Page 34 of Just Another Meet Cute

“So not only are you two amazing at Pictionary, but you’re also a pro at laser tag.” Megan shook her head as she popped a french fry into her mouth. Her lips pursed into a round circle as she breathed in and out to cool the hot fry. “Is there seriously anything that you and Ian can’t do together?”

I searched her face for any sign of jealousy or annoyance, but there was nothing. Either she didn’t feel that way about Ian, or she was so confident about their relationship that no amount of laser tag or Pictionary could ever shake it.

Probably the second one.

She was right though. I hated to admit it, but today turned out to be pretty fun. The most fun I had in a while—and it was mainly because of Ian. He was a worthy opponent.

Even though our entire group was playing, the game became a challenge between us to see who could find the other person first. Who would have the most points in the end.

Honestly, Ian and I would have kept playing after everyone called it quits, but we couldn’t just play with the two of us. We’d already asked.

“Technically, we weren’t playing together,” I said, glancing at Ryan and Ian at the snack stand out of the corner of my eye.

“Thank God, or you two would have squished the rest of us like bugs,” Linh complained as she swept her hair off her forehead.

Ollie nodded but didn’t say much. His eyes kept sliding over in Linh’s direction, like they’d been doing all afternoon. And he only spoke to her. “Do you want to check out some of the other games, Linh? Maybe shoot a couple of zombies?”

“Sure.”

They were already strolling off when I called out, “We’ll stay here. Thanks for asking.”

Without looking up, Linh waved over her shoulder as Megan snickered. “Guess Ollie’s little crush isn’t fading anytime soon.”

Not surprised that she noticed, since he was being pretty obvious, I shook my head. “I hope she lets him down gently. I’d hate for Ollie to have his heart broken.”

“A little heartbreak won’t kill anyone.”

I didn’t totally agree, but it’d be rude to start a debate so I just nodded.

And then … silence. Now it was just us left at the table. Megan and me. Me and Megan. She seemed content with munching on the french fries, but I felt like I should say something. Anything. The silence enveloped me, bugging me like an itch that I couldn’t scratch. It was all I could think about.

“Do you think you and Ian will ever start dating?”

Choking a bit on a fry, she gave me a surprised look. “What are you talking about?”

I flushed. That was probably the wrong thing to ask. Maybe I should have left the freaking itch alone. “Oh, I was just wondering. Everyone keeps talking about how you two will get together someday, so, you know …”

“Right, that. If you ask me, they’re rooting for the wrong ship. To me, he’s Ian . We’ve been friends for so long that it’s hard to imagine being anything else, you know what I mean?”

“Uh, not really.”

She studied my face for a few seconds before smiling. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. Ian is awesome. He’s smart and funny and the sweetest guy ever. Any girl would be lucky to have him. Any girl. Don’t you think?”

Why was she gushing about Ian to me?

“Uh, yeah, I guess.” I shook my head. “I mean, I don’t know about the ‘sweetest guy’ part, but everything else seems pretty much right. Not that I see all those qualities much.”

Megan leaned on the palm of her hand. Her index finger tapped against her pale cheek. “That’s because you bring out another side in Ian. I’ve never seen him act that way with anyone else.”

“You mean he’s only rude to me? Gee, thanks.”

She laughed. “It means that you’re different to him. In fact, if you ask me, I think—”

Just then, Ian and Ryan came back with an armful of drinks in each hand.

Megan stopped talking so I didn’t get to finish hearing what she thought.

Although she was probably planning to list more of Ian’s invisible qualities again.

Sorry, not invisible, just none of the good qualities that he never bothered to show me.

“Thank God, I’m dying of thirst over here,” Megan complained as Ian handed her a plastic cup. She immediately poked a straw through the lid and slurped it down.

“That took so long, I swear they were waiting for the ice to freeze or something. Iced tea, half and half. Extra ice.” Ryan handed me a cup and glanced around. “Where’s Ollie and Linh?”

My hand waved over my shoulder. “They said they wanted to go shoot zombies or something.”

“Ah, probably House of the Dead IV . He’s determined to finish that game, even if he has to spend his entire college fund on it.”

