I grab Brayden’s arm and yank him far enough away from—gosh, I really need to figure out his name—so he can’t hear me sound like a complete crazy person.
“Dang, Megan,” Brayden says, shaking his arm out after I release it, “you’ve got a pretty good grip.”
“And you’ve got a lot of nerve,” I snap at him. “Interrupting my conversation like that was just rude and unnecessary.”
“How do you know it wasn’t necessary?” he asks, cocking an eyebrow. “Maybe I had a really good reason.”
“Oh yeah?” I widen my eyes to emphasis my sarcastic tone. “Like what?”
He doesn’t answer though. Instead, he takes a step closer to me, getting rid of any distance between us. Hold on, what the heck is happening right now? And why is his gaze always so…intense?
My nerves can’t handle it.
Which is why I force myself to put an end to whatever this is. Standing here while we just stare at each other is too flippin’ weird.
“You know what?” I choke out, practically jumping away from him. “Forget it, I don’t even care.”
And with that, I walk back over to L-boy.
“Is everything okay?” he asks as I stop in front of him. “You looked pretty upset.”
Oh, great—he was watching the whole time?
“I’m fine,” I verbally wave him off, “Brayden is just—”
“Your ex,” he interrupts with an understanding nod, “I get it.”
My eyes widen at that. “What?”
“Oh, is he not?” he asks, now looking surprised. “It just kind of seemed like he was.”
I don’t even know how I’m supposed to respond to this.
“Liam!” a light-haired woman calls, waving in our direction. “The game’s about to start!”
“I’m coming now, Mom!” L-boy hollers back to her.
Liam. How the heck did I forget that?
“I gotta go,” Liam says with an apologetic smile, “otherwise my mom will come over here and find a way to embarrass me.”
I laugh, but I’m honestly still trying to figure out how he knew that Brayden’s my “ex.” Did I miss some kind of hint?
“I should go too,” I manage to say, “my mom is probably wondering where I am.”
“Later, Megan.”
He offers another smile, and I watch him walk off to where his mom is. Well, that conversation wasn’t as fulfilling as I thought it’d be…
Especially considering I didn’t know his name for most of it.
“Megan!” Hailee exclaims, coming toward me with her arm looped through Brayden’s. “Look who I found!”
I’m totally throwing her stuff in the trash.
Chapter 16: I Don’t Believe You
After Hailee insists about five or six times, Brayden ends up sitting with us in the bleachers. Yeah, that’s right, she had to beg him. Why? Well, because he kept trying to say that he could sit somewhere else. I wish he had. But nope, he’s sitting next to me instead…something else Hailee insisted on. And he has an attitude, I can tell, for whatever reason he’s in a bad mood. I don’t know why though. If anyone should be in a bad mood, it’s me.
From her spot behind/above Brayden, Hailee gives me an exasperated look as she “discreetly” points a finger at him.
I blink at her, faking confusion, and she purses her lips in defeat.
Good.
Not that I’m really into the game, but I go ahead and focus my attention on the field where Kyle’s team—the Cosmos—are losing. Maybe they’d be doing better though if that one kid would stop picking her nose when she’s supposed to be blocking the ball from going into the net.
My phone buzzes, and I pull it out to see a message from Hailee.
Why the heck aren’t you talking to him?
I quickly turn my phone away from Brayden just in case he can see it. I don’t know what I’m so worried about though—because he doesn’t seem to be concerned with me at all. I’m convinced that he’s actually ignoring me
Another buzz.
Hailee: I talked to Ricky. You need to talk to Brayden. Unless you’d rather I start some conversation.
I look back to glare at her, and she responds with a triumphant smile. Along with another finger point at Brayden.
Me: Yeah, well, I don’t think he wants to talk.
Hailee: Duh, you probably did something to make him upset.
Hailee: Fix. It.
Then she sends a couple of heart emojis.
I did something to make him upset? I’m pretty sure it’s the other way around, no—I’m positive it’s the other way around. He’s been making me upset ever since he moved in next door! No, wait, that’s right—he’s been making me upset ever since we were in middle school! There is NOTHING for me to fix here because I didn’t do anything wrong!
However, while that’s true, I don’t trust Hailee to keep her mouth shut…so I have to say something to him. Ugh.
I slip my phone back into my pocket, in a super casual way, and then I clear my throat some. “So, who do you think is going to win?
Hey, conversation is conversation.
Surprise, surprise though, because he doesn’t answer. His attention is completely on the game. See? Didn’t I say he was ignoring me?
I glance at Hailee, who motions with her hands for me to continue. Continue what? That was a prime conversation starter right there, and I don’t have another one up my sleeve.
This is ridiculous.
I tap a couple of fingers against Brayden’s arm. “Brayden? I’m talking to you.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Hailee give me a thumbs-up, and I hold back an annoyed curse. She has no shame.
“What?” Brayden asks, his voice dry. “What do you want?”
Hailee winces at his tone, and then widens her eyes at me before mouthing: “Fix it.”
I don’t want to fix it though.
