“That’s… really sweet.”
I eye her without turning my head. “Seems like a good guy, doesn’t he?”
“I guess. Hard to get to know him when we literally aren’t allowed, right?”
If Ty were any other guy, I’d be interrogating Larissa about every little thing she picked up on in that millisecond interaction at McMurphy’s, and it’s killing me that I can’t get her input. Death would be a mercy compared to the agony growing inside me that I can’t tell her how cute it is that he sometimes hums to himself while cooking or how he hides his smile when Dollyboy drops toys at his feet.
“It’s so funny how serious he tries to be all the time,” I blurt.
A deafening silence ensues, but I can’t fill it because I’m still in shock that I actually let that leave my mouth. It wouldn’t be the first time my ADHD turned on me.
“I guess he seems a little serious. I wouldn’t really know,” Larissa says, her thick lashes fluttering as she tilts her head. “Would you?”
My thoughts ping-pong—hard and fast, every one of them louder than the last. My shrill laugh cuts through the crossfire. “No. No. He just seemed really stoic or uptight or something when he was asking for help at the shop.”
“You sure?”
I nod so hard I think my head might pop off.
“You know, Ave, it’s okay to look. Like if they’re on the field, and you accidentally make eye contact—” Her brown shoulders lift to her ears— “It’s not a big deal. We’re in close quarters on game days. Just don’t let it go any further than that. Like meeting up or?—”
“Meeting up? Please tell me you don’t think Ty and I were purposelymeeting upat McMurphy’s.” It’s like I’vebeen socked in the stomach. What does she know? What has she seen? “He was asking about plants, Larissa. We didn’t plan it.”
“As your friend, I have to say that. Because I know how much this all means to you,” she adds.
When my breaths come back to me, they’re shallow and few and far between. “Thanks, but I was just doing my job.”
“Okay, but the way he was looking at you though—girl, it seemed like he might be interested in more than the plants.”
My stomach flips. He was giving mea look?
“He is super hot though.” She continues, smiling at me before pulling her eyes back to the road. “And he smelledsogood. I wouldn’t blame you.”
“Well, we definitely didn’t mean to run into each other.” It feels good to say at least one thing that’s a full-truth.
I know she means well, but the air feels loaded, like she’s still waiting for me to add something.Confesssomething. So I flip the conversation to her favorite subject: her boyfriend.
“Where’s Josh?” I ask.
“Dropping some stuff off at Ryan’s, actually. He helped make marketing materials for that trivia night that’s coming up at The Malted Mule.”
“Oops. I forgot about that. When is it again?”
“Next week, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go because?—”
“We have to.” I turn to face her, hoping my eyes reflect the kind of excitement I should be feeling for theguy I’m supposed to be interested in. The guy who wouldn’t derail my entire life. “I told Ryan we would, remember?”
A smile sprawls Larissa’s contoured cheeks. “I love trivia.”
“Same,” I say, leaning into the cool glass of the window. “What are you going to wear?”
“Maybe a dress?” She shakes her head. “Or shorts? I’m still getting used to this California weather. Indiana is so much different in September. ”
“I’m wearing a skirt,” I say confidently.
Because I know how I look in a skirt. I lookgood. At least that’s what I’ve been told time and time again by any man that’s ever been interested in me. Why not use the legs I’ve worked so hard for to my advantage?
If Ryan’s distracted by them, maybe it’ll help me get distracted by him for once.
