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“There’s a first time for everything, I guess,” I reply with an awkward shrug.

I cringe at how shaky my voice came out. It’s so awkward that even Sienna looks at me as if I’d just sprouted a second head.

“Well, I’m glad you came.” Milo doesn’t take his eyes off me.

“Hey, buddy.” Sienna snaps her fingers in his face. “I came to see you play too, you know? Even if it was against my will.”

“Sorry, Sienna. I… um… thanks for coming.” Milo rubs at the nape of his neck, looking sheepish at being called out.

Damn it. A shy Milo is even cuter than a confident one.

I hate this.

I hate noticing his damp curls.

I hate noticing his broader shoulders.

I hate noticing any of it.

But mostly, I hate how devastating it is to look at him and not touch him.

Yep, that’s a new one for me.

I was perfectly content not knowing Milo had a crush on me. More importantly, I was happy living in denial about my own feelings for him.

But once you open Pandora’s box, you can’t close it again.

“So, the team is throwing a celebratory party at the old Crowley paper mill. Do you want to come?”

“Hell to the no,” Sienna replies before I get the chance.

“He was asking Max, Sienna. Let the poor girl answer for once,” Kody says, appearing next to us with Paige clinging to him as if he were a tree that she loves nothing more than to climb.

The wink he throws Milo knots my stomach.

“Actually, Sienna is sleeping over at my house tonight. We had this whole girls’ night planned,” I say, thankful my voice is back to normal again.

“Oh. Okay. I can drive you back to your place if you want,” Milo quickly offers, his bright smile still perfectly intact.

“That, we’ll take you up on,” Sienna replies for me again. “Let’s ditch this place. There’s just too much testosterone here. I feel my IQ dropping with every second I have to watch everyone bro out over stupid football players.” She scrunches her nose. “Present company excluded, of course.”

“Of course.” Milo laughs.

“I’m with Sienna on this one. Let’s bail this joint. There’s a party waiting for us. Isn’t that right, babe?” Kody says, not even bothering to put Paige back on her feet as she giggles and rests her head on his shoulder while he carries her through the parking lot.

Sienna quickly falls into step beside them, leaving Milo and me to trail behind.

Wonderful. Now that I need her running interference, she decides to bail.

“I didn’t know your dad bought you a car,” I say, when the awkward silence gets too much.

“He didn’t. I bought it myself. It’s a secondhand pick-up truck, so it’s not much to look at, but it gets the job done.”

I don’t add anything, mostly because I know his dad has enough money to buy Milo any car he wants. I don’t know whether it’s pride or his need to pay his own way. Knowing Milo, it’s probably a mix of both.

“So I guess you won’t be walking me home from the diner anymore. With a new car, I bet there are other things you’d rather be doing on the weekends.”

“Who says?” He chuckles. “Besides, I like our walks.”