He shrugged. “You haven’t looked close enough, then.”
I tilted my head and he gave me a fake smile that made me laugh. His front two teeth overlapped a little and his bottom ones were a bit more crooked, but they weren’t distracting at all. “I was right, very pretty.”
He took a fistful of either side of my sweater at my waist and said, “You’re not a very good liar.”
His hold made me feel light on my feet, like I wasn’t quite touching the ground. I braced myself with my palms against his chest. “Then you must not be good at reading me anymore because I’m not lying. I, on the other hand, am excellent at reading you. Just like in that game of rock, paper, scissors we played. Read you like a book.”
He laughed. “I’ll work on my poker face.”
“You should come over today after school.”
“To your house?”
“Yes, my brother is in town. I think you’d like him.”
“I don’t like anyone, remember?”
I took another small step forward. “I don’t think that’s true.”
“I do like distractions,” he said.
“Me too.” It was obvious he didn’t want to meet my brother, probably thought that meant commitment or something. “Okay, fine, there’s a park by my house. You have my address? It was on that letter my parents sent you.
He nodded.
“Meet me at the park? Four o’clock?”
“I will try.”
“Try hard.”
He smiled, and I could read his face. It said he wasn’t coming. I pretended not to notice. I wasn’t going to give him an easy way out. If he didn’t want to come, he’d have to not come knowing I was sitting in the cold, waiting for him.
Dax and I headed back around the cafeteria and through the main doors together. I said, “Bye,” and he gave me a head nod as we split to go separate ways. That’s when I saw Lisa leaning against a locker, staring at me. I smiled.
She dragged me by the arm into the closest bathroom and said, “Spill. Now.”
“Spill what?”
“You know what. I saw you pass him a note after lunch. How do you know him?”
I checked under each stall to make sure they were empty. “He was in the library with me.” There was no use in keeping it a secret anymore.
“Dax?”
“Yes.”
“Dax Miller?”
“Yes,” I said with more emphasis.
Her brow wrinkled in confusion. “He was in . . . wait . . . he was in the library with you? All weekend? As in trapped? As in you weren’t alone?”
“We were trapped together.”
“NO WAY!”
“Yes . . . way.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m sorry. He swore me to secrecy. Long story. Not one for the bathroom.”
“You’ll tell me all the details later?”
“Yes.”
“Was he . . . ?” She searched for a word to finish that sentence.
“He was nice, fun.”
“Fun?”
“Okay, not like Jeff fun. He was a little cold at first, standoffish. But once we’d been there for a while he was . . . fun.”
“That’s so crazy. You know Dax Miller now. Nobody knows Dax Miller.” She paced in front of the sinks. “You know Dax Miller.” She stopped with a gasp. “Wait. Do you know know Dax Miller? Have you guys like . . . ?”
“No.”
She smiled. “Huh. He’d be a good kisser, don’t you think? Those lips, those eyes.”
I shoved her arm. “Stop.” I could not think about kissing him. I’d already banned myself from doing that.
She studied my face and I knew my cheeks were red.
“You like him,” she whispered.
“No. I don’t. He doesn’t like anyone, and he’s not boyfriend material. At all.”
She didn’t seem to believe me because she said, “Autumn, what about Jeff? He needs you right now. He’s still recovering, then he’s going to have physical therapy and have to get back into life, and negative emotions might have a bad effect on him.”
My jaw tightened. “I know. I’m not going anywhere. There is nothing between me and Dax.”
“Then why are you hanging out with him?”
“He’s just a distraction.”
“Television is a distraction. Dax is a hostile takeover.”
“He hasn’t taken over anything.” Nothing at all. He wanted to be gone as soon as possible—no attachments—and I had just needed something to keep my mind occupied. Things would be back to normal soon.
CHAPTER 34
I got a text during seventh period from Mrs. Matson.
Jeff asked about you. Can you come after school today?
Jeff asked about me. Jeff was awake enough to talk and he asked about me. This was great news . . . really great news, I told myself again.
I texted her back.
Yes! Of course.