Page 17 of Just Another Meet Cute

Instead of answering, I shoved the last bite of steak in my mouth and occupied myself with chewing. With a raised brow, Ian leaned back against his seat and crossed his arms. The chair squeaked a bit with his rocking.

A full three minutes went by. I was reluctant to swallow the steak, but I had no choice. By now it was practically liquefied in my mouth. And he was still watching me with a tiny grin and thoughtful eyes. “I thought you already figured it all out.”

“Kind of. But I wouldn’t mind hearing the whole story from you.”

I let out a sigh. “It’s not that special. Linh figured out what gym you went to from the key fob, so we went there. Found out Ryan’s name but nothing else. Then I staked out the coffee shop next to the laundromat until he showed up. That’s it.”

“That’s it, huh? And how many days did you stake out the coffee shop?”

Wincing, I turned my head to look away. “Just one or two days.”

“Was it one or two?”

“Actually, it was closer to three days.”

I have no idea why I was telling him the truth. I could have lied and said one day. Anything I told him now would just be more information that he could use against me later on.

To my surprise, Ian let out a low whistle. “Three days. Wow, I guess I should be honored that you spent so much time and effort looking for me. Plus, I should be lucky that you didn’t hack into my library card or something.”

“Oh, I would have. But that’s kind of against the law.”

“So that’s where you draw the line? Committing a crime?”

Despite the fact that I was still dying of embarrassment, I couldn’t help breaking into a small smile. “Pretty much. Going to jail is where most lines are drawn, or at least it should be.”

He tossed his head back and laughed. “Good to know. Those guys, Kevin and Todd, asked about you and Linh when I picked up the keys.”

“Who … oh, the gym guys.”

Wait, did that mean—

I grabbed his arm that was resting on the table. “Did they ask Ryan?”

“Oh, no. I told them not to.” Ian lifted his arm and pulled away until only our hands were touching. “Trust me. Your secret’s safe with me.”

Somehow, I believed him. Even though his voice still had that lingering teasing note, his eyes were serious. And his thumb was rubbing tiny circles on my palm. So soft that it didn’t even look like he knew what he was doing. But I did. My heart lightly fluttered at the touch.

But my heart shouldn’t be fluttering for Ian. It can’t. Not anymore.

I immediately pulled my hand away. “So, you know how to play the piano?”

“Yes—”

“Ian is my favorite student,” Mr. Alan called out from the grill he was scraping. “Why don’t you play her something?”

The smile immediately wiped off Ian’s face. And he looked a little sick. “Oh, I don’t think Nina wants to hear me play.”

“But I do.”

“No, you seriously don’t.”

Enjoying the nervous look on his face, I beamed at him. “Yes, I seriously do.”

Groaning under his breath, he stood up. “Don’t say I didn’t try to warn you.”

I turned completely in my seat to watch as he made his way over to the keyboard. His right hand brushed at the dust on the plastic keys before he sat down. His face was downturned as he examined the board, adjusting a few buttons here and there.

Now that he was distracted, I couldn’t help studying his features.

The sun had already set, so the porch only had some can lights and lanterns flickering from the corners.

The dim light cast his face in the shadows.

But I could see the concentration on his forehead.

How he scrunched his face up and bit his lower lip.

His dark eyes were bright as he glanced over at me and smiled.

I’ve always had a thing for musicians. It’s a particular weakness of mine. Some girls liked the jocks and others liked preppy guys. One instrument was enough to make my stomach jump. And there was no denying how handsome Ian looked right now. No matter how much he annoyed me.

Which actually wasn’t that much at this exact moment.

Goose bumps rose on my arms as Ian finally let out a deep breath and lightly pressed down on the keys. It started off slowly at first, then became faster and faster as he played.

Really, really badly.

His playing sounded like he was alternating between playing a song and banging his hands on the keyboard. My ears started to hurt from the noise, and I leaned back in my seat as though the slight distance would help.

Ian smirked at the frozen look on my face. “I told you that you wouldn’t want to hear me play. He said I was his favorite student. Not his best one.”

With a chuckle, Mr. Alan shrugged. “Not even close. Ian’s lucky I like him so much or I would have failed him after the first semester. He is the most improved though.”

“You mean, he used to be even worse than this?” I blurt out in shock.

“Yep. There’s a reason why he serves the food rather than providing entertainment.” With a laugh, Mr. Alan moved back toward the grill. “I don’t know why he bothered trying. He’s practically tone deaf.”

“I didn’t have a choice. My parents made me take a music class. It was either the piano or the violin. And I thought the piano was cooler.” Shrugging, Ian turned off the keyboard. “Girls love musicians, and I need all the help I can get.”

“I don’t think you need any help,” I automatically said before my jaw dropped. Oh my God. Did I just say that? “I mean, you did look pretty cool at first. Until you made me want to plug up my ears with this leftover steak.”

Instead of being snarky, Ian rubbed the back of his head and turned to stare at a couple of flyers on the wall next to him. His ears were bright pink against his dark hair.

Brushing invisible crumbs onto the floor, I piled the dirty plates and utensils on the edge of the table. “Well, it’s getting late. My parents are probably waiting for me.”

He stood and came over to grab everything to dump in the dirty tub on the other table. When he was done, he wiped his palms against the sides of his jeans and fell into step beside me. “Sorry we didn’t get a chance to talk much.”

“Yeah, that’s too bad. Next time. But I am super busy the rest of this week. And most of next week.”

That annoying smirk reappeared. “That’s fine. We don’t even need to talk.” Ian dug his phone out of his pocket.

“We don’t?” I should be relieved, but for some reason, I could imagine the devil horns on top of his head again. And it made my nerves vibrate with dread.

“Nope. I’ve got a better idea.” He nodded at my phone as it buzzed. “Why don’t you check it out and let me know what you think?”

Still totally confused, I checked my phone. Ian had sent me a picture of something. It was words. A poem or a …

A list. Fourteen questions, all ranging from my family and hobbies to even my grades. When did he even—“Are you kidding me?”

“Well, since you are super busy,” he mimicked my voice.

He crossed his arms across his chest. I tried not to notice how the movement tightened the shirt around his shoulders.

And how tempting it was to touch him. “I figure this way, you could fill it out whenever you’re free, and I could still get my answers.

Unless you change your mind and want to meet up after all. ”

He was delusional. Mad. Batty. Like that crazy tunnel scene in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory . Just when I thought he was starting to be nice.

“So, if I answer this”—I waved my phone in his face—“this essay packet, are you going to keep my secret?”

He uncrossed his arms and tapped his chin with his right index finger. “I don’t know. It depends.”

“On what now?”

“On your answers. And whether you can pick up my dry cleaning at Golden Cleaners tomorrow.” Grinning, Ian winked at me. Nice and slow. “Don’t worry, I already paid for it, so all you have to do is pick it up.”

“But why should I be the one to—”

His grin turned into a broad smirk and he patted my head like I was a puppy. I resisted the urge to bite him. “I assume it would be easy for you since you know exactly where it is anyway.”