“You are extra distracted tonight,” Abby noted when I’d, once again, failed to answer him.
I noted he’d popped the final hush puppy in his mouth and I felt extra sad about it.
“Mac kissed me,” I admitted.
Abby sucked in a startled breath, which was unfortunate because he had a mouth full of appetizer. His eyes widened, and he started choking and coughing while I calmly sipped my beer.
“You did that on purpose,” he managed after he’d regained use of his lungs and his eyes had stopped watering.
I grinned. “Yes. Yes, I did.”
He rolled his eyes. “She kissed you? When? What happened?”
It was my turn to roll my eyes. “Would you like me to braid your hair while I recount the story?”
“Sure. But be gentle. I’m tender headed.”
I gave him a flat look but then confessed, “It was after the bonfire the other week. After the thing with that idiot Pritchard.”
Abby actually rubbed his hands together like a Bond villain. “You should have seen her face when she realized you’d stood up for her.”
I leaned forward without meaning to. Something very desperate and needy inside of me wanted him to describe her features in great detail, to leave absolutely nothing out.
Instead, Abby fist-pumped. “It’s happening. Iknewit.”
“If you shout ‘in your face’ at me, I’m leaving.”
He abruptly snapped his mouth closed.
I sighed. “She followed me to my truck and then shocked the hell out of me by planting one on me. Then, she looked like she’d rather die than discuss it. She said we should just pretend it never happened. Then she ran away and has avoided me ever since.”
I wasn’t going to mention that Mac claimed she was trying to snap me out of my near panic attack. Abby would just ask what I’d been freaking out over, and, if he was smug now, I’d never hear the end of it if he found outthatparticular truth.
“Man, I knew something was up when we won on Monday,” he lamented.
“Yeah, well, I guess she was serious about never acknowledging it.”
Abby leaned forward and lowered his voice even though the door was closed. “Was it good?”
I glared because that was none of his damn business. But then I went and ruined the effect by shifting in my seat as I remembered her spicy vanilla scent, her touch, her taste.
He hooted out a laugh. “Ohh, that’s a yes. I fucking knew it. All this time.”
“Not all this time,” I argued. “She’s hated me all our lives. She hates me right now. I don’t know what the hell’s going on. What makes you think this changes anything?”
“This is just step one. Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
I wanted to laugh at his optimism, but the part of me that was still smarting from Mac’s immediate rejection dulled the urge.
“You know what you need to do,” Abby said, oblivious to my conflicting emotions.
“Order another batch of hush puppies?”
He chucked a pad of Post-it notes at my head. “You need to try being nice to her. Just to see what happens. Test a hypothesis.”
“What’s the hypothesis?”
“If you treat Mac like she’s any other girl instead of a demon plague, then she might want to kiss your sorry ass again.”
