them interesting.
She shot me a sidelong look. “We had driver's ed together last year.”
She informed me of this as if I didn’t know. As if I’d somehow gone an entire semester without noticing her sitting alone in the back of our class.
I gave my head a little shake. “Yeah, I know.” I stilled. “Wait, is that why you thought I was into cars? You do know it’s a mandatory class, right?”
Her tone was defensive. “Rose said to find common interests.”
I clamped my mouth shut as I continued to stare at her. “And that’s what you came up with?”
Her look was half irritated, half pleading. “Do you have any better ideas?”
I let out a huff of air that was half irritated, half amused as I looked up to the sky and shook my head. Then I turned to her, shifting the swing so I was facing her fully. “Have you seen the latest Taika Waititi film?”
She blinked several times. Her lips parting as her eyes widened. “Have you?”
I smiled. Okay, maybe I smirked. Was I a little pleased that she’d finally looked at me like I might have something of interest to say? Yeah. Absolutely. I wasn’t used to being ignored by girls, and this one had been acting like I was invisible for years now.
“You like movies?” She blinked again. “I mean, like...good movies?”
I tipped my chin down. “I do.”
“Oh.”
I let myself revel in her shock for a little while before getting bored with it. “When did you get so into older movies?”
She widened her eyes. “How’d you know I like old movies?”
I stared at her. She was kidding, right? “I’ve heard you quote Monty Python at least three thousand times.”
She pressed her lips together and even in the moonlight I could see her cheeks darkening with a blush. “Oh.”
“I also know that you’re a fan of Spinal Tap and Christopher Guest mockumentaries and that you have very strong feelings about Shemp’s role in the Three Stooges.”
Her mouth fell all the way open. Before she could come up with a response, the sound I’d been waiting to hear cut through the music and the laughter next door.
The tell tale sound of cops arriving—no sirens, but that little blip of sound they made to let you know they were there.
Simone started when I reached for her hand. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
6
Simone
We ran across the playground, toward the street where Jax had parked, and we reached it at the same time Jax and Rose did.
We all clambered in, but it wasn’t until we were all in and safely on the road back home that anyone spoke.
“Well,” Jax said loudly. “That party was a bust.”
Rose laughed as she smacked his arm at the lame joke. “You’re such an idiot.”
He shot her a grin. “And you love me for it.”
She didn’t deny it. We all knew it was true.
I was staring down at myself. At the pretty, slinky black top, the tight jeans. I’d worn makeup tonight...and Tony hadn’t even seen me.
What a waste.
Disappointment made me want to cry, and I didn’t notice Andrew shifting in his seat until his head was right next to mine in the dark of the backseat. “In case no one else told you,” he said in that soft, low drawl of his. “You look really beautiful tonight.”
I felt my insides do a strange twist and then a leap at the unexpected compliment. “Thank you.”
He moved away again and I was once more able to breathe. Some of that crushing disappointment dissipated a bit as I tugged at the hem of the shirt. Okay, so maybe it hadn’t been a total waste…
We dropped Andrew off first, and then Rose. I waited in the car and played around on my phone as they shared an
