Page 55 of Landon & Shay: Part One

16

Landon

“Let’sgo on a date this Saturday.”

I had to rub the tiredness out of my eyes in order to make sure it was Shay who was talking to me after theater rehearsal. She seemed to go well out of her way to avoid interacting with me during the school day and now during our rehearsals. Truly, the only time she’d given me the time of day was when I was Romeo and she was Juliet. She was a hard book to crack open, that was for sure. That didn’t mean I was going to stop trying.

I was walking out of the school building when she came jogging up to me. I cocked an eyebrow at her words.

“A date?” I asked.

“Yes, a date. You and me. Let’s do this.”

“I thought I didn’t date people, especially not you,” I spat out.

She rolled her eyes, and that dimple in her right cheek shone so bright in the darkness of the afternoon. “Do you remember everything that was ever said to you?”

“It’s a gift, a curse,” I muttered.

“So…this Saturday?” She wiggled her eyebrows in anticipation.

I narrowed my eyes and gave her a stern glare. “You really want to go out this Saturday?”

“Yes.”

“With me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

She laughed. “To make you fall in love with me. Duh.”

She was up to something, because she had the goofiest grin known to mankind on her lips. She looked like a damn five-year-old holding the secret that she didn’t brush her teeth before going to bed or something.

“What are you hiding up your sleeve, Gable?” I asked.

She widened her eyes in surprise then rolled up the sleeves on her coat jacket, revealing her arms. “Just skin.”

I studied her smooth, tan color for a second before moving my eyes back to hers. I brushed my thumb across my nose. “What did you have in mind?”

“It’s a surprise. Don’t worry, I’ll pick you up and drive us there. One in the afternoon. Be ready.” She began walking away from me, and then she spun around, holding the straps of her backpack. “Oh, and Satan?”

“Yeah?”

“You did really great today during rehearsal. I hate to say it, but no one could do what you do. You’re that good. Have a good night.” She turned back around, walking to her car, and something happened to my heart in my chest. It tightened? It skipped? It beat in overdrive? I wasn’t exactly sure. I wasn’t used to my heart doing anything other than following its mundane pattern. Then, along came Shay Gable, and she went ahead and messed up my rhythmic patterns, all because of a nice compliment.

Was she being sarcastic? Was her comment genuine? Was she screwing with my head?

Open your damn book for me to read, Shay.

I stared at her—and her sweet ass—as she walked away, my heart still trying to figure out what had happened.

Had my heart skipped a beat over my sworn enemy?

What. The. Hell. Was. That?

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