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“So there’s something I have to tell you.” I scratch my head, trying to find the words. “I’ve changed my taste in men.”
“Really?”
“Yep.” I wipe my hands on my dress. I have no clue why they’re even sweaty in the first place. “I’m going for the exact opposite of Zak. You know, since he completely broke my heart, and we didn’t work out.”
“And what would you consider the exact opposite of Zak?” Tyler relaxes back into the seat.
“Just an average Joe. A little soft around the edges. Nothing too flashy.”
“Give me a few months and I could be that.”
My eyes scan up and down his body before glancing away. “No, you can’t.”
“I see.”
I feel him staring at me, but I refuse to look.
“And why are you telling me this?” I can hear the playfulness in his voice.
Why am I telling him this again?
Oh, yeah. It’s just another layer to why whatever this is between the two of us can’t go on any longer.
I play with the seam of the seat in front of me. “I just thought you should know about my hot man ban.” I can tell by the twitch at the corner of his mouth that he likes my choice of name. So do I. “So between the school rules and my newly found preference in men, I’m just trying to let you down easily.”
He lets his smile free, drawing my eyes to his mouth. “Letting me down easily?”
“Yes. I just…you know…” I roll my hand out in front of me, gesturing that he can fill in the blanks himself.
“No, I don’t know. Could you explain it to me?” He folds his arms across his chest, clearly amused.
I puff out an annoyed breath. He’s doing this on purpose, making me spell it out for him. “You asked me out and—”
“No, I didn’t.” His smug smile is back. “That was all hypothetical.”
My eyes turn sharp. “Well, itseemedlike you were flirting with me.”
“I was just passing the apple.”
“Of course you were,” I say, unable to hide my sarcasm. “Anyway, I wanted to let you know that we can be friends.”
“Friends?”
“Yes.”
His brows rise. “I’d love to be friends.”
“Great.” I finally relax, proud of the way I handled the situation.
“I just have one question about our friendship,” he says.
“What’s that?”
“Are we friends with benefits?”
I slap his shoulder, and he laughs.
I thought being friends with Tyler Dixon was going to be easy as apple pie, but I think I might be mistaken.
