Page 27 of Just Another Meet Cute

Probably not the best tagline for the game though.

“Do you ever wonder what would have happened if I didn’t have to leave the hike that day?” Ian suddenly asked.

“What?” Surprised, I turned to stare at him, but he was suddenly super focused on his driving.

His eyes narrowed a bit as he stared at the dark road like our lives depended on it.

Which I suppose they did, but it wouldn’t hurt for him to glance at me for a second or two.

Especially when he asked me that question.

“I thought you didn’t like to think about what-ifs? ”

“I don’t.”

And that’s all he said.

Would things be different? To be honest, I wasn’t sure. I mean, obviously it would be different. I wouldn’t have met Ryan or have gone on those dates with him. But would something have happened between Ian and me? Would we still be in the car together like we were now, but not like now?

Before I could answer though, Ian massaged the back of his neck with one hand and laughed. “It doesn’t matter though. I did leave that day, and you ended up meeting Ryan.”

“I did.”

“And you’re dating him now.”

By his flat tone, I wasn’t sure if he was reminding himself or me. “Uh, right. I am dating Ryan.”

Sort of.

The thing is, I still felt like we were in the beginning stage of getting to know each other. And we’ve only kissed once or twice since our date in the park. Light kisses and a couple of hugs here and there.

If you took all that away, then I was closer to Ian. And thanks to that dumb list, he knew more about me than Ryan did, too.

That didn’t mean I wanted to stop getting to know Ryan though.

Just because Ian seemed to understand me didn’t mean that Ryan wouldn’t if I gave him the chance.

The more I got to know him, the more he seemed like the perfect guy.

Sweet, loyal, and hot. Everything I ever wanted.

Who would ever be foolish enough to just throw a guy like that away?

And especially for someone who had the perfect girlfriend waiting in the wings?

“What about Megan?” I blurt out. “I mean, how long have you guys known each other?”

Ian looked surprised at the random question, not knowing that I had been wondering about the two of them since she came down the stairs.

He scratched his head. “I guess since we were kids. Maybe six or seven? I don’t actually remember her not being around.”

“Oh. She seems very nice.”

“She’s awesome.”

I glanced over at Ian. After studying each feature of his face, my eyes dropped and lingered on his lips for a few seconds. Three seconds. Five seconds.

Stopping at another red light, Ian leaned back against the seat and rubbed his lower lip with his right index finger like he could feel my gaze on it.

Back and forth. I couldn’t look away. It was almost like I was hypnotized.

Especially when suddenly the image of him leaning over to kiss me popped into my head like a bubble. All shiny and bright and glimmery.

What would it be like to kiss Ian? Would he put a hand on either side of my face and cup my cheeks or would he lift my chin up with one finger until our lips touched? Would he swoop in for the kiss or take it slowly and build up the anticipation?

Catching my breath, I snapped my face forward, and now it was my turn to be super focused on the road.

The white lines on the pavement. The speed limit sign that we just passed.

Anything but the cute guy next to me. The cute guy who was totally off-limits in more ways than one.

And I definitely shouldn’t be staring at his mouth like a kid in a candy store.

That was super embarrassing. Mortifying. Shameful.

Why was it suddenly so hot in the car?

I fumbled with the air-conditioning vents so the ones on my side would blow directly at my face. The cool air hit my flushed cheeks, but it wasn’t getting better. I shoved my short sleeves higher on my shoulders. Short of stripping down to my bra, there was nothing else I could do.

Instead, I messed with the neckline of my T-shirt and hoped he didn’t notice how uncomfortable I was. “Tell me something.”

“About what?”

“Anything about you.” I glanced over at him. “You know all my secrets. It’s only fair that I know one of yours.”

Ian bit on his lower lip as he held in his smile. He reached out to turn the AC a bit higher. “I don’t think that’s how it works.”

Damn, he did notice. I forced myself to stop fidgeting and play it cool. “Come on. You can’t tell me one thing about you? You know a whole list of stuff about me.”

“So you would feel better if you knew that whole list about me, too?”

“Doesn’t have to be that list. Anything about you would be fine.”

“Why do you suddenly want to know about me?” he teased.

Yes, Nina, why did you want to know about Ian?

“I just do.” My finger traced a couple of circles on the cool glass, around and around his blurry reflection. “We’re friends now, and friends should know things about each other.”

He raised his eyebrow. “I did tell you one of my secrets. About my sisters dressing me up like their personal doll when we were small. Remember?”

It took a few moments for me to remember what he was talking about. Which was weird, because I used to replay that conversation on the hike in my head, at least a dozen times since we met. “Oh right. Did they dress up Ryan, too?”

“Both of us. I guess technically that’s his secret, too.” He gave me a small wink that sent my heart beating into overdrive. “Don’t tell him that I told you.”

I mimicked zipping my lips. “My lips are sealed.”

“Thanks.”