“Not sure his dad will be very happy about it.” Ian dipped a fry in the ketchup and popped it into his mouth. “Not to mention, C?u Luke will probably kill us, too.”

Ryan shrugged like death threats didn’t bother him. Although I’m pretty sure death threats were very common in their family, so maybe he was used to them.

“Maybe Ollie will become some sort of rich professional gamer on YouTube,” Megan suggested as she set her drink aside. “Although I doubt his dad will like that either.”

“He’d probably kill Ollie after he kills us,” Ian announced with a grimace.

“Oh, well, let me know when to send flowers.” She leaned her arm against his shoulder and grabbed his drink straight out of his hand. “Sorry, I already finished mine.”

A brief smile crossed Ian’s face. “It’s fine. You always steal my drink anyway. Why do you think I get an extra-large all the time?”

Her eyebrow rose. “If you were smart, then you would save both of us the trouble and get me the extra-large.”

He laughed. “You’re right. I never thought of that before. What would I do without you?”

Megan patted his head like a puppy. “It’s okay. That’s what I’m here for, buddy.” I couldn’t help noticing that even after she gave him back his drink, her arm stayed on Ian’s shoulder.

And as I watched them talk, I could totally see why Ian’s family expected them to start dating any day now.

The way they sat next to each other—her elbow on his shoulder and his body angled toward hers—it was like they gravitated toward each other without thinking.

Their bodies knew that they should be together, even though they denied it.

And it wasn’t just physical. It was like they knew exactly what the other was thinking before they even finished talking. They danced from subject to subject as easily as flowing water. There was no awkwardness or confused feelings.

And I felt like the other person looking in.

Yeah, she definitely didn’t see me as a threat. Not that I was one. After all, I was dating Ryan. I shouldn’t care what Ian and Megan did. At all.

But why did my stomach feel so heavy all of a sudden?

Unable to watch them flirt anymore, I swung around in the stool to face the other direction. Ryan came over to sit with me. The slightly annoyed expression on his face probably reflected my own. But what did he have to be pissed about?

Following his gaze, I thought he was looking at Megan and Ian, too, but he wasn’t.

He was looking past them at another group at the next table.

There were four girls sitting with three other guys.

They looked like they were around our age, although one of the guys looked a bit older. Maybe nineteen or so.

When one of the girls laughed, Ryan frowned darkly and turned toward me. “How are you with basketball?”

“Not great.” I snuck a curious glance over at the other table.

“It’s okay. I can teach you. Come on.”

He was already on his feet and walking away, so I had no choice but to follow him. With a frown, Ian watched me hop to my feet. His gaze moved to his brother’s back, like he was trying to figure something out, when suddenly he glanced over at the group. His face froze.

My curiosity doubled. Tripled. Who were they and why did they bother Ryan so much? Even Ian seemed uncomfortable to see them.

By now I was bursting to ask, but I waited until Ryan started the game and shot a basketball through the hoop first. “So, who are those people at the other table?”

He paused mid-throw and grimaced. “You noticed that?”

Uh, I’m pretty sure everyone did. “A little bit.”

His eyes were glued on the basketball as he bounced it against the side of the machine a few times. “My ex-girlfriend, Liv, is over there with some friends.”

My eyebrows rose and it took every bit of willpower I had not to whirl around to stare at the group again. Instead, I picked up a basketball and handed it to Ryan. “Which one is she?”

“The blond in the center,” he said without looking up.

“How do you know she’s in the center?”

“She’s always in the center.”

Trying to look casual, I swept my hair over my shoulder and looked behind me.

My eyes immediately zoomed in on the pretty blond girl.

Ryan was right. Liv was right in the middle of the group.

Her head swung back and forth as though she was trying to be in two conversations at once.

Or maybe everyone was just trying to talk to her.

Man, she was pretty. She looked petite, even shorter than me, but she stood out in her group.

Maybe it was the way her hair was so blond that it almost looked platinum.

Or her wide eyes that were a bright glittery blue.

Even from this distance, I could see that her skin was clear and perfect.

Something that I could never achieve—not even with daily face masks and Linh’s fanciest makeup.

“Eh.” I turned back to Ryan and shrugged like I wasn’t impressed.

The corner of his mouth curved into a smile and he tossed the ball.

