“Thanks.” I meant it to sound casual, but my desperation and appreciation snuck into the word. Out of habit and fear, I nearly laced my fingers through his, then overreacted and jerked my hand away.
“I like it too.” Ryan’s words and arms wrapped around me at the same time. He pulled me back into the booth, onto his lap. “Now that I’m used to it, I like it a lot.”
Gyver’s eyebrows went up. I shrugged off Ryan’s arms so I could slide onto the bench beside him. Hil looked puzzled and annoyed. She’d always been dangerously observant. And opinionated.
I moved down to create more room between Ryan and me. “It was good to see you, Gyver. I guess I’ll see you around.”
The others gave halfhearted good-byes, but Gyver focused only on me. “Welcome back.”
He was barely out of hearing when Hillary said, “I get that you guys were sandbox pals, but I don’t see why you still hang out with him.” Her eyes traced a blatant path between me, Gyver, and Ryan.
“Why wouldn’t I? Am I supposed to reject him because he rejected you?” I challenged. Ally’s mouth was a perfect lip-glossed O and Lauren’s eyebrows were halfway up her forehead. “I mean, clearly he has bad taste, but he’s still my friend.”
Hil smiled icily. “I only asked him out because you were always going on and on about him, but he’s such a loner.”
“He’s not a loner, he’s here with …” I looked up to see who he was here with and the rest of the sentence died in my throat.
The girl was wearing a light-green sundress. It was the type of thing I’d had to retire to the back of my closet because the straps would showcase my port and bony shoulders and the color would make my pale skin look gray. She, of course, looked adorable. She was smiling and saying something that made him laugh. She was leaning toward him. She was touching his arm.
“Who is that?” asked Lauren.
“Meagan something.” I barely knew her. I didn’t know Gyver did. Well enough to have lunch, just the two of them. Then again, I didn’t know how he’d spent his nights. Except for gigs and his work at the record store, we hadn’t talked about how he’d spent the nonhospital part of his summer or with whom he’d spent it.
“She’s a no one,” Hil said, looking at me with concern. “No one, Mia.”
I went into autopilot protective mode. Defending Gyver was what I did. “She’s in our AP classes. And he’s got his band and plenty of other friends—ask anyone who knows him and they’ll tell you he’s great.”
Hil grinned and waved a dismissive hand. “But those classes are full of nerd types. I wasn’t counting them.”
“Nerd types? Thanks, Hil.” I was probably being too defensive, and aggressively so, but after all he’d put up with this summer, I wasn’t going to shrug this off or let Hil use him to create drama with Ryan. And why was that girl eating one of Gyver’s fries? If she wanted some, she should’ve ordered her own.
“Mia? Seriously? You know I’m kidding.” Hil reached across the table and poked my arm. I reluctantly looked away from Gyver and Meagan and at Hil’s confused expression. “Geez, one month away and you lose your sense of humor. As long as Mac ’n’ Cheese leaves me alone, I won’t bother him.”
Lauren glanced across the diner. “What a waste. He’s OMG hot, don’t you think?”
Ryan scoffed, “Did his shirt say pixies? Like, little fairy things?” He shifted his arm to the back of the booth and placed his hand on my shoulder.
“We’re friends. I don’t think of him that way.” My voice was too loud. I was being too sensitive. I forced myself to shrug and added, “By the way, The Pixies is a band.”
Ryan frowned. “What kind of band would name themselves after fairies?”
“As fascinating as this conversation is, here comes our food,” Chris said.
Hil poked me again. “Want my cucumber?”
They were my favorite veggie, and she knew it. This was Hil’s version of a peace offering. I nodded and she dropped the slices on my plate, snagging a fry as she did so. I laughed and she did too.
Ryan passed the ketchup across the booth to Chris, and I looked over their arms to Gyver’s table. He faced me and caught my gaze. Cocking an eyebrow in a look that was half-quizzical and half-comical, he watched for my reaction. I smiled and gave him a discreet nod; he smiled back and waited for me to look away.
When I did, Hillary was watching me, her expression part puzzled and part intrigued.
Chapter 10
I tore into my sandwich, wanting this reunion lunch over.
“Didn’t they feed you in Connecticut?” Lauren joked.
I swallowed a sip of milkshake. “I haven’t eaten anything with a taste all month.”
“Old-people food—yuck!” Hil dipped the tines of her fork in fat-free dressing and speared a piece of lettuce.
“Help yourself to my fries too.” Lauren pushed her plate toward me. “The last thing my butt needs is an excuse to get bigger.”