Ian turned another corner, and I was surprised to see that we were on my street already. Now that our car ride was about to end, a pang of sadness hit—surprising me. I didn’t want to go home yet. For more reasons than one.

If only his GPS took him the long way. But I guess that wasn’t the point of a GPS. They didn’t have an option to take the long route to your destination just so you could continue flirting.

Even though I wasn’t flirting.

Ian was pretty quiet, too. Especially when he finally parked. To my surprise, he jumped out of the car before I could say or do anything.

Where was he going?

Turning in my seat, I watched him walk around the car to my side and open the door for me like we were a normal couple coming home from a date or something.

I jumped out and stumbled on the curb like a klutz. Or like the main character would in a movie. Ian reached out to steady me under my elbow. I gave him a small smile that he didn’t return. Maybe now that we were out of the car, reality was starting to hit him. Hit both of us.

Ian continued walking with me up the pathway. Not directly next to me, but a step or two behind, so I couldn’t see him without turning around. I could still hear each of his footsteps and I could feel that he was there.

I reached the front of the house.

He was still there.

I walked up the steps onto the front porch.

And he was still there.

When I reached the front door and had no more steps to take, I turned around to face Ian. He wasn’t behind me anymore. Now he was across the porch by the railing. His back pressed against the wooden post with his hands in his pockets. He looked comfortable.

And handsome. Too handsome.

“So, Linh had this crazy idea …” I suddenly blurt out.

“What idea?”

My breath got caught in my throat. Why did I bring this up? “Never mind. Don’t worry about it.”

Even though the porch light cast his face partly in the shadows, I could see the glint in his eyes. He leaned against the porch banister and crossed his arms. “Oh, well, now I have to know.”

“You really don’t.”

“Come on, how bad can it be?”

Bad. Really bad. Ridiculous. Absurd.

I didn’t have to tell him. I could say good night and go inside. I mean, what was he going to do? Follow me into the house and bug me all night until I did? Even Ian wouldn’t dare.

But a part of me wanted to see what he would say. How he would react.

So I let out a deep breath for courage and looked away, focusing on the peeling pale blue paint on our doorframe. “She thinks that you like me.”

And he didn’t say anything.

The quieter it was, the more my courage deserted me.

“Which is crazy because we’re friends now, right?” I quickly added with a laugh before daring to look up.

To my surprise, Ian wasn’t across the porch leaning on the banister anymore.

Now he was in front of me. Barely five feet away.

He was too close but also not close enough.

If I reached out and stretched, then I could almost touch him.

Almost. His eyes pierced me like he was trying to figure something out, figure me out.

I felt like he could almost see what I was thinking.

With every ounce of willpower I had, I forced my gaze down to his throat. I had to. After all, I barely understood what I was feeling. I didn’t need him to figure it out before me.

Suddenly his throat was much closer than before. Did he lean toward me or did I lean toward him? Or maybe we both did. Either way, we went from being five feet apart to being two feet. Then one foot. Then … then …

“Right.”

My head jerked up. “Right what?”

He swallowed before answering again. “Right. We are friends.”

Pop!

And just like that, his words woke me up. They popped our little bubble and unraveled our cozy cocoon and brought both of us right back down to reality.

Of course we were friends. I don’t know what I was thinking.

For a second there, I was being stupid. There was no way that I had feelings—could ever like Ian.

And he definitely didn’t like me. After all, he had Megan, and she was awesome .

Plus, I had Ryan and he was awesome, too. In more ways than I could ever count.

Maybe it was the adrenaline of winning the Pictionary game. That had to be the only reason why my emotions were going crazy.

“Did you forget your key or something? The camera in the driveway said you’ve been home for—oh!” Mom poked her head out the front door and clapped a hand to her mouth when she saw us standing there. Still too close together. “Sorry, I didn’t know that you were out here with somebody.”

My feet shuffled backward. “It’s okay. Ian was just leaving.”

Immediately taking the hint, he stumbled backward. “Uh, right. Bye, Nina. Chao Co.”

Mom nodded and waved at him until he was across the lawn. The smile on her face didn’t even budge when she asked, “Ian? So now there’s an Ian again?”

“Don’t ask.”

“It’s still early. There’s a carton of brown sugar boba ice cream in the freezer if you want to talk.”

Unlike Dad’s invitation to get ice cream and hang out earlier, Mom’s invitation was much more appealing. But I didn’t want to talk about Ian or Ryan. “Maybe tomorrow. I’m kind of tired.”

“Okay.” Taking my left hand between hers, Mom played with the tip of my ring finger, massaging the soft skin like she’s done thousands of times before to comfort me. Except I didn’t need comfort this time because there was nothing going on. “Nina, what’s wrong?”

“It’s funny,” I said, watching as Ian got back into the car and drove off without a second look or a wave in my direction. “But I just realized that Ryan’s uncles were right.”

“Right about what?”

Pushing down my disappointment, I pasted a bright smile on my face. “A game of Pictionary really isn’t worth the trouble and heartache.”