Page 64 of Accidentally Amy

Izzy

“He just pulled up.” I watched through the window as Blake got out of his car and slammed the door. He was wearing jeans and a gray sweatshirt that made his chest look ridiculously wide, and of course, his hair looked like he’d driven all the way over with his windows down. I let go of the blinds I’d been peering through and turned around. “He’s here.”

“Are you surprised?” Josh asked, not looking away from the monitor in front of him. The Darkling was on his lap as he sat in my desk chair, playing some stupid game on my computer because his was glitching. “That he showed up when he said he was going to show up?”

“No, but I don’t—”

Blake knocked on the front door.

“Gah!” I froze and gasped. I whispered, “What do I do?”

“Open the door, numb nuts,” Josh said. “This isn’t hard.”

“Shhh—and yes, it is.” I tugged on the bottom of my fuzzyred sweater—which I’d paired with boyfriend jeans—and tucked my hair behind my ears. “What if he wants to talk about it?”

“You just told me that you guys texted all day yesterday.”

“Yeah, but texting is different,” I explained, leaning down to pick up the remote control that had been cat-batted onto the floor. “Face-to-face, after I attacked him on his couch, is—”

“Quit being a pussy,” Josh said, his eyes still on the computer. “And open the damn door.”

“Fine.” I walked over, grabbed the cat off his lap, and turned toward the door. “But I’m taking the Darkling for protection.”

“Why would you take the cat to the door?”

“Because I don’t know if I can deal with him looking at me like I made a move on him,” I said, squeezing the cat against my shoulder as he tried jumping down. “Darkster will be a good distraction.”

“You are such a dumbass,” he muttered as I walked over to the door and grabbed the handle. I shifted the cat in my arms and pulled open the door.

“Hey.” It was a small word, a casual one-syllable utterance, but the way Blake said it made my breath catch. His dark gaze moved all over my face, like he was searching for something specific. He looked tense, and I couldn’t stop myself from glancing at his mouth and remembering how it’d felt on mine.

“Hey,” I replied, turning my attention to the cat in my arms before Blake had a chance to mistake my eye contact for a desire to talk.

“Listen, Iz, I need to talk to you—”

“Sup, Physical Challenge?” Josh yelled from behind me.

Thank you, Josh.

“Josh.” Blake sounded surprised by Josh’s presence, but I wasn’t about to look at him. “How’s it going?”

Josh said, “You know.”

I had no idea what to do next, so I looked at Josh.

“I’m just about…” he said, rapidly hitting keys on the keyboard. He muttered, “Yes, fucker,” before looking up, smiling at us, and saying, “…to take off.”

“No,” I blurted out, desperate to not be alone with Blake. “You don’t have to go.”

Josh pushed back the wireless keyboard and stood. “There’s a bacon sandwich upstairs that’s calling my name.”

“I have bacon,” I said, glancing back at Blake, who was watching me with his eyes narrowed.

“Yeah, but what kind of bread do you have?” Josh asked, rubbing a hand over his stomach. “I only like bacon on Wonder Giant.”

“I have Wonder Giant,” I blurted, relieved that I actually had the stupid bread that my cousin wanted.

“Do you have any mayo?” he asked.

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