Page 42 of Just Another Meet Cute
“That’s how most people feel about me. It’s okay. The moment will pass.”
He laughed and briefly glanced over his shoulder at me with a teasing wink. “Let’s see if we can get some pizza, too. Extra olives for Nina. Or maybe we could find some durian and sneak it in for her.”
“I dare you to sneak in durian. Everyone will smell you a mile away.”
“Great. Then we’ll get the whole theater to ourselves.”
With a frown, I couldn’t help staring at their backs as they walked away. Ian was weird today. Different. Where was the annoyingly sarcastic guy who practically made me his personal butler? I mean, he was still sarcastic, but he was also kind ofnice? Or at least he was pretty friendly to Linh. Not to mentionfunny and charming. The way he was withme. He was almost like—like the Ian from the hike. The Ian I immediately fell for and had to track down. The one I wanted to—no,needed—to get to know.
How many different sides did this guy have? Maybe he was this way with girls he met for the first time. And apparently, I didn’t fit into that category anymore.
Maybe it was better this way.
There was no denying the fact that a nice Ian was a dangerous Ian to have around. Especially when I was already dating someone else. Someone sweet and loyal. I don’t know what I would do if he turned into the Ian from the hike again, or how I would feel. I could barely handle him now.
Not that I wanted to handle him. I didn’t want anything to do with him at all. And I definitely didn’t need him to be nice and charming.
One thing’s for sure, it was probably safer for everyone if I stayed as far away from Ian as possible from now on.
At least thatwasthe plan.
Glancing at Ian on my left and Ryan on my right, I struggled to stifle a heavy sigh. Why did these things always happen to me?
The previews had already started when we came in, so the entire theater was pitch-black. It took my eyes a minute or two to adjust as I blindly followed Ryan up the stairs. It wasn’t until he moved aside to let me into the aisle first that I saw Ian sitting right there with Linh on his other side.
Judging by the surprised look on his face, Ian wasn’t expecting to sit with me either.
I took a step back and stumbled into Ryan. Holding the popcorn bucket to his chest, his other hand landed on my waist to steady me. “Are you okay?” he asked in a low voice.
“Yeah, it’s just …” My voice trailed off as someone in the row above us grumbled about not being able to see.
Ian glanced at the empty seat beside him before looking back up. Raising aneyebrow, his lips curled up into a tiny half smile, then whispered, “Something wrong?”
With that unspoken challenge, I lifted my chin. “Nope, everything’s perfect.” As I sat, I made sure to kick his leg, giving him my own half smile when he grunted in pain. Resting my elbow on the armrest between us, I leaned over. “Is there something wrong with you?”
He clenched his chin. “I’m perfect, too. Want some popcorn?”
I had already started reaching toward his bucket when Ryan spoke up. “It’s okay. She can share with me.”
My hand snapped back like a rubber band.
Damn. That’s the second time that Ryan caught me being overly friendly with his brother. If you could call that being friendly. But still, he thought we met just last week. He didn’t know that we had been texting and seeing each other nearly every day. And that I’ve seen Ian more than Ryan himself these days.
It didn’t help that Linh chose that exact moment to peer around Ian to smirk at me. She also mouthed something that looked like,Stop flirting, but maybe that was just my imagination. Or my guilt.
My face flushed. Thank God for the dark theater.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she orchestrated the whole seating arrangement for her own amusement. Especially because she pursed her lips and fully faced us instead of the screen, like we were more interesting. And that’s saying a lot, considering her love for Tom Holland.
Definitely suspicious.
Luckily, Ryan didn’t seem to notice anything was wrong as he handed me the popcorn. I grabbed a handful and popped a couple of pieces into my mouth. “Yum, perfectly buttered,” I murmured.
“Kathy showed us the hack to spread the butter with the straw a few months ago. Works every time,” Ryan said with a wink. “Having a sister can be useful sometimes.”
Ian coughed on my other side. “Just don’t ever admit it to her.”
The tension and awkwardness melted away for the moment. Glancing back and forth at them grinning their adorable smiles at me, I couldn’t help smiling back. It was impossible not to. Especially when Ian and Ryan were both sitting there looking all handsome, like they were in an Abercrombie ad or stars of some K-drama. Being between them was pretty much like I was in some kind of delicious cute-boy sandwich. Mayo on the side.
