Page 16 of Already Falling

He finds my statement amusing because his smile rises, and a breathy chuckle comes out of his mouth. He steps forward, reaching for my arm, but I step back and knock into someone behind me. I realize I made him spill his drink on his shirt. I’m about to apologize profusely until I realize who I bumped into.

I’d never forget those green multicolored eyes swirled around like marbles. Shining and twinkling with each blink. The tan skin spreads across his nose because he spends too much time outside and doesn’t wear a strong enough SPF. His pine tree and musk smell comforts me and transports me to a safe place. I could never forget Reid Parker. And right now, even though he’s the reason I swore off love at age 12, he might also be the thing to save me from the wrath of Trey.

Reid turns around with his bushy eyebrows scrunched like he’s annoyed by my presence. He meets my eyes, and his irritated expression seems to wash away.

“Honey,” I say dramatically. “There you are. Oops, I didn’t mean to spill your drink. Let’s get you another.”

I sense Reid is picking up on the way my eyes are boring into him, trying to tell him to play long.

He seems to get it because he responds with a soft shrug, “Oh, hun, it’s all right. This beer sucks anyway. Do you think there’s any watermelon La Croix left?” I nearly swoon that he would pick the same flavor. What is going on with me right now? I must be off my game because of Trey.

Reid looks over at Trey, extending his hand, and says, “Hey man, I’m Reid, this cutie’s boyfriend. If she’s not causing you trouble, we’ll be heading to the fridge.”

Trey shakes his hand, narrowing his gaze between me and Reid, not completely believing us, but I can tell he’s losing interest.

“See ya, sweetheart. I’m sure our paths will cross again.” And he turns away, but not before giving my ass a squeeze.

Scum of the earth. Great, now I have to burn my shorts.

I grin at Reid, trying not to look into his eyes in fear I’ll be hypnotized. “Hey, sorry, and thank you and sorry.”

I can feel his gaze across my face, scanning my features. He tilts his head as he looks at me like he’s trying to solve a riddle about my eyes and lips. “I know you, don’t I?”

“Ya, I’m your girlfriend, duh,” I joke terribly and nudge his side with my elbow.

He smiles back at me, the corners of his eyes curling up with the corners of his mouth just like they did when we were kids. Oh god, I’m weak.

“Hahaha, no, no, we went to school together, wait, it will come to me….Anni? Right? It’s me, Reid. Reid Parker.”

Oh, I know who you are.

I nearly melt into a puddle at the fact that he not only remembers my name but my nickname. I shake an embarrassing grin across my face and nod.

“Yeah, it’s me, Anni…or Annika. I go by either, really,” I say, avoiding looking him in the eyes.

“Wow, you look so different but also the same. You have the same haircut,” he says as he takes a finger and runs it along the bottom of my hair, flipping it out when he gets to the end.

He gazes down. I fidget as I’m very aware of Reid quickly scanning my outfit and stopping at my feet. “Hey, I’m wearing the same pair.”

I meet his gaze at our feet and see he is wearing the exact same white high-top Converse. His are more scuffed than mine, and he has little doodles on the toe caps. I smile at the thought of him scribbling on them as he’s bored in class or just because he wants them to be different. As I look up, I take the time to examine the rest of his outfit. He wears dark wash jeans cuffed at the hem just above the top of the Converse. On top, he has a blue and gray striped T-shirt that has a shallow V-neck at the collar. It’s not tight, but it’s fitted so his shoulders and pecs are slightly defined through the fabric.

I try not to hold my gaze too long at his shoulders, but my mouth betrays me, and I say, “You’ve gotten bigger.”

Are you kidding me right now?

I immediately fly my hand up to my mouth, fearing what might come out of it next. I can feel my face getting hot. Reid’s eyes sparkle at this comment, and he laughs in response.

“Yahhh, I grew a few inches since eighth grade. Thank goodness, too. I always wanted to be taller than you.”

Which he is now, but only by a few inches. I don’t have to strain my neck to look up at him. He’s the perfect height. Not that I’d ever admit that to anyone.

“Hey, do you wanna get out of this kitchen and play ping-pong in the other room?” He throws his thumb behind him to an open room with fewer people.

“I would love nothing more,” I say, following him to the great room.

He grabs my hand as we swerve through the crowd, and it feels like my hand might burst into flames. I feel tingles from the tips of my fingers through my arm. I’m so confused right now. On the one hand, I want to follow Chloe’s advice and date around, but on the other hand, I don’t know if I’m ready for all of that. Freshman year is kicking my butt. It’s so much harder than high school was, and I feel like I’m barely treading water to stay afloat. We snake around the crowd, Reid’s hand grasped firmly around mine. As soon as we make it past the herd of people, he releases my hand, and I miss the warmth.

We play three rounds of ping-pong, talking the entire time, catching up on memories from elementary and middle school. I also discover that Reid is alarmingly good at ping-pong. He beats me in almost every game, but I’m in the lead this time. Although he might be easing up a bit.