Page 62 of Fumbled Into Love

How the hell am I supposed to wrangle this small crush when he’s spent all afternoon by Lina’s side, offering her words of encouragement in the gym when the older kids tried to exclude her from ball hockey?

Instead of letting her sit on the sidelines, Deon grabbed two sticks, handed one to her, and passed the ball with her on the other side of the gym. In the few hours they’ve spent together, she’s said more words to him than I’ve heard her speak in the year she’s been coming to GameChangers.

Deon’s eyes twinkle when they meet mine, and I know my cover is shot. I slide out from behind the storage bins and awkwardly wave.

He shakes his head but gestures me over.

Lina’s eyes are downcast, focused on her bracelet when I reach the table.

I swear to all things holy, if Deon Adams does something charming and considerate right now, I might lose it.

“Lina,” he prods, voice soft, “This is my girlfriend, Nathalie.”

“Hi, Lina. How’s your drawing?”

She shrugs, and I don’t let it sting that she likes Deon more than me.

“I was talking to Lina,” Deon says to me, “and she said she likes my bracelet.” He lifts his hand to show me the friendship bracelet I gave him on our awkward first fake date. “Would you be able to show her how you made it?”

Lina’s eyes lift in intrigue, and I slide into a chair, ignoring the way Deon called me his girlfriend or that he still wears the bracelet I gave him.

I ignore it all as I explain the knots and patterns.

That’s my new plan, I decide, as Deon attempts to make his bracelet: ignore, ignore, ignore.

Deon follows along, working on his bracelet as I help Lina pick out colors and tie the knots. Periodically, I glance at Deon, but he’s focused on his task, tongue pressed against his cheek in concentration.

“How are you doing?” I ask, trying to peek at his bracelet, but his palm blocks my view.

“Don’t look until I’m finished,” he grumbles, and I sigh, turning my back so I can’t see.

“That looks great,Lina!”

She confidently ties the knots, and the bracelet grows. I show her how to braid the extra string at the end and then put the bracelet on her wrist.

“Can we do this again tomorrow?” Lina whispers, eyes darting around the room.

“We can do this every day if you’d like.”

She nods, and fondness for the shy girl fills my chest. I’m helping her start her second bracelet when Deon murmurs, “Give me your hand.” I spin, but he shouts, “Don’t look!”

I roll my eyes, bemused by his dramatics, and throw my arm out behind my back. His fingers graze the inside of my wrist, and my skin tingles.

“Okay. You can look now.”

I shift to face Deon, who wears a hesitant and hopeful smile, before glancing down at my wrist. A friendship bracelet, orange and pink, is tied around my wrist beside the matching one with Deon.

“It’s amazing!” I beam down at the bracelet, “The colors are so cute!”

“They remind me of you,” he admits shyly.

He’s said that before. Orange and pink remind him of me. It didn’t make sense, but I figured he was somehow referring to the flowers.

“What do you mean? The colors remind you of me?”

In the shyest tone I’ve ever heard from Deon, he admits, “They remind me of the sunrise. Full of promise and hope for a new day. You give me that same feeling.”

CHAPTER 15

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