Page 4 of The Perfect Hit

“It is. I’m just surprised you two aren’t dating with the way you’ve been talking about him all weekend.”

Biting my lower lip, I mentally went through our conversations. At least I could skim through them quickly.

“I haven’t been talking about himallnight,” I said, turning around and sitting on Brynn’s bed. “We’ve talked about a lot of things in this cousin-bonding time. I’m just used to talking to him a lot, and it was weird that he wasn’t here for several days.”

Brynn gave me a no-nonsense look. “Are you sure you don’t have feelings for him? I mean, the kid would bend over backward for you.”

A pang of guilt hit me. She was probably right. Colt was one of the best friends a girl could ask for, usually doing the crazy things I asked him to do, although somewhat reluctant. We were an odd pairing of friends, a Broadway fanatic and a baseball star, but somehow our chemistry just worked.

“We’re just friends. Just because he’s nice doesn’t mean he likes me. And I still have too many flashbacks of Seth.” My ex-boyfriend from Buffalo. He pretty much ruined the idea of a relationship for me a few weeks before my father announced we were moving back to Texas.

Brynn frowned like she wanted to say something else but didn’t. “That guy turned out to be a jerk, but not all guys are like that, Haze. You were the one giving me a hard time about not having a boyfriend just a few weeks ago. Maybe it’s your turn to focus on finding your own future boyfriend.” She ended it with an eyebrow wiggle and a deep laugh. I wasn’t sure how long it would take her to get back to the Brynn I knew, but this was a good start.

I shook my head, flashes of the train wreck that had been my last breakup causing me to shiver. “I think I’ll wait a bit longer.” When she gave me a look like she was about to get mad at me for it, I said, “It wasn’t fun, Brynn. I mean, he basically turned me inside out with how cruel he was when we broke up.”

“Okay, but has Colt been like that? No,” she said, not waiting for me to answer. “And there have been other good guys at school.”

“There isn’t really anyone I’m pining after,” I said, knowing she wouldn’t take the bait of the excuse that I didn’t think anyone was attractive. Because to be honest, Colt was definitely cute, but I couldn’t go back and set myself up for heartbreak again. And our relationship was nearly perfect the way it was. “There are a few cute guys in some of my classes but none who would tolerate my obsession with show tunes.”

“What about Scott Daniels?” Brynn laughed, and I gave a semi-fake laugh in return. I wasn’t sure anyone could put up with my enthusiasm for all things musical and on-stage, because Seth hadn’t been able to, and I’d liked him since the third grade.

I shook my head. “Yeah, he might have the looks, but the guy is a tool, to put it lightly. Rehearsing with him duringBeauty and the Beastwas rough. He kept saying I was too pitchy, when in reality, it was him who was off.”

We headed out to my car, an older but sturdy model that had survived several slight taps of the bumper to people in front of me. I wasn’t the best driver in the world, but I was trying to fix that.

“Have you heard from Nate yet?” I asked, turning into the store parking lot a couple blocks away.

It was kind of nice to be done talking about my dating life and focusing on Brynn’s. I might have had an ulterior motive as I hadn’t heard from Colt since they’d left. He’d said something about forgetting his charger, which was killing me. I had so much to update him on over the past few days. This was the longest we’d been apart since we started hanging out last fall, and I’d realized just how much we talked throughout the day.

Brynn shook her head, glancing down at the phone in her lap. “Not yet. But they’re supposed to be home today, so I would guess any time.” She gave me a small smile. She hadn’t mentioned it too much, but she was excited for Nate to come home. There were still fears that he would disappear just like her mother had, but from everything I’d seen from him over the past couple of months, I’d say he was in love with her and wasn’t going anywhere for too long.

I dragged her inside the store and grabbed a few things to complete my small bag of goodies. The gift probably would’ve been better for when they left so he could take it on the bus ride, but I’d been too preoccupied with the play stuff to think about it.

“He likes grape soda?” Brynn pointed to the six-pack of cans I’d just picked up.

“Yeah, it’s different, but he’s a fan. He also likes black licorice.” We both cringed at that idea and laughed.

“Black licorice should be banned or something. It’s so gross.” Brynn gave a fake shudder, and I laughed again.

We walked down the aisle and grabbed a few more things, the mostly normal kind of snacks, in my opinion anyway.

Once we’d finished checking out, we headed back to my car.

“Haze,” Brynn said, shutting her door once she’d gotten inside. “Thank you so much for helping me out the past couple of months. I know it’s not over yet, but I feel a lot better than I did at New Year’s.”

I gave her a sad smile and nodded. “Anytime, Brynnie. Us Millers have to stick together, even when things are hard.” She’d definitely been there to help me get settled back into Pecan Flatts. Moving was never easy for me as I got attached to people so easily, but she’d helped introduce me to several people in the neighborhood and at school.

As we headed out of the parking lot, her phone dinged, and from her wide grin, I could tell it was from Nate.

“He said they should be back in Pecan Flatts in about ten minutes.” She stopped talking, her fingers flying over the screen.

“Do you want me to turn around? I can drop you off at home so you can see him.”

Brynn turned to look at me, worry crossing her face. “Do you mind?”

I was happier than I’d been in a few days now that my best friend was finally close enough to talk to face to face. My phone was sitting in the console, and I glanced down every few seconds, hoping it would buzz and ding, telling me Colt was happy to see me too. Maybe he really had run out of battery.

“Of course not. I wouldn’t want to keep you two lovebirds from seeing each other. That could be dangerous for my health.” I chuckled, and Brynn shook her head, her shoulders moving with her laughter.

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