That second thing I want?
I swallow down the lump in my throat and draw my shoulders back, projecting an air of calm and confidence at complete odds with the tension thrumming through every fiber of my being.
That second thing is a bit more complicated.
16
Dacen
Today is getting on my nerves. I’ve been hanging out with Evie and a few other people from school, including Jeremy. Up until now, he’s been mostly tolerable, but this afternoon he won’t leave me the hell alone. I swear to God if he touches my ass one more time I’m going to lose my shit. I stare aimlessly at the menu board because I already know what I’m going to order but I’m trying not to encourage Jeremy by looking at him when my neck tingles and goosebumps run down my skin. There’s a muted shuffling noise behind us, and when I peer over my shoulder, there's Ryne. For half a second he looks nervous, but then a mask of confidence falls into place. He lifts his shoulders back and stands up taller.
“Ryne. Um, hey?” I inwardly cringe and turn so I can see him better. I can’t stand it when I sound unsure of myself, and that was a classic example of my nerves coming through. A greeting like that should not be a question, but I’m caught off guard by Ryne’s presence, especially when I’m standing next to Jeremy. He turns toward Ryne as well. Would it be rude if I shoved Jeremy out of the way and yanked Ryne to my side? Probably.
“Oh hey, Sutton. How’s it going?” Jeremy’s words are pleasant-sounding enough, surprising given their last interaction, but Ryne stares him down like he’s the plague personified.
“Hey, Becker,” Ryne responds in an even voice, not taking his eyes off Jeremy. He looks him up and down once, appearing unimpressed, and then verbally acknowledges him. Sort of. “Germy.”
My eyebrows fly up at his pronunciation; it sounded intentional, not like some weird southern accent thing. Jeremy’s eyes get all squinty. He is kind of a sleazy guy. Who repeatedly sticks their hand in someone’s back pocket when it’s clearly not wanted? So ‘Germy’ is actually kind of fitting. I regret inviting him along with us. I’d only done it to be nice because he’d lingered last night at the football game when we were all trying to make plans for today. I’m trying to make more friends but Jeremy is one I can live without.
“Are you, did you—” I stumble over my words and clear my throat. “Did you just get here?”
Ryne shakes his head and tilts it back in the direction of their normal booth. At it sits Tyler, Evan, and Roman, all staring over here wearing identical expressions: eyes wide, mouth agape, frozen in time. I lift my hand slowly in a wave of sorts, and they quickly turn back toward each other. Tyler at least raises his hand in a return wave before he dips his head back down. I’m not even going to try to pretend that wasn’t weird.
Evie finishes ordering and steps out of line. “Hey, Ryne! Getting some lunch?”
He bites his lip and shakes his head. “Nah, already ate lunch. Thought I’d grab some pie or something.” He glances over Evie’s shoulder and frowns. “It’s your turn to order.” He looks at Jeremy while he says this.
“Ah, yeah. Dacen, are you ready? We can order together.”
Evie scrunches up her mouth and nose and rolls her eyes to the ceiling, a look Jeremy can’t see since she’s got her back to him. I bite back a smile and turn to Jeremy. “I’m still deciding. You go ahead.”
“Oh. I, uh, I was gonna pay for yours.”
“He said he’s not ready. And you’re holding up the line. Move along, Germy.”
Jeremy furrows his brows and his top lip kind of snarls. “You don’t have to be such a dick, Sutton.”
Ryne’s face stretches into a wide smirk, only there’s no humor behind it whatsoever. His sharp gaze scans Jeremy top to bottom and the smirk deepens into a grin. When his eyes narrow he looks a little bit like the Joker. It’s both unsettling and hot. Instead of responding with words, he makes a shooing motion with one hand and Jeremy’s eyes nearly bug out of their sockets. With an irritated huff, he turns around and steps up to the counter.
“Remind me again why we invited him?” Evie whispers. I lift my hands in a shrug and she shakes her head. “We’re over there, Dacen.” She gestures toward where Matt, Lucy, and the others have already taken a seat. I nod and she walks away.
Jeremy finishes ordering while I lean down to fix the cuff of my pants. As I stand back up I don’t miss the dark glare he gives Ryne. “I’ll save you a spot, Dacen,” he tosses airily over his shoulder at me.
“I do not want you to save me a freaking spot,” I mutter under my breath as he walks away.
Ryne chuckles and sticks his hands in his back pockets. “You’re up, Taco Socks.”
My eyes fly to his face as an electric jolt of recollection zaps my memory bank, poking and prodding and drawing a whisper of happy times to the surface. His lips are pressed together but a hint of amusement peeks through. I turn around quickly to hide my smile and step up to the register. Just as I’m about to order, my phone rings. I dig it out of my pocket and glance at the screen.
“I have to take this.” I hold my phone up. “My mom. You can go ahead.”
He nods and steps around me to place his order. After speaking with Mom (which so could have waited because all she needed was to ask me to pick up some milk on the way home later, and why couldn’t she just text me?) I turn back around. Ryne’s just finished paying and the cashier hands him his pie.
“See ya ‘round,” he drawls out as he walks away.
He doesn’t look back, but you can practically hear the smile in his voice. I blow out a breath to calm my racing heart, and then step up to the counter to finally place my own order. It’s not Ms. Opal working today, and without her there to chat me up for a few minutes, ordering is very fast.
“Here’s your number. Someone’ll be out with your food shortly.”
