Page 67 of After Tonight

This was good. It was kind of banter-y. And she did like the idea of him ogling her. “Yeah? Well, ditto.”

He chuckled at that. “You never ogled me.”

“Oh, really? I particularly liked the neon-green swim trunks you had that one summer.”

That had been about six years ago. Had she really ogled him that far back? But she had to admit, she’d learned firsthand from Derek Wright that six-pack abs and that awesome V guys had on either side of those abs could be real.

Derek set his cup down and braced his hands on the counter on either side of his hips. “That was a long time ago.”

“Yeah.” She knew that she looked a little puzzled by that too.

“I guess the not-liking-me thing kept you from doing anything about it anyway.”

Her gaze flew to his face. “What not-liking-you thing?”

“You didn’t like me.” He shrugged. “I was like an annoying brother who wasn’t even really a brother.”

He had been. There was no denying that. Was that what had kept her from making her ogling more obvious? “Yeah, you were,” she agreed. “Super annoying.”

“I only did all of that to get your attention.”

She tipped her head. “Why did you want my attention?”

“I don’t think I really realized why. When I was doing it.”

“Do you know now?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I think I do.”

“Okay, why?” Her heart had sped up a little and she sat back, crossing her arms.

“Because when Riley Ames gives something, or someone, her attention, it means it’s special. It’s something she’s given a lot of thought, and heart, to. It’s really worthwhile.”

Riley felt her mouth drop open.

“Like the music that you liked. You didn’t just listen to the radio. You followed bands. You knew their backgrounds and their music that didn’t get played regularly. You knew the meaning behind the lyrics. And the books you read. You didn’t read whatever was most popular at the time. You found stories that really mattered to you. And your tattoos. You might have thought you were doing those to be rebellious, but every one of them has a meaning behind it.”

Holy…crap.

“I guess I just wanted to be something that you gave some extra thought to. Even if it was annoyed thought.”

“You didn’t…you didn’t feel worthwhile?”

He shrugged. “Not to you.”

She shook her head. “I’ve always cared about you. You were on my mind.” She swallowed. “I think…I wanted to have a crush on you. But I wasn’t your type.”

He nodded. “I know. And ditto.”

No, he hadn’t been. She hadn’t been. All of those things she’d been interested in—the books, the music, her hobbies—were nothing Derek had wanted to have anything to do with. But he’d been a teenage boy. He’d grown up a lot since then. He was a lot more mature and insightful than she’d ever given him credit for before.

She hadn’t been his type before. He hadn’t been her type before.

But now…

Those two words seemed to hang in the air, and Riley didn’t dare say them. Or ask them.

“I didn’t always like you,” she acknowledged. “The idea of us being together never really occurred to me. But you always mattered.”

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