Page 132 of The Lost Book of First Loves
She should have listened to June and canceled the date.
As she waited for Clint to pick her up later that evening, Alison considered texting him to back out at least a dozen times.
What could she have said?Sorry. I don’t want to go out with you because I think I’m in love with my best friend?
The truth sounded ridiculous. Anything else would simply be an excuse, and she had been paralyzed by indecision all the time she had dressed and put on makeup for their dinner.
She did like Clint. He was a little self-absorbed, but she had enjoyed being with him the other night and he was certainly good-looking. They could be friends, if nothing else.
He was fifteen minutes late, but came to the door wearing a nice Western-cut shirt, jeans and the same hand-tooled boots he had worn when they went to see the band at the Bison.
“You look fantastic,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss her. At the last minute she turned her head so his mouth landed on her cheek.
He smelled good and looked even better. Ali knew her teenage self would have been freaking out right now.
She wasn’t a teenager, though. And Clint wasn’t Xander.
“Thanks.”
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yes. What time is our reservation?”
His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. “I didn’t make reservations. I had an even better idea. I took a couple of choice steaks out of the freezer and thought we could grill at my place.”
Alison knew a brief instant of panic, remembering how he had grabbed her ass the other night after he brought her home. If she went to his place, would she have to spend the whole night fighting him off?
She didn’t want to risk it. “I would rather go out,” she said.
He reached for her hand and twisted his fingers through hers. “I thought it would be more fun to have a quiet night, just the two of us.”
Yeah. That was the last thing she wanted. Why hadn’t she canceled?
“I would rather go out,” she said stubbornly. “That’s what we talked about doing and what I agreed to when you asked me out.”
Annoyance creased his forehead before he smoothed it out again with another charming smile. “I didn’t make a reservation. I doubt we can find anywhere at this last moment.”
“It doesn’t have to be anywhere fancy. We could even go to the Bison, where we don’t need a reservation. I’ve heard their pizza is great.”
Could he hear that slightly desperate note in her voice?
He finally gave a resigned sigh. “If I didn’t know better, I might think you don’t want to be alone with me.”
He seemed completely baffled at the possibility and she almost felt sorry for him. Clint Maclean had always been the catch of Bridger Peak, at least in high school. She hadn’t been the only one who had been jealous of his girlfriend.
“It’s not you,” she said. “I just... have recently discovered I have feelings for someone else.”
“Xandork.” He spat out the word like it was a fly in his beer.
When she didn’t answer, he glowered at her. “What the hell, Ali? I always thought you had a thing for me in high school.”
“You... you did?” Apparently, she hadn’t been as good at hiding her crush as she thought.
“I always thought you were cute, too. If I hadn’t been with Angel, I would have done something about it.”
How could he not have known? She had probably blushed furiously whenever she talked to him, and she had never complained or argued when he asked her to help with his homework.
She was really glad she wasn’t that ridiculous girl anymore.
