“You watch football,” Simon asked. If Lilah didn’t know any better, she could have sworn that there was a good deal of disdain seeping through with his words.
“No, not really.” It was the truth. While she had done a bit of research on the sport so that she could watch it with Kyler, she had only watched a game that day with Kyler. Never again. Now she felt stupid for even knowing what holding was, or what the penalty was, or that the team that she couldn’t care less about was now within field goal range after they were no longer forced to punt and had two back to back passes that were pretty great.
“Your turn,” Simon said dryly.
Ever since halfway through their meal, Lilah had tried her best not to give any of her attention to Kyler’s general area; however, once Sean and his buddies, as well as Sarah and her squad showed up, it became the high school cafeteria packed at three small tables of Flip’s Grill.
“Here, let me help you,” Simon interrupted just as Lilah was about to take her shot.
She was mildly annoyed. She knew what she was doing and could have easily wiped the table, but she was playing friendly, going easy on him. She did not need his help. It was only when she obliged that she saw his reasoning for doing so.
✽ ✽ ✽
Kyler’s hands turned to fists when he saw Simon position himself around Lilah and lean their bodies into the table with the pool stick, very well knowing that Lilah didn’t need some nerd’s advice when it came to the game.
He took a deep breath and tried to focus on the conversations bouncing in all directions around him. He hated it. Some idiot in the place had shared too much on social media and now not only were Sean, Cash, and Louis in his presence, but if he had to hear one more screeching giggle from Sarah about something that wasn’t funny to begin with, he would scream.
His chest tightened and suddenly he couldn’t hear a single word around him. There was a thumping in his head from the flow of blood, and his eyes began to burn.
Their faces were too close, looking at each other too romantically. He wasn’t an idiot. This wasn’t some middle school dance. And Lilah wasn’t about to throw punch at Simon if he continued to close the gap.
“Dude! Even I can’t take this anymore,” Gavin exclaimed, throwing back his soda and motioning for Dawson to follow his departure. “You too, West,” he called out over his shoulder.
Gavin was a bit of a wildcard, which only sent Kyler’s pulse racing as he watched his friend zigzag his way toward the gaming area.
Chapter 32
Simon pushed back a couple strands of Lilah’s hair behind her ears. He was so close now that she could smell his breath on her. Surprisingly it was minty. She then remembered the mints the waitress placed on top of the check, the check that she ended up splitting.
She screamed inside to focus. This was what she wanted. This is what her first kiss should have been like. A proper date. Someone that made sense. So why did she feel like she was about to have a panic attack?
“You look really great tonight,” he whispered.
He slid his other hand down to her waist. She felt its presence, but that was all. There were no tingles. Why weren’t there tingles? Lilah swallowed heavily and waited for Simon to close the space between the two of them.
She was jolted awake and forced to take a step back when someone slammed their hands on the pool table that she had been leaning into.
“Is this table free?”
Simon didn’t exactly drop his hands from her body right away, but the distance between them did increase. Oddly, Lilah felt relief. It’s as if she was moments away from drowning and of all the people to rescue her, Gavin managed to pull her up to the surface, now able to breathe.
Ignoring Gavin, “Hey, man,” Simon acknowledged toward Dawson. He released Lilah and took a step in Dawson’s direction for a fist bump.
Lilah welcomed the space; however, it was only when she registered both Gavin and Dawson, that she bothered to look in the short distance. Right behind them, casually strolling along, although their conversation appeared intense, were Kyler and Miles.
Lilah’s left hand grabbed her right forearm and she took a step back, wanting to hide in the little bit of darkness that she could find. Though she told herself to ignore the five boys surrounding the table, she couldn’t help but be curious. That curiosity only got her a set of blue eyes, growing darker by the second, focused solely on her, ignoring any words directed toward him.
Kyler hesitantly took a few steps to the side while Dawson held Simon’s attention. Though it wasn’t as private as he would have liked, at least he was next to her, able to say something, rather than ominous looks from across the room.
“How’s it going?” He cringed a little on the inside, unsure how to begin a conversation with Lilah after everything that was said, or rather left unsaid, in the library that day.
Lilah huffed. There was no way that she was going to give Kyler the satisfaction of knowing that her date wasn’t exactly what she had thought it would be. “It was going great until all this.” She motioned her hand around to everyone hovering about the pool table.
“Yeah, it looked like it,” Kyler murmured under his breath.
Lilah turned sharply toward him. Though she kept her voice down so as not to draw attention, her anger came through loud and clear. “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”
Kyler broke any eye contact and shrugged, pretending not to care. “It just appears from the outside looking in, that you and Campbell are having a good time. That’s great. The two of you seem perfect for each other.” His words were dry and lacking. The part of him that wanted Lilah to correct him and argue with him was quickly disappointed.
“What are you guys doing over here,” Lilah finally sighed, not wanting to talk any further about her date.
“We thought we’d come play a game, since no one else is.” If he didn’t know any better, he could have sworn he saw Lilah discreetly stomp her foot in frustration.
