Page 25 of The Problem with Falling
“‘Piss off, Peter,’” she said without a moment’s hesitation.
Well.
I guessed I didn’t have as much of a poker face as I thought.
I shut her door and then walked over to mine. I climbed into the truck and put it into drive. The whole time, I could feel Willow’s eyes on me.
“I don’t have to go tonight if it makes you uncomfortable. I just love meeting people, and dancing is my favorite pastime.”
“Why would it make me uncomfortable?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “You just seemed bothered by Peter, and I don’t want to go against my roomie for the summer.”
“I don’t care what you do with your life.”
“Yes…okay…” She kept staring. The unease of it kept building.
“You don’t owe me your loyalty or anything. We aren’t friends. Just because I don’t like my cousin doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.”
“I do play favorites when it comes to the man who saved me from drowning, though,” she said.
I smiled.
It slipped out.
She smiled, too.
I accidentally liked it.
“I like when you do that. I like your smile, Theo,” she softly stated.
“I don’t do it much.” I knew I had a resting bitch face. The whole damn town knew.
“Yeah,” she agreed. “I think that’s why it’s special.” She wiggled around in her seat and fiddled with her hands. I swore that woman couldn’t stand still if her life depended on it. “I think you and me started off on the wrong foot.”
“You started off on no feet. You were floating.”
“Still…rocky beginning. Since we’ll be spending a lot of time together, I was thinking maybe we can work toward being more…friendly with one another.”
“I’m not that kind of person.”
“Friendly?”
“Yeah.”
“Molly and Harry say differently. They said you have a heart of gold.”
“That’s grandparents for you. Delusional fools.”
She laughed, and her nose wrinkled up in a cute sort of way.
“You know, people in town talk about you,” she said, shifting the conversation. I didn’t appreciate the subject change because the topic was still me.
“Of course they do. All people do in this town is talk.”
“A few told me they felt bad I had to stay with you. They said you’re an asshole.”
“Iaman asshole.”
