Page 68 of Just Another Meet Cute
“No problem.”
As he shot basket after basket, I glanced over at Liv and bit my lip. It was obvious from his intense reaction that he wasn’t completely over her. But if that was the case, then what did that make me? Did he like me, or was I some kind of rebound?
He was almost done playing when I couldn’t help asking, “Ryan, do you still have feelings for her?”
“What? Oh, no. I’m completely over Liv. Now I’mgladthat we broke up. But sometimes …” He broke off and glanced over at her with a downcast look. The basketball was pressed between the palms of his hands. “It just sucks to be the one who got their heart broken, you know? And without knowing why.”
I did know. I had been dumped before. Sort of. My first boyfriend, Alex, moved away with his family, and he didn’t want to do the long-distance thing. Didn’t even want to bother trying. Even though we were pretty much kids, it still hurt. No one wants to be abandoned.
Just then, Liv let out a laugh that echoed across the room. Ryan picked up a ball and tossed it toward the hoop. And missed again. He cursed under his breath as the timer ran out.
Her laughter seemed to swirl around us as it taunted Ryan. It almost didn’t seem fair how Liv appeared perfectly fine while he was obviously still hurt. He didn’t deserve any of this. He was a ni—he was agoodguy. And good guys like him should be treated better.
I fought the urge to defend Ryan. To march across the room, snatch the drink out of her pretty hands, and order Liv to leave so he wouldn’t have to see her anymore. And tell her what a big mistake she made by letting Ryan go. But I couldn’t do that, not without getting kicked out myself. Besides, he wouldn’t want Liv to know that she still bothered him.
Yeah, there was nothing I could do to her. There was one thing I could do forhim.
Placing a hand on either side of his cheeks, I leaned up and kissed him. It wasn’t a long kiss, but I kept my hands on his face as I beamed up at him.
He jumped at my sudden kiss but didn’t pull away. “What are you doing?”
“Showing Liv that just because she doesn’t want you anymore doesn’t mean that someone else wouldn’t grab on to you.” Finally, I let go of him and dramatically fluttered my lashes. “You deserve the best.”
“And you’re the best?”
“Maybe not thebest, but pretty darn close to it.”
His grin was so wide that his dimple was practically a crater in his cheek. “Pretty darn close is good enough for me.”
When I glanced over to see if Liv noticed us, my gaze collided with Ian. He gave me a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable that he was watching, I looked away. I smiled at Ryan for another few seconds before taking a step back, naturally letting go of his arm. He didn’t even notice anything was wrong as he moved on to another game.
Following him, I couldn’t help glancing back over at Ian.
He wasn’t looking at us anymore. He was watching Megan as she told him a story with lots of hand movements and gestures. Even though he wasn’t looking at me, I had a feeling that he was still aware of my every movement.
Like I was aware of each of his. Though I wished in my heart that I wasn’t.
“Thanks again for driving us home,” Ryan said as he leaned against the back seat. His hand was so close to mine that we were practically holding hands. Although our pinkies and ring fingers were touching, so maybe that counts. I wasn’t exactly an expert at hand-holding etiquette.
Linh wiggled her fingers in the air over her shoulder. “It’s no problem. We couldn’t let you guys waste your money on an Uber when you’re treating us to dinner next week.”
“We’re going out to dinner?”
Instead of answering me, she just shot us a big grin in the rearview mirror as Ian snorted loudly from the front seat. “I guess we have to now. And let me guess, we’re going somewhere fancy?”
“Well, I haven’t had steak in a while, but I’m partial to lobster, too.”
“Stop teasing them.” I leaned forward and patted Ian’s shoulder with my other hand. “You can take us out for Korean BBQ instead. Maybe the karaoke one on Lemon Street? I’ve been dying to try that place.”
Turning his head to glance back, he smirked at me. “Oh, wecantakeyou out? That’s sweet of you.” I hope you won’t let us pay, too, ’cause then that would be way too generous.
Ian started to reach up like he was going to touch me, but his eyes drifted down to Ryan’s hand and mine. It felt like time in the car froze as the laughter faded from his face for a split second.
And then it was suddenly gone like it was a trick of the sunlight in his face. Ian gave me a quick grin and jerked forward to fiddle with the radio buttons. My hand fell away from his shoulder like a heavy weight.
Ryan laughed. “So you girls get to hang out and sing while we do all the grilling? I don’t know if this ride is worth allthat.”
Linh turned her head and winked. “Hey, you can get out here if you don’t like the deal. We’re pretty close to your house anyway.”
