him.”
I smile and lift a brow. “Now why would I want you to go out with other guys if I’m into you?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
I lean forward slowly and rest my lips against the shell of her ear. “Let me know when you figure it out.” While I’m there, I decide not to waste an opportunity and kiss her neck before standing up.
June stays seated, eyeing me cautiously, but a faint smile hovers over her lips because she loves this. She loves the strategy. The dance. The calculation. It used to be fun in high school, but now that we know what the other person’s lips feel like, the game is twice as exciting.
I stick my hand out, and she accepts it, letting me pull her up to her feet. With her standing inches from my chest, I say, “Go ahead. Accept him.”
She twitches her head to the side a little and eyes me one last time. I’m not sure if she found the answer in my face she was looking for or not, but finally, she types out a quick response accepting Hunter’s invitation and hits send.
Chapter Twenty
June
Do you know what it feels like to be given a five-star prime rib from the best restaurant in town and then have it ripped away from you only to be replaced with a greasy fast-food burger off the dollar menu? I do. That’s what happened when Ryan told me I should take the date with Hunter.
There’s not a chance in the world that a date with a random guy that I met at Logan's boring birthday party would be anywhere close to a date with Ryan. But let’s be honest here, Hunter could show up to my house completely naked with a body like Thor, hand me a million dollars, and I would still just be like meh, I guess that’s cool. Because Ryan has ruined me for the rest of the world.
I wanted to call Stacy and ask her what I should do, but I picked up my phone five times and set it back down because it’s time I start figuring things out on my own. Stacy is married now. She’s gone. The sooner I stop leaning on her the better.
That’s why, right now, I’m sitting in an empty movie theater (except for the old man in the front row sneaking his cat out of a duffle bag, which I really don’t want to concern myself with) about to consume five pounds of popcorn. Seriously. I could have gone with a hypothetical absurd number, but I’m holding the big tub that costs $30, and I would bet all of my life savings that it actually weighs five pounds. And when you realize that I’m dead serious and plan to eat this entire bucket myself, it makes the five-pounds thing seem more terrifying.
So, why am I here alone about to send myself into a butter coma? Because Ryan has completely wedged himself under my skin, and I couldn’t bring myself to go on another meaningless date with yet another man I know I’ll never care about.
The minute after Ryan left my house last night, I texted Hunter and bailed. Why? Because I already told you, Ryan is a wrecking ball in my life. He rolled into town and crushed right through my walls. Suddenly, dates that have absolutely no chance of leading to anything permanent feel disappointing. I don’t feel liberated by them anymore—just suffocated by my loneliness.
I want Ryan in my life.
However, since I am the most stubborn human being on the face of the earth, I am pretending I’m on a date with another man, because Ryan cannot know that he’s won my heart over so quickly. I need to make him sweat. Torture has always been one of our favorite games, and I’m playing it now with a smile on my face.
Just as the theater goes dark and the trailers begin to roll, my phone lights up in the cup holder. My maniacal smile grows when I see who it is. I even go so far as to chuckle evilly, but then cat-man turns around and shushes me like I’m the one with the social problem. Fine. I hunker down into my seat and try to hide the light from my phone in case the illumination offends the cat.
Ryan: On your date?
June: Yep. It’s going great too.
I’m smiling at my diabolical ways as I dip my hand into the buttery pot of gold in