Page 28 of Between Us

As if on cue, Blake lights up and gives Tim a sweet smile. “I forgot to mention earlier, thanks for the candy.” She’s already looking at her plate again, so she misses the way I stiffenandthe look of confusion on her dad’s face.

“What candy?”

I can feel them the second Selena’s knowing eyes land on me. It took her only seconds to put it together—I was the one who left the gift for Blake.

“The lollipop you left on the desk for me this morning.” She’s still looking down at her plate, completely oblivious to the growing tension in the room.

“Oh, uh,” Tim starts, clearly unsure about what to do. He doesn’t want to take the credit for it, but he doesn’t want to throw me under the bus either.

“What?” She finally looks up, glancing around. I clear my throat, and her attention falls on me. She doesn’t say anything for a moment then finally, she breaks the silence. “Adrian, did you get that for me?”

“Yeah,” I shrug, trying my best to act casual. I didn’t think aboutthiswhen I agreed to stay. I was totally cool with leaving the lollipop for her and moving on. I didn’t need the recognition. Hell, I didn’twantit.

I don’t even know why I stopped at the small market she’s always talking about. When I was driving past it this morning before classes, I thought to myself,I just want to brighten up her Friday a little. But not even I have the balls to say all that in front of her parents. “The littlemercadodown the road from me sells them. I’ve seen you eat them a few times.”

“The one on 4th and Meadows?” I nod, knowing it’s the only one in Amada Beach that sells the exact brand she loves. I’ve overheard her talking about it with Olivia, but it really is a coincidence that I live on 4th and Palms, only one street up. “Wow,” she blinks. “Thanks, Adrian.”

“You’re welcome. I’m sorry you had a bad day.”

“It’s okay,” she nonchalantly lifts her shoulders. “It wasn’t all bad, in the end.” She grabs her plate from the table and walks to the sink. All I can do is follow and hope for another minute of time with her, even if that means spending my evening cleaning my boss’s kitchen after a day of classes and work.

Chapter Fourteen

Blake

“Well,lookatthat,”my dad mumbles. I lift my gaze from my phone to him, but he’s staring out the windshield with a small, surprised smile. Turning to see what he’s looking at, my breath catches when I find Adrian leaning against his car that’s parked next to mine. It’s his day off but that’s not what has my mouth going dry at the sight of him. I’ve never seen him out of scrubs or sweatpants, like when we ran into each other at the gym, but this is different.

He’s wearing a pair of gray jeans and a dark blue button down. His deep mahogany skin seems to glow under the morning sun. When he notices us pulling into the parking lot, he pushes up, giving us an adorably shy smile and runs a hand over the back of his neck, avoiding the soft curls on top.

Before my dad can turn the car off, I’m out and walking toward him. “What are you doing here?” I ask quietly, looking around like we might get caught doing something illicit.

“I thought I could help out today. You need a ride to the tire shop, right?”

“No,” I say as my dad’s walking up. “I’m going to borrow my dad’s car. He’ll help me get the tires off and put them back on.”

“I’ve got it,” he pushes. “I’ll get you coffee and if it takes a while, lunch too. I just don’t want to sit in my apartment all day.” He pouts a little and it’s pathetic, but somehow, hestilllooks happy.

I look at my dad, and to his credit he has a blank, yet friendly expression. I don’t get the feeling he was in on this, but it still feels slightly like an attack, and I’m on the defensive. I cross my arms. “I don’tneedhelp, Adrian.”

“Let me help anyway,” he practically begs.

Defeated but not necessarily disappointed, I quietly ask, “Why?”

At that, my dad gives me a side hug and places a kiss on my temple. “Let me know if you need the keys.” I nod, and we watch as he walks into the clinic.

Once the door shuts behind him, Adrian answers, “I need a break from studying and thought I’d spend the day with a friend.” My brows furrow at his openness and his choice of words. With a smooth smile, he stuffs his hands in his pockets, leans back on his heels and adds, “Unless you want to bemorethan friends… You wouldn’t find me complaining.”

“Oh my God,” I mutter and look away, hoping that he can’t see the blood rushing to my cheeks from this angle.

His laugh tells me otherwise.

It’s been a while since I’ve kissed a boy and trust me, I’ve spent a lot of time over the last few weeks thinking about kissingthisboy. I just don’t know if Adrian’s serious or not. I’ve never had abadexperience hooking up or dating, but none of them have been anything to write home about either. More than anything, I’m not interested in being another good time for someone.

Even if I’mpositivethat even a peck would be anything but mediocre when it came to Adrian.

“Please spend this beautiful Saturday with me. It’s not every day that I’m free from schoolandwork,” he argues.

“You’re right. It’s not every day… just every Saturday.”

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