running whenever you can.” She shot him a look. “Just make sure it’s me before writing too much.”
She hung up and handed the phone to him. “Thank you. I needed that.”
“Everything okay?”
She exhaled and ran a hand though her hair. “I’ll survive, I suppose.” She tucked her leg under her as she twisted to face him again. “You’re a guy…”
“Last I checked.”
“So why are guys such jerks? Why do you say things you don’t mean? And is it really just all about the chase? Do you ever actually care about a girl?”
“I’m guessing from those not-so-cryptic comments, you got burned. That, plus I saw quite a bit of the conversation with your friend.”
“It’s not just Romeo,” she said. “It’s been every guy I’ve ever liked. But yeah, Romeo burned me the worst. More like crushed every bit of faith I had left.” Her voice came out shaky, and she turned away. She traced a finger along the bottom of her window, back and forth, back and forth.
“It’s not like girls are any better,” he said, bad memories nearing the surface.
She peeled her gaze from the window and looked at him. Her eyes were glossy with tears, and his heart squeezed. He didn’t know why he hated seeing her so sad—he barely knew her.
“Damn. I was thinking switching teams would solve all my problems.” Her smile was weak, but it still brightened her face.
The temperature in the cab shot up, and he shifted in his seat, having a hard time focusing on the road. He needed something to get his mind off the switching-teams image in his head. Okay, focus. What was she saying before that?
He cleared his throat. “So your parents sent you here to get you away from a boy. A boy who’d already moved on with some other girl.”
“Rub it in, why don’t you?”
“Sorry.”
“Actually, it wasn’t only—” She bolted upright, pointing at the green exit sign with restaurant logos. “Fast food! There are actual fast food restaurants with names I recognize here! Dafne’s on some organic, AKA, disgusting diet. Can we stop and get something? My treat. I’ll even shut up about all my problems, because I’m starting to sound all pathetic and whiney, and I swear, that’s not how I usually am.”
Bryson switched lanes, heading for the exit. “That’s another reason I avoid people. Too easy to get pulled into all the drama.”
Her face dropped.
It took him a second to realize she thought he was saying she was too much drama. Which she probably was. “I didn’t mean—”
“It’s okay, I get it,” she said, waving off his comment. “I’m sick of the drama, too. Burgers and fries, and then I’ll move on to the comedy portion of my routine. Tragedies get all the critical acclaim, but I prefer something that makes me smile. Ooh , I’ve got this impression of my English teacher, and I know you don’t know her, but it kills with the girls from my school.”
He slowed for the stoplight and shook his head. “I can honestly say I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”
“That’s ‘cause you don’t get out much. And because I’m a kind of awesome that’s hard to find.” She said it jokingly, but he thought there was a lot of truth to it.
A glimmer of hope that his life wasn’t doomed to suck forever rose up in him. Hope could be dangerous, though. Because when everything turned to crap, like it inevitably would, you were left stunned and alone.
And he’d rather choose to be alone than have it forced on him any day.
***
Rosaline stepped around a stack of tires, moving closer to Bryson as he picked through old car and truck parts. Every time he lifted one of the scraps, he studied it with a very serious look on his face, as if the right one would hold the secrets to the universe. Sorting through all the broken vehicles was more fun than she’d thought it would be. Part of her wanted to buy some of the metal junk just to give it a good home. But what would she do with a bunch of broken,
She hung up and handed the phone to him. “Thank you. I needed that.”
“Everything okay?”
She exhaled and ran a hand though her hair. “I’ll survive, I suppose.” She tucked her leg under her as she twisted to face him again. “You’re a guy…”
“Last I checked.”
“So why are guys such jerks? Why do you say things you don’t mean? And is it really just all about the chase? Do you ever actually care about a girl?”
“I’m guessing from those not-so-cryptic comments, you got burned. That, plus I saw quite a bit of the conversation with your friend.”
“It’s not just Romeo,” she said. “It’s been every guy I’ve ever liked. But yeah, Romeo burned me the worst. More like crushed every bit of faith I had left.” Her voice came out shaky, and she turned away. She traced a finger along the bottom of her window, back and forth, back and forth.
“It’s not like girls are any better,” he said, bad memories nearing the surface.
She peeled her gaze from the window and looked at him. Her eyes were glossy with tears, and his heart squeezed. He didn’t know why he hated seeing her so sad—he barely knew her.
“Damn. I was thinking switching teams would solve all my problems.” Her smile was weak, but it still brightened her face.
The temperature in the cab shot up, and he shifted in his seat, having a hard time focusing on the road. He needed something to get his mind off the switching-teams image in his head. Okay, focus. What was she saying before that?
He cleared his throat. “So your parents sent you here to get you away from a boy. A boy who’d already moved on with some other girl.”
“Rub it in, why don’t you?”
“Sorry.”
“Actually, it wasn’t only—” She bolted upright, pointing at the green exit sign with restaurant logos. “Fast food! There are actual fast food restaurants with names I recognize here! Dafne’s on some organic, AKA, disgusting diet. Can we stop and get something? My treat. I’ll even shut up about all my problems, because I’m starting to sound all pathetic and whiney, and I swear, that’s not how I usually am.”
Bryson switched lanes, heading for the exit. “That’s another reason I avoid people. Too easy to get pulled into all the drama.”
Her face dropped.
It took him a second to realize she thought he was saying she was too much drama. Which she probably was. “I didn’t mean—”
“It’s okay, I get it,” she said, waving off his comment. “I’m sick of the drama, too. Burgers and fries, and then I’ll move on to the comedy portion of my routine. Tragedies get all the critical acclaim, but I prefer something that makes me smile. Ooh , I’ve got this impression of my English teacher, and I know you don’t know her, but it kills with the girls from my school.”
He slowed for the stoplight and shook his head. “I can honestly say I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”
“That’s ‘cause you don’t get out much. And because I’m a kind of awesome that’s hard to find.” She said it jokingly, but he thought there was a lot of truth to it.
A glimmer of hope that his life wasn’t doomed to suck forever rose up in him. Hope could be dangerous, though. Because when everything turned to crap, like it inevitably would, you were left stunned and alone.
And he’d rather choose to be alone than have it forced on him any day.
***
Rosaline stepped around a stack of tires, moving closer to Bryson as he picked through old car and truck parts. Every time he lifted one of the scraps, he studied it with a very serious look on his face, as if the right one would hold the secrets to the universe. Sorting through all the broken vehicles was more fun than she’d thought it would be. Part of her wanted to buy some of the metal junk just to give it a good home. But what would she do with a bunch of broken,
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