Page 66 of We Shouldn't Be Together
She giggles to herself. Wow, that was a really cute sound. “It was a relief.”
“Oh.” Dang it, I feel heat prickling my cheeks. Man, how do I stop that?
She hugs herself, smiling. “Phew. That felt good.”
“So, do we exchange numbers?” I ask.
She hesitates, biting her bottom lip. Somehow, the maroon makes it even more pouty. It’s like lined, or something, with a darker color. These lips have no right to look so good.
“You know, just for the experiment,” I ramble. “I don’t, like, want to call you or anything. But I guess we need to get some work done, or whatever.”
Her eyes trace me from my head to toe, and then back up again. The time she takes gives me goosebumps, and I question how much I enjoy the strange feeling. Then she reaches into her pocket and pulls out her phone.
“I doubt either of us will want to text, even for assignment-related stuff,” she says softly, unlocking her phone and handing it over to me. I take it, type in my number, and save it under my name.
“Here.” I pluck out my phone and let it scan my face. “Give me your number. Something tells me I’ll be taking the lead on this assignment.”
She takes my phone, and there’s something mischievous in her expression. “Something tells me, Kai, that you enjoy taking the lead.”
She hands the phone back, and I ask, “What do you mean?”
“I was watching you with your friends during the assembly. You always seem to be the ringleader of your group.”
Something jitters in my stomach. “You were watching me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” she says with a giggle. Yep, really cute sound. “You were just in my line-of-sight.”
“Oh. Okay. Sure.”
Tabitha smirks. “What, do you want me lusting after you or something?”
I deadpan at her. “And why would I want that?”
She twirls a chocolaty curl around her finger and shrugs. “You seem like a guy with a pretty big ego.” She nods and turns on her heel. “Catch ya later, Kai.”
My mouth is running dry. “Yeah, bye.”
Tabitha saunters away, and I can’t help noticing how her hips swing, or just how tight her black jeans are.
I shake my head. Whoa. What the heck just happened?
When I get back to the table, Mom forces me to inhale three more dumplings, and then Dad pays the bill. I don’t let my gaze circulate the room for Tabitha and her family. It doesn’t matter, anyway. This place is so big it separates into two dining spaces, and Tabitha walked into the other one.
Once I’m home and in my bedroom, the same thought knocks around inside my head.
She really is beautiful.
My lip upturns as I shove the thought down.
No.
No, I’m not doing this. I’m not falling for this trap.
Yeah, okay, she got vulnerable. She told me a story about how her friends give her a hard time. But that’s all it is, right? A story.
But there were tears.
Nope. Stop it. Not falling for it. Not giving in.
