Broken Beautiful Hearts(58)

I sense Titan watching us and it annoys me. “What’s Titan’s problem? I talked to him for two minutes at his party.”

Owen loads his tray with ham sandwiches wrapped in plastic. “This is a small town. New girls don’t show up that often. He probably thought he had a shot with you.”

I pick up a bag of mini Oreos. “Didn’t the Twins give him the our-cousin-doesn’t-date speech?”

Owen adds a stack of giant cookies and a slice of cake to his tray. “They probably did, but Titan does whatever he wants.”

We pay the cashier, and suddenly it feels like everyone is staring at me—not with April’s uber-bitch level of intensity, but it’s still awkward. Tucker walks into the cafeteria carrying his new skateboard, shifting some of the attention away from me.

He drops the board, hops on, and coasts over to us. “How’s your day going?”

I remember the way Owen’s body felt pressed up against me before we came in. “Some parts have been better than others.”

We pass April’s table and Grace looks over from the last seat. I make eye contact and give her a quick smile, hoping April and Madison won’t notice.

Cam sees me, picks up his tray, and heads in my direction. Christian stacks his sandwiches under his chin and follows him.

“Come on, Grace.” Christian waves her over and waits for her to catch up.

Owen chooses the only empty table in sight. I wish it was further away from April. He sits across from me, with his back to them, and Tucker takes the seat beside him, creating a wall between April and me.

Cam sets his tray down next to mine and nods at Tucker. “What’s up? I’m Cameron.”

“Tucker. Nice to meet you.”

Cam looks over at me. “I didn’t know you and Owen had third period together.”

“We don’t,” Owen says, digging into a slice of cake.

“You don’t what?” Christian asks, catching the tail end of the conversation.

“Have third period together,” Owen says between bites. “Your brother isn’t happy that Peyton and I walked in together.”

“What do you mean by together?” Christian loses his chin hold on the stack of sandwiches, and they tumble onto the table. A cellophane-wrapped square lands in Cam’s mashed potatoes.

Grace pushes the sandwiches aside to make room for her tray. “Stop acting like such a baby, Christian. Do you think they started dating in the last three hours?”

Christian straddles the chair next to hers. “Stranger things have happened.”

“Hi. I’m Grace.” She waves at Tucker. “I think your locker is near mine.”

Tucker grins. “Yeah. It is.”

“This is Christian,” Grace continues the introductions.

Owen looks over at me, and my stomach does a little flip. It didn’t seem to get the message that we’re just friends.

I’m attracted to him.

Any girl with a heartbeat would have trouble ignoring the pull of his sexy smile and beautiful brown eyes. I’m also attracted to half the guys on the Italian men’s soccer team, and I won’t be dating any of them, either.

It’s a physical reaction, like an allergy.

I’ll get over it.

I avoid meeting Owen’s gaze, but it’s not easy when he’s across from me.

After what feels like forever, he balls up his napkin and tosses it on his tray. “You guys have nothing to worry about. Peyton made it clear that she’s not interested in dating anybody. And even if she was I’m not her type.”

Owen’s comment stings, and I try to hide my disappointment. To be fair, I did tell him that I don’t like fighters.

Laughter erupts at April’s table and Grace shifts in her seat.

“Will April and Madison give you a hard time for sitting over here?” I ask.

“April has nothing to be mad about, and she has a new boyfriend to entertain her.” Christian looks over at his ex. She stops laughing and snuggles up to Dylan.

“April isn’t the only person who looks pissed,” Cam says, tipping his chin in Titan’s direction.

Titan is staring Owen down like he’s trying to burn a hole through him.

“Could he act any creepier?” Grace scrunches up her nose. “What’s his problem?”

“I am.” Owen crosses his arms and makes eye contact with Titan.

The linebacker plants his feet on the floor and pushes his chair away from the table. The sound of metal scraping halts conversations around him as students at neighboring tables turn their attention to Titan.

Titan’s expression makes me uncomfortable. “This makes no sense. I don’t even know him.”

“It’s not about you,” Cam says. “I mean, it is and it isn’t.”

Grace drops a half-eaten granola bar on her tray. “Thanks for clearing that up.”

Christian watches Owen and Titan, like a ref prepared to break up a fight. “I thought you settled that shit last year.”

Owen’s jaw forms a hard line. “I guess Titan wants to un-settle it.”

I’m not letting Titan use me as an excuse to dredge up whatever happened between Owen and him.

“There’s too much testosterone at this table for me.” I stand up and Owen jumps to his feet. More chair legs scrape against the floor, then Titan is on his feet—followed by the Twins.