Playing the Player(58)

“No Disney princess books?”

I heard the teasing smile in her voice. “Nope,” I said. “But I’m keeping the fairy tales. I have a thing for fairies. Pixies in particular.”

“That’s original,” she picked up the pace a little. “Maybe you could give Disney some tips. They’re going to run out of princess ideas one of these days.”

I matched her pace. “All those princesses look alike. Boring. They should make movies about ninja fairies.”

“Fierce Firestorm,” she said. “The fighting anime fairies. You should check it out.”

“Does Gilly know about this? Sounds like her kind of show.” I edged closer to her on the path, catching a whiff of lavender on the breeze.

She laughed softly next to me. “I think Gilly was their inspiration.”

We walked in silence, our feet kicking up clouds of dust barely visible in the light of the new moon. I considered the possible outcomes of kissing her.

One: Disgusted slap to the face.

Two: Willing compliance. No slapping. Just open lips and me finally finding out if she tasted as incredible as I imagined, and then— “—so does that sound okay? Or do you think they’ll be bored?”

Uh oh. What had she been talking about? She’d stopped walking, waiting for an answer.

“Uh…I’m not…sure?” I offered lamely.

Light spilled from the houses that backed the canal trail, and cast a dim glow over her face.

“You’re probably right.” She sighed. “My ideas aren’t very exciting. You’re better at planning stuff the kids like.”

Kids? She must’ve been talking about a nannying activity. “No, I’m not,” I said quickly. “I was just…distracted. It’s a great idea. Really.” Whatever the hell her idea was, I was committed now.

Her face lit up with a smile that made my insides do a weird dance.

“You think so?” She sounded hopeful.

I couldn’t risk losing her smile by admitting I had no idea what she’d said. “Yeah, absolutely.”

“We can take light rail—I think the kids would like that. Can you pick me up at eight? Then we’ll get the kids.”

Light rail? At some point I was going to have to confess my ignorance. Or maybe not. I could probably play it off the same way I managed to pass classes where I barely paid attention.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked the small, glowing screen. “Oh, wow. It’s later than I realized. I should get going. My mom will be home soon.”

“You sure?” We weren’t even close to PDA yet. This was so different from all my other dates. She was so different from all my other dates.

“Yeah. This was…nice. I’ve never been on this trail at night.”

Our eyes met, and I thought about kissing her again, but I told myself to take it slow so I wouldn’t scare her away. We turned and headed back toward my car.

The last time I’d taken a girl out to dinner and not gotten at least a little action was….uh…never?

But after I dropped Trina off, I realized I was okay with how our night ended.

More than okay.





Chapter Thirty-Two


Trina


Thursday, June 20

“Spillage. Now.” Desi’s voice was sharp in my ear. “Did you have to beat him off with a tire iron? Protect your honor with that mace you always carry?”

“Hilarious, Dez. No, none of the above.” I sighed into the phone. There’d been a few times when I’d thought he might kiss me, but I’d obviously misread his signals. “He was a perfect gentleman,” I muttered, remembering Alex’s comment.

What was wrong with me, anyway, if the most notorious playboy in school didn’t even try to make a move? I sat on my bed and attacked my chipped toenails with a cotton ball soaked in polish remover. I wished my feelings about Slade would disappear as easily as this nail polish.

Desi snorted in my ear. “Maybe he’s got the flu?”

I tossed my pillow off my bed. “Aren’t you the one always telling me I should give him a chance? That there’s a decent guy hiding underneath that man whore reputation?”

“Yes. And it’s true. But I thought…I mean, dinner and then walking under the stars? Not even one little kiss?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? I’m not his type. At all.” I sighed heavily and started working on the toenails on my other foot. “I mean, we knew I wasn’t, but—”

“Just hold on, sister. We need to analyze this. Let’s not forget him giving me the third degree about you at the mall. Also, Slade isn’t going to waste his time on someone he’s not interested in. You should see him at parties, the girls throwing themselves—”

“Hello? Still listening. Confidence plummeting. Insecurity hitting the stratosphere.”

Her laugh bubbled in my ear. “Do you joke with him like that? Because he’s really freaking smart. You’ve figured that out by now, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe I should ask Trey to ask Slade—”

“No!” I shrieked. “Do. Not. Tell. Trey.”

“But Trey adores you. He’s always wondering who he can hook you up with.”