Page 57 of Catch Me
“But you’ll never see me turn down a compliment. I questioned my self-worth a lot growing up, so I always appreciate a confidence boost.”
“You said you don’t seek external validation.”
As I turned around, I couldn’t help but smile. I would’ve been surprised that he remembered, but he said he had a really good memory. He probably had a bunch of useless but interesting facts up in that brain.
“Seeking it is different than happily accepting it.”
“You’re a really good person.”
I stopped walking and looked at him. He was staring directly at me, into my eyes, into my freaking soul.
“What makes you say that?”
“Are you fishing for more compliments?”
The corner of my mouth lifted. “It’s possible.”
“You’re just...good. I don’t know. You get everyone lunch every day. You seem to genuinely enjoy doing nice things for people, even if you get nothing in return. You’re positive and happy and sunshine. I’ve only met a couple people that I actually believed were selfless.”
“I’m not selfless.”
“You’re risking your job to help kids.”
“Sure, but some of it is self-serving.”
“How?”
I looked up at the sky and wondered if it would rain. The clouds were getting darker by the minute.
“Guilt,” I replied.
He looked at me inquisitively, but thankfully, my number came up on the screen inside. I hurried into the building and grabbed the bag, ignoring the eyes I felt on me. He was silent until I shifted the car into park in front of the stadium.
“Why do you feel guilty?”
I smiled softly at him. “It’s personal.” We started walking, and I was surprised when he took the bag from me. “It’s not heavy, you know. Think I’m weak, Roman?”
“Your arm is delicate, remember?”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot you don’t understand jokes.”
“Mhm.”
I darted forward to open the door, refusing to let him be the only chivalrous one here. The way he ducked his head made me want to throw another joke at him, but I refrained.
“No deal,” he said when we were in the hallway.
I stopped and raised a brow. “What?”
“Me and Til. There’s never really been a deal. I don’t know. It’s just the past.”
“Okay,” I replied slowly. The past could mean a lot of things, but again, it wasn’t my business. “Why’d you tell me that?”
“Tit for tat?”
My lips thinned before I continued walking. I thought I heard him make an annoyed sound behind me. It could’ve been one of his usual noises.
“Food,” I announced when I reached the field.
