I liked the way my name rolled off his tongue. "Why am I avoiding my family?"
"Well, that. And are you seeing anyone?" He turned toward me when he came to a stop light.
Is he hitting on me? I pinched my wrist. I was definitely not dreaming. "My little sister is engaged. And my mom keeps reminding me that I am not."
"She's wondering why your boyfriend won't pop the question?"
I laughed. "No, not exactly."
His lips parted for a second, like he was about to say something, but he quickly pressed them back together. The light turned green and he put his foot back on the gas.
I wasn't sure what he wanted me to say. Maybe I should elaborate? I definitely wanted him to know that I was single. Not that it really mattered. He was Tucker Mills. He wasn't interested in me. "Right after last Christmas, I found out that my fiancé was cheating on me. So I called it off. And I never really told my family what happened. I was just too embarrassed to
tell them, you know? Now my little sister is engaged and my mom keeps reminding me that I let one of the good one's get away. She's being relentless. I'm surprised she's not calling my ex and inviting him to Christmas dinner." I knew I was rambling but I couldn't seem to stop. It felt nice to be able to vent about everything for a change. "But I'm not a horrible person. I'm so happy for my sister. I just wish my mom could focus on that instead of on me being single for one second."
"I'm sorry about your ex."
"Geez, it was for the best. Clearly we weren't meant to be."
"That doesn't mean he had to be an asshole about it. I don't understand why anyone does that. He should have just had the balls to tell you. He was the one who let a good thing go, not the other way around."
I laughed. "Thanks. The girl he cheated on me with had like, really, really big boobs, though. So there's that." And she was a slut.
He laughed. "I'm sure she wasn't as pretty as you."
Oh my God, he's flirting with me!
"Which way?" he said, stopping at a stop sign.
"Right." I watched him make the turn. I didn't want tonight to be something I looked back on and regretted like high school. I always wished I had the courage to talk to him back then. "I was really surprised when you talked to me tonight."
"Why?"
"We weren't exactly friends in high school. I actually didn't even think you knew who I was."
He turned away from the road for a second and smiled at me. "Of course I knew who you were."
"Yeah, I guess our graduating class was pretty small. Turn right here too."
He made a right into my neighborhood. "That's not why I knew who you were."
"That's my parents' house." I pointed out the window to show him it was one house away.
He pulled to a stop on the curb outside my house and cut the engine.
That had to be the shortest ride of my life.
"I'm actually surprised that you knew who I was," he said and smiled at me.
I laughed. "Are you kidding? Everyone knew who you were. Quarterback of the football team. Mr. Popular. Pretty much the opposite of me."
"I'm sorry if I was a dick in high school." His hands were still on the steering wheel even though the car wasn't on. He could have kept the car running. It seemed like he wanted to talk to me.
"What? You weren't a jerk, Tucker. You were nice to everyone. We just weren't in the same circle of friends. I know that you're a nice guy. You used to volunteer at the animal shelter every weekend, right?"
He laughed. "Yeah, but I only did that because it looked good on my college application."
"You still did it, though. And, you offered to drive me home on Christmas Eve. Only a nice guy would have offered to do that. Speaking of which, I should let you get back to your family. Thank you for tonight. I mean, you know, driving me home."