Page 42 of Accidental Baby Daddy

I raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by off and on?”

Gillian sighed. “I don’t know. He doesn’t seem to want a relationship,” she said glumly.

I frowned. “I don’t know if you should be dating guys like that, Gilly.”

“I know,I know,” she groaned, “but he’s so sweet and he treats me well when we’re together.” She shoved a big spoonful of mint chocolate chip into her mouth.

“When you’re together?" I kept asking questions because I wanted to know more about him, wanted to protect her.

“Yeah. For instance, he doesn’t text a lot when we’re apart. I’m always the first to text him then I don’t hear back right away, that kind of thing,” she admitted.

I frowned deeper. “That’s not good.”

She looked at me sideways. “Was it like that with you and Oliver?”

I breathed out a little laugh. “Oh, not at all. Oliver would come to my house if I didn’t message him back quickly or if I didn’t answer his calls.”

“God, I wish Gray would be more like that. I feel sometimes like I’m the only one trying, you know?”

“That’s not how things are supposed to be, Gilly.”

She sighed. “I know. I should break things off, shouldn’t I?”

I put my arm around her shoulders. “I know it’s hard. But it’s probably for the best.”

I probably needed to take my own advice. I knew that things between Oliver and I weren’t real, that they wouldn’t last. We’d only hooked up a couple of times, and he clearlystill held some resentment toward me. Hell, I held some resentment toward him, as well.

Gillian sniffled, a single tear sliding down her face. She was always bubbly and happy, so when it came to negative emotions, she liked keeping it short and sweet.

“Tell me about Oliver. How things were for the two of you back then.”

I let out a long breath, a small smile spreading across my face. “He was... intense. That’s the only word to explain it. When he kissed me, when he touched me, it was like we were the only two people in the world.”

“Was it love at first sight?” she asked, her eyes widening, and I kicked myself for not having these kinds of conversations with her when she was younger.

She needed a big sister to tell her what love was like, so that she wouldn’t look for it in the wrong places.

“Not for me,” I admitted. “It was at the Pig. On the dance floor.”

“Is that where you met?”

I nodded, smiling. “I was out with my friends, dancing, celebrating someone’s birthday or something, I don’t remember. Anyway, I saw Oliver outside chatting with a friend, and the way his eyes followed me, it was as if he’d seen me before, recognized me. But I didn’t know him. I mean I had seen him at school, but I didn’t pay much attention, you know? I wasn’t a cool kid, and he totally was.”

“Did you think he was cute?”

“Gorgeous,” I breathed. “He had the deepest brown eyes, broad shoulders. But I never thought a guy that looked like him would go for a girl who looked like me. So I didn’t think much else about it, not until I was on the dance floor.”

“I can’t believe the Pig used to havea real dance floor instead of patrons having to move around the pool tables,” she giggled.

“Mmm-hmm, used to have a disco ball and everything,” I laughed. “But anyway, he grabbed me by the hip and turned me around.”

“That’s so romantic,” she squealed. “Did he say anything?”

“He said ‘wanna dance?’ I nodded, and he gave me the sexiest, slowest smile.”

“That sounds wonderful,” she said, her tone bittersweet. “I wish I had something like that with Gray. We worked together for months on campus before I got the courage to ask him if he wanted to go out.Ihad to askhim.”

“Love isn’t always instant,” I told her. “Sometimes it grows. And maybe it will with Gray, but if not, there are?—”

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