Page 46 of You Started It

“Do you know what it’s like to have multiple people chasing after me when the one person’s attention I do want is busy chasing after a person who doesn’t deserve her?”

“Is this some sort of confession?” I ask, honestly perplexed by Axel’s quasi-declaration of…something.

“When I saw you and Ben at the library after school, I didn’t like it.”

“You saw us?” I ask.

“I wanted to tell you something but the two of you were laughing and it seemed like you were having a moment.”

Laughing? A moment? “There wasn’t a moment. You probably just saw us when Ben was making fun of my inability to do the Macarena.”

Axel stifles a laugh. “You really are hopeless, aren’t you?”

“I am. And that’s why I need you.” I exhale and take a step closer, allowing a smile to come through. “I don’t want this thing to end. Truthfully, I’m having too much fun. But if feelings are getting in the way and…”

“No. Forget I said anything.”

He swallows, avoiding my stare. I stand by, tilting my head. His eyes meet with mine slowly.

“Okay,” he says with a slight shrug. He pinches his fingers together. “I may have a tiny crush on you.”

“Good.” I mirror his fingers with my own. “Because I may have a tiny crush on you too. Purely physical.”

Axel laughs and it helps break the tension of this weird confessional.

“I’m good with that,” he says in that cocky tone I’ve grown to like.

The sun is about to set. Standing on this porch alongside Axel with a cool breeze blowing between us, I think about lacing my fingers with his. Not for show but because I want to. What if I kissed him? Would he kiss me back? And what if he did? Would it be so bad? Just to see what it’s like to kiss someone else. To feel his lips on mine. To press my body up against his. Maybe run my hands through his curls.

I look up to find Axel’s eyes on me in a contemplative stare. He slowly bridges the gap between us. Instinctively, I wet my lips before leaning in to meet his.

“Jamie,” Axel’s mom calls through the doorway, her voice like ice-cold water on a growing fire. I take a step back, a veiled attempt to steady my racing heart. Axel turns away, placing his hands in his pockets. “I know you can’t have dinner with us tonight, but Saturday, you come here, we’ll feed you. Okay?”

I glance at Axel, whose cheeks are flaming red.

“Okay,” I say. “I’ll come by.”

“Early though,” Axel says to his mom. “We have plans that night.”

“Okay, busy boy. The early bird special for my lovebirds.” His mom smiles at the two of us and Axel raises his brows at his mother. “Sorry, Romeo. I’ll leave you alone.”

“What plans do we have Saturday?” I ask once his mom is back inside.

“That’s what I was coming to tell you at the library. The Red Rodeo concert—”

I nod before correcting him. “Blue Rodeo. Did you get tickets?”

“Don’t worry about logistics. I have a plan. Just come by around five.”

Saturday night: dinner with my fake boyfriend who I just almost kissed and his Arab family before going to a concert we don’t have tickets for. Sounds like a time.

The corners of my lips turn up in a smile. “Can’t wait.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“What’re you doing tonight?” Mom asks. We’re in the kitchen, piecing together lunch. Amo Eli is at work with Axel. My stomach has been doing flips all day, worrying about having to share a meal with Axel’s big Arab family. I know it’s just pretend, but I’m for-real nervous.

What if I don’t like the food they serve? What if I don’t have the right answers to their questions? What if they want to talk politics? What if they discover I’m a horrible Arab? What if they tell Axel I’m not good enough for him? Will that change how he feels about me?

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