The Way to Game the Walk of Shame(60)

“Yeah, sure.” I sat on a desk a few feet away. My feet tapped against the metal rungs.

Brian handed me the articles, but he didn’t let go when I grabbed them. Instead, he gave me a funny look. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

Still scrutinizing me, Brian leaned back against the table, not even caring that several pieces of paper were sliding off the edge. He crossed his arms. “Come on, tell me what’s wrong.”

I squirmed under his intense gaze. “I just have something on my mind, that’s all.”

“Something or someone?”

Trust Brian to always know exactly what I was thinking, unlike a certain surfer. “Someone.” It was kind of weird to talk about this with Brian. Not only because we’d never talked about relationships before—or my lack of relationships—but also because the other night in his car, when we had almost kissed, was still fresh in my mind.

Or at least I thought we almost had. It certainly felt like we were about to, but the next day, Brian had acted like nothing was wrong. He was so normal that I almost thought that I had imagined that entire evening.

“I guess Evan’s giving you some trouble, huh? What happened?”

My foot kicked the desk a bit as I stared at the ground. “We just had a fight. He said some things. I said some things. Maybe it was my fault. I was kind of harsh.”

Brian laughed. “That’s just who you are, though. Blunt, hard-core, heart-crushingly honest.”

“Gee, thanks a lot. You make me sound like some type of wrecking ball.”

“The good kind.” He kicked his long legs against the metal rungs of my desk, letting the low, hollow ringing vibrate through the room for a minute or two. “So, do you think you’ll work it out?”

“I don’t know.” An image of Lauren snuggled against Evan flashed through my mind, and I let out an involuntary sigh. I slid off the desk and knelt down to pick up the papers scattered on the ground. “I have a feeling we won’t be together much longer.”

“Good.” To my surprise, he reached down for my hand and pulled me upright. “Because I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something. About us…” His voice trailed off, and it was his turn to stare at the floor.

“Us?”

Brian let out a deep breath and massaged the back of his neck with his other hand. “You know that I’ve always admired you despite how crazy you are. And I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to say this, but … I like you.” He shook his head. His eyes were bright as he tightened his grip on me. “Like really like you. I always have.”

“Huh? You have?” I cringed at myself. Oh god, that had to be the worst response to a confession ever. EVER. “I—when?”

“Since my first day of school, when you came up to me to find out my IQ score. Even after you snapped at me when you found out my score was five points higher than yours.” There were crinkles in the corners of his eyes as he laughed. His hand rested in the nook between his neck and shoulders. “I never had a chance.”

The papers in my hand crumpled. “Brian … I…” I didn’t know what to say. What could I say?

If this were a romance novel, this would be the scene when I could declare my love, too, and fall into his arms to live happily ever after. I mean, this was Brian. Brian. The guy who brought over my homework assignments when I was out with the flu for nearly a week. The one who stayed up late helping me cram for my physics exam even though he didn’t take physics. And he was still good at it. The one who fit into all of my plans perfectly. The logical choice. Maybe the right choice.

I couldn’t have found someone better if I spent the next hundred years trying. He was a great guy. Is a great guy. We made sense.

So why did I feel like running for the nearest exit?

My head spun with all my questions until I was dizzy.

His hand tightened on my arm as though he were trying to bring me back to reality. “It’s all right if you don’t feel the same way. We could just forget this ever happened. Like I didn’t open my big mouth.”

The resigned expression on his face ate away at me. Especially since I was the reason. “No, it’s not that. It’s just … so sudden. I don’t really know how I—I never really thought about it.” That was a lie. I’d thought about us being together before. But that was all before Evan.

Brian’s eyes softened with hope, and his hand drifted up to cup the back of my neck. “Why don’t you think about it, then?” And just like that, without another word, he came closer and closer. He paused for a few seconds right before the kiss, in case I wanted to pull away.

I didn’t.

It shouldn’t have surprised me that Brian’s kiss would be perfect, like him. It was sweet. Gentle and soft. Like the kiss that the prince would give the princess at the end of the story, right before they rode off into the sunset toward their happily ever after.

Being with Brian was so effortless. He knew who I was and loved me. We had the same goals. The same views on life and our future. Hopefully we’d both be in New York next year. Maybe this was how things were supposed to be. Maybe things were starting to fall into place again. Like he said, things fit for a reason.

His other hand slid up my shoulder and accidentally tugged at my necklace beneath my shirt. Evan’s necklace. Evan’s face flashed in my head, and I jerked away from Brian like he had electrocuted me.