Page 22 of Catching Feelings

11. SABRINA

The end of the first short week of school sneaks up on me, and I’m afraid to open my to-do list. There’s no way I made enough progress on all this year’s projects. But when I round the corner by the main office on my way to first period, my jaw drops.

Because the whole front hall is plastered with posters advertising the pep rally.

Slowly, I open my planner and cross off one small but mighty item. Who on Earth…?

“Sabrina? You have a minute?”

I whirl, coming face-to-face with Tyler. Oh dear. I’ve always had a soft spot for guys with too-long hair that they have to brush out of their eyes the way he’s doing right now…

No. Down, Sabrina. Remember, flirting with this guy is more trouble than it’s worth.

He frowns at my wide-eyed surprise. “Do the posters look okay? I tried to hang them up straight… oh shit, they are the right ones, aren’t they? I was passing the athletics office and saw that box from your back seat—thought I’d help out? But I can redo them if—”

“They’re perfect.” The swell of gratitude is overwhelming. When I was looking for extra help to get me through this busy fall, I gotta admit, this was not the source of aid I anticipated. “Thank you so much. And I have to say, your photo looks good.”

A slight blush colors his cheeks, and it makes me flush.

“I just mean Paul did a great job on the photography,” I rush to correct. But I didn’t misspeak. I don’t think Tyler could take a bad photo if he tried.

“He did.” Tyler ducks his head, grinning ruefully. “But it’s a little more attention than I bargained for. If I wasn’t afraid of letting you down, I would have chucked all the posters of me in the trash.”

“Well, I’m glad you have a healthy fear of the Spirit Committee.” I tilt my head at him. “Trashing your own posters would’ve just encouraged me to print a new batch with all the secrets I’m learning about you. You know those question marks are driving me crazy.” I pause. “Me and the whole student body, actually. So maybe they were a good tactical move.”

“There’s nothing there to be intrigued by.” Tyler shrugs.

“Oh, really?” I lean forward, narrowing my eyes. “No hidden ability to breakdance? Or maybe you’re good at animal noises? Or puppetry?” I snap my fingers. “It’s puppetry, isn’t it? I can tell. There’s just a certain look to a guy who knows his way around a puppet.”

“Okay, stop, stop!” Tyler’s laughing, holding up his hands. I’m grinning despite myself. It’s fun to pepper this guy with all the questions that have been rattling around in my brain, distracting me from much more important business. “You’re a menace, Sabrina.”

“Thank you!” I chirp.

He laughs again, and I can’t help joining in this time. God, I wish it weren’t so nice to hang out with this guy. That would make it a lot easier to keep my distance.

When our laughter peters out, Tyler looks back up, shifting from one foot to the other. He suddenly looks a little nervous. “So, speaking of the posters, and the student body going into a frenzy… I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”

My mouth goes dry. “Yeah?”

Part of me already regrets opening up this conversation, giving Tyler an inch like everyone else. But if I’m honest with myself, the much bigger part isn’t at all regretful. It’s interested. I like being around him, and even if it would be smarter to keep my distance… I don’t want to.

And that’s very, very dangerous. I mentally spray myself with water like a misbehaving cat. I’ll tell him—

“I don’t want to be pushy, so if you tell me no again, I’m done. I swear.” He starts talking faster and faster, like he’s nervous. “But I talked to Ryan, and… are you sure we can’t still do homecoming together? Just because you two hooked up doesn’t mean we can’t still go as friends, right?”

The scenery blurs around me as my vision tunnels in on Tyler’s mouth. I must have heard him wrong. Because he’s talking too fast? He enunciated weird and I misheard him?

Tyler’s still speaking, but I can barely hear over the enraged static in my ears.

“I think Ryan knows he screwed up. He probably just wants to make things normal with you again. And we could make this not a big thing, and still execute our plan—”

“Sorry, sorry, hang on.” I hold up a hand. “Ryan told you we hooked up?!”

Tyler blinks. “I… yeah, sorry, that was uncool of him—but I won’t tell anyone else—”

I shake my head faster and faster, my cheeks aflame. “That is not what happened.”

I can’t muster any other words, I’m so angry. Tyler takes a step forward, a questioning light in his eyes, but I don’t have any spare brain cells to wonder what he’s thinking.