Page 15 of If It's You

“So mature.” She rolled her eyes.

“What can I say? I’m an enigma.”

“Do you even know what that word means?”

He gave her a sympathetic sigh. “It’s a pretty big word for a little farm girl like you so I’ll spell it out if you need.”

“Little farm girl?” If looks could kill, Christian would be dead.

“You’ve been calling me a city boy since I got here. If you can’t take it, don’t dish it.”

Her hazel eyes were like standing under a tree in the summertime. Or maybe during a fire. They were glowing with anger right now. And that somehow made them even more beautiful.

“You’re going to regret the day you stepped foot on this farm,” she said, practically seething.

“Doubt it. Enigma, remember?”

Maizie walked to her truck and sped off without even a glance behind her.

Christian had no idea what had caused him to say those things. Maizie was a girl he’d just met, his best friend’s cousin. But something about her had tripped the broken circuit in his brain, and he was alive again.

Jayce was wrong. Fighting with Maizie might just make this summer bearable.

Five

“Ugh, I hate school,” Lindsay groaned, sliding into Maizie’s truck like some sort of half-dead slug.

“Only three more weeks,” Maizie said, bobbing her head to the song on the radio.

“Why are you always so happy in the morning? It’s creepy. You remind me of Satan.”

“It figures you’d know him personally,” Maizie said.

Lindsay turned her bloodshot eyes on Maizie. “Shut up, Satan.”

“Oh, boy, you don’t look good. Maybe you shouldn’t have stayed up so late making Tik Tok’s.” Maizie laughed and turned into the school parking lot.

Lindsay glowered at her. “I can’t help it if the world needs me.”

“Yes, yes, of course. Anything for the peasants.”

“Precisely,” Lindsay said before falling out of the truck in much the same position that she had gotten in.

Turner was already waiting at Maizie’s locker. “There’s my beautiful girl.”

“Hey,” she smiled, taking in all six feet of her boyfriend.

His dirty blonde hair peeked out from under the ball cap he wore. It was only a matter of minutes before Ms. Stanley strolled down the hall and told him to take it off. It was the same routine nearly every morning.

Turner went in for a kiss, but she gave him her cheek. She didn’t do PDA. He settled his hands around her waist while she shoved her entire bag into her locker.

“So I was thinking . . .” Turner said and he turned her by the hips until her chest was pressed up against his.

“Yeah?”

“Wanna go see a movie this weekend?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Just like he did every time he planned a date, aka make-out session, with her.

“Yes. But only if we watch the actual movie.” Maizie’s smile was forced. She was getting tired of this charade. Sometimes he was so charming, but other times, he was just another teenage boy.