Toe to Toe (On Pointe Book 1) by Penelope Freed (read with me TXT) 📕

when I see one of the employees struggling to pull a large trash bag out the back door. Perfect.

“Here, let me get the door for you,” I offer, rushing ahead of them to push the back door open. He grunts and pulls the big black bag out the door behind him, not even looking back to say thank you. Rude, but I don’t care, I just want to get out of here before they miss me. I jog back to my car, wiping my eyes and sniffing. Olivia is supposed to be my best friend, how could she do this to me? Why did I stay once I realized what this was? Stupid move, Hannah. I shouldn’t even have agreed to the babysitting—I was just so excited that Tyler had even known who I was and was texting me. And then, the chance to be out, on a date, with him there? It seemed too good to be true. I should have known Olivia would be the center of attention, she’s always the center of attention, even when she’s not.

I glance back at the yogurt place—Trevor is standing outside, holding both our cups, looking at me. Not saying anything, just watching me ditch him. I’m sorry, I’m sorry for just leaving, but I can’t watch anymore. I hope Trevor understands, but it doesn’t matter, I’ll never see him again anyway. I climb in my car and drive home, my heart weighing a thousand pounds.

Chapter 5 Olivia

Hannah is such a buzzkill. I watch her sneak off to her car, thinking we can’t see her, but Trevor and I are both watching her go while Tyler is talking about some football game happening tomorrow. I have no idea what he’s talking about, but I nod and “mhmm” as if I’m paying attention, my fingers playing with the hair on the nape of his neck.

I raise an eyebrow at Trevor, wondering if he did something to piss her off, or if Hannah’s natural lameness sent her scurrying home. I knew she wasn’t going to like being on a date with Tyler and me, but I honestly didn’t think she’d get this upset. He shrugs at me, holding two cups of frozen yogurt in his hands, then kicks a chair out from the table we’re sitting at and settles into a seat.

“…so yeah, fuck the Patriots. I swear, I’m not even gonna watch the Super Bowl if they end up playing again.” Tyler is completely oblivious to my silent conversation with Trevor. I blow out a frustrated breath and try to pay attention to what Tyler is saying. “Hey, where’s what’s-her-face?” Tyler asks suddenly, looking around. “Did she ditch us?” Uh, duh. I know it’s hard to believe that anyone would leave our majestic presence, but it’s true. Not that I say this out loud, I finally got my chance for this date and I’m not going to blow it.

“I think so babe,” I purr.

“Hannah said she had a headache so she was going home,” Trevor offers up with a shrug. I smirk to myself at his emphasis on her name. I wonder if Trevor actually likes her. I also wonder if he clued in to the fact that Hannah has a crush on Tyler. Interesting that he covered for her so quickly, I know Hannah well enough to know she probably snuck away when we weren’t looking. Too bad for Trevor, he never stood a chance.

Okay, I’m not a completely heartless bitch. Hannah needs to get over this crush, it’s been four years—Tyler is never going to notice her. I’m doing her a favor, really. The sooner she gets over her one-sided obsession, the better off she’ll be. Then she can go off to New York and live out her ballerina fantasy and meet hot dancers out there guilt-free. Really, I’m a saint. Well, saint-ish.

“More ice cream for us,” Tyler laughs. Trevor grins, clinks cups with Tyler and starts to dig into both their frozen yogurt concoctions. Gross.

Or maybe she needed to go home to mommy, I think uncharitably when Tyler starts chatting to Trevor instead of me.

Tyler ends up eating half of mine but that’s fine, I’m not that hungry anyway. Trevor isn’t totally annoying, he’s actually pretty funny, so I guess it’s not a complete fail. I mean, honestly I’d rather he wasn’t here, but I wouldn’t make out with Tyler on the first date anyway—gotta keep him wanting more—so I don’t mind too much. At least Hannah stuck out the movie before she bailed.

Once we get back to Tyler’s house, I give Trevor my patented “evil cheerleader” stare and he hightails it inside, finally leaving me alone with Tyler. “I had a good time tonight, Tyler,” I tell him, twisting a lock of hair around my finger. I lean towards him, just close enough for him to catch a whiff of my perfume, then I bite my lower lip and look away. I’m not shy, but I don’t want to intimidate him. I peer up at him through my eyelashes. “Did you have fun?” I ask, just in case he didn’t follow. He plays football, I don’t know how many times he’s hit his head.

Tyler steps forward, so close our chests are almost touching. After a quick glance back to make sure no one’s peeking at us through the windows of his house, he trails a hand along my arm until his fingers twine with mine. Okay, that’s pretty smooth, I’ll give him that. Maybe he’s more than a pretty face after all. “Yeah, I did. Wanna do it again soon?” Our clasped hands are gently swaying, our arms brushing against each other with the movement. He bends down and presses a soft kiss to my cheek. “I’d really like that, Liv,” he adds, smiling.

It’s the smile that does it—turns my brain right off. It’s small, a little lopsided, a little unsure of my response. At school, Tyler is confident, loud, says whatever dumb-ass thought flits through his mind.