The Punk and the Plaything (When Rivals Play #3) - B.B. Reid Page 0,92
Jamie standing there like some storybook hero. I knew he was anything but. In fact, he’d acted like nothing had happened while I’d been a nervous wreck ever since. What if that guard had died? What if we’d killed him?
“Oh, um, Ever and the guys are out back.”
We were all hanging out at the Portlands’ today. A playdate with Olivia had been the only reason my parents let me out today since I’d missed curfew by an hour the night of the fair. Olivia was currently upstairs, painting her nails with two of her actual friends, but, as usual, she was nice enough to let me take cover here.
Jamie said nothing as he popped a squat and rested his back against the tree I’d been sitting under alone.
Closing my journal, I angled my body toward him. He was so close that my knee brushed his thigh. “Don’t you want to play catch with the guys?”
He shook his head, and some of his reddish-brown hair fell into his eyes. “Tossing a ball back and forth isn’t really my thing.”
My eyebrows shot to my hairline. If he didn’t like sports, what did he like? “You don’t play sports?”
He seemed wary as he looked me up and down. “Is that a problem?”
“No, I just—is it all sports or just football?” My foot always seemed to find its way inside my mouth when Jamie was around. He didn’t exactly say all the right things, either, but only one of us was ever apologetic about it.
“The games I like to play aren’t considered a sport.”
“What kind of games do you like to play?”
His brown eyes twinkled in that way I knew meant trouble. “Have you heard of spin the bottle?”
“Duh,” I said, giggling to hide my nervousness.
Cocking a brow, he said, “Ever play?”
My cheeks were suddenly burning, and I had trouble meeting his gaze. “No. Of course not.” The thought of my first kiss made my stomach twist and my heart race.
“I can show you how if you want.”
As if it would protect me, I clutched my journal a little tighter to my chest. I hadn’t expected Jamie to flirt with me again. At the fair, I’d looked like a girl, and I knew without needing to be told that I was a pretty one. But today, I was back to wearing my cargo shorts, and Avengers tee with my favorite red cap turned backward. “No, thanks.”
He leaned a little closer, making me want to say yes. “Are you afraid, Barbette?”
I considered lying, but I had the feeling he’d see right through me. “Yes.”
Lifting his hand, he tugged on one of my curls. “Then, I can wait.”
“Wait? Wait for what?”
“For your first kiss… and for you to get over my cousin.”
“Wha—I…” As I struggled for words or a plausible lie, Jamie plucked my journal from my hands. My heart pounded as I made a desperate attempt to steal it back. What if he read what was inside? Everything I felt but was too afraid to say was in that book. Cruelly, he held it out my reach. “Give it back!”
“Admit that you like my cousin.”
“No, I don’t. Now give me my book!” I shot to my feet, hoping that would give me an advantage, but he stood too, and pretty soon, I was chasing him all over the Portlands’ front yard. After a few minutes, I was beginning to tire and ready to give up when he stumbled over a rock. It slowed him down just enough for me to tackle him to the ground. “Jerk!”
I fell on top of him, but somehow, he managed to flip onto his back, sending me to the ground at his side. And that was when I realized he was laughing. Against my will, I began laughing, too. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my journal lying in the grass a few feet away. Propping my head in my hand, I made no move to rescue it. I wasn’t sure how long we lay on the ground, staring at one another. Eventually, he broke the spell.
“Tell me something about you that no one else knows.”
My gaze flew to the grass, hoping it hid my blush. Jamie might as well have asked me to take off my clothes. Remembering all the stories Ever told about him, I wondered… would he stop me if I tried?
Something inside my chest tightened at the thought.
Did I want to try? Isn’t that what boys and girls would do when they liked