Page 34 of Breakaway to You

Kind of.

I mean, for just a second it was a tad dreamy to imagine myself as Zeke’s girlfriend. His fake girlfriend…but whatever. The way he had said,Now everyone knows your mine, had sent my pulse skyrocketing. My younger self would have never believed that one day I would get to work with Zeke, let alone kiss him. Most of the time, I could keep my former crush on him at bay. But that kiss had changed things.

Tonight, I would let myself enjoy the idea of being his girlfriend, living out a small daydream, then go back to how things were before. In a few days, we could tell people it hadn’t worked out and move on. No big deal. And then whenever we played the Blue Jays, I’d be more diligent in making sure I didn’t cross paths with Jordan.

See? Nothing to stress over.

Zeke joined us again at the table, setting down our drinks. I noticed he had gotten a club soda too, but with a lime like I had suggested last time. I tried not to smile, but it was impossible. He didn’t even like club soda, but he’d gotten one too because of me. I stopped trying to hide my smile and let a wide grin fill my face as I looked up at him.

“What?” he asked, one side of his mouth tipped up.

“You got a club soda.”

“I did.” He let out his full smile. “Someone once told me it was an acquired taste. I’m trying to see if that’s true.” He lifted the glass to his lips and took a drink.

“And?”

His head tilted and his mouth grimaced. “Not acquired yet.”

I laughed. “Do you want me to go get you a different drink?”

He scoffed. “You don’t think I can handle this drink?” His voice held a hint of a challenge.

I pulled my lips in, trying to stifle my laughter. “If that face you made after you took a sip was anything to go by, then no, I don’t think you can handle a club soda.”

He kept his eyes on me as he reached for his glass, lifting it to his mouth and downing it, his eyes never leaving mine. His gaze was almost heated, and I had to let my eyes focus somewhere else. That somewhere else was his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed. I wasn’t sure how him consuming his drink all at once had raised the temperature in the bar, but I was definitely feeling flushed.

The glass smacked down on the table, now empty except for ice and a wedge of lime.

“Looks like I more than handled it.”

Yes. Yes, he did. He looked like he could handle a lot of things.

And he wasn’t just talking about club soda.

I swallowed, hoping to find my voice. I figured I had two ways to respond. I could agree with him and hope my voice didn’t come out breathless from just watching him drink. Or…I could pretend I wasn’t affected by the way he showed off and looked at me like no other guy had ever looked at me.

Tonight was all about pretending, so I lifted my chin and brushed my hair over my shoulder. “It also looks like you want another club soda,” I baited.

“Too bad I’m no longer thirsty,” he said with a mischievous grin. “For club soda, at least.”

Holy H-E-double-hockey-sticks.

We stared at one another, unspoken words filling the silence. The buzz in my body felt like an electrical current between the two of us.

“I really wish I didn’t have to leave,” Seth said from across the table, obviously watching everything happen between Zeke and me.

I’d totally forgotten Seth was here. I was pretty sure that kiss with Zeke had short-circuited my brain.

I broke eye contact with Zeke and tried to look unfazed as I spoke to Seth. “You have to go already?”

He nodded and waved his phone at me. “Yeah, I got the ‘when are you going to be home’ text.” He looked between Zeke and me, a smirk playing on his features. “But I have a feeling you won’t even know I’m gone.”

He was probably right, but I still was bummed he was leaving already. We hadn’t hung out in a long time, and I missed his friendship.

“Okay, well, I’m glad we got to hang out for a little while like we used to.” I rounded the table and gave him a hug.

“Me too.” He hugged me back and then held out a hand to Zeke. “It was nice meeting you. Take care of my girl.”

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