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“Nah, I’m good.”
He leans back as he turns to the side to look at me. “You really are a good girl, aren’t you?”
“If by good girl, you mean that I don’t party or slut my way around school, then, yeah, I guess I am.”
“Slut your way around school?” he questions my phrase.
I shrug. “That’s the definition of a good girl, right?”
He raises and drops his shoulders quickly in agreement, nodding his head as he takes a sip of his beer, holding it with the tips of his fingers.
His feet are drawn in while he rests his arms on his knees and dangles the bottle between his legs. His massive frame is so different than mine as I sit, cross-legged with my knees inches off the ground, next to him on the curb.
“Good catch tonight,” I say.
He glances my way. “Thanks. I didn’t know you came to the games.”
“Not all of them. But I went tonight.”
“And what did you think?”
“It was fun. You guys played well.”
“Dalton,” Ben yells from the door of the barn where he can’t see us. “Stop looking at the fucking stars, you weirdo, and get your ass back in here. We’re about to start a game.”
Dalton closes his eyes with a slight chuckle as he finishes his beer, then looks at me. “He knows me too well.” He stands to his feet and looks down to where he’s offering his hand to me. “You coming?”
I stare at his hand for a brief moment, then grab it and stand up myself. “Yeah, I’ll be right there. I’m going to go get something from Ashley’s car.” I point to where I already was, hoping he doesn’t realize I’m lying through my teeth.
“Cool.” He nods his head and heads back inside while I walk to the car to do absolutely nothing but buy me time so people don’t get the wrong idea when they see us walk back inside together.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Natalie
Today, I had zero interaction with Dalton. Not in first period and definitely not in second period, where he sits directly behind me. It was like we were back to our same selves, completely ignoring the fact that the other person even existed.
I should be happy about that, but it doesn’t explain why I’m sitting here at the end of my property, waiting for him to go for a run.
All day, I kept telling myself that I wasn’t going to show up. He’d said nothing of it since Thursday night. He didn’t mention it at the party when we were outside, and he hadn’t reminded me today at school, yet here I am, waiting on him.
It makes no sense, even to me, but a part of me had to see if he would show up.
And I don’t mean just for his run because he does that every night anyway.
I mean, if he actually wanted me to run with him.
I can’t get out of my head the question of,Why?Why would he tell me to meet him here to run again? I was horrible at it. He kicked my butt. But here I am, waiting like a fool, in capri workout pants that caught my eye when us girls went to the shopping center over the weekend.
Ashley and Susie both know I don’t work out, and thankfully, they didn’t ask why I suddenly wanted to invest in a pair of thirty-dollar pants that were only meant to do just that.
Without Dalton in sight, I hop off of Brandy and tie her to the fence that he fixed.
When I turn back around, my chest tightens at the sight of Dalton heading down the hill, across the river, and straight for me.
No words are said as he hands me one of his earbuds.
I pinch my eyebrows together in question as I take it from him.
