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He turns to me, surprised by my curiosity. “Yeah. Well, sort of. I’m a paramedic.”
That’s why he was so friendly with the other paramedics,I realize. “Is that why you were at the restaurant?”
“Huh?” Blake asks. She’s looking at me like I’m a crazy person until it dawns on her. “Oh. This is Theo’s older brother. Sorry, I assumed you knew.”
The day I seized is still fuzzy. Fragments rise to the surface, but piecing them together from A to Z is easier said than done. I tuck my dark hair behind my ear and offer another forced smile. “It’s fine. We should probably get going, though. I have work and need to shower”––I motion to my still-red face––“so…”
“Good to see you again, Kate.” He turns to Blake and adds, “Give my brother a dead leg for me, all right?”
She laughs. “Deal.”
I tear my attention from his backside as he saunters away and suck my lips between my teeth, choosing to focus on my scuffed-up Nikes and the ground again in hopes of it swallowing me whole.
No such luck.
Shocker.
“Ooooh. So that’s how it is,” Blake notes.
“Howwhatis?”
“You and Mack.” Her eyebrows bounce up and down. “What happened between you two?”
“Uh… Nothing?”
“Uh-huh, sure.” Folding her arms, she stares down at me, waiting for me to cave. But I won’t. Because I have nothing to say. Not now, and not ever. Not when it comes to Mack.
When I don’t answer her, she warns, “Fine. If you won’t tell me, I’ll ask Mack.” She turns on her heel as if she’s going to walk over to the guy and talk to him again but my arm darts out, holding her in place.
“Blakely, stop,” I beg. “Seriously. Nothing happened.”
Her attention drops to where I’m holding her, and she quirks her brow. “If nothing happened, why were you blushing?”
“I wasn’t blushing.”
“Dude.”
I let her go and cross my arms over my chest, resisting the urge to book it into the locker room and get the hell out of here because if I do, Blake will hunt Mack down and demand non-existent answers. Then again, I’m afraid if I don’t start talking, she’ll grow impatient and hunt him down anyway.
“Fine,” I concede, finally cracking. “Nothing happened––and it really didn’t––but I have no interest in getting to know the guy.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t,” I argue.
“Yeah, okay.” She gives me a thumbs up. “Way tonotbe defensive, Kate.”
“I’m not being defensive!”
“Seriously?” Her pointed look feels like ants crawling under my skin.
Annoyed, I blurt out, “What do you want me to say?”
“Nothing, I guess. But Mack’s right. You do seem…prickly.”
“I’m not prickly,” I start, but she points at my face and laughs.
“See?Prickly.And you’re never prickly. You’re like the nicest girl I know. So, what’s up?”
