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We made it to the exit without falling. And as we sat and put our sneakers back on, I couldn’t help but glance at him several more times out of the corner of my eye. There was something going on inside my head. An impulse to ask one of the questions that had been bouncing around my mind for the past couple days. That fall on the ice might have just knocked down the last of my inhibitions. I needed to ask it.
“Did you really mean what you said the other day?”
Gabriel stopped tying his shoe and straightened up to look at me. “What?”
“Did you mean it when you said you wish you could’ve seen me beat your brother in the tournament?”
I wasn’t sure what I was doing. Was this the start of a confession? Was I really ready to spill the details of my master plan to Gabriel? My head was telling me to retreat. My heart was telling me Gabriel mi
ght be different.
More different than I’d ever considered. Or given him credit for.
“Yeah, I totally would’ve cheered you on.”
I couldn’t stop myself from smirking. Sassy Beth hadn’t been knocked out by that fall. “Yeah, right.”
“I mean it.” He drummed his long fingers aggressively on the bench beside him. “You deserve to put him in his place. Michael’s been a complete jerk to you. He just can’t get over a stupid old grudge.”
I stared at him for a long moment, trying to understand what he’d just said. “A grudge? What grudge?”
He blew a puff of air out of his lips and rolled his eyes. “Remember our birthday party back in eighth grade?”
I did remember it. Barely. It had been one of my first boy girl parties. The twins had turned thirteen in the fall and somehow I’d gotten an invitation. The girls they’d invited had spent a lot of time playing truth or dare games in the corner of the basement while the boys played video games. It didn’t take much of an effort to guess exactly where I’d spent most of my time.
“We played Halo for hours,” I said with a shrug. “I don’t remember much else.”
“Remember beating Michael in a one-on-one?” He turned toward me, his eyebrows cocked. “With everyone watching? And then how he stormed off and refused to play for the rest of the night?”
“No...” I tapped a finger on my chin. “I remember winning, but I don’t remember him throwing a fit.”
“That’s because I pulled him away fast enough to avoid any civilian casualties.” Gabriel smiled sadly. “He was so angry, he broke my collector’s edition of the original Assassin’s Creed game I’d spent all year saving up for. That’s when it all started—when Michael decided he had a personal vendetta against you.”
Recognition dawned on me all at once. That had been the moment when everything changed. The next Monday at school was when Michael started being a creep around me. And a week later was when I got that stupid scrawled note in my backpack. It was all beginning to make sense. Michael couldn’t ever take the competition. Which was why he was being such a thorn in my side ab0ut this tournament. He hated to lose.
“Are you telling me all this time, he’s been trying to get revenge for a silly little game in middle school?” I sat up straight on the bench, irritation rolling off of me.
“One hundred percent. Actually, that’s why we’re not partners for the tournament. I couldn’t stand the way he treats you. It wasn’t right. I’ve always hated it. You’re actually pretty amazing, Beth.”
“What? No.” My cheeks burned hot and I looked away. I couldn’t be sure if I was pleased or mortified by his comments.
“Yes, you are.” He gently cupped my chin and urged me to turn my head until our gazes met again. “I’m just sorry I never told you that before. You’re the most amazing girl I’ve ever met.”
I stared wide-eyed at Gabriel, no longer convinced the pounding in my chest was because of this recent revelation. He was giving me a strange look I hadn’t seen on a guy before. It was tender, soft, and made me quiver with the sudden desire to lean closer to him.
But it wasn’t me who leaned in. It was him. And I was stuck like a deer in the headlights. It wasn’t until his lips brushed gently against mine and a shock went straight to my chest did I finally get sensation back in my limbs. And as he pulled back, my lungs began to work like accordions, pumping in and out like I’d just run a marathon.
What just happened?
Had I hit my head harder on that ice than I realized?
“Um...all right.” I jumped up from the bench, my legs jittery. Part of me wanted to stay there and see if he’d kiss me again. The other side of me needed to get out of there now. “I think we’ve done enough for our project today. I’d better go.”
“Beth?” His brow wrinkled with confusion. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” I rushed over to my laptop and shoved it unceremoniously into my backpack. Normally, I wouldn’t be so rough with the gaming computer I’d begged my parents for last Christmas, but my mind was as useless as a bowl of my favorite lime Jell-O.
“Oh...okay.”
