Page 33 of Falling for Autumn Again

“I don’t mind if you want to talk about me, Green. You don’t have to be shy. I get it.”

“I’m not shy!” I say, leaning a little over Meg. “You know I’m not shy. And you do notgetit. I wasn’t talking about you. At. All!”

“So defensive,” he says, one of his thick brows quirks up on his head.

Meg clears her throat—her eyes dart from me to Ezra and back. “Ah, she wasn’t, actually.”

“HA!” I bellow, pointing a finger at Ezra and calling on the attention of every single person surrounding us.

“Hey, it’s Ezra Bennett,” says Paul in front of us.

A few more heads turn. A woman two bleachers down says, “Ezra and Autumn are here.” The people around her murmur in quiet tones like she just sighted Big Foot on the field and she’s responsible for the breaking news.

For the record—I’malwayshere. I come to every game and Miss Big-Hair in the front has never ever noticed. She's noticing now. Now that Ezra is on the other side of Meg. Nice.

“We aren’t here,” I say, eyes on big hair Barb in the front. “I mean, we’re here, but we aren’t heretogether.” I shake my head and wave, but Barb isn’t looking at me anymore. “We aren’t—”

“I don’t think they care, Green.” Ezra whistles, two fingers in his mouth. I loved that obnoxiously loud whistle ten years ago. Today, I am not a fan.

“Then why are they talking about us?” I grit my teeth.

“Because that’s what small towns do. They talk. You know that, you never left.”

I swallow and glare at Meg—it had to have been her or Dessie who talked. But Dessie isn’t here to glare at. Still,somebodytold him I never left Love and it wasn’t me.

She moves her head back a little, giving Ezra a better view of me, and keeps both her blue eyes on the game—the one she isn’t interested in at all.

Guilty!

“Nice hat,” Ezra says.

I point at the straw thing on my head. “That’s all we were talking about! My hat. Not you.”

“Where you been all these years?” Paul says, turning back around.

“New York.” Ezra gives all his attention to Paul—or so it seems. He’s looking at me, I know he is. That man is staring at me through his peripheral vision, making sure I’m listening to every word he’s saying.

Paul lets a low whistle fall from his pressed lips. “Big city, huh?”

“Yep. Big city. That’s the way I like it.”

I huff, facing forward, but I can’t suddenly go deaf.

“You got a big fancy job?” Paul asks.

“I’m working for myself right now. I like it that way,” he says. Is that for my benefit? He wants me to know how great his life is?

“That hat looks like it came from thegen-u-ineYankees stadium.” Paul nods up at Ezra’s ball cap.

“Genuine?” I blurt. “It could have come from Amazon for all you know, Paul.”

“And yet, Paul is right. Yankee stadium.” Ezra tips his hat at his new BFF.

Paul chuckles. “Whoa. Nice.”

“It’s a hat!” I yank mine from my head and shove it in Paul’s view. “See mine!Gen-u-ineLove High School. How’s that for ya, Paul?”

Paul wrinkles his nose and waves one hand, putting space between himself and my hat. I shove the thing back on my head, feeling the decade-old hay crack with my strength.

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