Boys Like You(12)

“Sure,” she said. “In a bit. I want to look at the craft booths, if that’s all right?”

I glanced down at her sharply, but she stared straight ahead.

It was then that I realized a few things. She was small next to me, probably five-four, while I was a couple of inches over six feet and still growing. With her pale skin, pale eyes, and dark hair, she really was the opposite of Rachel or any other girl I’d ever dated.

There was something about her though. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I thought that maybe if I wasn’t so screwed up and she wasn’t such a bitch, she could be someone I’d be interested in.

Maybe.

“Oh, look,” she pointed toward a booth. “Rag dolls.”

I groaned and followed her into the craft center.

Maybe not.

46

BoysLikeYou.indd 46

11/19/13 10:02 AM





Chapter Seven


Monroe


“You’re right about one thing. I do have a type, and you’re not it.”

Ouchie.

Or at least it would be an ouchie if I cared. Which I didn’t.

Not really. I was used to people backing away from me. It was usually in response to me opening my mouth and saying something nasty, which was easy enough to do when your parents were just grateful that you spoke at all.

I knew I’d been a bitch in the past, just as I’d been right now.

I just couldn’t seem to help myself.

And sure, my therapist told me it was my way of keeping my distance— of avoiding contact, but whatever. For the most part, I preferred to be alone, which was why this whole festival thing was stupid.

I grabbed my peach sundae and chose a seat as far away from anyone as I could. I didn’t do crowds real well, so for the hundredth time, I asked myself why I had let Gram manipulate me into this evening with Nathan.

BoysLikeYou.indd 47

11/19/13 10:02 AM

Juliana Ston e

Nathan followed and slid into the chair opposite me and smiled at some girl who shouted at him from the cotton candy stand.

I filled my mouth with way too much sugar and glanced over to the girl who held hands with a boy as they walked by.

Her eyes lingered on me for several seconds, and then she whis-pered something into her boyfriend’s ear. He turned, nodded at Nathan, and then stared at me for so long I raised an eyebrow and stared right back.

He smiled.

She yanked on her boyfriend’s arm and pulled him toward the midway, but not before she got her bitch on, raised her eyebrows in return, and flipped me a mental bird.

I smirked and shoved another spoonful of sundae into my mouth. I wanted her to know that her attitude didn’t bother me.

But it did. And that was something new too. What the hell?

“Why are you here?” Nathan asked as he scooped a good amount of peaches and whipped cream into his mouth.

“Um, because Gram made me?”

His blue eyes settled on me, and there was nowhere to hide.

He sat back in his chair and studied me intently, his eyes so clear they reminded me of the summer sky. For a moment, I forgot that I didn’t like him.

He grinned, and I glanced down at my dessert, exhaling hard as a rush of heat rolled through me.

“That’s not what I meant. Why are you here in Louisiana with your grandmother?”

48

BoysLikeYou.indd 48

11/19/13 10:02 AM

BOYS LIKE YOU

Panic hit me— it froze everything inside me— but then I did what I always did. I deflected.

“Why was your driver’s license suspended?”

His smile disappeared, and his eyes narrowed in a way that told me everything. His shoulders hunched forward and he frowned.

“Is this what we’re going to do? Play a stupid game?” He paused and then pushed his sundae away.

I watched him in silence, and though the last thing I wanted to do was eat, I shoved another spoonful of the melting crap into my mouth. At least this way, I couldn’t open it and make things worse.

Another shout of “Hey Nate,” slid between us, but he didn’t bother to look up— he just stared down at the table like it was the most interesting thing in the world. I forced myself to swallow the ice cream— it was either that or puke— and then I pushed my bowl away as well.

I was about to apologize, something I didn’t do much of these days, but when I opened my mouth to speak, he glanced up, and the words I was about to say, two simple little words, I’m sorry, died in my throat.

Nathan Everets looked exactly the way I felt most of the time.

He looked haunted. Sort of…broken.

He pushed a long strand of hair off his face, his eyes never leaving mine. “I can’t drive because I was involved in an accident two months ago. A bad one.”

“Oh,” I managed to get out. “Look, you don’t have to…”

49

BoysLikeYou.indd 49

11/19/13 10:02 AM

Juliana Ston e

Shit, I didn’t want to do this with him. I didn’t want him to share with me, because then he’d expect me to share back, and there was no way in hell I wanted anyone to know anything about me. Period.

I couldn’t talk about Malcolm. I couldn’t.

“I left a party with my best friend Trevor and our girlfriends.”