Catching Whitney by Amy Hale Read Free Book Online

poison and I’ll happily join you.”
    “Ah, we’re a regular Romeo and Juliet then. Are you going to see if I die first? Or will you just dive right in with me?” He gives me a teasing wink.
    “Oh no. I’ll let you eat a bite or two first. If you don’t die, I’ll eat with you. If you do expire, I’ll just sneak away and look for the beer vendor.”
    He clutches his chest. “Oh, you wound me! You’d have beer without me?”
    I can’t hold back my smile. “I promise I’ll drink one in your memory.”
    “Thank you. That makes me feel much better.” His words drip with teasing sarcasm, and I find myself relaxing. This might be okay. If we can keep our friendship like this—like it was before we had sex—then maybe we can pretend like it never happened and just enjoy hanging out now and then. I think I’d like that very much. I work to remember the evening without the stop at the hotel room, but it’s almost impossible to blot out. Maybe it will just take time.
    Aidan’s voice interrupts my thoughts. “Whitney? Are you okay?”
    “Huh? Oh, yes. I’m fine. Why?”
    He chuckles softly. “Because I’ve asked you twice if you’d prefer corn dogs or hamburgers and you didn’t seem to hear me.” His eyes roam over my face. “Where did you go? What were you thinking about?”
    I blush, and I’m afraid he now knows exactly where I went. “I’d like corn dogs.” My mind screams at me that corn dogs are too phallic. I won’t be able to eat one in front of him without embarrassing myself with mental images I’m better off forgetting. “No! I mean I’d like a hamburger!” My sudden change has him raising one of his perfect eyebrows at me.
    “Okay. Hamburgers it is.” He takes my hand in his and pulls me to the right side of the path that leads to the 4-H hamburger stand. I try not to balk at the hand holding. Do friends hold hands? I can’t remember. I see the younger kids do it all the time, and it means nothing. This can’t be all that different, right? But my heart is telling me otherwise. I can feel that it’s meaningful, even if I can’t explain it. Once we reach the stand I make sure I let go and step back a bit. He doesn’t try to take my hand again, but I sense he’s disappointed. Maybe I’m just being silly. I don’t really know anymore.
    Aidan orders two hamburger plates, and then we sit at the picnic tables nearby. In minutes, a teen in a green t-shirt brings our food to us, along with two bottles of water.
    “Thanks for lunch, Aidan. It’s very nice.”
    He looks at me, but doesn’t crack a smile. “You’re welcome.” He takes a few bites of burger before he speaks again. “I think it’s amazing that I ended up moving to the same town you live in. The odds of that happening are pretty astounding, actually. Do you think it’s fate?”
    I chew a bite of French fry slowly and consider his question. “I don’t think I believe in fate. It’s just coincidence.” My mind races at the possible implications of fate somehow taking an interest in us. Fate and I don’t understand each other. In fact, I think if fate really exists, it’s been out to get me for years. I prefer not to believe.
    Aidan takes a swig of his water and wipes his mouth. “That’s possible, I guess. But I don’t really believe in coincidence either.” He gives me another contemplative look before returning to what is left of his burger.
    “So if it is fate, just what does that mean?” I ask cautiously.
    “I suppose it means we are meant to know each other. Be in each other’s lives somehow.”
    I swallow another bite of burger, but it seems to stick going down. I take a big drink of water and try to think of an appropriate response. “So we were meant to be friends?”
    He blinks a couple of times, then slowly nods. “Yes. I think that’s likely the case.” I don’t respond so he continues on. “We get along well and have fun - at least we did the last time we hung out.” One corner of his