Tough luck. I could tell you actually liked him.
Jake. For all his goofing around, he had a way of seeing the truth before anyone else in the family.
Jadon was Jadon. He just snickered the next time he saw me and then advised me to try FarmerBoysLiketoDateNiceGirls.com dating service instead of AI next time.
“Them thar farmer boys be the real thang,” he drawled.
I slugged him.
He fell over.
Reece flew on top of him.
Jake followed.
Sunday afternoon became a mosh pit of the boys wrestling while I opened a new Pepper Basham romance and decided to drown my sorrows in someone else’s happily-ever-after.
Then there was Lia. Gosh, I love her so much. She was easier to talk to than anyone I knew, because she got me. She also knew everything. She knew my feelings. My heart. The pieces of me that were still crumbled on the floor, even though two weeks had passed since Brooks and I were “outed” to the school—and the world.
“So, have you even talked to Brooks this week?” she asked.
It was after eleven p.m., and my entire family was in bed. So was I, but I still had Lia on the phone. She actually let me see her face tonight, too, instead of her ceiling fan.
“Well, yeah, I’vetalkedto him,” I answered. “I have to, because of our project.”
“Has he finishedPride and Prejudice?” Lia sounded incredulous.
“I guess?” I shrugged even as I lay beneath my covers, my stuffed monkey tucked as close to my chest as I could get him. “He said he did. I dunno. We don’t say much. Just about the project, and then we do most of the work on our own.”
We were both quiet for a while. Then Lia ventured, “Sooooooo, are you ever going to be honest with Brooks?”
“I haven’t really earned the blue ribbon for being honest this semester,” I sighed.
“It’s the only thing hanging out there that still needs to be said,” Lia urged.
“It doesn’t need to be said,” I denied. “Sometimes, it’s better to keep your feelings to yourself.”
“But what if Brooks feels the same way and you’re both just in misery, missing each other, but you both refused to say anything?”
“He doesn’t feel the same way,” I retorted.
“How do you know?” Lia challenged.
“I just do.”
And that was how it was going to have to be. Give me about ten more romance novels to soothe my pain, and I’d get over Brooks.
I had to.
Because he was already over me.
Brooks
“Bruh, you’re gonna have to get your head in the game,” Reece’s knuckles met my bicep.
“Sorry,” I muttered.
“You’re like a moping puppy.” Reece sat down on the bench in the dugout after practice.
