My chest clenches. This is exactly the topic I didn’t want to talk about. “It was a greenhouse,” I find myself saying, despite not wanting to talk about it.
“Huh?”
“The shed he destroyed. It was a greenhouse that the daycare uses to plant flowers for the kids.”
He shrugs. “Yeah, whatever it was. He’s so damn stupid. Glad he got caught.”
“I thought you were friends with him?” I ask, tilting my head. I know there’s tension now because they don’t talk in homeroom anymore, but I want to hear him explain it. Seems like Gavin ruined more than the greenhouse. He ruined his chances with me and he lost his friends.
TJ shrugs. “We were teammates so that made us friends. But now he’s kicked off the team so we’re not really friends anymore. Plus, he’s the prick who quit coming around.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Parties, hanging out. Hell, he doesn’t even sit with us at lunch anymore.”
“Looks like he isolated you first.”
TJ nods. “Hell yeah he did. Why so much Gavin talk?” he asks, peering at me over narrow eyes. “You still like him or something?”
Oh God, I think I’m blushing now. “I do not like Gavin,” I say, trying to keep my voice level. “Not in any way.”
“Yeah, well you used to,” he says. His lips turn into the tiniest smirk. “Did you two date or something?”
Something in this eyes tells me he probably already knows the answer. I shrug, trying to act just as casual as he is. “We hung out, like once.”
“And why not twice?”
“He ruined my greenhouse.”
“Your greenhouse?” TJ asks, lifting a brow.
I’m trying to have a nice time here, so I don’t bother bringing up the importance of it. “I work at the daycare,” I say as an explanation.
He nods. “Well this date has had enough talk of idiots in it. Let’s move to a new topic. You like hiking?”
“Sure,” I say, which is about as true as I can answer since I’ve never been hiking. Maybe I do like it. “Why?”
“There’s a cool trail along that man-made lake off Northpoint.” He reaches for the bill on our table and lays some cash on top of it. “You want to go?”
I check the time. “Sure, but I need to get home around nine. My hair doesn’t look this amazing unless I spend two hours washing and drying it.”
TJ just stares at me because I guess he doesn’t get my joke. Gavin would have laughed, said something silly back to me.Or maybe even complimented my hair, I think as my stomach gets all tingly and nervous. Gavin was a better conversationalist than TJ. But none of that matters anymore.
We head out to the park which is a few miles away. I’ve never been here because it’s supposed to be a dog park and I don’t have a dog. But there is a playground for kids and also a lake with a walking trail around it.
TJ takes my hand the second we step on the trail. I feel my heart clench and my breath get shallow. It’s as if this hand holding thing is supposed to trigger something in me, awaken some butterflies or something. But nothing happens.
I’m not even nervous. I kind of just want to go home.
I take a deep breath and look over at TJ and smile. He smiles back. “I wish there was something more exciting to do, but this is fun too.”
“We can get to know each other,” I suggest. “Tell me stuff about you.”
He shrugs. “Not much to tell.”
We keep walking and holding hands and it’s starting to get weird. I mean, no one is talking. It’s just silent, save for the sound of the birds and the occasional slapping of feet as a jogger runs by us with their dog running next to them. Only a few people are at the park this late, and it’s kind of the perfect romantic spot to take a walk.
But I’m so not feeling it.
