beat his skull against the lunch table. “Drama. Queen.” I
poke him in the shoulder. “Cut it out before your forehead smells like ketchup and cheese fries.”
“They do when they’re talking about Levi Zin,” says Brynn, arching her eyebrows. “He’s brought dreamy back.”
Zin. Levi Zin. I roll the name over on my tongue. It has a nice ring to it. “He’s okay,” I say, staring down at the table and suddenly having an I-saw-him-first moment.
Brynn narrows her eyes. “You little liar!” She chucks a Dorito that I manage to bat away. “You totally want to jump his bones, don’t you?”
“Brynn, please.” I stuff a bite of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich in my mouth to avoid answering her question..
She lifts one pierced eyebrow and crunches through another chip. “I’ll take
that
as a yes.”
The back of my neck is on fire. It’s not as if Levi would be a bad first choice.
“You’re totally picturing it in your head.” I jump when I realize she’s been staring at me.
“Am not.” I frown while at the same time deliberately avoiding eye contact with Henry. “Why do you have to”—I want to say
be so crude
but instead
say—“make such a big deal about it?”
She rolls her eyes. “I wasn’t. If I were trying to make a big deal out of it, I would have said you want to—”
But before she can finish Henry jumps in. “Enough! It’s not like Channing Tatum came to school. Can we please talk about something else? Please? Something of
mutual
interest,
maybe?”
“Touchy, touchy,” Brynn chides. “Jealous much?”
“Please. I’m just not quite as interested in the state of Levi’s pectorals as you seem to be.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t sit with a bunch of girls at lunch all the time. Ever think of that?” counters Brynn.
Henry rolls his eyes. The truth is that Henry has a bunch of guy friends, but all of them have the lunch period before us, so he’s stuck. Except I think that he actually likes it. Either
that or he likes me.
I feel my face go white. Well, first white. Then there is the burning rush of what must be bright, fluorescent pink as my neck and ears feel as if they’ve been shoved inside a
microwave.
“Shit, Stella. What? You look like you’re about to hurl.” Brynn looks at me and then follows my gaze up to none other than Levi-of-the-amazing-pectorals Zin. And he’s
standing right beside the empty lunch table next to ours with a lunch tray full of mini-carton milk, pizza, and two apples, smiling at us. “Oh, crap,” says Brynn, not in a whisper.
I force my face into something I sincerely hope captures a nonchalant-hipster-meets-Parisian-snob vibe, although I’m stuck with a sneaking suspicion that I look as soppy as I feel. His
beautiful brown eyes narrow to a squint. He’s squinting at me and I’m thinking, What does that mean?…until it dawns on me that there’s no way it can be good when a guy
squints at you, can there? This runs through my head all the while we’re locked in a grin-off until finally, he sits down at the other table and opens up his carton of milk. I let out a huge
sigh of relief.
“Um, what was that?” Brynn asks in a hushed voice, leaning over on her elbows.
“What do you mean, what was that?” I snap. “I had to cover for your big mouth.” I can’t shake the sense that looking at Levi brings on a very specific feeling of
déjà vu.
Brynn chances a glance in Levi’s direction. “Well, you looked like a snaggletoothed tiger.”
Henry laughs and I glare at him. “Sorry.” He wipes tears from his eyes. “Sorry.” Henry sniffles. “I mean, you did, a little.”
“Shut. Up,” I giggle, feeling flushed with embarrassment all over again. “And it’s
saber
-toothed tiger, you idiots.”
“Ohhh.” Brynn holds her palms up like she’s scared. “Somebody’s feeling feisty.”
“It’s your fault.” I glare at her, only half-jokingly.
“Hey, I’m not the spazoid.”
I rest my chin on my
poke him in the shoulder. “Cut it out before your forehead smells like ketchup and cheese fries.”
“They do when they’re talking about Levi Zin,” says Brynn, arching her eyebrows. “He’s brought dreamy back.”
Zin. Levi Zin. I roll the name over on my tongue. It has a nice ring to it. “He’s okay,” I say, staring down at the table and suddenly having an I-saw-him-first moment.
Brynn narrows her eyes. “You little liar!” She chucks a Dorito that I manage to bat away. “You totally want to jump his bones, don’t you?”
“Brynn, please.” I stuff a bite of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich in my mouth to avoid answering her question..
She lifts one pierced eyebrow and crunches through another chip. “I’ll take
that
as a yes.”
The back of my neck is on fire. It’s not as if Levi would be a bad first choice.
“You’re totally picturing it in your head.” I jump when I realize she’s been staring at me.
“Am not.” I frown while at the same time deliberately avoiding eye contact with Henry. “Why do you have to”—I want to say
be so crude
but instead
say—“make such a big deal about it?”
She rolls her eyes. “I wasn’t. If I were trying to make a big deal out of it, I would have said you want to—”
But before she can finish Henry jumps in. “Enough! It’s not like Channing Tatum came to school. Can we please talk about something else? Please? Something of
mutual
interest,
maybe?”
“Touchy, touchy,” Brynn chides. “Jealous much?”
“Please. I’m just not quite as interested in the state of Levi’s pectorals as you seem to be.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t sit with a bunch of girls at lunch all the time. Ever think of that?” counters Brynn.
Henry rolls his eyes. The truth is that Henry has a bunch of guy friends, but all of them have the lunch period before us, so he’s stuck. Except I think that he actually likes it. Either
that or he likes me.
I feel my face go white. Well, first white. Then there is the burning rush of what must be bright, fluorescent pink as my neck and ears feel as if they’ve been shoved inside a
microwave.
“Shit, Stella. What? You look like you’re about to hurl.” Brynn looks at me and then follows my gaze up to none other than Levi-of-the-amazing-pectorals Zin. And he’s
standing right beside the empty lunch table next to ours with a lunch tray full of mini-carton milk, pizza, and two apples, smiling at us. “Oh, crap,” says Brynn, not in a whisper.
I force my face into something I sincerely hope captures a nonchalant-hipster-meets-Parisian-snob vibe, although I’m stuck with a sneaking suspicion that I look as soppy as I feel. His
beautiful brown eyes narrow to a squint. He’s squinting at me and I’m thinking, What does that mean?…until it dawns on me that there’s no way it can be good when a guy
squints at you, can there? This runs through my head all the while we’re locked in a grin-off until finally, he sits down at the other table and opens up his carton of milk. I let out a huge
sigh of relief.
“Um, what was that?” Brynn asks in a hushed voice, leaning over on her elbows.
“What do you mean, what was that?” I snap. “I had to cover for your big mouth.” I can’t shake the sense that looking at Levi brings on a very specific feeling of
déjà vu.
Brynn chances a glance in Levi’s direction. “Well, you looked like a snaggletoothed tiger.”
Henry laughs and I glare at him. “Sorry.” He wipes tears from his eyes. “Sorry.” Henry sniffles. “I mean, you did, a little.”
“Shut. Up,” I giggle, feeling flushed with embarrassment all over again. “And it’s
saber
-toothed tiger, you idiots.”
“Ohhh.” Brynn holds her palms up like she’s scared. “Somebody’s feeling feisty.”
“It’s your fault.” I glare at her, only half-jokingly.
“Hey, I’m not the spazoid.”
I rest my chin on my
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