AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Meh. It was great for sure, but . . .”
“Okay, then. What’s your favorite song?”
I pursed my lips. “Easy. ‘California Dreamer.’”
Topher snapped his fingers. “Yes! Nowthatwe can agree on, followed by—”
“’No Stone Unturned!’” we both said at the same time, then laughed.
A beat of silence followed before he leaned back on his hands in the grass, grinning at me in a way that turned my insides to knots, and said, “Okay, I admit you have good taste in music, but what about movies?”
I arched a brow. “What do you think?”
“I’m thinking”—he rubbed his chin with one hand—“romantic comedy. Definitely. You probably watch it all dreamy-eyed and swoon over the male lead, then immediately begin to plan your wedding.”
I guffawed, then punched him playfully in the bicep. “I do not.”
He gave me a look that said he didn’t believe me.
“For your information,” I said, “my favorite movie genre is horror.”
He scoffed. “What? No way.”
“Yes, way. I swear.”
His eyes widened. “Wow. I would never have taken the timid little Penelope Ewe for a horror fan.”
“Maybe I imagine all my high school tormentors as the characters who get killed off,” I said archly.
He grimaced. “Ouch.” Then he smiled and asked, “So what is it you like about scary movies?”
“Isn’t there something kind of fun about being scared? I mean, just a little?”
“So you’re not the type of girl that clings to the guys’ arm in the theater and buries her face in his chest?”
Did guys really like that?
I made a gagging noise. “Uh, no.”
“Darn,” he drawled, staring at my mouth, and a riot of butterflies erupted in my chest. “Because that can be kind of fun.”
I cleared my throat as my stomach did this funny sort of tumble thing that felt both good and awful at the same time. “What about you?”
“I can dig a little horror, but war movies are my personal cup of tea.”
“Really?”
He shrugged. “I like history.”
We fell silent a moment, both of us lost in our thoughts when he said, “Can I ask you something?”
I met the intensity of his gaze, and my stomach dropped. “Okay,” I said, uncertainty drawing out the word.
“I know you're really quiet, but why do you let them treat you like that?”
I avoided his gaze and bowed my head, pretending to find the blades of grass in front of the spot where I sat particularly interesting as I shrugged my shoulders.
“That’s it? A shrug?” He dipped his head, trying to catch my gaze. “They’re mean to you, and you let them walk all over you.”
