Page 22 of Broken Ties (Rixon High 4)

“But I like our comfort zone.”

“You just said it yourself, sometimes you feel invisible. Well maybe it’s time we become visible.”

“Okay.” A slow smile spread over her face. “What did you have in mind?”

I gave her a knowing glance and grinned. “How do you feel about double dating?”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Sofia fussed with the hem of her cute floaty dress. I’d never seen her look so girly. But we were turning over a new leaf, embracing senior year and all that came with it.

I didn’t want to spend the next few months pining over a boy that would never see me, not the way I truly wanted him to. And Sofia didn’t want to graduate high school having never dated… or been kissed… or any of that stuff normal teenagers were doing.

So here we were, waiting for Eli and his friend Leo.

When I’d asked him at school today if he had a friend who would be interested in Sofia, he’d instantly suggested Leo, his friend from across the river.

Leo didn’t go to our school, so he sounded like the perfect candidate since Sofia was hesitant about her mom or brother finding out.

“It’s a great idea,” I said, scanning the parking lot for Eli’s car. “Eek, they’re here.” Grabbing her hand, I pulled her toward them.

“He’s eager.” She chuckled softly as we watched Eli scramble to get out of the car before we reached them.

“We could have picked you up from your house,” he said, his big brown eyes sweeping down my body and back up. “You look… wow.” He leaned in and kissed my cheek and a little shiver ran through me.

“Thank you.” I smiled. “And don’t worry about it. We had to run an errand first.”

We didn’t, but he didn’t need to know I’d wanted to avoid any awkward meeting between him and my dad, who was bound to sniff out our plans like a bloodhound.

“Hey, Sofia.”

“Hi,” she said. “Is Leo—”

“He’s in the car.”

“Oh.” She threw me a confused look, and I shrugged.

“Perhaps he’s nervous.”

I was sure I heard Eli mutter, “Something like that,” but he placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me around his car.

“I guess I’ll open my own door then,” Sofia grumbled, climbing into the other side.

“She’s nervous,” I explained to Eli as he reached for the door.

“She doesn’t need to be. Leo is one of the best guys I know.” His eyes lingered for a second and then he motioned for me to get in.

“Leo, Sofia. Sofia, this is my best friend, Leo.”

“Hey.” He barely looked twice at her, and I was aware of a strange tension between them.

“Hi,” Sofia clipped out.

“Everything okay?” I whispered.

“Fine.” She smiled but quickly averted her eyes.

Crap.

“Ready to bowl?” Eli chimed, either unaware of the atmosphere in the car or trying to gloss over it.

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