I Shouldn't Love Him
I Shouldn’t Love Him (Book 2) – Chapter 49

LAKE

Tiffany closes the driver’s side door of her BMW and walks across the construction site to where Manning and I were sitting on the wall.

Manning placed his elbows on his knees and watched her approach. My sister had this effect on men. They were always looking over or around me to see her. What did he think when he looked at her? What did he notice first?

I spent my life hearing how beautiful my sister and mother were and being told I looked enough like them to believe I could be attractive one day too. What I didn’t have usually didn’t bother me. Things like lipstick, hairspray, and shopping had always seemed stupid compared to books, grades, and college applications.

Watching Manning’s face as Tiffany approached, I began to wonder if this was true. I had never doubted my own attractiveness more.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said to me, looking at Manning. “I went through the school.”

“I walked.”

She stops in front of us, shields her eyes and places a hand on her h*p.

” What are you doing here ? I

shrugged casually, but inside I prayed fervently that she wouldn’t send me home.

“He found my bracelet.”

“I didn’t know you lost it.”

Tiffany glanced from my wrist to the cigarette in Manning’s hand.

” You smoke ? »

I moved on the brick wall.

“No of course not.”

“You can tell me. I smoked sometimes at your age. It’s normal.”

“She doesn’t smoke,” Manning said in his soft voice. Deep. “And smoking at his age is not normal.”

Tiffany wrinkled her nose.

“It was for me and my friends. I’m Tiffany, by the way.

“Manning.”

The three of us remained silent.

“Where were you ?” I asked.

She squinted at the sun behind us. It visibly hurt his eyes.

“The mall. Nordstrom’s birthday party is next month, so I was making a list of what I’m going to get. Like Dad said, it’s good to be prepared. She looked between the two of us. “I “I’m sorry if she bothered you. She’s not supposed to be here.

My hairline stung. Being compared to a child might be worse than being sent back inside.

Manning shook his head slightly.

” She didn’t bother me.”

It didn’t seem convincing. My stomach tightened as I realized that maybe I was annoying him, and that he had just been too polite to say anything. My butt started to hurt from the wall, but I stayed put. Tiffany was about to unplug my afternoon, and I wanted to soak that up. The sun on my back. Sweat and dirt. Manning. I didn’t realize until now how little I had been outside this summer because of school.

“Do you work here?” » asked Tiffany.

“One of your teammates whistled at me yesterday.”

“I saw it,” Manning said. “Did you get along well with him?”

“With him? God no. He’s not my type.”

Manning nodded.

. “Then it won’t happen again.”

“Oh. It wasn’t a big deal.” She shrugged, running a light finger along his collarbone.

“Manning. It’s a cool name.

“I didn’t have a say.”

She laughed. “And you, Manning? Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No.”

“You live around here?

“Not that close.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-three.”

My gaze bounced back and forth between them, and I I did a double take. He wasn’t even Tiffany’s age. He might even be too old for her.

“Want to come in for a beer?” Tiffany asked.

We weren’t allowed to drink the “our parents’ alcohol. It should have gone unmentioned since Tiffany wouldn’t be twenty-one for another two years, but it had been said more than once, since Tiffany had stolen from their hideout before. I didn’t

know not what would be a worse offense in my parents’ eyes: drinking their alcohol or inviting one of the workers to their house. I would be sworn to secrecy afterwards. I didn’t like lying to my parents, but sometimes, a teenager like my sister could be more threatening than anyone.

“I’m working,” Manning replied.

Tiffany closed one eye against the sun and smiled.

“It doesn’t look like that.”

“Lunch break.”

I I looked up at him.

“But you don’t have any food.”

“I’m on a diet.”

Tiffany burst out laughing.

I frowned. It was a joke ? He didn’t seem like the funny type, but he was even less likely to be on a diet. I forced a laugh too.

“Come inside,” Tiffany said. “Lake’s going to make you a sandwich.” She makes the best.

“Sorry,

I must have looked at him like I was seeing the sun for the first time, but I didn’t know how to stop myself. I knew he shouldn’t come in. I wanted it. If he didn’t, Tiffany would either leave and make me go with her, or she would want to be alone with him.

“I’ll make you a sandwich,” I blurted.

Manning looked over my head.

“I can’t.”

“Alright Alright.”

