Page 32 of Beyond the Lines
“Yeah.” I feel my face heat up again. “This is... I don’t know. Different.”
“Different how?”
I think about it. “She’s just... she gets it, you know? The art thing. And she’s funny, and smart, and when she smiles it’s like...”
“Like what?”
“Like everything else just... stops.” I scratch the stubble on my chin. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way about a girl... ever...”
The room suddenly goes quiet. Too quiet. It’s like a scene out of a movie, where a secret is suddenly broadcast to a whole crowd. And when I look up, I find every single one of my teammates staring at me, identical shit-eating grins on their faces.
“What?” I demand, but I already know.
They heard everything.
“Declan Andrews.” Maine’s voice is filled with mock solemnity. “Inlove?”
“Our little Dec,” Simon wipes an imaginary tear from his eye, “all grown up.”
I bury my head in my hands. “I hate all of you.”
“Tell us more about her smile!” Rook calls from the end of the table.
Maine snorts. “Does it light up the room? Make your heart skip a beat?”
The table erupts in laughter and terrible romantic clichés, each guy trying to outdo the other in the game of high stakes bullshit. I slump in my chair, wishing the floor would open up and swallow me whole.
“Guys.” Mike’s voice cuts through the chaos. “Leave him alone.”
“But Cap!” Maine protests. “This is historic! Dec’s showing human emotions!”
“I show emotion,” I mutter.
“Yeah.” Simon snorts. “Annoyance and... more annoyance.”
“What’s her name?” Rook asks, leaning forward eagerly.
I hesitate, because something in me wants to keep Lea to myself. Like saying her name will somehow break the spell of last night. But I know they’re not going to leave me alone unless I give them something to talk shit about before moving on to talking shit about something else.
“Come on!” Maine urges me. “We need details!”
“Her name’s Sienna,” I lie. “And she’s... she’s amazing.”
The table erupts in a chorus of “awws”.
I flip them all off, but I can’t stop grinning.
“When are you seeing her again?” Linc asks.
“Later tonight.” My phone buzzes in my pocket, and Iknow without looking that it’s her. We’ve been texting all day, and every time I see her name on my screen, my stomach does this weird flip thing that I probably shouldn’t admit to anyone, ever. “We’re getting coffee.”
“Coffee?” Maine looks horrified. “Bro, step it up. Take her somewhere nice.”
“Coffee is nice,” I argue.
“Coffee is what you do with study partners.” Simon shakes his head. “Dinner!”
“Or dancing!” Rook suggests.
