“I’m not.”
-ish.
“Then let’s do something,” he insists, moving to stand in front of me, “you’re starting to give me a complex, Megan.”
“Fine!” I huff, throwing a hand up. “Fine. I’ll call my mom and ask her if it’s okay.”
So, I “select” her number on my phone and wait for her to answer. I don’t bother hoping I’ll get her voicemail though, because Mom always manages to answer her phone…no matter what.
“Hey, sweetie,” her voice comes through a few moments later, “I’m waiting for Hailee now. Everything all right?”
“Yeah,” I reply, trying my hardest not to wince because I know Brayden is watching me. “Hey, Mom…Brayden wants us to hang out for a little bit and then he’ll take me home, is that okay?”
Please say no.
N. O.
NO.
“That sounds more than okay to me,” she chirps, and I really hope he can’t hear her. “What are you guys going to be doing?”
“I don’t really know,” I say in all honesty, “but I know all the do’s and don’ts…so no worries.”
“Megan,” she says, her voice taking an even giddier tone, “is this a date?”
“No, it’s not,” I don’t hesitate in correcting her, my cheeks beginning to burn up. “I swear it isn’t.”
“Mm-hmm,” she hums, unconvinced. “Well, have fun on your not-date. And make sure to keep your phone on.”
I resist an eye-roll. “Yes, I’ll have my phone on. Love you!”
“Love you too! Tell Brayden I say hi, okay?”
She hangs up and I repocket my phone as Brayden watches me expectantly. “So, she said yes then?”
I nod. “Yeah, and she also told me to tell you that she says hi.”
Because my mother is cringey like that.
“Well, when I drop you off at your house you can tell her I say hi back,” he says before motioning ahead of us. “Ready to go?”
No.
“Yep,” I drawl, smacking my hands against the sides of my legs, “go where though?”
He grins, that mischievous glint shining in his eyes. “You’ll know it when you see it.”
How vague.
He turns on his heel then begins to stroll toward the parking lot, and I follow his lead…making sure to keep my eyes trailed on his back, and not his backside.
Easy.
Yeah, right.
Maybe I should just walk next to him.
No, that’d feel too coupley. And we are NOT a couple. Unfortun—
Nope. Stop it, Megan! If you’re going to be thinking about anyone like that, it needs to be Liam.
Brayden starts to hum as he whips his keys out, causing me to curse under my breath.
Liam, Megan. Not Brayden—Liam!
“You say something?” Brayden asks, glancing over his shoulder at me.
How can someone be so effortlessly hot? It’s unfair.
I force a little laugh. “Just talking to myself.”
He nods. “Gotcha.”
We reach his car, and after he unlocks it, I get in on the passenger side. We’re just two friends hanging out.
Two. Friends. Hanging. Out.
That’s it.
“Ya know,” he drawls once we’re leaving the school’s parking lot, “it looks like it wants to rain.”
Wow, we’re really going to talk about the weather? Okay then…
“Yeah, it does,” I agree, looking out my window, “I hope that won’t ruin whatever you have planned.”
Or maybe I do hope it ruins his plans, so he can just take me home instead of us spending even more time together.
“Not at all,” he replies, making a right. “Hey, do you think your mom could make more of those peanut butter cookies for the housewarming party?”
Knowing Mom, she’ll end up making a whole variety tray of stuff.
“Probably,” I say with a shrug, “unless she has something else already planned.”
He nods, not saying anything else, and we sit in silence as he continues to drive. Which is fine. It’s probably better that we don’t talk.
Soon he’s pulling into a parking lot, and my stomach starts to sink when I see where we are.
Roll With It. As in, the roller-skating rink where we had our “first date.”
Why would he bring me here of all places?
Chapter 21: I Can’t Take It
“I don’t know about you,” Brayden drawls, pulling into an empty parking space, “but I haven’t skated in forever. So, if me falling on my butt doesn’t cheer you up…I don’t think anything will.”
Sooooo, he brought me here to see him fall on his butt? That’s what he just said—right? Does he even remember that we had our first date here?
“Meg? You coming?”
I then realize the car is already turned off, he’s not wearing his seatbelt, and his door is halfway open.
Nope. I am not getting out of this car. And I most definitely am not going into that building.
“Yeah, I’m coming,” I say, unbuckling my seatbelt, “obviously.”
Why couldn’t Mom just tell me no?
Brayden gets out of the car then closes his door, and I do the same on my side. You know what? Who cares if we had our first date here? I don’t.
“Are you hungry?” Brayden asks as we walk toward the building. “Because if you are, we can eat something first. I bet they still have those really great chicken sandwiches.”
Oh, you mean the ones we ate on our first date?
“I’m good,” I reply, trying not to sound bitter, “totally not hungry at all.”
Although, there is the tiny detail that I hardly ate my lunch earlier…
Brayden opens the entrance door, motioning for me to step inside first—so, I do. Waves of nostalgia hit me in a heartbeat, and I cross my arms as some kind of barrier from those old feelings. I’ve been here once or twice within the last couple years for Hailee’s tenth birthday party and a random family outing; but being here with