“We have this table. I’m sure one of the others is about to open up.”
Kyler laughed sarcastically. “You two aren’t playing.”
Lilah stepped into Kyler’s space and he nearly came undone. All he wanted was to tell her how beautiful she was and what a waste of time it was for her to invest another second on Simon Campbell.
“If you have something to say, just say it. Clearly you have a rude and snarky observation you’d like to make.”
Feeling challenged, “Yeah, I do. Why are you letting him win?”
Lilah scoffed like the idea was preposterous, but could immediately feel her cheeks reddening. “I’m not letting him win,” she insisted.
“Whatever. I’ve seen you play. You could have beaten him ages ago. Why haven’t you?”
She looked up to meet his inquisitive and speculating eyes. Why did he of all people have to notice something like that? Why did he even care?
“I’m trying to be nice. It’s a date,” she pointed out. “I don’t want to make it a huge competition. I know how guys can get with their egos.” She arched her brow and pressed her lips into a cold line at the last part.
Kyler knew somewhere in her words she was taking a dig at him. He took a small step forward, closing their distance just a little more. From the corner of his eye, he could see that Simon was still preoccupied with Dawson rambling on about some solar thing that wouldn’t take place for another insane amount of years.
Though he was close, too close for the conversation they were having, too close for just someone who was interrupting her date, Lilah didn’t move.
“So,” he began, his voice coming across exceedingly low and sultry, reminding Lilah of a warm summer breeze across her skin. “If I challenge you to a game, you’ll go easy on me? Let me win?”
Lilah swallowed heavily, suddenly unaware if they were still talking about pool. They had to be though. She couldn’t let herself think anything deeper than surface level when it came to Kyler. He already did things to h
er with just his presence. There was no way she was going to continue reading into his words, falling victim to whatever game he was playing.
“It’s different,” she managed. “You and I aren’t the ones on a date.” The flicker of something in his eyes sent alarms off in her head. She was so stupid for putting the both of them in the same sentence as the word date.
Not missing a beat, “And if we were?”
Lilah wanted to laugh, to point out how that wasn’t in the realm of possibilities. Instead, she left him with one word. “Never.”
Kyler gave her a satisfying smirk. Somewhere deep inside, that’s exactly what he wanted to hear, because he knew that Lilah wasn’t the type of person to let anyone win. The fact that she was doing so with Simon only meant one thing to Kyler. She didn’t care.
He let his wild mind get the best of him. Then why would she let someone she didn’t care about almost kiss her?
Kyler reached a few inches in front of him and allowed the back of his knuckles to graze Lilah’s. A shiver ran through her and she fought to control her breathing.
“Lilah, I need to talk to you.”
“You’ve been talking to me.”
Kyler shook his head at how frustrating she could be. “Just us, away from here.”
Lilah’s chest pounded. Simple words like that shouldn’t make her entire body react like it was, and yet, all she could think about was being alone with Kyler. As much as she wanted to be like one of those silly girls and fall into his arms, she just couldn’t.
She took a step back, breaking the warmth from the smallest touch of his hand on hers. “I think you need to get back to your fan club,” she said coldly, nodding behind her towards a few other players along with a group of cackling cheerleaders.
Kyler didn’t understand and he was certain that the look on his face would tell her that before he could; however, he never got the opportunity to ask what in the world she was talking about.
“You ready,” Miles asked, clapping Kyler on the shoulder.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Well, it’s been real,” Gavin announced, flicking one of the balls and completely ruining the game. “Oops. Sorry,” he apologized, quite sincerely too.
Kyler begrudgingly left with the three of them, now only more confused than the last time he and Lilah were in the library together.
“I’m guessing you didn’t confess your undying love for her,” Gavin teased once they sat back down for one more round of unlimited soda refills.
“No,” Kyler growled.
“Well, at least they didn’t go into a full on make-out session on the table,” Gavin continued.
“Yet,” Dawson added with a wink.
“Come on, guys,” Miles interrupted. “We can push him all we want, but the truth is, I think he’s found his match. Lilah isn’t going to give in to his charms so easily.” Miles proceeded to pinching at Kyler’s cheeks, to which Kyler swatted him with more force than necessary.
“What are we all laughing about,” a bubbly voice rang out behind Kyler.
Something about the evening made him very much aware as to what he needed to do. Sitting around with his friends teasing him about not going for it with Lilah wasn’t it. As Sarah made room for a seat next to him, he knew without a doubt entertaining her wasn’t it either.
“Actually, I think I’m going to call it a night,” Kyler announced as calmly as he could, rising from his seat.
His friends understood; however, the tiny heels clicking behind him on his way out the door didn’t.
“Hey, Ky. Wait up,” Sarah insisted breathlessly.
How could she be so out of breath? Didn’t she have a strict workout routine with cheerleading? Kyler shook his head. He couldn’t care less about Sarah’s stupid workouts.
“Do you think I could get a ride,” she asked once Kyler slowed for her to say something.
