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Kyle leans away from me, releasing my hair from his fingers, and grunts. "No one actually saw the license plates besides you. You can't prove you saw them. Doesn't count."
I whip around and send him a scowling glare. "You fell asleep!"
"Because I won the game. Hawaii is an island. People from there can't just drive across the ocean and meander down the 75. We agreed to nix Hawaii."
I shake my head vehemently. "No, you decided to nix Hawaii. I did not."
"For chrissake," Mom exhales. "It was five years ago. Let it go, you two."
"I will let it go just as soon as Jenny admits she cheated," Kyle smirks obnoxiously.
"Whatever," I shoot back.
"Alright," Randy raises a hand. "Settle down."
"Matt, aren't you going to introduce us to your girlfriend?" Diane interjects, changing the subject and shifting focus to the girl sitting in the pink dress next to the boy I've loved since forever.
But it doesn't matter anymore. The tiny, broken shards of my heart incinerate in my chest.
He likes Audra.
—
I take in the view of the snow-covered valley from the balcony at Cedar Ridge Lodge. Acres and acres of pine trees dusted in white as far as the eye can see.
After a brief introduction, Diane and Mom spent the next hour getting to know Audra. They asked her questions about her family, where she was going to college, what her Prom dress looked like. As the friendly interrogation droned on over omelets and pancakes and quiches, my feet found their way to the balcony doors, and I welcomed the break from all things Audra.
Don't get me wrong, Audra is cool. Not only is she beautiful, but she's also nice and polite. At least, she appears to be. Jury's still out.
She definitely won over Mom and Diane. Kyle was the only other person at the table who seemed as uninterested in the words spilling from her rosy, red lips as I was. He spent most of brunch on his phone. It's not entirely unusual, but I really wished he would have talked to me. Just so I had an excuse not to look at Audra. Or the boy sitting next to her, disgustingly entranced by her interesting and exciting life.
Occasionally, Matt's eyes would dart to me before he refocused on the girl who commanded the room, regaling us with tales of her adventures in Paris, London, and Tokyo.
Big freaking deal.
The girl has extremely wealthy parents and travels the world.
But it was a big deal. To Mom and Diane, hanging onto every word like Audra was some well-known globe-trotter with her very own TV show on the Travel Channel.
I hear the balcony doors open behind me and resist the urge to look. I know who it is. I could feel his heated gaze piercing my back as I left the table and dining area behind in search of fresh air.
His footsteps falter, almost as if he isn't sure he should even approach me.
I should put him out of his misery, say something to let him know I won't ignore him. Or yell at him. I want him to fix this. The brokenness I feel because he doesn't want me, won't ever want me.
But he can't fix it.
Because even though he should have known better than to toy with my emotions, I can't help but wonder if he was confused. Maybe he thought we could be more—or he wanted us to be like I did.
Guess we were both wrong.
That kiss, though. It felt like...like thunder rolling in over the mountain, loud and rumbling, vibrating the windows and walls and earth. Everything in its path.
But maybe it was just me.
Maybe I felt something that just wasn't there.
Matt leans both forearms on the wood railing beside me and looks out over the valley. I inhale his alluring, boyish smell. He smells like the boy I grew up with, spent all my free time with, fell in love with.
