As long as we were going to be forced to be around each other, I might as well win the bet, too.
I had to remind myself daily that none of the butterflies that found me whenever Landon was around were real. I had pep talks with myself about how the fluttering in my chest was just heartburn. I had to convince myself that anything I felt was just passing hormones.
I knew deep down that I could never fall for Landon.
He wasn’t the kind of guy who would catch the girl.
Especially me.
Me and my sensitive heart.
* * *
“I need ammo, Raine,” I told my friend, barging up to her locker after school. August had come and passed, we were narrowly through all of September, and I was starting to believe Landon was winning this little push-and-pull between us. The flirtatious teasing came so easily to him. I needed to strike back nice and hard.
“Ammo? Why, are you going hunting?” Raine joked, tossing her textbooks into her backpack. “I’m pretty sure Hank can lend you some of his camo to blend into the woods.”
“No, I’m serious. I need you to give me some ammunition against Landon. I need information to use against him.”
Raine’s green eyes widened with nerves, and she shook her head. “Oh, no. Hank said I’m not allowed to meddle in other people’s business anymore, ever since I helped my nonna order a vibrator through a television commercial because she said my grandfather wasn’t the stallion he used to be.”
I had no time to deep dive into the topic of Raine’s grandmother having a vibrator, so I stayed on track. “But you owe me.”
“Owe you? For what?”
“Oh, I don’t know—telling a boy where I live and also telling the same boy I was auditioning for the school play and then having said boy also audition and get a part in the show.”
Raine’s eyes lit up like a proud parent. “Gosh, I still can’t believe he got the part. I’m so proud of him!” she exclaimed. “I mean, I know you hate his guts, but it’s no secret Landon is like a little brother to me.”
“He’s older than you, Raine.”
“Yes”—she placed her hand over her heart with a gleam in her eyes—“but his childish ways make him seem so young.”
“Well, seeing as how you helped him out, it means you need to help me out, too.”
She frowned. “I can’t, Shay. Hank would kill me if I got involved again. He gave me the silent treatment for a solid five minutes after I helped Landon, and I don’t know if I can handle that again.”
“Fine.” I moped, crossing my arms. “I guess that’s OK.”
“Don’t do that,” Raine said.
“Don’t do what?”
“Pout. You know I can’t take it, seeing my friends sad.”
“Well, I guess you just like Landon a little more than you like me,” I argued. “Seeing as how you helped him out and not me. I thought we lived by the motto ‘Chicks before dicks,’ but I guess not...”
“Ugh.” She groaned, slapping her hand against her forehead. “Fiiine. You twisted my arm. But this doesn’t get back to Hank—or any of the guys. They are worse than us and tell each other everything.”
“You have my word.”
“OK. Landon loves his dog, Ham. Like, loves him. You should take them to a dog park to get on his good side.”
“What? No. I don’t want to know what he loves. I want to know what he hates!”
“Why?”
“So I can annoy him the way he annoys me.”