Page 3 of Bella And Her Secret Crush

"That'll never happen!" Belle called over her shoulder, not even hesitating. I didn't like that either. Especially because I could guarantee that I would be the best kisser Belle could ever kiss. Not that she'd ever know.

Once we were in the privacy of the kitchen, I walked up behind Belle, pulling one of her pigtail braids. They helped her keep her long, black hair tamed, and she looked incredibly cute when it was styled this way.

Instantly, she whirled around, glaring at me playfully. I just held my hands up as if I hadn't touched her, and she rolled her blue eyes. She reached around, opening our pantry. Standing on her tiptoes, she extended an arm to the top shelf where the tortilla chips were. Unfortunately for Belle, she was not tall like her older sister. I stepped up behind her, reaching over her head and grabbing the bag of chips that her fingertips barely brushed.

"I totally had it," she lied, turning around and shoving me backward. I chuckled, handing her the chips as I walked to the fridge. Instinctually, I pulled out her favorite Trader Joe's salsa that she made me drive a ridiculously long time to get every time we ran out. Amelia Island didn't have one of the most spectacular grocery stores ever, as she so often called it. And this salsa was an obsession of hers. Meaning I made the hour-long drive often. Even if I bought five jars, she'd empty them in a few weeks.

But I didn't care. That's what friends did for each other, and she usually tagged along. But she always commandeered the aux cord.

"How did you know?" She asked, looking at the jar in my hand as if it was the Ring from Lord of The Rings and she was Gollum.

I gave her a flat look. "Seriously?" I asked, double-checking that I was indeed holding her favorite salsa. I was, of course.

"Just give it to me," She said as she reached for it. I naturally extended it above my head, where she could never dream of reaching. I grinned at her as she jumped, trying to force my arm down.

"Hand over the salsa, you big oaf," She grumbled, hopping again.

"Okay, little rabbit," I teased, handing her the prized jar.

She gave me one of her death glares before pushing past me. After grabbing some salsa bowls that she proudly bought at HomeGoods for this very occasion, she strutted back to the den where all of our friends were. I grabbed a box of snack cakes from the pantry and followed her.

"We have an idea," Andrew announced as soon as we were back in the den. Our four friends were sitting around the table like they had just held a conference while we were away. Mandy's hands were steepled, Cooper had a line above his brow, and Leslie was leaning back with her arms crossed.

"I have a feeling I'm not going to like it," Landon responded, both of us stopping in our tracks at the sight of our friends.

"Oh no! It's a good idea. I think you'll both love it!" Leslie spoke up, sitting forward with an eager look in her eyes. She looked over to Andrew, prompting him to continue.

"You two should play a dating game."

"Like one on TV?" I asked, scrunching my eyebrows. There was no way I could ever be on a show like that. The idea of Landon doing one was laughable, too.

"Of course not! One with each other!" Mandy said, and I was even more dumbfounded. It was like they'd missed the whole part where Belle said she and I wouldn't date.

The look on my face must have encouraged them to keep elaborating.

"You both know each other so well," Cooper started, looking between me and Belle. "So you two would be the best people to pick out dates for each other."

"Still not sure I'm following," I responded quickly, running a hand through my hair.

"You both pick out dates for each other every Friday. The first one to pick out a lasting partner for the other wins," Leslie explained in a matter-of-fact way, as though they didn't just come up with this game in the two minutes that we were grabbing salsa.

"Why would we do that?" Belle asked, cocking her head. I could only see her out of my periphery, and I didn't want to see much more than that during this conversation.

How would I pick out a man for her to date? No one was good enough for her. I couldn't think of one person that I knew that I would set her up with because no one deserved her. And that's why she'd been single for so long. She kept her standards high, and few got close enough, even for the first date.

I had entirely different reasons for staying single.

"You're both competitive, so th—"

"Am not!" Belle interrupted, and my head turned so fast that my neck twinged. When she saw the incredulous expression on my face, she flinched in mock hurt. "What? I'm not!"

"Sure, you're not," I said, shrugging with a smirk on my face. The girl was probably the most competitive person I knew, especially in her real life. Card games were one type of competitive, and Belle was mild. But in her job and every aspect of her personal life, she was the most cutthroat person I knew.

She rolled her eyes and turned back to Leslie.

"You are both competitive, so this could be fun for the two of you to engage in a little friendly competition. Plus, both of you have been out of the dating game for too long." Leslie gave me a pointed look, but I ignored it. She didn't have even the slightest clue.

"What does the winner get?" Belle asked, interest clear in her voice. Told her she was competitive.

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