Ariella never saw Mike like a brother; she only loved his goofball personality and flair for creativity. Mike never dreamed that bubbly and fierce Ariella would be interested in him. Once she confesses she's crushed on him for years, Mike staunchly...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
As I pull the front door shut behind me, AJ pops his head out the passenger window of Ella's idling car. "Hello, hello, hello."
"Riding shotgun, buddy?" I ask. "Okay, no worries. I can hop in back."
Smoke curls around the exhaust pipe of Ella's beat up sedan. I cough and clear my throat while taking my time on the icy driveway, then smile brightly at the two in front.
I slap AJ's waiting palm extended out the window, then duck to look at Ella on his other side. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot two passengers in the back. "Gotta grab something from my car, El. BRB."
"Sure. Take your time. The game doesn't start for like an hour."
"Right, but I'm excited to see Gray start!"
I hustle to the trunk of my car, nab the rolled up white paper, and jog back, careful not to slip and die.
Before I can tug on the door handle, it pops open, and Ella's cousin Riley plants the heel of her boot on the ground in the dramatic way you'd expect a movie star to do before her big red carpet moment.
"Hi, Riley!" I duck into the car, knowing by default the middle seat is saved for the short girl, but I don't know who the other passenger is.
"Hey, girl," Riley says, shifting to retake her seat.
"Oh, and Marcus," I say, catching sight of Grayson's younger brother. "Hi there."
Marc shakes the sandy blond hair from his eyes and extends his hand to help me scoot toward the middle hump. "Ooh, I get to sit next to Ariella. Now that's what I'm talking about."
Ella's eyes reflect in the rear view mirror as she peers at the backseat while I buckle my seatbelt. "Gross, Marcus."
"Don't be jealous, Ella. You know all you have to do is say the word, and I'm yours."
Like Riley, Marc is a freshman than us, and—also like Riley—flirts with anybody they find remotely cute. I laugh as AJ and Ella cut him off with the same phrase. "Shut up."
Tall and lean, with a perpetual puckish look in his eye, Marcus revels in the juvenile pleasure of making girls squirm with his flirtation. I'd never tell him that I actually think it's amusing.
"Ari, why do you even have a car?" AJ asks. "You drive once a week. If that."
"It was Nick's first car," I say, as Ella carefully steers through the neighborhood. "Luke had it; now it's mine. I rarely need to drive because everybody loves picking me up." I snort. "Driving or throwing me around."
