Page 12 of Along Comes Trouble

“Colton? As in the guy who dumped nachos all over you on Friday? The hottie I called dibs on way back when you told me you weren’t interested?” She raises a judgmental eyebrow .

I offer an apologetic smile. “And also the guy who tricked me into calling him an irreverent asshole via text. Who then called me a stuck-up bitch. The same guy who called me the most degrading nickname I can think of when I got stuck beside him at Smitty’s …”

“This is news. What did he call you ?”

“Bunny.”

“Bunny?” Faye stands and grabs a seat. “I hate to break it to you, but there are far more degrading nicknames than Bunny .”

I wave the statement away. “You know what I mean, though. He certainly didn’t mean it as a compliment. Anyway, after the nickname incident, he thanked me for being decent to his sister. Then follows up the nacho incident by giving me his sweatshirt. And now this.” I gesture toward the flowers .

Faye looks confused. “I think I’m missing a few chunks of the story here .”

I fill her in on everything that happened with Colton since the day she pointed him out in the parking lot. “I thought we hated each other, but you saw how he acted at the game. First, he gives me his sweatshirt and now I get flowers and donuts as yet another apology .”

Faye presses her hands into her thighs. “You want to know what I think ?”

“Desperately. I’ve been over this so many times, it’s all turned to a big pile of confusing mush in my head .”

“You’re overthinking the entire situation. Colton isn’t your arch-enemy or your nemesis. He’s not pure evil just like you’re not pure evil. You guys got off on the wrong foot. He ruined your brand-new shirt and feels bad. And now he wants his sweatshirt back .”

I laugh. “That’s it ?”

“What else could it be ?”

I run a finger along my bottom lip. “Maybe I was wrong to judge him so quickly .”

“What?” Faye laughs. “You mean the baseball hat method of discounting men isn’t foolproof ?”

“I never claimed it was, silly. And it wasn’t just the hat that made me dislike him. It was all of it. The truck. The tires. The hat. Bringing his niece to school late and then asking her to lie about the donuts…” I widen my eyes and drop my hands into my lap. “But maybe I was wrong about him all along. I mean, I’m pretty good friends with his sister and on paper, she and I are complete opposites. Why couldn’t that be true about Colton, too ?”

Faye slides her fingers over a petal before giving me a devilish look. “I give it a week .”

“Give what a week ?”

“The two of you. I bet you’ll be sleeping with the guy by next weekend .”

“What? No! I’m just saying I was wrong to judge him so fast. Or maybe I wasn’t.” I sit back in my chair, shaking my head. “One minute he seems like a cocky asshole, the next he’s busy being exceptionally decent. And now? With the flowers and the donuts? All I’m saying is that Colton might not be as bad as I originally thought. There is nothing between us. I guarantee no one will be sleeping with anyone .”

“And that, my friend, is what they call a tragedy. It’s beyond time for you to step outside of your comfort zone .”

Faye and I switch topics while I finish my lunch. Each time I think about texting Colton, a jolt of adrenaline surges through my body and butterflies twist in my stomach, almost as if I’m excited to talk to him. What in the world is happening to me? Long after Faye goes back to her own classroom, her words keep me company. She mentioned stepping outside my comfort zone and this little niggling feeling makes me feel like that was an important point. That I should pay attention .

Safety, security, and responsibility are the pillars upon which I’ve built my life. I’ve been proud of that fact until recently. My world has been nothing but a monotonous parade of the same thing over and over and over. Maybe I need someone like Sarah, someone like Colton, to broaden my horizons and bring a little color into my suddenly very gray life .

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