Burning Down the House by Allie Gail Read Free Book Online Page B

statement - there’s no need to get all defensive about it!”
    “I wasn’t being defensive. I was just making a simple statement , same as you.” His voice was nonchalant, which somehow only riled me further.
    “Do you always have to be so rude?”
    He sighed. “Please…thank you…what is it you want me to say?”
    “You could start by telling m e why you hate me!” I didn’t even intend to say that out loud, but the words tumbled out before I realized what I was doing.
    “I don’t hate you.”
    “Then why are you so nasty to me?”
    “How am I nasty to you? I’m just sitting here minding my own business! You’re the one who’s being annoying as hell!”
    “ Annoying? All I did was offer you dinner, you ungrateful asswipe!”
    “If I wanted dinner, I’d make it myself! I’m not incompetent!”
    “No, you’re just a total douche!”
    “Really? Are you sure you don’t mean psycho?”
    Oh, fuck me sideways. So he had heard me. No wonder he was acting this way. Closing the book in my lap, I tossed it to land beside me on the couch. For a minute I just sat there, staring at the screen and wondering whether I should try to apologize. “I didn’t mean that,” I finally said slowly. “I was just…in a pissy mood, I guess.”
    His eyes met mine. “Well, I guess you could say I’m in a pissy mood too , then.”
    “Yeah, but you’re always in a pissy mood,” I complained. The remark wasn’t meant to be funny, but I noticed him suddenly biting on one corner of his mouth as if he didn’t want me to see that I’d made him smile.
    “ Touché.” He finished off his water, then recapped the bottle. “Look…it’s nothing personal, Sara. I’m just not the social type, you know? You shouldn’t think that just because we’re staying in the same house you have to entertain me or cook for me or play hostess. I honestly prefer to be left alone, no offense or anything. You get what I’m saying?”
    “ Yeah, I think so.”
    “You have your life and I have mine. Oil and water don’t mix and if you try, all you do is make a mess. I know you aren’t exactly overjoyed about me being here. It isn’t the ideal situation for me either, but it is what it is. So I’ll do my best to stay out of your business if you’ll extend the same courtesy. Do that and we’ll get along fine. Okay?”
    I blinked at him. “All this over taco salad?”
    He kind of laughed then, and for the first time I saw an actual smile. If I thought he was gorgeous before…oh man, that was nothing compared to this. Fried ice cream, that’s what he was. Hot on the outside and frozen on the inside.
    “ You’re a trip,” he demurred, getting up to wander down the hallway and back to the safety of his sanctuary.
    I watched him walk away and contemplated to myself how ironic it was that I’ve always been partial to fried ice cream.

    Dana and I were just finishing up lunch the next day when Trent and Doug came strolling over with three other guys in tow. One I recognized as the team’s quarterback, though I’d never actually met him before. I was pretty sure I’d seen him in my drama class too. The other one was Colin Hayes, who I did remember because he’d been a cutup since second grade. The third, of course, was Rob I-Just-Wanna-Be-Left-Alone Kensington.
    “ Hillcrest High’s two most eligible bachelorettes,” Trent pronounced, sitting on the edge of the cafeteria table and grinning broadly. “How’s my sexy new girlfriend doing?”
    This was directed at me, and immediately I wondered what Dana was going to think. “It’s all good.”
    “What’s new with you, Lemon Drop?” He stuffed a piece of gum in his mouth and tossed the wadded-up wrapper at Dana. It landed in her lap.
    “Not much.” Her cheeks seemed rosier than usual. “What about you?”
    “Couldn’t get through the day without stopping by to flirt with my two favorite girls.”
    The sandy-haired quarterback leaned forward to extend a hand. “I don’t