Page 2 of Deal Breaker
Thankful she couldn’t see me in the dark, I finally relented. “There is someone…”
“I knew it!” Autumn crowed. “It’s Jimmy Lucas, isn’t it? I’ve seen the way you look at him in math class.”
“Ugh, as if!” I chewed on the inside of my cheek. Jimmy Lucas had recently joined our school year as a transfer student. I’d been assigned to showing him around. While he might have been good looking, all golden hair and growing muscles, he could barely string a sentence together. I preferred to be able to hold a conversation with someone I liked.
She went through a list of guys in all of our classes, ticking them off on her fingers as she did so. With each one, I shook my head or made some comment. Then she started naming players on the football team—even the seniors who I would never even consider crushing on—finally landing on Max’s best friend, Joshua.
“Close…” I twisted my ponytail around in my hand, staring at the ceiling, glad Autumn couldn’t see my face.
“Oh my God, Soph! Brianna will kill you if you went after him!”
Our friend Brianna Ashurst had the most obvious crush on Joshua. She followed him around like some kind of puppy dog. If I’d have been him, two years older than her, I’d have given her the immediate brush off. However, Joshua seemed to entertain the attention. A part of me thought if I hung around with her often enough then Max might see me too.
“No, it’s not Joshua.”
The light suddenly came on, and I blinked at the brightness.
Autumn had a hand to her mouth as the penny seemed to have dropped. “Sophie Hale, do you have a crush on my brother?”
I sucked in my lips, picking at a thread on the quilt. Anything to avoid looking directly at Autumn.
“Shit, you do, don’t you?” She shook her head, as if trying to shake the thought. There was a pause. “You do know you couldn’t date him, don’t you? I mean, if he were to ever think of you as anything other than his little sister’s annoying friend.”
“I’m not annoying!”
“That’s what you think.” She made a face. “I’m serious though, Soph. I really don’t want you getting hung up on my brother. You realize you can’t ever date him. That would be too weird.” She shuddered as if to illustrate her point.
A sigh escaped my lips. It was already a little too late for me not to be hung up on him.
The one guy I truly liked had to be the one who was going to be totally off limits.
But Autumn had been my best friend since we were both old enough to sit up in our strollers.
And if she said I couldn’t date her brother, her word was gospel.
No matter how much I wanted it to be otherwise.
For the sake of our friendship, I had to try and forget about Max.
That would be easier said than done.
* * *
Max- aged 16
“We’re entering a new world,Max, get ready to spot the character with the yellow exclamation mark!” Joshua shoved me in the ribs as we started ourWorld of Warcraftgame.
“How often have we played this game? It’s not like I’ve forgotten how to complete a quest,” I protested.
Normally we watched music videos and drooled over the hot girls who danced better than any of the girls at school. But that night, we’d decided to go back to our early teenage roots and have a night of computer games. When we were younger, we’d spend hours,dayseven plotting against our online friends from all over the world and finding hacks to get the treasure. But at sixteen, it wasn’t considered cool. Particularly not for two kids who were on the verge of being picked for the varsity football team. For once, it was good to take a break from reality and go back to a pretend world where quests mattered more than who was dating who.
I could hear my sister and her best friend chattering away in the living room. Whenever we had friends over, there was always an argument about who got which room. This week, it was her turn to commandeer the living room, while Joshua and I had Dad’s study. He and Mom had gone out on date night, which basically meant them going to their favorite Chinese restaurant and drinking way too much sake. I was in charge while they were out. A feeling I loved, being able to wield power over my little sister.
Reaching over, I took a big gulp of my soda. We’d ordered pizza and split it with Autumn and Sophie. I’d watched as Sophie picked the majority of the chili off her slices. Why she agreed to order it if she didn’t like it was beyond me. I’d offered to eat the bit she didn’t want and now regretted it. My own mouth felt like it was on fire, and I downed the soda like it was going out of fashion.
Which now meant I needed to pee.
“Be back in a minute.” I tossed the controller onto the beanbag and hauled myself up. “Gotta use the bathroom.”
