Page 38 of Damaged Boys Don't Fall For Bubbly Girls

Nate raises his hand in the air. “I vote for Brock’s movie.”

The rest of us agree.

“But we need more popcorn,” Lexi says as she stands up. Like before, Finn rushes to help her and they exit the room. I try not to stare at their retreating forms.

The guys talk about different topics before Lexi and Finn return, followed by Lexi’s mom. “Hey kids,” she greets with a smile. “You all staying for dinner?”

“Depends what you’re making,” Theo jokes.

She tilts her head to the side. “Does homemade pizza sound good?”

“Heck yeah!” Nate says.

She laughs, tells us it’ll be ready soon, then leaves the room.

I turn to Lexi. “Wow. I forgot about your mom’s special pizza.”

She grins. “She perfected it over the years and it’s even better than you remember.”

The others nod and cheer in agreement.

“Do you think she needs help?” I ask.

“I always ask and she tells me to hang out with my friends. I think we’ll just bother her if we try to help.”

“Besides, we suck at cooking,” Dean tells me. “Remember when we tried to bake those cookies for the bake sale, guys? We made a mess and burned the cookies.”

The rest laugh as they talk about the memory. I once again feel left out, but I don’t have a right to complain or blame anyone. I chose to cut myself off from them.

Just as we’re about to start the next movie, Lexi’s mom calls us down for dinner. Like a herd of hungry elephants, we stampede down the stairs. Well, everyone except for Lexi and me. We go down the stairs together, our hands only inches apart. I wonder if she’d hate me if I slipped mine in hers. I move my fingers a tiny bit toward hers and…

“Hurry up, guys!” Theo calls at us. “We want pizza!”

“Pizza! Pizza!” the others chant.

“Coming,” Lexi calls. She playfully rolls her eyes at me. “You’d think they’re starving or something.”

“Zoey used to make fun of me because I was always hungry and ate a lot. She said I’d make my grandparents go broke.”

She laughs. “Older sisters.”

I laugh, too. “Older sisters.”

She’s about to say something, but Finn calls, “Saved you a seat, Lexi! Best seat in the house.”

“I always sit there,” she informs him as we enter the kitchen.

The guys are crowded around the table, with two chairs empty, mine and Lexi’s. She settles down in the seat in the center while I take the last available one. The table is a square and my seat is a bit far from hers.

Lexi looks at me, and I think she seems a little disappointed that we’re not near each other. Or maybe my eyes are seeing things that aren’t there. I’m definitely disappointed that she’s far from me. And…I don’t want to think about Finn who’s right next to her.

“Yes!” Cooper shouts as Mrs. West brings the pizza over. “This smells awesome.”

We thank her and dig in. The second I take a bite, I’m brought back to years ago, when I used to eat this pizza along with the rest of the gang. It’s comforting that some things haven’t changed, even though I have changed a lot.

“You need to open your own pizzeria,” Dean tells Mrs. West as he devours his food. “I’m serious.”

Lexi’s mom chuckles. “Thanks, but you know I love my job as a nurse at the elementary school.”