“Yeah … okay,” I say, completely out of it because I’m still gawking at her.
I don’t know what it is about Dixie that makes it impossible for me to look away. With her ombre hair and her pristine green eyes, she stands out of the crowd but blends in perfectly too. But that smile … God, that fucking smile.
I wish I could see it up close.
But she’d never smile like that for me.
At least, not the way she smiles at Derek.
I don’t know when that happened. One minute, she hates his guts, and the next, they’re kissing in the cafeteria at school. I guess that’s what happens with raging teenage hormones all around.
Not for me, though.
I’m the outcast. The weirdo who likes to play with matches outside on the benches in the school yard.
Let’s just say, I’m not a people person. I stick to myself.
Besides, I’ve been burned too many times to ever try again.
Derek suddenly interrupts my train of thought by plopping his can of Red Bull on the counter.
“The fuck are you looking at?” he barks. “C’mon. Work for your pay, boy.”
Fuck, I wanna smack his face into the counter. That, or smash his teeth in. They’re just as ugly as the rest of his mug anyway.
“Are you deaf?” He snaps his fingers when I don’t respond quickly enough.
I scan the item, but I don’t take my narrowed eyes off him. I want him to see the hatred and realize it’s all because of him and his behavior.
“What are you looking at, redskin?” he sneers, smacking some money onto the counter but still holding it like he doesn’t intend to hand it over.
“I was about to ask you the same thing … redneck,” I retort.
This gets his blood boiling, for sure. His face is turning red as a beet, and he’s grinding his teeth. Just the look on his face gets me all riled up.
“Derek …” Dixie deliberately bumps into him, shoving him with her hands. “Stop acting like a douche and just pay up.”
“All right, fine,” Derek says, throwing up his hands. “I’m just messing around.”
He snatches the Red Bull off the counter but not before throwing me a filthy glance. “Better stay out of my sight at school, kid,” he says.
Yeah. As if I haven’t heard that one before.
Before he leaves, he smacks Dixie’s ass so hard she jumps. “Ow! Derek!”
Just the sound of his palm on her pants makes my stomach turn. I wanna punch him in the face, but that asshole has already made a run for it.
Dixie rolls her eyes and shakes her head, sighing out loud. “Sorry … he can be such a dick sometimes. Just ignore him.”
“No worries,” I reply with a smile. “I definitely will.”
My response seems to perk her up a little bit because I get a genuine smile back. And fuck me … it’s gorgeous, just like her. I wish I could look at it all day long. Fuck, I’d do anything to keep her from ever losing that smile.
But she has other plans.
She places some hardware, like a detachable socket and shell, a cord set, a finial, and a detachable harp on the counter. Probably buying them for her papa, I reckon.
But she also adds the shirt she picked out. Then she fishes her wallet from her pocket.
When I pick it up and read the slogan, I laugh a little. “Nothin’ like Springhaven,” I say, scanning the shirt.
“Yeah, I just grabbed something off the racks …” She chuckles. “I didn’t wanna leave the shop without buying something for myself. It didn’t feel right.”
I smirk. “That’s awfully nice of you.”
“I can be nice sometimes,” she says, winking. “Especially when I have to compensate for someone else.” She raises her brow and casually looks over her shoulder at Derek, who’s leaning against the wall outside, smoking a cig.
So she doesn’t like him? “Why do you even hang out with him?” I ask.
I regret it the moment I blurted it out, but it’s too late to take it back.
She pauses and takes a big gallop of air. “I … I don’t know, really.” She shrugs. “It just kinda happened. I guess.” She laughs it off like it’s no big deal. But to me it is.
How can a girl like her be the girlfriend of such a douchebag? She deserves so much better than the likes of him.
But I’d never say this to her face. It doesn’t feel right.
Man, girls are complicated as fuck, that’s for sure.
“Can I ask you something?” She rubs her lips together.
“Of course,” I reply, putting her items in a plastic bag.
“Why do you let him treat you like that?”
I look up, still holding the bag. “I don’t know. The whole town does, so I’m used to it.”
“Well, you shouldn’t let them,” she says, cocking her head. “You deserve to be treated with respect.”
I smile. She’s got me there, but the same applies to her. “Same goes for you.” And then I casually throw a glance at Derek. He should be treating her like his princess. Not like some doll he can use.
“Touché.” She places the money on the counter. Guess she understood the hint, judging from her lopsided grin. I don’t wanna be an asshole, but I’ll gladly be one to him if it means she’s finally gonna get treated better.
I take some of the money and leave the rest. “The hardware’s on the house.”
“Really?” Her face lights up. “Thanks so much!”
Man, I could live just from seeing that smile every single day.
Forget oxygen, forget food.
I don’t need any of it … if only I had her.
“You’re welcome,” I say with a big-ass smile as I tuck the bills into the register.
Man, I really should get a grip on my feelings.
I clear my throat and hand her the bag, saying, “Have a nice day.”
“Thank you, you too,” she says as she walks off.
But in the middle of the shop, she comes to a stop and turns around again to say, “Hey … would you like to hang out sometime?”
Wait. Did she actually ask me to spend time with her?
Is this really happening? Yes, it fucking is, and I’d be a fool to say no to a girl like Dixie Burrell.
The grin that appears on my lips could not be any bigger, though I try to play it off like it’s no big deal. “Sure.”
Even though it damn well is.