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“I remember.” I try to keep my tone light, but the memory was so much darker than Stella realizes. When Harlow and I got home that day from school, the teacher had already informed my dad about what happened. He was livid and started screaming at Harlow to the point where I thought he was going to hit her, so I stepped and lied, saying I was the one who did it, and the teacher was just confused. He struck me so hard my ears rang. It wasn’t the first or last time he hit me. “Should’ve known back then that she’d get into art.”
“She’s into art?” Stella asks, poising the pen. “I guess I’m not surprised, considering who her big brother is.” She smiles at me.
It’s a flirty smile, and normally, I’d probably flirt back, but considering I was just flirting with Raven, I keep a friendly tone and smile.
“Yeah, I guess so,” I say, scratching my wrist.
“You’re an artist?” Raven asks, seeming a bit surprised.
I glance at her with an amused smile on my face. “Sort of. Why do you sound so surprised?”
She gives a half-shrug. “I just thought you were a jock.”
“Jocks can be artists, too,” I tell her. “How do you know I’m a jock? Or did Katy tell you?”
“No, I overheard the teacher talking to you about a game or something,” she explains. “I was kind of surprised you play sports. You don’t really look like the type.”
Now I’m beyond amused. “What do I look like I’d be into then?”
Her gaze scrolls up and down me, and then she shrugs. “Well, if I had to stereotype you, I’d say music or art.”
“I actually am into both,” I inform her. When she gives me a disbelieving look, I wink at her. “I’m a man of many talents.”
She shakes her head but smiles, her lips parting.
“Um, I kind of need to take your order,” Stella interrupts.
Shit. I’d almost forgotten she was there.
I turn toward her. “Right. Sorry about that.”
“It’s no problem.” She offers me a friendly, not flirty smile. “What can I get you?”
I order what Harlow told me, then order my own food, but double it so Raven can eat more than just some fries if she wants.
“Sounds good,” Stella says as she jots the order down. Then she looks at Raven. “And for you?”
“I’ll just have fries,” Raven says, fiddling with a leather band covering her wrist.
“Really?” Stella questions, eyeing her over. “Wait—you’re new here, right?”
She nods. “I just moved here this weekend.”
She smiles. “Well, welcome to our town.”
“Thanks,” Raven replies, giving her a small smile.
Stella smiles one last time at her then looks at me. “I’ll go put in your order. It’ll probably be ready in about fifteen minutes.” Then she skates off to the order window.
“So you’re really an artist, musician, and a jock?” Raven asks, going right back to the conversation.
I turn to her and nod. “I’m not really into the same kind of art as Harlow, though. She likes to sketch and paint while I’m into photography. As for the musician stuff, I’m not in a band or anything. I just like to play the guitar sometimes. And as for the jock thing, I play basketball.”
“That’s a lot of stuff,” she comments, combing her fingers through her hair. “I don’t even have one talent, let alone three.”
“Everyone has a talent. So, either you haven’t found yours yet, or you just don’t want to tell me.”
“If that’s true, then it’s definitely the first,” she says. “It’s awesome you can play the guitar. And the photography thing is interesting.”
