“Shuddup.”
“How could you not have a date? Did no one ask you, or did you turn them all down?”
Turn them all down. Funny guy.
I weighed my options. Tell him the truth or lie. Lying would save face, but if he somehow found out I was lying, then I’d look like an even bigger loser.
Clearing my throat, I settled on the truth. “At first, I thought Ethan and I might go, but then he wanted to ask someone, and the next thing I knew it was getting closer, and now. . .Maddie said I scared off all the guys at school with the gym class incident.”
“Nah. That’s not true.”
I flashed him a look that said he was wrong—Carl Macky came to mind.
“Seriously. I’m a guy. Shouldn’t I know?” he asked.
“Well, the guys certainly weren’t beating my door down before. I highly doubt they will be now.”
“That doesn’t mean they don’t want to. You’re unattainable.”
“Little Miss Perfect, I know.” I sneered.
He shook his head. “No, that’s not what I meant.”
I paused, a snowflake in my hand, and looked at him like he was crazy. “What are you talking about?”
“You. You’re that girl at school that’s hard to catch. A lot of guys are just too afraid to try and get shot down.”
I shook my head. “No way. That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it? You have one of the highest GPA’s in our class, you were class president two years in a row, not to mention, involved in a lot of extracurriculars, you’re sweet to everyone, even the MG’s,” he whispered as Olivia and Tasha took a seat a few tables down. “And it totally shows because everyone likes you.”
“I’m not friends with everyone—”
“You are, Mia. The geeks, the jocks, the surfers, the mean girls, the potheads, you name the group and they all like you. And I might be a dude, but even I know the fact that Tasha and Olivia even acknowledge you says something. They can be downright brutal to the other chicks.” He placed his snowflake on the tree then grabbed another. “Trust me. Guys want to ask, but when it comes down to it, they’re too afraid. But not for the reasons you think.”
“I’m not friends with you,” I said simply because I had to prove a point.
Carson grunted, avoiding my eye and hung another snowflake, but all I could do was stare at him, partly in shock, partially assessing his level of serious. Because either I was going insane or Carson Brooks just gave me the most epic of compliments.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Monday morning, I slammed my locker door closed when Lauren Carmichael sidled up next to me. Her blonde ponytail bobbing, eyes bright. “How was your time spent with Carson this weekend? Maddie told Jenna she saw you guys at The Bean.”
Why did news always have to spread so fast at Sweet Water? And since when was I the subject aboard the gossip train?
Oh, yeah. Probably since I tried to strangle a boy in gym class.
“Torturous,” I answered.
Lauren’s smile fell, and I laughed. “What? You look disappointed.”
She shrugged. “It’s just you guys have more chemistry than Mr. Catson’s science experiments.”
“Are you sure you weren’t the one who was hit in the head last week?”
Ethan exited his classroom and caught sight of us, following behind as we headed toward the cafeteria.
“I’m serious. It’s true,” Lauren said. “Tell her, Ethan. You’re his brother. You’ve got to see it, too.”