“Huh, you’re right. You’re pretty good at this stuff.”
Nettie smiled. “Well, I’m a people watcher. And I’ve been kind of hoping he wouldn’t be into her since she pissed me off by setting me up on a blind date. I told her no, I wasn’t interested, but she did it anyway.”
“Why no blind date?” I asked.
A huge smile grew across her face. “I have a boyfriend. Chuck’s in the army. We’ve known each other since high school. We were friends first, and one time he came home on leave and we all went out. Something between us changed, and we started dating.”
“Wow! That’s kind of cool.”
She nodded.
“Is it hard for y’all with him being gone?”
“It is, yeah. But he’s going to be stationed in Killeen so I’ll get to see him a lot more.”
I returned her smile. “I’m glad; you seem like a nice girl, Nettie. I’m happy you’re with someone who makes you smile like that.”
Her cheeks blushed then she bumped my arm with her shoulder. “What about you? No girl has caught your eye yet?”
Ari’s face flashed through my mind.
“Nope. Not yet.”
With a frown, Nettie tilted her head and stared at me.
“What?” I asked with a half-hearted laugh.
“I find that hard to believe. I mean, you’re a really good-looking guy, so I’m sure you’re not lacking in the women area. But something tells me there is a girl and you’re not ready to admit it.”
I laughed. “Tell me you’re studying to be a shrink or something because you’ve got the talent for it.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “Accounting.”
Snarling my lip, I repeated her word. “Accounting? Good God, woman . . . that’s as boring as you could have gotten.”
Her hands went to her hips. “Hey! I like math and numbers. I think it’s fun.”
I stared at her in disbelief. “It’s a good thing you have a boyfriend because this”—I stated, pointing between us—“would have never worked out.”
“Nettie! Are y’all ever going to come play, or are you just going to stand there being a chatty Kathy?” Casey asked.
With a roll of my eyes, I whispered, “I really don’t like that girl.”
Lacing her arm in mine, Nettie said, “Come on, let’s just go have some fun and make her stop talking.”
With a smile, I replied, “One could only wish for such a miracle.”
I felt a strange feeling and glanced over my shoulder only to see Ari standing there with a group of friends. Our eyes locked, and I had to remind myself to breathe.
She looked beautiful.
The way she was looking at me was off. Almost as if she was upset. After I scanned her friends and didn’t see Ellie, I focused back on Ari, but now Nettie was pulling me since I’d slowed down.
“Come on, Johnson. She isn’t going to bite.”
After I pulled my eyes away from Ari, I sat down, and Nettie sat next to me. I could feel Ari staring at me, so I looked her way again. Her and her friends were just three aisles down. When our gaze met again, I decided to just try and be civil with her. So I smiled at her. It must have not been what she wanted because her left eye narrowed some before her gaze darted over to Nettie, then back to me. She frowned, turned, and sat down with her back to me.
Christ, that girl was moody as fuck.