Page 28 of The Pucking Kiss

She chuckled at my reaction, “It’s okay. I won’t pressure you to do anything, but it’s just nice to see that you have a boy in your life.”

“You didn’t think I had it in me, did you?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that…”

As much as she tried to cover it up, I knew that my grandmother did not have particular faith in my ability to land a boyfriend. And it’s not like she was wrong. The only way I got one was through bribery.

“It’s okay,” I laughed, “I don’t blame you.”

“I am sure he feels very lucky to have you.”

“Thanks, Grandma,” I said and then pushed away the plate in front of me. The food was still untouched, but I did not have much of an appetite anymore.

The TV played in the background as I plopped on the sofa. My mind was still stuck on Bryan, and now that I was alone again, all the terrible what-if scenarios came back to me.

Then, my phone rang.

“Hello?” I picked up instantly, seeing Bryan’s name on the screen.

“Hey, loser,” he greeted, “Where are you?”

“The better question is, where are YOU?” I shot back, annoyed at his no-show. “We had a math tutoring session, remember?”

“Oh, yeah,” he replied nonchalantly. “My bad. Must have forgotten.”

“Really?” my tone was accusative. I was convinced that he had been intentionally dodging me.

“Yes, Romai. I had practice all day. I’m still there. Chill out.”

Relief flooded through me instantly, and I felt a bit stupid.

“So, you weren’t doing this on purpose?”

“Of course not,” I could almost hear him roll his eyes as he said that. “I am taking this just as seriously as you. Today was just a bad day.”

“Oh,” I replied, my tone softening significantly.

“Anyway, that’s not why I called you,” he said. “Can you come to practice?”

“Right now?”

“Yep. Right now. We can hang out there.”

The idea seemed daunting. I had never gone to one before, and I knew that all his teammates were going to be there.

“Well?”

“I….,” I took in a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll be there in fifteen.”

The idea of hanging out with Bryan and just his teammates felt pretty daunting. But I had to face my fears.

Besides, it would only help my social status. If I wanted to stop being a loser for good, then I had to suck it up and show up to places.

After all, the old Romai was gone. This new Romai was confident and took things in her stride.

Or at least, that’s what I hoped.

Chapter 11

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