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Deep down, I wanted her to fall for me like I was falling for her. I had feelings for her for a while, but they had only deepened with every interaction we had so far. It was different from what I once felt with Cindy. With her, things were casual, they were easy.
With Una, it was exciting. Every conversation we had was unlike the last. I never knew what to expect with her, and it thrilled me. She kept me on my toes, kept things lively.
And after the date just now?
I fell. Hard. The way I felt about Una was more than I had ever felt about a girl before. Seeing her eyes sparkle as she watched the dolphins swim by filled me with happiness. I couldn’t care less about the fish; all I wanted to do was stare at her.
“I did admit that, but if you tell anyone, I’ll find your deepest, darkest secret and expose it to the world,” Una said, making me snap back to reality quickly.
I shook my head. “I don’t doubt that at all. But I’m glad you had fun. I did too. Before you go, though, I have one question…”
She already had her car door open and leaned on it before getting in. “What?”
I narrowed my eyes and set my lips in a thin line, pretending to be as serious as possible. Her mouth fell, her eyes widening, becoming fearful of what I was going to ask.
Breaking the tension, I said, “We saw a lot of fish and stuff in there. It made me wonder… do you think mermaids are real?” I gave her my biggest smile.
She returned with a beaming grin of her own. It made the butterflies in my stomach flutter like crazy, sending tingles throughout my body.
“I’m not sure. But if they are, I think I’d like to join them in their mer-world. The human world is such a mess, you know?”
Then, she did the impossible. She winked at me. She threw my signature move back at me before she lowered herself into her car and I closed the door softly after her.
At least I got her to admit she had a good time. That was two for two, and honestly, better odds than I thought I would have by this point. Part of me assumed she would have quit by now, scrapping the entire thing.
But then again, she was strict with her contracts. She never yielded.
I watched as she backed out of the parking lot and turned onto the main road, making sure she was safe.
As soon as she left, I slipped the scrunchie out of my pocket and wound it around my wrist. Every time I wasn’t in her presence, it adorned my arm. It felt like I could keep her near without her actually being there.
Would I ever admit that to her? I wasn’t sure. Not any time soon, at least. It seemed kind of creepy to keep her scrunchie and wear it when we weren’t anything official. I had seen other guys do it with their girlfriends, but Una wasn’t my girlfriend. Technically.
And if anyone else saw it, it would start a whole round of questioning and probably a post from the Fairy Godmother.
All attention I didn’t need right now. Attentionwedidn’t need.
Chapter 21
Una
Being lost inmy thoughts seemed to have become a trend these days.
“Earth to Una,” Ali said, tossing a pack of cookies at me.
I jolted, snatching it out of the air before it hit me in the face. We were hanging at his place, sitting around doing nothing, like almost every Sunday afternoon.
Aria was here too, perched beside Ali on the couch, practically in his lap. Even while Dad and her mom were married, we never hung out in the same place. She never once asked to come with when I came back here to Ali’s.
And I never invited them to Aria’s house. That was her domain, not mine.
“You seem out of it today, Una. What gives?” Ali asked, staring at me as if he could figure it out by looking at my face.
Too bad for him, I was made of stone and wouldn’t give a single ounce of emotion if I didn’t want to.
“Nothing. Just distracted lately. What are you talking about?”
“The bonfire party next weekend. Are we going? We haven’t been to parties in a while. Not since…” Malia glanced over at Ali and Aria, referring to the party at Charlie’s house that I got outed at.
