Page 180 of The Perfect Spiral
Holy shit... he likes Sam?
I’m frozen in my seat, my mind somewhere else, my body numb. He opens his eyes to see me still sitting there in silence, wide-eyed and shocked. “Baby doll? Say something?”
Staring at nothing, realization hits me hard. He doesn’t like you, he likes your sister.
It makes sense. He likes Sam, she doesn’t chase after himbecause she’s with Tyson, and it’s complicated because she’s getting married. It all makes sense now.
“You like Sam?” I whisper, still in a daze as I piece together all the information.
“What? No! Alex, I don’t like Sam...” He shakes his head rapidly. I twist around to face him, confused and stuttering.
“You d-don’t like Sam? Who do y- you don’t like Maddie, do you?” I ask, my eyebrow quivering as I wince in anticipation of his reply.
Oh god, please tell me he’s not into fifteen-year-olds.
“Jesus, no! Maddie? God, no! She’s like fifteen!” He defends himself and starts to laugh out loud. Why is he laughing?
“Why are you laughing?” His laughter dies down a little after a few moments of hearing the confusion in my voice. He just stares at me, like he’s waiting for somet—
My eyes widen in disbelief, the realization hitting me like a freight train. My heart races uncontrollably, a sudden surge of excitement coursing through my veins.
Chapter 61
“Me?” I stammer, my voice barely a whisper. “No, you—what? Are you out of your mind? You need your head checked! This isn’t funny, Carter...” My mind spins, trying to piece together this unexpected revelation.
He couldn’t possibly like me. I’m just Alex, the girl who used to push his buttons and vice versa. I’m not like those girls he’s with every night. It can’t be me. It just can’t.
But he hasn’t denied it. My emotions ricochet from confusion to annoyance to nervousness at this... revelation.
“For the smartest person I know, you’re pretty slow on theuptake, baby doll. I don’t need my head checked, I’m perfectly fine. And do you see me laughing?”
His eyes lock with mine, but I sit back in the seat, gripping it tightly and breathing heavily as I process this shocking news. Knox Carter likes me. I’m the girl.
The Giants quarterback, the sexiest man alive, the guy every girl wants to be with, likes me. This guy has lost his mind.
“The girl? Yeah... you’re the girl. And it’s complicated because of one thing...”
“Kyle,” I breathe out, and he confirms it with a nod of his head. He rests his head against the seat, looking up at the ceiling of the plane, lost in thought.
A silence falls between us, broken only by the faint sound of his agent talking on the phone in the distance.
As my breathing and heart rate slowly return to normal, I begin to wonder if this could all be a dream. I could wake up at any moment.
It can’t be me. I can’t be the girl.
“Is this a dream?” I murmur under my breath. This can’t be real. I must have made this all up in my head.
I’m not sure if he hears me, but his voice cuts through the rumbling sound of the plane engines, drawing my attention back to him.
“But you hated me—” I cut him off before he can finish. “I’ve never, will never, and could never hate you, Alex. Ever.” His stern words stop me in my tracks.
My brain and my mouth seem to be disconnected, as if someone has switched the circuits in my body.
“Oh my god...” I breathe, still reeling from his sudden confession.
“So I’m going to take your advice right now... so here goes nothing... well, my heart, but whatever... Alex—” He turns to look at me, taking a deep breath before continuing, “Baby doll... can I... can I take you out on a date?”
He stutters it out, but the words hang in the air between us. His question reveals his nervousness, evident in his stutter and the quiver in his voice.
