Page 66 of Talk Birdie to Me

“No, thank goodness,” Geena said. “It was a little dicey on that front for a bit, but I defused the situation.”

Taylor scrunched her nose. “Why would you do that?”

“I don’t know, Taylor. Maybe because violence is never the answer?”

“I think we could make an exception for Ricky.”

Geena would love it if that were true, but it wasn’t. “It was odd. Ricky gets under my skin easily, but I was surprised at how quickly he’d enraged Cody.”

Taylor tilted her head at her sister. “What set him off?”

“Oh, you know how Ricky is. He made some backhanded comment at my expense.”

“Soooo he was upset on your behalf?”

Geena remembered the flash of anger on Cody’s face. As much as she was denying, to herself as well as to Taylor, that it was a date, she couldn’t deny that he had no other reason to be angry except in her defense.

Had they really grown close enough to trigger that kind of reaction?

“I guess so,” she said.

“And you don’t think there’s anything between the two of you?”

“I’ve said this a million times.” Geena let out an exasperated sigh. “It doesn’t matter what’s between us. We aren’t a good match.”

Maybe, just maybe, based on his reaction to Ricky, Cody might actually feel about her the way she now felt about him. But that didn’t change the fact that he would be leaving soon. He had given her no indication that those plans had changed.

“What did I say earlier about not trying to outsmart your emotions?” Taylor grinned. “And don’t think I didn’t notice that, ‘what’s between us,’ bit.”

“Don’t you have to get back to Austin and Tink?”

Taylor’s grin widened. “Austin would fully support this info mining.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say.”

Taylor’s grin disappeared as she looked earnestly at her sister. “I just like seeing you happy. And he seems to make you happy, whether or not you want that to be true. I want you to admit that you like him.”

“Okay,” Geena said. “I don’t not enjoy his company.”

“Nope, try again.”

Beep beep boop beep.

“Fine. I enjoy his company.”

“I know you’re afraid to get hurt or pick the wrong guy again,” Taylor said. “Really, I do. But can you just admit you like him? Trying to squash your feelings won’t make them go away.”

Geena sighed heavily and counted backwards. This time, it wasn’t because she was angry or frustrated. This time it was because Taylor wasn’t wrong.

In a low voice, she gave in and said, “I like him.”

“Good. Now that you got through the hard part of admitting it, maybe you can do something with those feelings.”

“More running?”

Taylor laughed. “If that helps.”

It didn’t help anything. The words couldn’t change the fact that Cody would leave eventually, and Geena wouldn’t get involved if there was a ticking clock for the end of a relationship.

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