Page 45 of The Pucking Kiss

“I think the two of you have started liking each other, for real,” he grinned.

“You’re delusional,” I threw a pillow at him. “What part of breaking up screams ‘I like you’ to you?”

“Man, girls are confusing like that. You gotta read between the lines with them,” he said, catching the pillow before it hit him. “With my girlfriend, I thought she hated me when, in reality, she had the fattest crush on me.”

“I don’t think it’s like that,” I pressed my lips together, a sense of disappointment creeping up on me. “Plus, I don’t really think I’m her type.”

“What the hell are you saying? You’re Bryan, Captain of the hockey team. You’re everyone’s type.”

“She’s a total nerd,” I replied. “And I’m pretty sure she only goes for other nerds.”

“Nah, I think she’s just waiting for you to confess your feelings,” he replied.

“Listen, Jake. I don’t wanna talk about this anymore. The last thing I want to deal with is girl issues when I have a championship to win for my team.”

My words had a ring of finality, and Jake finally took the cue that I really meant what I was saying.

“Fine, man,” he sighed, “But I’m telling you. You can’t run away from your feelings forever.”

“Yes, you can,” I replied cynically.

After all, running away from my feelings was all I knew how to do.

Chapter 17

Romai

“Honey, you’ve barely touched your food,” Aunt Glenda’s concerned voice pulled me out of my thoughts. We were sitting at the dinner table, and my aunt had come to visit us after a long time. “What’s going on with you?”

I pushed my plate of food away. Ever since I’d heard Bryan talk to his dad about me, I’d completely lost my appetite.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Hmm,” my aunt eyed me suspiciously, sensing that something was wrong. “Well, do you want to talk about it?”

Aunt Glenda was one of the few people apart from my grandparents that I was really close to. She was the cool aunt who never married and traveled the world. I only got to see her a few times a year, but we always had a great time together.

“It’s pretty stupid,” I admitted, shaking my head. “You’ll just laugh at me.”

“Now, why would I do that?” she leaned in closer. “Your grandma was telling me about some boy in your life. I’d been wanting to catch up with you ever since.”

“She told you about Bryan?”

“Yep. She mentioned that you seemed happy,” my aunt’s mouth twisted into a frown. “But seeing you now, I can tell that something is wrong.”

“Well, you’re right about the fact that it’s about a boy,” I chuckled mirthlessly.

I hated how predictable I was when it came to feelings.

“What did he do?” she knitted her eyebrows together in concern. “At your age, boys always do something or the other to mess up.”

“He didn’t do anything,” I replied, his words ringing in my head. “It’s just that I like him far too much for my own good, and he doesn’t feel the same way.”

“Oh, his loss,” my aunt said, grabbing my hand gently. “He doesn’t know what he’s missing out on.”

“Does he really, though?” I raised an eyebrow, self-doubt devouring me slowly. “I think I was stupid to ever think that I had a chance with him. I mean, I’m clearly not his type.”

“And what is his ‘type’?” my aunt asked, looking at me curiously.

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