Just Me Read Free

earlier, I saw a hell of a lot looking back.
    “ Lark!”
    I pulled my focus from Sebastian to look over at Poppy. “What?”
    “ You were drooling.”
    “ No, not drooling, just looking.”
    Poppy's blue eyes peered over at Sebastian. “He is something else. You interested?”
    “ Wouldn't matter even if I was.”
    She looked genuinely confused. “Why?”
    My exhale sounded more like a sigh. “Look at him and then look at me. You do the math.”
    “ What does that mean? Yeah, I wish you wouldn't wear black all the time, but you're beautiful.”
    Leaning over the table, I looked, really looked, into Poppy's eyes to see if she was tripping. She didn't do drugs, as far as I knew, but she sure as hell was acting like she was on something. I was not beautiful. I would say attractive, maybe even exotic because of the bright green color of my eyes, but I was definitely not cheerleader-caliber-beautiful.
    “ Are you high?”
    “ You really need to get a grip on reality. Trevor thinks you're gorgeous.”
    Trevor was Poppy's cousin—her wildly attractive, college freshman cousin—whom I’d had a crush on since I was ten. Recently, my feelings for him cooled from adoration to affection as our relationship morphed into that of family, but I couldn't deny I liked hearing he thought of me as pretty.
    “ You lie.”
    Poppy turned to Shawn. “Tell her.”
    Shawn held my gaze and humor danced in his eyes. “He does, Lark.”
    Goosebumps prickled my skin as I tucked that lovely little tidbit away with all the other happy moments I wanted to remember always. There weren't many, but the ones I had were definitely keepers. I didn't respond with words, only a contented smile, but Poppy was still on her warpath.
    “ So again, why would it be so unreasonable for you and him...” she gestured with her head to Sebastian “to get together.”
    “ He's with the Cheers.”
    “ Well, yes, that does show an abominable lack of sense, but he is new. Maybe he just needs someone else to take him under their wing.” She said this as she wiggled her eyebrows.
    “ You're ridiculous.”
    “ No, I've just never seen your eyes sparkle like they're doing now and I've known you for a really long time.”
    She might be like a dog with a bone, but she really was the bestest friend a person could have. I reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”
    She gave me a moment and then she asked, “So are we a go for operation “Win Sebastian?”
    “ No!”
    “ Well, you let me know when you're ready.”
    “ That's easy, I can answer that now, never.”
    She said nothing, but I didn't miss the calculating look in her eyes. That was all I needed, for Poppy to have a mission and one that revolved around me. I resisted the urge to bang my head on the table. This was going to be a very long year.
    ***
    On my way to art class for my free period, I noticed a cluster of boys farther down the hall. They were talking, leaning up against the lockers engaged in whatever it was boys talked about. When my eyes collided with Sebastian, I was surprised to see him in the mix or rather surprised at the ease in which he mingled with the others. He was new to school and yet to look at him, you'd think he had spent the past three years with these guys.
    In English earlier, my reaction to Sebastian had been out of character but I had chalked that up as embarrassment because I had been acting like a bit of a goof. The same could not be said of now, since Sebastian wasn't even looking in my direction, and yet my heart fluttered. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, quite the opposite, but physically reacting to a boy was definitely unusual for me. Nervousness filled me as I passed by the guys, or maybe it was self-consciousness. I didn't mean to look, I really didn't, but I felt his gaze on me and seeing those turquoise eyes staring so intently, turned the fluttering into a nearly painful thumping. There was no grin on his face; in fact he looked at me as