Andrew.
“Andrew’s not right, is he?” Jax looked over at me. “Why do you look like that? Oh crap, are you going to be sick? Please don’t puke in my car.”
“What? No. Of course not.” My heart was still pounding in my ears but Jax’s question brought me back to reality.
I still had to give my head a firm shake to get on track. “What did you say?”
Jax leveled me with a meaningful look before turning his attention back to the road. “You didn’t honestly think that I reacted badly to you liking Tony because I thought…” His face scrunched up in what I could only call disgust. “He was too good for you?”
I squirmed uncomfortably as he shot me another glance. “You didn’t think that, did you?”
I wanted to open the car door and jump out. I truly did. We’d successfully avoided addressing the elephant in the room for several days now and I was kinda sorta hoping we could continue not having this conversation for oh, say...the rest of our lives.
“You did!” He shouted it like an accusation as he slammed a hand on the steering wheel, making me jump. “I can’t believe you thought that.”
I crossed my arms. “Well, what else was I supposed to think?”
I felt him gaping at me but didn’t turn to look. “Honestly, Simone, is your self-esteem that low that you’re convinced even your best friend thinks you’re a loser?”
His words made me flinch.
“News flash, Simone. You’re the only one who thinks you’re a loser.” He let out a huff of exasperation that made me squirm uncomfortably. “Personally, I think you’re like…” He waved a hand and I peeked over to see his face contorted in discomfort. “I think you’re cool. I mean, you’re a freak, obviously…” He shot me a funny little smile at that and I snorted with amusement. “But you’re my best friend which means you must be cool.”
I bit my lip. My chest was painfully tight as I met his searching stare.
“You believe me, right?” he asked.
I nodded. It was rare to ever see Jax so worked up about anything, and his distress was...sweet. Un-Jaxlike, but sweet.
A moment of silence passed before I summoned up the courage to ask the question that was nagging at me. “So then why did you act like me liking Tony was the worst idea in the world?”
He frowned. “Because it is.” He shook his head, his hands readjusting on the steering wheel. “But not because I think he’s out of your league, or whatever.” He gave me a sneer just in case I’d missed how much he hated that idea. “If anything, you’re too good for him.”
I snorted with amusement and looked straight ahead. “Please don’t give me that whole ‘boys are intimidated by you’ speech that my dad’s been trying to sell me.”
He laughed. “I won’t, but I will say that you are too smart and unique and...you’re just too good for him, okay? He doesn’t deserve you.”
I snuck a peek at Jax as I shifted through what he’d said and what I was feeling.
For the first time in...well, ever...it occurred to me that Tony didn’t just not know me. I also didn’t know Tony.
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.
That couldn’t be true...could it?
I wasn’t so shallow that I’d gone and developed feelings for a guy I knew absolutely nothing about...had I?
But the more I racked my memory, the more I realized that I’d never heard Tony utter more than two words, and those were typically of the curse word variety when he was frustrated with the way a song was going. I’d made a lot of assumptions about what I thought he would be like if I got to know him better...but I’d never actually gotten to know him better to see whether any of those assumptions were true.
I fidgeted with my phone in my lap uncomfortably. “Why don’t you think he’s good enough for me?” I asked.
Jax tapped his temple. “He’s not exactly a genius—”
“I don’t need a genius,” I interrupted shortly.
“No. But you ought to be with someone who can keep up.” He shrugged. “Someone who can challenge you, someone who appreciates your weird wit—”
“Weird wit?” I repeated with a scowl. “What does that mean?”
He sighed with impatience and shot me a sidelong look. “I want you to find someone who appreciates you for who you are.”
The silence that followed his little speech was filled with a whirlwind of thoughts I didn’t necessarily want to face.
“I guess I just don’t know what you see in the guy,” Jax muttered. I heard him, but it was Andrew’s words that were rattling around in my brain.
I guess I’m just curious why you want to date a guy who will only talk about himself and who hasn’t noticed you when you’re right in front of his face.
Andrew’s words had stuck with me ever since Monday night but right now it was like he was right there in the car with me.
“You can do better than Tony,” he said.
“Yeah, like who?” I scoffed. I wasn’t actually expecting an answer.
“Like...Andrew.” He shot me the side-eye to gauge my reaction and I tried not to react.
Hard to do when the mention of Andrew’s name made my already spinning head whip into warp speed.
I looked out the window to avoid his stare. “He doesn’t see me like that.”
“Uh huh.”
“He doesn’t.”
“Okay.” He looked way too smug when I glanced over.
“And I don’t like him like that,” I said.
He glanced over. “Are you sure?”
“Am I...Am I...Are you even serious right now?”
The idea was laughable. Ludicrous. Surely he was joking. Not even my supportive best friend who loved me like a sister would believe that Lakeview High’s insanely hot star pitcher would fall for someone like me.
And me fall for some athlete with pretty eyes and a perfect body?
Please.
He wasn’t my type, and I certainly wasn’t his.
He was just bored, that was all.
Not that I could tell Jax that. The more I protested the more entertainment he’d find in
