Page 30 of Ugly Duckling
His eyes went a little far away as he said, “Man, those were the times, huh? Track meets were the best.”
“Track meets were the worst for me. I ran the first run and the second to last, so I was out there the entire damn day. Plus, everyone was mean to me.”
His face went soft. “I wasn’t.”
No, he was right.
He was never mean to me.
“No, but your steady girlfriend was one of the worst ones there were.” I shrugged. “That was why I stayed so far away from you.”
“I should’ve taken your lead and stayed away from her, too.” He sighed. “I’m sorry she was so mean. I didn’t know that.”
No, he hadn’t.
If he had, he likely would’ve had nothing to do with her.
He was my biggest supporter in high school during sports when he caught people being mean to me.
That was why I always gravitated toward him.
We may not have spoken, but he offered a buffer even if he didn’t know I existed.
“You got something pretty awesome out of it, though,” I said. “Aleah was a dummy.”
His eyes narrowed on the mention of her name. “She’s the worst.”
“I actually ran into Aleah the other day on my way out of town. She was looking pretty dang rough.”
Gunner snorted. “She looks rougher and rougher each time I see her. Damn woman needs to get her shit together or she’ll waste the rest of her life away.”
Aleah was Jett’s mother.
I’d never been happier to see that they didn’t wind up together. Aleah would’ve only pulled the two of them down.
Plus, having that viper of a mother would not have been fun for either one of them.
“Ready to get out of here? We can go grab a cookie or something,” he offered.
My eyes snapped to his.
“Still have that sweet tooth, huh?”
My cheeks blushed. “I feel like it’s even worse now. Running more makes me even hungrier. I swear that I eat so much.”
“Come on.” He grabbed a set of keys, then turned to look at me. “Want to ride on my bike?”
I couldn’t think of anything better than being pressed up against him but, “I’m actually freezing right now.”
“Dang,” he sighed. “I don’t get to ride it all that much anymore. Lottie needs her car seat.”
Well, that made me feel bad.
“Do you have a big jacket I can use? Maybe I could borrow some sweatpants?”
He looked absolutely giddy when he said, “Of course I do.”
I walked out of the house five minutes later in his sweatpants, his sweatshirt, his large leather jacket, his beanie pulled down low over my head and his helmet.
