A firm hand on my elbow stopped me. “Wait.”
Justin tugged my arm, gently guiding me back around, and bent at the knee to look at my face. “You’re not smiling,” he murmured with a slight frown. “What’s wrong?”
I hesitated, considered my options. On one hand, I could deny, deny, deny and carry on with the way things were, no doubt looking back later and wondering what would have happened had I been brave enough to try. Or, I could live my new motto, listen to my heart and follow its lead, and see where the journey takes me.
Here goes nothing…
“Listen, Jutsin.” I released a breath and straightened to my imposing five-foot-four frame. “I know I’m not your normal type. I’m not cool or popular or beautiful.” His frown deepened at that and I rolled my eyes. “I have no delusions here, okay? I’m not a Diamond Doll or mindless groupie pretending I don’t know how to throw a frigging ball. That’s not me.”
“I never said—”
My finger jumped across his lips, silencing him. I think I surprised us both. “It’s just…” I took a calming breath and admitted, “I like you. A lot. I guess I just thought you should know that.”
Bafflement. I’m pretty sure that was the only word to describe Justin’s reaction as emotion flooded his eyes and a puff of warm air escaped his lips. I jerked my finger back as if he’d burned it.
Justin shook his head. “But… why?”
I squinted my eyes. Was he joking?
“I’m serious, Sunshine. I don’t get it. What could someone like you possibly see in a guy like me?”
Someone like me. Those three words repeated in my brain, wounding me with their simplicity. But the crazy thing was, the longer I studied him, reading nothing but total sincerity in his eyes along with an almost boyish vulnerability, I realized this wasn’t some player move or some strange attempt to feed his ego.
Justin Carter actually wanted to know how I could swoon over him.
“Um, well, your passion, for one,” I said. “Every time you step out onto that field, you kill it. You refuse to settle for less than your personal best, and everyone around you follows your lead.”
His nostrils flared with an inhale and his hungry gaze clung to mine. Could this beautiful boy seriously not know how special he was? A zing of confidence shot through me at the knowledge that this was something I could do for him, something no one else had. Smiling, emboldened, I pressed my chest against the fence.
“I also like the way you make people laugh,” I told him with a smile. “I think your obsession with Larry Dierker is freaking adorable. You get all soft and gooey when you talk about your brother, and I love that your ears turn bright red when I ask about your writing.”
Justin’s lips twitched, the tips of his ears flashing a vivid crimson, and I laughed aloud.
“Yep, sorry to break it to you, Carter, but you’re busted. There’s so much more to you than the world sees, but my blinders are off. You’re not hiding anything from me.”
It was weird, admitting all that to the boy I liked. He could totally use it against me, make fun of me, take the heart I’d clearly just attached to my sleeve and smash it. But I trusted him. Even if he did choose to hurt me, I was glad I told him how I felt. He deserved to know.
“Yo, Justin!”
At the loud call, we jerked. Drew Jamison stood a few feet away, eyeing us both. The game was about to start.
Justin nodded and yelled back, “I’ll be right there!” while I reached in my back pocket and grasped the present I’d brought for him. When he looked back at me, I grinned.
“Hold out your hand.” At the expression on his face, I rolled my eyes. “Just do it.” Cautiously, as if I was going to put out a cobra or something, he uncurled his fingers and lifted his palm. I dropped a small silver coin in the center. “For luck.”
Wonder warred with confusion in his gorgeous brown eyes and my heart melted.
“On this side there’s a horseshoe,” I said, my cheeks warming with a blush. “You know, the universal symbol for luck… and a small reminder of me.”
I bit my lip, hoping he didn’t think that was too corny—or that it revealed too much.
I flipped the coin over, exposing the other side, and my fingers slid across his rough skin. My breath caught. When I lifted my eyes, I found him watching me with so much intensity, so much heat, that an actual shiver rolled through me. Just like in my favorite books.
Huh. So that was what smoldering looked like. Good to know.
I swallowed hard and noticed him do the same, and nothing could hold back my giddy smile. Justin glanced down and laughed. “Kick some ass!” he read, skimming his fingernail over my initials.
“I figured…” I cleared my throat. “I thought you could hide it in your sock or something,” I said, unable to tell if he liked the gift or not. He just kept staring at it. “If it’s dumb, you don’t have to—”