Page 59 of Oh, Flutz!

“Debatable,” I grumble, and he grins.

“That’s…not a no.”

I glare at him, but his stupid, smug smile just gets bigger.

“Oh my god. You’re really saying yes.”

“I didn’t say anything,” I interject.

“But you didn’t say no!”

He has me there, and he knows it. “Shut up.”

“Great comeback, sunshine.” He winces, stretching out his bad foot slightly.

I notice. “How’s it feeling?’

“Not the greatest. Better, though. I’ll probably be able to get back to work next week if I’m lucky.” He rolls his eyes. “A man can dream.”

“Let’s hope so. We fly out for our competition in—”

“Don’t remind me,” Bryan mumbles, burying his face in the pillow, and I pull it off of him, or try to, because he just holds on tighter like a toddler with a security blanket. I yank a little harder, and it finally gives.

“Come on!”

“You are seriously a child.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway. Speaking of which, thanks for being here. I forgot to say it earlier. I appreciate you caring about me.”

What else was I supposed to do? Let my partner rot in his house while I sat around waiting for his ankle to heal so we could get back on the ice—especially when it’s my fault he’s even here? He wouldn’t be injured if I hadn’t forced him to do the quad.

Anyway, it has less to do with him and more to do with the fact that I am probably the least patient person on the planet. It doesn’t have anything to do with him. This is what we—I—have to do to win. Right. “What makes you think I care about you?”

A flicker of hurt passes across his face—he tries to cover it up, but I don’t miss it. And, bizarrely enough, I feel a rush of guilt. These things jump out of my mouth before I can stop them.

I didn’t mean it like that!The words are dangerously close to jumping out of my mouth.

But you did,a voice in my head reminds me.It doesn’t matter anyway. Stop getting distracted.

Before I can make up my mind, Bryan shakes his head. “I still can’t believe that reporter called elementstricks. What are we, circus animals?”

d. “Well, if you ask Lian, yes.” I smile despite myself. We’re having a normal conversation, but something about his endless energy is contagious—like being around a walking, talking sugar rush. “Although you are a little bit like a dog, you have to admit.” Hyper, affectionate and protective.

“Excuse me? I don’t smell.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Your gym bag begs to differ.”

“Shut up!” He grabs my arms and pulls me forward onto the bed over him, digging his fingers into my ribs, and I scream, flailing and scrambling to get out of reach.

“Let go!”

Of course, he just starts tickling me even more viciously, and I shriek at the top of my lungs, kicking furiously without any consideration of my surroundings.

“Ow! Crap, my ankle, ow—” He clutches at his boot, and I widen my eyes, whirling around to look at him under me.Oh, no.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, are you—”

He starts grinning. I stop short, my mouth falling open.

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