Page 71 of Broken Boundaries

I wish. “Yeah, not gonna happen.”

She laughs, and we continue our breakfast as she tells me what they usually have at the fair. Halfway through her story about the fun house where she got caught making out with a boy in one year, her body goes rigid.

“Ok, don’t look now, but be cool,” she says in a low voice.

“What?” I start to turn around, but she stops me.

“No. No. Don’t look. It’s Zach. Maybe he won’t see you.”

I groan and slump my shoulders a little bit. It feels like forever since I’ve seen him. Not since I yelled at him in front of Brooks’s house. No flower deliveries. No texts or calls. No random pop-ins to my work. It’s been nice. I’m not angry at him anymore. I just feel… nothing toward him.

Probably because my attention is focused elsewhere.

At least if Zach does see me now, it’s because I just happened to be here. Not because he’s seeking me out.

“Who’s he with?” I whisper.

“His mom,” she says. “They’re headed in this direction. He’s probably gonna notice you.”

“Great,” I murmur.

I focus on the last few bites of my pancakes, hoping that he walks right past our table. Unfortunately, I’m not that lucky.

“Aspen? Hey!”

I look up from my plate and try to act totally surprised to see him there. “Oh, hey Zach. Hi, Lacey. Good to see you two.”

His mom looks at me and glares as she says, “Hello.”

“You two having breakfast?” Zach asks the obvious.

“Yep.”

“Are you going to the fair tonight?”

“We are,” Jazz answers for me.

“Cool. Maybe I’ll see you there then?”

“Yeah, maybe,” I answer noncommittally.

He looks at me for a minute as if he’s hoping for me to say something else, but I stay quiet.

“Ok, well, enjoy your breakfast. See you later.”

I nod. “Bye.”

He walks off to find a table with his mom.

“Ok, that wasn’t too bad,” Jazz says.

“Yeah, but now I’ve got to be worried about seeing him later,” I groan.

“We won’t give him a chance to ruin our night. Don’t worry, girl.”

I laugh, and we finish before quickly exiting the diner.

The fair is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It’s basically a small theme park. There are flashing lights everywhere, and we’re hit with the scent of sugar and fried food as soon as we walk through the gates. I can hear country music coming from the speakers next to the stage, but I can’t remember who they said was performing tonight.