CHAPTER 2
“Do you think he’ll be here?” my friend Christine asks.
Christine and I are in the backseat of Tyler’s car. I notice Tyler’s eyes in the mirror flicking back every few seconds to check on us. It makes me nervous.
“Who?” I ask.
She elbows me and smirks. “Come on, Belle. Don’t play dumb. I saw you flirting with that hot, homeless guy last week.”
I scoff, turning my face towards the window. “I was not flirting,” I whisper under my breath. “And he wasn’t homeless.” I pause for a second, pursing my lips. “I mean, I don’t think he was,” I add.
“Why are you whispering?” Christine whispers.
I tilt my head towards Tyler. I can’t explain why, but I just get the feeling that he wouldn’t be too happy to hear me talking about the guy from last week.
“Besides,” I say to Christine as soon as Tyler parks and gets out of the car, “he was not hot.”
Christine dramatically turns to face me, gripping my shoulders with both hands. “Seriously, Belle? I've never heard you talk about a guy like that before. Why are you lying to yourself? There's nothing wrong with having a crush, you know.”
“I know,” I mumble, looking at my feet, blushing. “I don't have a crush, though. I was just thrown off guard, okay? I could have died.”
“Please,” Christine says, rolling her eyes. “It was more than that, and you know it. The fact that you're denying it so hard right now makes me think that you're even more obsessed than I previously thought.” She narrows her eyes. “Are you? Are you in love with this man or something, Belle?”
I feel my entire face heat up like an egg on a frying pan.
I don't know why, but Christine's questions are making me super uncomfortable. I want to hide or run away, but she's staring me down, and I feel like I can't move.
“What are you two doing?” Tyler asks, spinning around to face Christine and me. We're a few paces behind him. I'd forgotten that he could probably overhear us.
Thank you, I whisper to Tyler in my head. For once, Tyler’s nosiness has saved me.
Christine gives me a knowing look that says, We’ll talk about this later.
I laugh. Avoiding Christine's gaze, I turn to Tyler.$1“Oh, nothing,” I say, trying to play it cool. Tyler squints like he doesn't quite believe me, but he drops the subject.
“So I was thinking about a pizza social for next week,” he says.
I take a few steps so that I'm standing beside Tyler and smile, grateful for the change of subject.
“That's a great idea,” I say as I begin to walk beside him, leaving Christine a few steps behind us. I hear her huff, but after a few seconds, she hurries to Tyler’s other side and joins the conversation.
For the next few hours, the three of us walk around the litter-streaked streets, handing out paper bags filled with sandwiches, apples, and granola bars. The entire time, I have butterflies in my stomach.
I try to ignore them, but every time I spot dark brown hair that looks like the stranger’s, I feel my hopes rise, only to be dashed seconds later.
It doesn't help that Christine shoots me a knowing smirk every once in a while, reminding me that she's on to me. I look away each time, refusing to meet her eyes, but it's hard to distract myself.
When Tyler signals that it's time to head back, I try to convince myself I'm not disappointed, but it doesn’t work. I feel deflated, like a sad balloon. I sigh.
“He wasn’t here today, was he?” Christine asks.
I study her face for any hint of sarcasm, but she looks genuinely sad for me. I shake my head, and she gives me a hug.
“Don’t worry, Belle,” she says. “You’ll see him again.”
“It’s probably for the best,” I say. “He was kind of an asshole anyway.”
Christine gives me a look that says she’s not buying it, but thankfully she changes the subject. I try to focus on the new topic of conversation—the new frozen yogurt palace that just opened in town—but my mind keeps drifting back to him.
Fuck.
“By the way,” Christine says, “you’re still coming out with me later, right?”
“You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”
She grins. “Wear something cute.”