“I have things to do. Sorry,” he declined. He tried to be as nice as he could, but inside he wanted to scream for her to just go away, especially now when all he could think about was seeing Lilah.
“It really won’t take long. I’m only about ten minutes away,” she went on, watching as Kyler typed something into his phone, perhaps cancelling any plans so that he could take her home.
“There,” he said once he finished, and tucked his phone away. “I sent a message in a group chat. Miles, Gavin, or Dawson should be able to help you out.”
Sarah grit her teeth in fury. “But, I thought,” she tried once again, taking a step closer.
Kyler sighed. “Sarah, I really don’t have time. I’m sorry.”
Before she could protest any further, he walked off as quickly as he could. A part of him did feel like a jerk leaving her standing alone outside Flip’s Grill, but he had made sure that if she did need a ride, there were several others in there who would do the favor, whether they wanted to or not.
✽ ✽ ✽
Lilah felt her phone go off yet again. Alice’s Saturday night plans consisted of binging some werewolf show and keeping tabs on her date with Simon. Jolee had been much more casual with the situation, simply wishing Lilah good luck, although the tone seemed more like she knew Lilah would need the luck, because deep down Lilah should probably not have agreed to the date in the first place. The longer the night went on, Lilah was surprisingly glad she had gone out with Simon. Had she not, perhaps she would have wondered if she missed out, if she and Simon missed some bizarre chance in the universe to be together. Now, now she realized how wrong they were for each other.
She was more than a little shocked when she pulled out her phone and the message was not from Alice.
Kyler: We need to talk.
Lilah was annoyed by it. Without Kyler’s presence messing with her head, she was able to think clearly. What she clearly knew, he had not only lied to her about his grades, but not even ten minutes ago he left with Sarah, only to text her something like this.
Lilah: I don’t have anything to say to you.
Kyler: I don’t care. I have something to say to you.
Kyler was satisfied with any response from her. If she was responding to him, that meant for a moment her phone was taking away any attention that should have been spent on Simon.
Lilah: I’m on a date. Why don’t you focus on yours and I’ll do the same?
He wanted to throw his phone clear across the park, when she unnecessarily pointed out that little fact. Had she not found out about his grades, she could have been on a date with him. Even that was wrong. Something before then had caused a shift in her, shortly after she brought him cookies. But what?
And what in the world did the second part of her message mean?!
Kyler: Can you meet me tonight?
He fell back across the top of the picnic table and placed his phone on his chest, hoping to feel the vibration from her response. Every second that passed without it did little in helping with his nerves.
Lilah: I don’t think it’s a good idea.
Kyler: Why?
Lilah: There’s tension. We’ll probably say things we don’t mean.
Kyler: You’re still mad at me?
Lilah: Of course!
Lilah wanted so badly to meet Kyler, but lately, she wasn’t sure what would happen if they were alone together. As much as she wanted to punch him in his perfect face for lying to her, another part desperately wanted to feel all the feelings he gave her, starting with that kiss.
Kyler: Fine. The park. When you finish with your date.
Lilah: I’m not coming.
Kyler: The ball is yours, run with it or not.
“Is everything okay,” Simon laughed.
Lilah quickly fired off one more text before putting her phone away. “Yeah, why?”
“Your face is all scrunched up and you look really annoyed,” he pointed out.
“It’s nothing, just my little brother,” she lied.
“Were you ready to get going? I have church in the morning with my parents.”
<
br /> Lilah groaned internally. Of course he did! He couldn’t have been more perfect, and yet, he wasn’t, at least not for her anymore.
Thankfully Lilah had already made arrangements for Antonio to pick her up. She didn’t want the awkwardness of Simon driving her home, walking her to the door, and then what? She had never gotten to that part. There was the almost kiss that they shared earlier, which she was a little more than relieved was interrupted. If Simon were to try again, she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do.
When he walked her out, she wanted to jump up and down at the fact that Antonio was waiting and that she wouldn’t have to stand around and make awkward conversation. Though she could have been much more dismissive, she felt a little bad for wasting Simon’s time. While the date didn’t end with a kiss, she did give him a hug.
“Very nice looking,” Antonio commented once Lilah’s door was closed. Lilah only rolled her eyes and he gave a small chuckle. “Home then?”
Lilah quickly pulled out her phone. Her last message to Kyler had been to ask him where in the park, that is, if she decided to come. His response only caused her insides to fume with fury.
Kyler: Where you made the biggest mistake of your life.
Chapter 33
Kyler heard what he hoped were her footsteps from down the path, though he didn’t turn from his spot on the bench to face her.
“Could you have been more cryptic,” Lilah scoffed when she was certain that Kyler was the dark figure beneath the lamplight.
He rose and turned to face her as she continued closer. “You didn’t seem to have too much of a problem figuring it out.”
Lilah let out a sigh of exasperation, now standing a little more than arm’s length away from Kyler. “Why were you so adamant about talking to me tonight?”
Fumbling Perfect (Raymere Grove Series Book 1) Page 23