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Barry nodded. “That’s cool. I’m more of a numbers and science guy. I definitely suck at writing anything creative,” he laughed, “so I give her props.”
I stifled my grin as I turned my gaze back to the baseball field. The pitcher took the mound and threw a few practice pitches.
“So, you two are pretty close?” he asked.
“I like to think so. In some ways, we’re pretty different, but my parents . . . Well, let’s just say they don’t have the best relationship, so Mia and I have learned to stick together. Which is why I worry about her. Her best friend happens to be a boy, and she spends all her spare time with him. So when I go away to school next year, I worry about the fact that she won’t have me, another girl, to lean on, or that he’ll keep her from dating. So many people just assume they’re a couple, but it’s completely platonic.” I flickered my gaze to his, trying to assess how he took this piece of information. “It’s a dynamic I can’t quite wrap my head around.”
“Well, what does she say about it?”
I rolled my eyes. “She just gets mad at me and says she’ll be fine. She insists she doesn’t need a boyfriend. But who doesn’t want love? Am I right?” I turned to him, watching him closely. “Do you have a girlfriend, Barry?”
“What, me?” He nearly choked over the words. “No. I mean, not right now.”
His cheeks pinkened, which was kind of cute. “Do you want a girlfriend?”
“I mean . . .”
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” I rushed to add, even though I absolutely wanted him to tell me. “Sorry, it’s probably none of my business.”
“No. I mean, I don’t mind. I guess I do want a girlfriend.” He quickly glanced away as he said, “But I don’t want just anyone.”
“You want someone special. Someone perfect for you. I get that,” I said, knowing Mia was exactly that one.
A moment of silence fell over us, and I tried to think of a way to come back around to the topic of how perfect for each other they were when he cleared his throat and said, “I get what it feels like to worry about when you go away to school next year, though.”
Searching his expression, I waited as he continued, “I don’t have any siblings, but it’s just my mom and me, and I worry about her after I leave. I’m all she’s had for so long, and right now, she is dating this guy who I can tell is just waiting for me to leave the picture. I’m afraid of what will happen when I do.”
My brow wrinkled. “How so?”
“I’m worried they’ll get even more serious. Or worse, that he’ll hurt her. He’s a total jerk, but she can’t see it and I have no idea how someone as smart as she is can have blinders on.”
“Sounds awful, but I’m sure she’ll see through him eventually.”
“I hope so.” His throat bobbed. “Because I’m afraid if she doesn’t, she’ll miss out on someone else. Someone better.” When he met my eyes again, I couldn’t help but feel a double meaning in his words I couldn’t decipher.
I inhaled a ragged breath, unsure of why he disarmed me, why his words made my heart beat just a little bit faster. I cleared my throat, trying to balance my equilibrium. “Well, I might not know about having to deal with unsavory boyfriends, but there are days where I feel the same way about my father. He’s been unfair to my mom. Most days, I wish they’d just split, but I don’t think they will. Mostly, I’ve accepted the way it is between them. Mia, however, is another story. She hates talking about it. She’d much rather ignore the issue altogether. It’s an out of mind, out of sight kind of thing for her.”
I ran a hand through the length of my hair, trying to ease the tight knot of emotion in my chest before I let out a shaky laugh. “Geez, how did this conversation get so deep?”
It wasn’t like I went blabbing to everyone about my problems all the time.
“It did, didn’t it?” He grinned, and I noticed for the first time his hazel eyes had little bits of gray-blue in them.
If Mia couldn’t appreciate Barry’s eyes, she was crazy.
I shoved this thought back to where it came from, and a private smile formed on my lips. I nudged him with my shoulder and noted the way he blushed for the second time since I’d been talking to him. There was something incredibly endearing about a boy that got red in the cheeks from a simple touch. It was so different from most boys at Lakeview, ones with money and egos that could go on for days. Ones like Luca who oozed confidence and sex appeal. It made me think shy might be the new sexy.
Silence stretched between us, and I watched as Lakeview struck another batter out. The announcer called two outs just as a lefty took the plate. After two pitches, he cracked one into the outfield. Everyone cheered around us, but I remained silent, lost in thought when Barry shifted in his seat and I caught the warm scent of his skin, all spice and sandalwood. Like the scent of baking gingerbread beside a crackling fire. And I had the insatiable urge to drink him in.
“So tell me,” I said, ignoring the way my stomach dipped like I was plunging down the hill of a rollercoaster. “What’s so awful about this guy? Your mom’s boyfriend.”
“What isn’t?” Barry glanced down at his hands. “He’s just . . . everything I’m not. He’s one of those overgrown jocks. You know, the high school football star that never outgrew his cleats and likes to reminisce about his glory days. The kind that thinks anyone who’s different isn’t good enough. Which means he definitely thinks I’m not good enough, and he has no qualms about expressing all the ways in which I’m lacking.”
I scrunched my nose. “Eww. Sorry for that.”
“What’s worse is he has this way of making fun of me and looking down on me without actually insulting me directly. It’s all super passive aggressive, and my mom just doesn’t see it.”
“How long have they been together?”
