Accidentally on Purpose

Chapter Thirty-Four

I grabbed a red apple from the bowl on the table and took a bite, savoring the juicy sweet-but-mostly-sour goodness that ran all over my tongue. Some say that apple works better in keeping you awake in the morning than coffee does, and I hoped to God that it was true because I was exhausted as hell.

After Jonah had left last night, it was as if I had turned insomniac. I just couldn't sleep—my mind was reeling with images of his face and his eyes and his lips and the fact that there was a moment when we were only just a breath away from kissing, and everything was just driving me crazy. My fingers itched to scroll through my contacts, press his number and give him a call, but I was too afraid that I would end up stuttering like a moron.

He'd left me hanging off a cliff, with my questions gone unanswered. He was the one who'd initiated the (almost) kiss, yet he was the one to stop it. There was a sad smile on his face, and I just couldn't figure out the reason why. He wasn't sure that I would've wanted to kiss him, but the truth is, yeah, Jonah, I did want that kiss, and I had a feeling that you wanted it too, so why had you stopped?

But then... after I'd asked him if he liked me, he said nothing. And just. Smiled. What in the world did that stupid smile mean? Was it a yes-Hannah-I-do-like-you-but-I-don't-want-to-admit-it-yet smile, or was it a oh-no-fuck-you-Hannah-you're-so-funny-and-delusional-of-course-I-don't-like-you smile? Which one is it?!

I took another angry bite of the apple, this time the sour taste getting even more distinct, matching the mood that I was in. Why couldn't Jonah be a normal guy and say yes if the answer is yes and no if the answer is no? Why did he have to make everything so complicated?

Mom was happily humming a random song to herself as she cooked. It was then that, after a period of growling and muttering to myself, I noticed that the house was even quieter than before, and my eyebrows furrowed.

"Mom?"

"Yes, Honey?"

"Where's everyone?"

She replied over her shoulder, "Dad's already driven Cole to school and gone to the diner."

"Wait, Dad's already left?" I asked, pulling the apple away from my face. "How am I gonna get to school? Are you driving me? I'm pretty sure the school bus just passed our street!"

Mom looked at me over her shoulder with a puzzled smile on her face. "Jonah didn't tell you?"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Tell me what?"

She finished my stack of pancakes and poured some syrup on it, taking her time before turning around and slid my plate toward me.

"Mom, what did Jonah say?" I asked impatiently.

"He's picking you up today," she said simply, digging into her breakfast. "I thought you guys talked about it and that's why last night he asked if it's alright for him to drop by and get you."

I was slack-jawed, the delicious pancake forgotten in front of me. Why would Jonah want to pick me up and drive me to school? And why, pray tell, did he not tell me?

She waved her hand at my uneaten breakfast. "Go finish it, he'll be here soon."

True to her words, just about a minute after I was finished with my breakfast, there was a knock on the front door. Mom threw me a smile while I tried to ignore the sly look on her face and grabbed my bag from the ground.

This was not real. My mom was definitely not trying to set me up... with the guy I'd already been crushing on forever.

"He's a really nice boy, Hannah," she sang out, and I groaned. "I totes approve of him."