Page 64 of Bookish Boys Don't Date Social Girls
A pained groan escapes him as he shakes his head. “To this day, I thought you originally started coming into the bookstore on a dare from Chris. He always knew how I felt. We used to try to one-up each other over whose crush was bigger.”
I stop dancing. “You cannot be serious right now.”
“Samantha Jones, I have never been more serious.” Brent starts us swaying to the music again.
“But I went in to pick up the book my mom ordered.”
Brent looks around the barn at all the decorations. “Okay, now I see that the book was valid, but I thought he put you up to it.”
I slam my eyes closed. “That makes no sense, Brent. How would he get me to pick it up for my mom? What would my mom do if I gave her a book she didn’t order?”
“I thought you were in on it.” With a shake of his head, he emits a quiet groan. “You have to know Chris to understand.”
“Well, I mean…I do know Chris. But maybe not like you do. So, you thought—like until now—that Chris sent me into the store to mess with you?”
He nods, biting his lip. “And the next couple of times. I literally thought he fed you conversation starters. I thought you picked up Global Lit on his suggestion. Every time you came in felt staged.” He wrinkles his nose and grimaces. “I’m sorry.”
I burst into laughter. “Each time was staged.”
His eyebrows lift.
“Except the first visit. My mom really did send me down for the book. But then I realized how cute you were, and I wanted to get to know you better, so I found excuses to come in.”
With his eyes closed, he shakes his head. “And I almost blew it because I thought you were just teasing me.”
I stare at him until he finally opens his eyes. “You’ve really had a crush on me?”
A sly smile curves his lips and I’ve just discovered my second favorite smile of his. “Since second grade.”
“What?”
“That horrible kid, Tito, was teasing Ava on the playground. She was crying. I remember feeling bad for her, but I was afraid of Tito because he could fight. But you stormed over to him and pushed him around and yelled at him. I remember how shocked he was, but when he tried to hit you, you pushed him again. He stumbled backward and almost fell. I think he was afraid you could beat him if the two of you fought, because I remember when his stance changed from fight to flight, and I knew you’d won. He made some excuse about not hitting a girl and ran away.”
That’s the same situation I remembered when I saw Latisha being bullied in the park and she told me how scary I looked when I ran toward them. I study Brent, who looks a bit dazed in memory. “Huh.”
“What does that mean?” he asks.
“Something about that being the moment you started to like me feels right. Like you saw the person I really am long before I even figured it out.” I blink at him. “Thank you.”
He leans forward and kisses me gently on the lips. His lips linger, soft and warm, and I barelyremember we’re surrounded by my family. The kiss is so tender, I can’t imagine asking him to stop. When he speaks, it’s against my lips. “For what?”
I pull back in order to look him in the eye. “For being patient enough to wait a decade or so until I discovered it myself.”
He sighs dramatically. “I didn’t think you’d ever catch up. Sheesh. How long do you expect a guy to wait?”
“Well, the right guy? Forever.”
Brent presses my fingers to his lips again, his searing gaze locked on mine. “Then forever it is.”
The love song winds down, but I know in my heart that our love song is just getting started.
