him as a kid sometimes. The image of him from back then was so clear, but it seemed like every year he morphed more and more into a freakin’ male model.
It was crazy. I mean, no wonder I…
Nothing.
But my mind continued to swirl with thoughts about him.
What was it about the Garcia brothers and the ridiculous glow-ups they went through? It had to be in their genes.
Their jeans and their genes…
I chanced another glance at Aaron, who gave me a small smile.
Why was he so cute? It would be easier to not crush on him if he wasn’t so darn cute…
I tried to focus on the road again.
We were juniors now, but what would he look like during our senior year? When he was in college?
For sure I could forget about our connection or whatever it was because, like Ben and the rest of his brothers, he could have any girl he wanted.
He wouldn’t crush on his best friend’s dorky little sister forever…
Ben broke the silence again. Uh oh. I was being weird again, wasn’t I? “How are your classes going?” he asked.
Things had never been weird between us, but things had been weird since the winter dance and each of us finding out how we felt about each other.
We talked about school and homework and how the basketball season was going so far. Oh, and that one school’s cheer squad who had mistakenly thought they were starring in a Bring It On movie.
Aaron laughed out loud. “That girl’s face when she saw what you guys could do… She literally turned white. Her jaw fell to the floor.”
We cracked up over that.
“I don’t know why she didn’t see how amazing I obviously am,” I joked, glad we were laughing and the tension had eased.
Aaron’s voice turned kind of quiet. “Most people don’t.”
I almost missed the turn into our neighborhood because of that comment.
David’s car went off the shoulder a little, and I quickly corrected, hoping the damage would go unnoticed.
“Sorry,” I apologized, mortified.
Aaron held on for dear life. “It was my bad,” he said, starting to laugh again. “I keep distracting you.”
We became quiet again.
I tried not to think about what he’d just said.
Then he told me, “I missed talking to you, Rach. Just us.”
Oh goodness. Why did he have to go and say something like that?
I wanted so desperately to let him know that I missed talking to him too.
So much.
But I didn’t. I had no idea what to say.
Instead, I pulled into my driveway and put the car in park. Then I turned off the ignition, finding it impossible to look anywhere but in front of me.
Aaron opened his door. “Thanks for the ride home,” he said, sounding kind of odd. “I appreciate it.”
Then he was gone.
A minute later, I grabbed my stuff and stepped out of the car, wishing I’d at least said bye.
See you later.
I miss you too.
Something.
But Aaron was long gone, and so was my chance.
6
In the cafeteria the next day, Aaron walked by our table, lunch tray in his hand and a serious expression on his face.
I wasn’t sure if he had seen me, but I had definitely noticed him.
And apparently, my friends had noticed me noticing him because Nora’s mouth curled slowly up into this evil sort of grin.
That girl had Maleficent vibes.
With that thousand-dollar mega-watt smile of hers, she leaned forward. “I see someone still has it bad for a certain Garcia brother.”
Right away, I went back to picking at the lasagna in front of me. “We’re friends, remember?”
“Yeah, yeah,” she replied, sitting back in her seat again. “You’ve only said it like a hundred thousand times.” She crossed her arms. “But we know what goes on in that head of yours.”
Scarlett smiled to herself but didn’t say anything.
Audrey picked up her sandwich. “You two talking yet?”
So that had been obvious too? The distance between Aaron and me lately?
I picked at the peaches on my plate. “We’re neighbors. And he’s friends with my brother, so yeah. We talk sometimes.”
“Hm-hmmm,” Nora said, her voice full of playful suspicion and her eyes all squinty.
Scarlett took a drink of her water. “So I heard your brother can’t play basketball until further notice.”
“Yeah,” I replied, explaining it to everyone. “He hurt his ankle pretty bad at practice the other day. So he’s going to be out for a while.”
Scarlett frowned. “That sucks.” Then she quirked a brow. “Although if it means that he’s out of the picture a little bit—“
Audrey raised a finger. “—because fate is