I looked up as she walked back into the room, sitting back so she could set the pizza box down. She reached for her phone, and I saw her roll her eyes and toss it back onto the table,muttering “unbelievable” under her breath before disappearing around the corner. She returned a few moments later with a couple of plates, handing me one of them.
“Thank you,” I said, watching as she sat back on the sofa. “Everything okay?”
“What?” she asked as she looked at me, and I gestured to her phone. “Oh, yeah. Nothing to worry about. Just an annoying ex.”
As I flipped the lid on the pizza box and grabbed a slice, I found myself more curious than I probably should have been. “An annoying ex…apologizing about awedding?”
“Yeah. He’s an ex from a while back—over a year ago. But he, uh…he was the date I wassupposedto bring for Luke’s and Callie’s wedding.”
“I remember you saying something about a change of plans?”
“Yeah. And by change of plans, I meant he stood me up.”
I paused with the pizza midway to my mouth as I looked at her. “Ouch…” That was a dick move on that guy’s part.
“Yeah.” We both bit into our pizza, silent as we chewed, before she continued. “He’s always been a bit of a jackass, so while I was disappointed, I wasn’t too surprised, to be honest.”
My brow arched. “Always a jackass, yet youstilltalk to him?”
She huffed out a laugh. “We hadn’t talked in a while, but–” she cut herself off. “You know what? We don’t have to talk about it. He’s a jackass. That’s all there is to know.”
I chuckled with a nod. “Fair enough.” I reached for her laptop again, scrolling with my pizza-free hand. “Okay, next question…”
We ate, and I spent another hour and a half going throughquestions with her. And this time around, when I asked for explanations, she didn’t second-guess herself. Not once.
At the end of the night, she walked me to the door. I stepped onto the front porch when she opened it. “Thank you again for all of your help.”
I turned to face her, seeing her leaning against the door frame. “Of course,” I said. “The exam is on Monday, right?”
Haley nodded. “Two more days of studying, and if all goes well, it’ll be my last cram session ever,” she quipped.
“You’ll be fine. Like I said, just don’t second-guess yourself.”
“I’ll try not to.”
When she smiled up at me, my eyes flickered to her lips.
And judging by the way she stilled…she noticed. But she didn’t look away.
My mind was screaming at me, telling me to say goodnight and to turn around and leave. But something else was telling me the opposite.
Something else kept making my eyes drop down to her lips.
Something else had me leaning closer.
And still, she didn’t move save for the slightencouragingtilt of her head as she stared up at me.
Suddenly, that voice in my head broke through whatever fog had been blocking it, and I quickly stepped back, letting out a sharp breath. “I should—I should go.”
“Uh…yeah,” she breathed, and I saw her throat bob when she swallowed with a nod. “Goodnight, Blake.”
“G’night.”
I turned and headed down the steps, walking quickly to my Jeep while I tried to figure out what the hell I’d been thinking.
I got in and shut my door, gripping my steering wheel.
“Fuck.”
