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“Coming right up,” she replies before she goes to retrieve his order.
I keep my eyes trained down on my phone this time, knowing I’ll just get more angry if I look up because he’s entirely too handsome. I listen when Kelli returns to exchange cash for candy and she wishes him good luck. Then she shoots me another skeptical glare as she moves away from the window, as if she knows I’m hiding.
“A-hem,” comes the sound of Blake clearing his voice above me. “You know I can see you, right, Reed?”
I cringe inwardly. “I'm just checking my phone.”
He sighs. “Can you please stand up? I came over to talk to you.”
“No, thanks. I’m good down here.”
“Fine. But you should know I have a clear view down your shirt from this angle.”
I press a hand to my chest, and he chuckles lightly. “So, what? It’s not like I’ve got anything worth seeing, anyway.”
But I regret the show of vulnerability as soon as the words leave my mouth.
He huffs. “Don’t …” he trails off, sounding surprisingly remorseful. “I’m here to give you a real apology, okay?”
I stand and lift my eyes to his. “What for?”
“I don’t know what happened earlier today. But I didn’t mean to insinuate that you aren’t … you know.” He lowers his voice and swallows hard.
To my astonishment, he actually seems a little nervous.
“Why, I have no idea what you mean, Blake.” I press my lips into a line, trying not to smile at the way he’s squirming and avoiding eye contact.
“You’re going to milk this, aren’t you?” he asks, finally allowing his eyes to meet mine.
“Maybe.”
His lips turn up at the corners as he leans in closer. “Fine. I’m sorry for implying you aren’t sexy, Reed. I definitely didn’t mean it.”
I gulp. “Then why’d you say it?” I blurt out.
“It was supposed to be a joke. I only meant to lighten things up, the way we always do when it gets awkward.”
“Oh, is that what we’ve been doing all these years?”
He scoffs. “What do you want from me, Loren?” His voice is tinged with annoyance now. “I just—I don’t know what happened, okay? You blindsided me when you forced me to picture you and JD together. It didn’t seem right, and my knee-jerk reaction was to discourage both of you from going through with your plan.”
I blink a few times at his confession. “Oh,” I repeat.
“And I still don’t care for the idea of him using you or leading you on.”
I laugh, and he furrows his brow. “First of all, despite the way this looks, Iama big girl. I don’t need anyone to protect me, least of all you, Blake.” I can see his jaw clenching after that. “Secondly, I’m the one who offered to help JD. I knew what I was getting myself into. And, even though it’s absolutely none of your business, you don’t need to worry. I’m not in any danger of falling for your brother.”
I know JD obviously has it bad for Tenley, but I was a little disappointed about feeling next to nothing earlier when I wrapped my hands around his rather large biceps. Even when he’d spilled his guts about his crush, I should have at least been slightly disheartened by his complete lack of romantic interest in me. Instead, I was simply envious of Tenley’s ability to get a man to fall for her in the first place. JD Bourgeois really is a catch, yet there were no sparks or chemistry between us at all. And it’s not that I wanted something with JD, specifically, but Iwasholding onto the smallest bit of hope for something with someone … someday.
Blake turns his gaze back to me as a small smirk forms. Then he looks up at me from beneath his lashes, and his tone changes. “So, you’re not into oversized golden retrievers, then?”
I laugh in spite of myself. Is he flirting with me?
“Even if I were, what’s it to you?”
He shakes his head and smiles wider. “You’re going to make me say it out loud, aren’t you?”
“I guess I am, because I still don’t understand why seeing me with JD would bother you so much when you and I have barely managed to acknowledge one another since high school.”
