Page 28 of Make No Mistake

“Sorry to cut the night short, but I have an early day tomorrow.”

Perfect!

“That’s fine. Thanks for coming out with me … us tonight.” Stupid! Why did I just say me? It was a hangout not a date!

“I had a lot of fun with you guys, we should do it again.” What? Like hang out with the four of us?

I just nodded, too confused to risk words.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Another nod.

“Great. Goodnight Mckayla.” He stepped forward and my throat closed, but he pulled me in for a hug. I felt him kiss the top of my head before stepping back.

“Goodnight, Jay.”

I stepped backward into the apartment and watched him walk away. Well that was confusing. Did he think this was a date or not? Did he have fun with me or with all of us?

This was why I’d sworn off dating since Sean left. Too much drama, too much second guessing, too many butterflies. Crap, I’d totally felt butterflies with him. I’d digressed to a sixteen-year-old version of myself.

Finally, I shut the door and walked toward my room. Carter and Aubrey were sitting on the couch in the living room not even pretending to be watching TV. They were staring directly at me.

Carter grinned wickedly. “You like him,” he teased with the maturity of a three year old.

“Shut up.” I continued to my room, trying to ignore them.

“You wanted him to kiss you.” Aubrey joined in on the teasing.

“Nope.”

“Yes, you did! I saw the disappointment when he went in for a hug.”

I finally stopped and faced them. “We’re friends, okay?”

“You want to kiss him … You want to hug him … You want to love him … You want to smooch him …” Aubrey was misquoting our favorite movie as I walked away from them, shaking my head. She burst into giggles when I slammed my door.

She was totally right. That was the worst part. It didn’t matter how many times I repeated all of the reasons why I shouldn’t even consider anything happening with Jay. I couldn’t help it.

“Jay and Mckayla sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S …” Aubrey’s singing infiltrated my thoughts.

“Shut up!” More giggles were the response, but this time I could hear Carter joining in. Unbelievable. I was surrounded by children.