The Perfect Game(16)
“That’s ’cause you’re judgmental.” He leaned back with a smile.
I closed my mouth and narrowed my eyes, unprepared for the rant that was about to leave my lips. “No. That’s ’cause you’re a pig. You’re typical and selfish and pathetic and you treat girls like shit and…”
“Hey!” he interrupted, his tone offended. “Who says I treat girls like shit?”
“Sorry, Jack, but I don’t know anyone who enjoys being fucked one minute and forgotten about the next.”
“You make it sound so heartless when you say it like that,” he admitted, my words apparently stinging.
“Well it kind of is.” I shrugged. “And you wonder why I wanted to stay away from you?”
“You thought I’d do the same thing to you.” His eyes widened as understanding settled in.
“I assumed you wanted to.”
“Of course I want to sleep with you,” he admitted without shame and I felt my inner thighs tingle. “But I’m not sold on the forgetting about you part.”
I eyed him warily, my heart racing beneath my shirt. “You probably say that to all the girls.”
“I don’t have to say that to all the girls.”
I sat in silence, stunned by his honesty.
“What are you thinking about?” He reached over and tapped my hand with one finger, bringing me out of my thoughts.
“Honestly?”
“Honestly.”
“That I don’t trust myself with you.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “And why’s that?”
“Because I can’t tell whether or not you mean the things you say.”
He uncrossed his arms and leaned into the table again. “What does your heart tell you?”
“Who cares? My heart’s dumb! It believes anything,” I said, clutching at my chest above my left breast.
He laughed, his eyes glued to my hand. “Fine. What does your head tell you then?”
“My head questions everything and believes nothing.”
“So your head wants proof and your heart wants reassurance?” A small line appeared between Jack’s eyebrows.
“Pretty much.”
“I think you just made life a thousand times more difficult.” He grabbed his head with both hands and squeezed.
“That’s why I came up with my boy test…to protect myself.”
“Protect yourself from what?” he asked, reaching for another quarter.
“Guys like you.”
Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of plates being set on the table. “Here you go, two Titan specials with fries. You two need anything else?”
“I’m good. Kitten?”
I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt. “Can I get a side of ranch dressing, please? Thanks.”
My eyes widened at the sight of my burger. It looked like it could feed the entire football team. And the mound of french fries that sat next to it had to consist of twenty potatoes.
“Please tell me you can’t actually finish this?” I looked at Jack, my face shocked.
He laughed. “I can. And you better clean your whole plate.”
“Clean this?” I pointed to the plate with an incredulous look.
He laughed again before lifting the burger to his face and taking a mammoth-sized bite. Sarah dropped off the dressing and I dipped the hot fries in, biting carefully. “Holy crap, these are amazing.”
“Told you,” he managed to say, his mouth stuffed with food.
I hated how cute he was. Even with a mouth full of food, he was still irritatingly adorable.
“So tell me about your boy test.” He picked up his napkin to swipe at a smear of ketchup on his chin.
“Forget I said anything about it.” I waved him off with my hands.
“Come on, Cass. I want to know.” He eyed me curiously.
“Fine,” I relented. “But you can’t make fun of me.”
Both dimples appeared on his cheeks and my heart fluttered quickly. “I won’t. Promise.”
I didn’t believe that smile, but I gave in anyway. With a deep breath I rattled off, “They’re more like rules. Rule number one: Don’t lie. Two: Don’t cheat. Three: Don’t make promises you can’t keep. And four: Don’t say things you don’t mean.”
“That’s it?” he asked in disbelief.
“They may not mean much to you, but they mean everything to me.” I sighed, slightly embarrassed that I’d shared my list with him.
“I don’t mean any offense, Kitten. It’s just…well, those seem like pretty normal expectations to me.”
“You’d think so,” I agreed, taking a bite of my monstrosity they called a cheeseburger.