Page 18 of Perfectly Us

“Ew, mushrooms,” Alex says once we’re back at the booth, curling his nose at my choice of pizza.

“Lucky for you, they’re going in my mouth, not yours.”

“But what if we kiss?”

I gape at him, unsure how to respond.

He smirks and takes a bite of his pepperoni pizza. I think he’s only kidding, but I don’t know for sure.

Does he want us to kiss? Was Amanda right about him flirting?

Fuck. This is so confusing.

“Relax, Shiloh. It was a joke.”

I release the breath I didn’t realize I was holding and stare at my salad, taking a small bite. Eating slow. I’m always self-conscious when I eat around people, not wanting to make a mess or look stupid. Or, god forbid, make an embarrassing swallowing sound or something.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” Alex’s voice is softer than usual. More serious. I look up to see that same soft look in his eyes. “I can be a lot for people to handle sometimes, especially when they first meet me. I say shit before I think.”

We really are polar opposites. He says whatever comes into his head, while I overthink everything, sometimes saying nothing at all because I can’t find the right words. Like now.

I drop my gaze to my food.

“That smoothie was good earlier.” Alex is back to his lively self. “I think I prefer the strawberry though. Raspberry can be kinda tart.’

My eyes lift to his. “The mango one’s good too.”

“Yeah?” His smile widens. “Cool. I’ll get that one next time.”

Next time. It’s like he already considers us friends who will be seeing each other again. He said so last night at the party too.

“Can I ask you something?” Anxiety winds through my gut.

“Sure.” Alex bites off a huge chunk of pizza. “What’s up?”

“Why are you doing this?”

He stops chewing. “Doing what?”

“This.” I motion to him and back to me. “We talked for like two seconds at the movie theater, and then you showed up at my work and acted like you’ve known me for forever. You invited me to your friend’s party. I don’t get it.”

“What’s not to get?” His head tilts a little to the side. “You seem like someone I’d like to know better. That’s all there is to it.”

He makes it sound so simple.

Maybe because it is. That’s how you make friends, right?

“I guess I don’t understand why you chose me of all people.” My cheeks heat when I realize I said that out loud.

Alex leans forward on the table, brow creased. “Why? What’s wrong with you?” A smile touches his lips. “Because from where I’m sitting, you look pretty awesome to me.”

No one’s ever said anything like that to me before. I shift in my seat, unsure of so many things. I don’t talk much, so he can’t like me for that. My looks are average, and I’m not exactly the life of the party. Far from it.

I’m more like the wallflower, someone who fades into the background. But not to Alex.

What does he see in me that I don’t?

Maybe I’ll never know.