Page 45 of I Don't Need Your Love

“I’ll see you guys later.”

They start to protest, but I ignore them and make my way to the other side of the diner. Carly turns her head as I approach and her eyebrows furrow. Everyone else is busy chatting and don’t see me coming.

I stop next to Carly and smile at her. “Hey. Is there room for me?”

It looks like she’s mentally trying different responses. Maybe she’s trying to figure out if she should be rude, or nice, or indifferent. Her gaze trails to the table and the twins I walked away from and she looks like she has no idea what’s going on.Like, she’s wondering why I would ditch the hottest girls at school to come to their lowly dance team. Well, the dance team is anything but lowly. It’s my new family.

I bend close. “Carly?”

She just stares at me blankly.

“Of course!” Addie says. I think she kicks Carly under the table because Carly snaps out of it and gives her a “what the heck?” face.

Addie gets up and gestures for me to slide into the booth. I squeeze myself between her and Carly.

“Sorry,” I tell her.

“You know there’s room on the other side of the table,” she says.

“Aw, but that’s so far from you. Besides, your best friend invited me to sit here and it’d be so rude of me to reject the invitation.”

She gives Addie that same look, while Addie returns an innocent smile.

“So…” I say as I snatch an onion ring from Carly’s plate and dip it in her ketchup. “What are we talking about?” I shove the entire thing in my mouth.

“Nothing,” Carly says while Addie says, “The school dance that’s coming up in a few weeks.”

I steal another onion ring and slice it in half with my teeth. “What dance?”

“The winter dance,” Miriam from the team explains. “We have it every year.”

“Oh.” I take Carly’s half-eaten burger that’s sitting on her plate. “You done with this?”

“Don’t you have your own food?” she asks.

“Already ate, but I need more. I’m a growing boy. And I’m recovering from an injury.”

She rolls her eyes. “You can have it.”

“Thanks, Captain.” I take a bite. “Mmm. Much better than my burger because it’s been touched by the amazing Carly.”

Her eyes widen. I swear I can hear Addie laughing and the rest of the team watching us like they have no idea what’s going on.

I chuckle as I bend close. “Come on, Cap. Everything’s better once you’ve gotten your hands on it. You choreographed a killer routine that will definitely make waves at the competition. You inspire all of us. And you make everyone feel accepted and important. That’s the Carly touch.”

She just stares at me. Then she hisses, “What are you doing?”

I lift a brow. “Speaking the truth. And I bet everyone at this table agrees with me.”

They nod and clap, sending her wide, appreciative smiles.

“We should celebrate Carly with cake,” I say. “Who’s in?”

Everyone claps again and chants, “Carly! Carly! Carly!”

Carly face turns as red as her hair. “Guys, it’s really not necessary. I mean, we didn’t even win a competition.”

“But we will,” I say, waggling my brows. “And why can’t we celebrate our awesome routine and our amazing captain? Who’s with me?”