It swished neatly through the hoop without touching the net.

“We broke up nearly a year ago. Well, she dumped me. She said I was too nice for her, and she wasn’t ready for a relationship.

After we were already together for six months. ”

Ouch. “How could anyone ever be too nice?”

“I know, right?” With a slight laugh, he shook his head. He looked a little happier, more like himself for a second. “You’d be surprised how often I’m called the nice twin. That was the first time it’s ever come back to bite me in the ass though.”

It wasn’t that surprising. I had met them only two weeks ago, and I always referred to Ryan as the “nice twin” out loud and in my head.

But it also didn’t help that his brother was Ian .

It wasn’t too hard to be considered the nicer one.

I didn’t know until now that Ryan considered it a bad thing though.

“It’s not your fault. That’s a sucky excuse to break up with someone.”

“I know. She ended up going out with someone else barely a month later, so obviously not being ready was a lie, too.” He shrugged like he didn’t care, when he obviously did.

Not knowing what to say to comfort him, I leaned on his shoulder instead.

The side of my head pressed against his arm.

He straightened his back and turned his head to press his chin against the top of my head.

We stayed that way for a few seconds before the buzzer rang loudly as the time on our game ran out.

Ryan laughed and pulled away. He dug into his pocket for the little plastic card. “Sorry, but I need to get a better score. My ego can’t leave the score like that.”

“No problem.”

As he shot basket after basket, I glanced over at Liv and bit my lip. It was obvious from his intense reaction that he wasn’t completely over her. But if that was the case, then what did that make me? Did he like me, or was I some kind of rebound?

He was almost done playing when I couldn’t help asking, “Ryan, do you still have feelings for her?”

“What? Oh, no. I’m completely over Liv. Now I’m glad that we broke up. But sometimes …” He broke off and glanced over at her with a downcast look. The basketball was pressed between the palms of his hands. “It just sucks to be the one who got their heart broken, you know? And without knowing why.”

I did know. I had been dumped before. Sort of. My first boyfriend, Alex, moved away with his family, and he didn’t want to do the long-distance thing. Didn’t even want to bother trying. Even though we were pretty much kids, it still hurt. No one wants to be abandoned.

Just then, Liv let out a laugh that echoed across the room. Ryan picked up a ball and tossed it toward the hoop. And missed again. He cursed under his breath as the timer ran out.

Her laughter seemed to swirl around us as it taunted Ryan. It almost didn’t seem fair how Liv appeared perfectly fine while he was obviously still hurt. He didn’t deserve any of this. He was a ni—he was a good guy. And good guys like him should be treated better.

I fought the urge to defend Ryan. To march across the room, snatch the drink out of her pretty hands, and order Liv to leave so he wouldn’t have to see her anymore.

And tell her what a big mistake she made by letting Ryan go.

But I couldn’t do that, not without getting kicked out myself.

Besides, he wouldn’t want Liv to know that she still bothered him.

Yeah, there was nothing I could do to her. There was one thing I could do for him .

Placing a hand on either side of his cheeks, I leaned up and kissed him. It wasn’t a long kiss, but I kept my hands on his face as I beamed up at him.

He jumped at my sudden kiss but didn’t pull away. “What are you doing?”

“Showing Liv that just because she doesn’t want you anymore doesn’t mean that someone else wouldn’t grab on to you.” Finally, I let go of him and dramatically fluttered my lashes. “You deserve the best.”

“And you’re the best?”

“Maybe not the best , but pretty darn close to it.”

His grin was so wide that his dimple was practically a crater in his cheek. “Pretty darn close is good enough for me.”

When I glanced over to see if Liv noticed us, my gaze collided with Ian.

He gave me a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable that he was watching, I looked away.

I smiled at Ryan for another few seconds before taking a step back, naturally letting go of his arm.

He didn’t even notice anything was wrong as he moved on to another game.

Following him, I couldn’t help glancing back over at Ian.

He wasn’t looking at us anymore. He was watching Megan as she told him a story with lots of hand movements and gestures. Even though he wasn’t looking at me, I had a feeling that he was still aware of my every movement.

Like I was aware of each of his. Though I wished in my heart that I wasn’t.