But then Hailey stepped up beside her and took the box of cupcakes from her friend, and my eyes stayed glued to her. Try as I might, I couldn't look away. The last time I saw Hailey was at a bonfire like this one – probably around the fall after our high school graduation. Neither of us went straight to college. She'd been a pretty girl back then, even if she did her best to cover herself up in oversized sweatshirts and yoga pants.
But she'd changed over the years, and now, she was something else entirely.
Her delicate face was surrounded by long, luxurious chocolate brown hair. Caramel highlights fell down around her chin and brought out the green in her eyes. A sprinkling of freckles dotted the bridge of her nose and cheeks. It was something I'd always thought was adorable about her and I was glad to see she'd never grown out of them. It added to that girl-next-door appeal she had. And she had that in spades.
She caught me staring and for a second, we just stood there with our gazes locked. Even from across the aisle, I swear I felt a connection with her. I smiled, and I saw her cheeks flush as she smiled back at me, her plump lips pulled back in an adorable grin.
And just like that – there was the girl who'd helped me pass Biology our sophomore year. The same geeky girl who had no problem cutting into the fetal pig – even as other girls screeched in disgust. It didn't get to Hailey. In fact, she seemed pretty fascinated by it. Science was her thing, she said. As it was mine. Or at least, I'd wanted it to be after that semester with her.
“I'll be right back,” I said.
Quinn caught me staring and stopped me. “Nope,” he said. “You're staying right here.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because I'm gonna go over there and talk to her first,” he said.
“Wanna bet?”
I punched him in the arm as I took off, Quinn right behind me. Being the star athlete in the family, I knew he could outrun me and beat me to her. It was stupid to even try and beat him. But I knew there was no way my brother was going to ask her out first.
As we ran, he pulled up right beside me and gave me a crooked grin.
“Hey, I need to get over Shelly, remember?” He smirked. “I think Hailey could help me do that.”
“Yeah, well, it's too soon,” I said. “You can't possibly be over her. And Hailey shouldn't be a rebound thing.”
“Yeah, we'll see,” Quinn said as he bolted ahead of me.
Quinn, of course, beat me to the booth.
I never even stood a chance. I never did when it came to anything athletic with him. The son of a bitch wasn't even out of breath. He ran a hand through his shaggy hair and gave her that bad boy smile of his – the smile most women found completely irresistible. I wanted to punch him in the face.
“So Hailey,” he said, just as I reached the booth. “I'm heading down to the bonfire, would you care to join me?”
Hailey looked at Quinn, then over at me, and then at her friend, Jenn. Indecision and something like bashfulness crossed her features. She bit her bottom lip and avoided our gazes completely for a moment – which was utterly adorable.
“He meant us,” I quipped. “We're heading down to the bonfire. Would you care to join us?”
Quinn said, “Actually, I meant me –”
I talked over him though, not giving him any room to work his bad boy charm. “What do you say?”
Jenn cocked an eyebrow, an amused grin on her face, as she watched from the sidelines.
“You can join us too, Jenn. You should,” I said, continuing to talk so my brother couldn't.
He beat me in everything else, so I wasn't about to let him get the upper hand on me when it came to pulling a date with the new hottie in town. Jenn laughed and shook her head.
“Thanks. But, unless you want a screaming toddler on one side, and a baby attached to my boob on the other, I think I'll have to pass,” she said. “But the three of you go ahead and have fun.”
She walked back behind the booth, laughing almost hysterically as she patted Hailey playfully on the ass as she walked on by, leaving just the three of us standing together in the booth. There was definitely an awkward tension in the air as we all stared at one another, nobody knowing quite what to say. And then, yet another layer of awkward tension made an appearance.
Ben's voice came from behind me. “What's going on?”
As if the three of us standing there wasn't awkward enough, it became the four of us, making it all the worse. I cleared my throat and tried to take the bull by the horns. I wasn't about to let my older brothers steamroll me – not with somebody like Hailey standing right there in front of me.
“Just seeing if Hailey wanted to join us at the bonfire,” I said.