Page 6 of A Good Book

I restrained my enthusiasm. “Hmm, maybe God?—”

Ugh!

Was I really on the verge of saying,“Maybe God has other plans for you?”

Yes. I absolutely was.

“I mean,” I cleared my throat. “Maybe it’s a sign. Not necessarily from God. Just like uh … you know, a sign.”

“That’s what I’ve been thinking too,” he said.

My back straightened. Were we on the same page? I hoped so.

Matt was so rad, casually leaning back on the bench with his outstretched legs crossed at the ankle. I was a lame, fidgeting mess, having fiddled with the pop can tab until it broke, and my half-eaten bag of chips was nothing but crumbs because I kept channeling my nervous energy into my hands, relentlessly squeezing the bag.

He basked in the autumn breeze, warm sun, and the silence between us while I bounced my leg and gnawed the heck out of my lower lip because the silence killed me. Every passing second felt like the last before he would suggest we head back to my dorm.

“We should grab pizza sometime. We don’t have to talk about Sarah or your parents,” I said. “I could catch you up on all the Devil’s Head gossip. Or you can tell me about playing baseball, before you got hurt, of course. Not like a date or anything, because you have a girlfriend. And?—”

“Most definitely.” Matt saved me from myself.

I froze, unblinking, as if his answer hadn’t registered. “Yes?” I confirmed just above a whisper because anything more would have been an all-out squeal.

“For sure.” He sat up straight, laced his hands behind his head, and stretched side to side. “And just so you know, I’ve talked with my brother and Sarah. Everything’s good. You don’t have to tiptoe around talking about them. And I’m on good terms with my parents too. It’s been four years, Gabby. Time heals.”

“Thank goodness.” I grinned, wiping invisible sweat from my brow.

CHAPTERTHREE

GEORGE HARRISON, “GOTMYMINDSETONYOU”

Gabby

“There you are,”Ben said as I ran up the dormitory stairs after Matt walked me home.

“Jeez, you scared me!” I pressed a hand over my heart, cheeks flushed as if he caught me doing something wrong—like thinking inappropriate thoughts about Matt.

“Where ya been?” He pivoted and followed me to the second floor; Ben’s room was on the fourth floor.

“I told you. Matt gave me a tour of the campus.” I kept my chin tucked to hide my grin.

“Oh, yes,” he said. “How’d that go? Think you’ll be able to find your classes now? Wait, you already knew where they were. So this must have been a date.” He grabbed my left hand. “Hmm … no ring yet.”

I pulled my hand from his and pushed through the door to my hallway. “You need a shower.”

“No duh. I just worked out. How far did he get? First base? Second? I hope he didn’t accidentally call you ‘Sarah’ in the throes of passion.”

Only my dorky best friend said things like “throes of passion.”

“If you must know, we had an awesome time. And we’re going to get pizza Friday night.”

“A date?”

I shoved my room key into the lock. “Kinda. Yeah.” Ikindalied.

“Kinda. Yeah. Doesn’t sound like a date. Sounds like he doesn’t know you’re stalking him yet.”

“Stop.” I laughed, opening the door. Thankfully, Olivia wasn’t there, so I didn’t have to worry about her giving Ben hungry eyes. I tossed my keys onto my desk as he sat on Olivia’s bottom bunk bed.

---