Page 54 of Love to Prove You Wrong

Justin turned around, eyes narrowed, blaster gun pointed in front of him. I ducked down, my heart racing. I hoped he hadn’t seen me and would back off. But instead of running away, he approached my hideout.

Uh-oh. There was no escaping the cockpit. He’d catch me in here and take a shot at me for sure.

His footsteps banged on the metal and he peeked his head inside of my hiding place. I pointed my laser at him as a warning. “Don’t come any closer.”

“Did you just shoot me from behind?” he asked, taking a step closer. I guess my warning didn’t impress him one bit.

“Maybe. Did you just flirt with the big-breasted friend of your best friend’s fiancée?”

I slapped a hand over my mouth. Those were not the words I’d planned on uttering, especially not in that venomous tone.

Justin crouched down beside me. “Did I just do what now?”

“This place is too small to contain two people in a comfortable way,” I said, completely ignoring his question in the hopes of him forgetting about it.

Of course, that lame tactic didn’t fly with him.

“Why would me flirting with Ashley bother you?”

“So you know her name and everything,” I said. “Priceless.”

“Well, I’m not stupid. I am capable of remembering someone’s name. I would hardly call thatpriceless,” he said, using air quotes and everything.

I sighed. He was being impossible. “I’m sorry about bringing it up and about shooting you. Would you please leave now? Maybe Ashley has a hiding spot you can crawl into.”

“I don’t want to. I don’t care about that girl, big breasts or not.”

My eyes darted around the room, trying to avoid his. “You being here is making me feel all weird.”

“Weird how?”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t know. On edge. Uncomfortable. Who wouldn’t feel weird when they have to involuntarily spend time in an enclosed space with their nemesis?”

Justin put his blaster gun down. Then he sat so close next to me that I thought about giving him a spiel about personal space and how he had crossed the line of what was considered polite. But my breath caught in my throat when he settled those stunning eyes of his on my face, and I was rendered immobile.

“I’m not your nemesis. You want to think I am so you have an excuse for not kissing me.”

All the air got sucked out of me. “Excuse me, did you just say kissing you?”

He laughed. “Don’t look so shocked.”

“I don’t want to kiss you at all,” I said weakly. Even I wasn’t convinced.

He held his hands up in surrender. “Fine, then I’ll go.”

“No, wait.” I grabbed his arm. “Please don’t go.”

He put his fingers on his temples as if it was all getting too much for him. “I told you at the party, Addy, and I’m going to say it one last time. I’m done playing games. Either you want me, or you don’t.”

I swallowed. “Nothing about this makes sense.”

“It does to me.”

I thought for a beat before speaking. “You used to think I was a silly girl, remember? That’s why you made jokes at my expense, spread that stupid nickname around and ruined my science project. Why would you want me after all these years, huh? Why do you even care?”

“Forget about that stupid science project already. Did it ever occur to you that I was a dick to you in high school because I had a crush on you and I didn’t know how to go about it? Besides, I never once called you a silly girl. That all happened in your imagination.”

My eyebrows shot up, and a mix of confusion and elation scrambled my brains into mush. His comment reminded me of that evening at Roger’s, when he told me he had his eye on me in high school. So, he was saying he used to make my life miserable because helikedme?

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