“Maybe you took it wrong.”
“I didn’t. You should have seen how smug he looked.”
Summer popped a grape in her mouth and nodded thoughtfully. “So did you kiss then or not?”
This is where the love/hate situation warred in my head. More with myself than with him. What would have happened if we had just kissed that day? What if it would have been amazing? Something told me that it would have been, and that something made me hate the decision I made.
I sighed, not wanting to share this part after the way Summer responded to the rest, but I did it anyway. “I started walking toward him, and even though everyone else had clustered into groups so they could get a better view, Jett stayed right in one spot. Thatreallyticked me off. It made it seem like I was just making the move on him all over again. And just as I got closer, this major smirk came over his face. Like this confident, I-knew-you-wanted-me sort of grin. And that was it for me.”
“So what’d you do?”
“I stopped walking, looked him in the eye, and said, ‘On second thought, I’m pretty sure that bottle was pointing somewhere else. Who was standing beside Jett?’”
Summer gasped and covered her mouth. “No, you didn’t!”
“Yep. I did.”
“And did someone speak up?”
“Threeguys spoke up,” I said proudly. “Wes and Caleb, who reallyhadbeen standing beside him, and this guy named James. He hadn’t been standing by him at all, but just the fact that he wanted to kiss me enough to lie over it…that’s what made me pick him.” My face flushed with embarrassed heat. “I planted a pretty good kiss on him, too. Right in front of Jett. And that was it.”
“Wow.” Summer leaned an elbow onto the table and reached for her sandwich. She lifted it to her mouth, readied to take a bite, but paused for a blink. “I still don’t think what he said was all that bad. You probably just took it wrong.”
“Tookwhatwrong?” Bailey pushed her tray onto the table and set her milk carton alongside.
I shook my head no at Summer before she could say anything. “Nothing.” I looked down at the chicken sandwich on my plate, knowing I should be starving. This was not a good time to lose my appetite. It was, like, my only chance to eat normal food.
As I stared down at my tray, willing myself to at least shove in a few fries, I felt something shift at the table, like suddenly all eyes were on me. I lifted my chin to see that I was right. Summer, Maddie, and Bailey were all looking at me with wide eyes. Well, not exactlyatme. It was morebehindme. Even Lauren, who was walking toward us, tray in hand, had her eyes pasted on the same spot.
I spun to look over my shoulder, already knowing who I’d see. And there he was, those smoldering brown eyes fixed in my direction.
“Hey there.” He eased into a grin before hunching down to my level. His hand brushed my knee, and suddenly the tingles were happening everywhere. It didn’t help that he was wearing that same deliciously masculine cologne again. “I was thinking that maybe, since we weren’t able to get started in class today, we could get together after school and see what this project is all about.”
I stared at him while my brain tried to make something very clear to the rest of my oddly reacting body:He’s not asking you out, Harper.This was all about our school assignment. An assignment that included spending time with our partners outside of class.
“That’s probably a good idea,” I said.
He grinned. “Right after school good for you?”
I nodded, but I should’ve been shaking my head instead. “Well, I have to watch my little sister after school, but maybe later tonight I could come out? Like at seven or so?” I suddenly felt like a swindler for not telling him about my ulterior motive. But then I remembered that I really did have to study with him either way. What difference did it make if I used it to appease my mom?
“Hey, everybody. Look this way and let me catch a picture of you guys.” I glanced up to see Emmy, one of Sweet Water High’s photographers, peeking around the giant lens of her camera. “Jett, scoot a little closer to Harper.”
Jett surprised me by placing an arm around my back, cupping my shoulder, and bringing his cheek very close to mine. Did I mention he smelled amazing? My body responded with doses of heat and tingles and, most likely, two very pink cheeks as I put a grin on my face.
“Perfect!” Emmy hunched behind the lens once more. She wasn’t exactlyTeam Tashaeither. I had a hunch she was capturing a picture of me and Jett to spite Tasha and her band of mean girls. Bless her for that.
“Thanks, guys,” Emmy piped before scanning the cafeteria once more.
Jett gave my shoulder a subtle squeeze, then shot to a stand and jutted his chin toward our table. “See you guys.”
“Bye,” they sang out in chorus.
“Seeyoutonight,” he said, pinning one last look at me before walking away.
I gulped, nodded, then scanned over the faces of the girls at my table. Flushed cheeks, fluttering lashes, and wide smiles. Jett definitely had an effect on the opposite sex.
Who cared?That didn’t mean I had to let him have such an effect on me.
