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Now it was my turn to flush. I tore my gaze away to stare at the floor and fight back a smile. Butterflies danced inside my stomach. “Thanks.”
I could feel him watching me for another long moment as the noise in the food court picked up. Kids ran from table to table. A group of preteens laughed near the Taco John’s. Finally, he cleared his throat and I looked up to see him holding up two quarters between his fingers.
“First things first, I told you I’d prove there’s more to you than just running. Follow me, and I’ll take you to our first stop of the day.”
Curiosity blossomed inside my chest. It had been lying dormant ever since last night when he’d first mentioned his plan. I followed him as we zigzagged through the families shopping and made our way to the arcade. Jayden stopped next to the old Sonic pinball machine that had been there for as long as I could remember. The twinkling lights and loud music brought back a rush of memories for me.
“I give you, Exhibit A,” he said, leaning his elbow on the top and shooting me a grin.
“What? Pinball?” I pushed the paddle buttons on the sides and laughed. “No way.”
He set the quarters on the plexiglass top. “Yes, way. In seventh grade, we had a tournament and I distinctly remember you beating out Pete Lane to take the top spot. He was furious for a week. Wouldn’t even step foot in the mall for a year after that.”
I gaped at him and then shook my head. I’d completely forgotten about that. My friends and I had played a lot of pinball that summer and that tournament had been a silly boys-versus-girls challenge before school started. Nothing gave me as much satisfaction as beating a boy who thought girls didn’t stand a chance in anything involving a ball. Putting Pete in his place had been so worth it.
“I can’t believe you remember that,” I said, smiling up at him. “That was so long ago.”
He shrugged and looked down at his fingernails. “Of course, I remembered. I was rooting for you the whole time.”
Warmth burst in my gut as I studied his sincere expression. I was just starting to realize how little I actually knew Jayden. And the feeling I got as I stared into the blue of his eyes was making me wish I’d realized all of this much sooner.
“Go ahead and play a round,” he said, reaching down to put the coins in the slot. “I want to see you dominate before we move onto Exhibit B.”
I grinned at him. “There’s more?”
“Yeah.” He shot me an amused smile and then ran his hands through his hair. “Believe me, Amanda Hale is good at many a thing. It was hard to narrow it down to just a few. If I took the time to show you each one, we might have to go on a dozen more dates.”
My heart spasmed at the absurd idea of going on a dozen dates with Jayden. I managed to keep my cool as I pulled back on the ball launcher, even as the pressure inside my head increased. What was it that I’d been repeating to myself in the mirror at home? Oh yeah, that we were just friends. Nothing more.
Why did that seem so difficult?
It was hard to play pinball when I could feel Jayden watching me. Every once in a while, I’d look up and catch his eyes. He’d tear his gaze away, commenting on the score or the paddles, but the tips of his ears would turn red. When the last ball finally dropped to the bottom of the game, I was feeling hot from head to toe. I needed to do something that didn’t involve Jayden staring at me.
I bit my lower lip and turned to him. “Okay. What’s next?”
“I propose a walk around the mall and another mind-blowing challenge,” he said, his smile infectious. He pulled a colorful plastic bag from his coat pocket and held it up for me to see. “Any guesses?”
I squinted at it, feeling confused. “Jelly Beans?”
“Exactly.” He tore the bag open and held up a single bean. “When we were in Mrs. Johnson’s fifth grade class, we had a Guinness World Record week. Everyone was supposed to present a special talent that could potentially be a world record.”
Recognition lit inside me. “Yes! I remember that. Didn’t Erin Driver nearly burn the school down trying to twirl her mom’s old fire batons?”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Yeah, Mrs. Johnson didn’t know they were self-lighting. I’ve never seen a woman her age move so quickly.”
I laughed, too. That had been one of my favorite classes of all time. “So what does that have to do with me?”
He started walking toward the door and I kept up pace alongside him. “I figured that your talent counted as one of the things you’re good at, besides running. You brought in a bag of jelly beans to class, taste-tested thirty flavors, and were able to name all but one of the flavors without looking. I think all of us kids were pretty sure you belonged in the world record book after that one.”
“Oh...yeah.”
I ran a hand down my face, trying to dispel the embarrassment of that memory. My Mom had helped me come up with that talent. We’d practiced all week, until the taste of Jelly Beans was almost nauseating. I hadn’t had one since then.
“Ready to give it a shot?” Jayden asked, holding up the bean.
“I don’t know...” I eyed the candy suspiciously. “I’m not sure if I can do it anymore.”
He grabbed my hand and put the bean in my palm. “I have faith in you, Amanda. Just give it a try.”
