Page 105 of We Shouldn't Be Together
“I didn’t mean to make a dig at you. Just saying, my friendships are different to yours. Heck, I even let Tyler in on the fact we’ve been texting.”
Her chin drops. “Seriously? I saw you walking with him, and it seemed like you didn’t want him to know we’d been hanging out.”
“I was fence-sitting. Something I never do. So, I just spat it out.”
“Wow. And it was okay?”
“Yeah, he didn’t really care. He was glad he wasn’t me when we talked about Jamie finding out.”
Tabitha sighs. “She hates me.”
“She doesn’t know you.”
“She knows the girl who’s said nasty stuff to her.”
“But you’ve said nothing in ages, right?”
“Right.” She grins and lifts her pinky. “To teamwork?”
I reflect her grin and latch my pinky around hers. “To teamwork.”
“Wow,” Mrs. Field remarks giddily, stopping at our lab bench. “This is a much improved development.”
We quickly unlatch our pinkies before other students gawk at us.
Mrs. Field smiles and nods. “Keep up the good work, you two.”
When our teacher moves away, Tabitha pushes her curls off her shoulders and clears her throat. “That wasn’t half embarrassing.”
“At least she isn’t nagging us,” I joke, wishing I could’ve savored the moment my skin connected with hers.
Tabitha fixes the safety glasses against the bridge of her nose, and I can’t help thinking just how good she makes them look.
She smiles at me. “What is it?”
“Oh, nothing. Just glad we’re sticking to the truce.”
Her smile grows. “Me too.”
21
IaskedKaitostudy again after school, but he has soccer practice. When I go to the administration office to collect my phone, I work on an excuse to go to the soccer field and watch. It’s never a biggy the dozens of times I’ve watched football practice, but I’m not sure if soccer practice draws in a big crowd. If I can’t blend in, I might seem like a crazy stalker.
My mind pictures the way Kai lights up every time he talks about soccer. He’s passionate about so many of his beliefs, but soccer is at the top. It makes me want to see him in action.
When I leave the office and wander into the foyer, Freddy is a few steps behind and waves to get my attention. “Want a ride home?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue. If I asked him to join me, I bet Freddy would say yes. No one would even question why Freddy is at Kai’s practice. He’s Mr. Popularity, for goodness’ sake. Heck, they’d probably ask him to join them for drills.
But I don’t exactly want this afternoon turning into The Freddy Jones Show. Plus, I wouldn’t know how to answer any of my brother’s potential questions about my crush. Freddy’s such a people pleaser, he’d probably try to fix up me and Kai. His overzealousness could ruin our blossoming whatever-this-is relationship.
I nod. “Yep. Let’s go home.”
As I take a step further into the foyer, I bash into someone. With a grunt, I stumble on my feet. “Watch out, would you!” it snarls out of me before I even look up at her face.
Paralyzed by my words, Jamie West can only blink at me as her mouth hangs open.
“Hey, Jamie,” I say with a wave. She’s in her gym uniform. “Oh, do you have soccer practice?”