Tiffany turned to nod at me. “Don’t you have homework or something?” Get the hell out.”

Manning’s dark eyes narrowed on Tiffany.

“You talk to your sister like that?

” She brushed the hair from her neck, blushing visibly.

“She knows I’m joking. Don’t you, sis ?

I nodded.

Tiffany wasn’t kidding. Her thin smile and stiff back were a silent warning: Go away, or else. It wasn’t fair, though. I had come here first.

“I don’t have any more homework. Tomorrow is my last day.

“Oh.” Tiffany shifted her feet.

“I bet Manning would like you to bring him a sandwich then.”

I figured Manning would probably like that. I didn’t want to go, but Tiffany would find a way to get what she wanted, and at least that way I’d do something for Manning too. “Okay.

“

Manning sighed. He looked down at me then towards Tiffany.

“I’ll go in, but I only have twenty minutes.”

Tiffany smiled.

“Cool.”

Manning jumped off the wall. I started to slide too, but he grabbed my waist at the last minute. His hands were so big that they wrapped almost all the way around me. I felt hot and cold at the same time, doing everything in my power not to shiver so as not to give myself away. He placed me gently on the ground, like a porcelain statue on a shelf. “It’s not good for your ankles if you can’t jump,” he told me.

“But you did it.”

He smiles a little. “Are you always arguing with someone who looks out for you?”

Tiffany pulled on Manning’s elbow. “Come on.”

I followed them across the field toward the house, the feeling of his hands on my waist lingering. They were huge. And hot. They made me hot – my cheeks, my chest, all the way down between my legs. This time I shivered, just replaying it in my head. Luckily, I was behind them, out of sight. Tiffany would think I was ridiculous for being so excited about being helped fall off a wall.

Just now, in less than five minutes, she had gotten more information from him than I had all afternoon. It was as if they were speaking a language I only somewhat understood, like when the Brazilian exchange student in my Spanish class spoke Portuguese to confuse the teacher. In the hall, Manning looked around from him. It seemed even bigger inside. We had vaulted ceilings, but I was sure if he stretched hard enough and jumped high enough he could touch them. He looked as uncomfortable as I did. I needed something to do with my hands. I needed to stop watching.

Tiffany called us into the living room where she was hunched over the mini-fridge behind Dad’s bar. “We have Corona or Budweiser.”

“Should you drink when you work?” I asked.

Manning had leaned his head back to admire my father’s impressive selection of liquor, but he had only looked down at mine. “No. I’ll have a Coke if you have one.

“Go make the sandwich, Lake,” said Tiffany.

“What kind do you want?” I asked him.

He stretched his long fingers over her stomach and for the first time , he smiled. “I’ll eat whatever you make.”

I couldn’t help but respond with my own smile. “Okay. I’m going to do the Lake Special.

Invented by my father, the Lake Special consisted of slices of turkey and ham layered between cheddar and provolone, covered in mayonnaise and barbecue sauce, topped with lettuce, tomato and avocado. For Manning, I would add extra meat, since he had a difficult job and looked big enough for two sandwiches. I took the ingredients out of the fridge, trying unsuccessfully to catch the words of the conversation in the room neighbor. I didn’t want Tiffany to know more about him than I did. What if they were talking about something personal? I got closer, while I was here dealing with charcuterie? Once everything was laid out in front of me and I couldn’t stand the thought of them being alone together anymore, I shouted, “It’s almost ready.”

Manning came into the kitchen and walked around the island where I was standing slicing an avocado. For a brief moment, its warmth warmed my back, then it disappeared. He washed his hands, took a stool on the other side of the island and nodded approvingly. “It’s a monster sandwich.”

“Well, you’re a big person,” I said without thinking. “Not that you’re fat. Obviously you’re not. I focused on placing the neatly sliced ​​avocado on top of the meat to disguise my awkwardness. No one in my life was twice my size. size, but pointing it out was rude. “You don’t have to eat it all.” “

I won’t leave a crumb.”

I looked up at him. Manning sat there, just looking at me as I was building his sandwich. We shared a smile just before Tiffany walked in, put down the sodas, and walked across the isle to pick some avocado from the sandwich. “Are you from here, Manning?” asked. her as she sat down next to him.

With a frown, I took a fresh avocado from the fruit basket. Tiffany never made her own food, so she didn’t respect the art of presentation.I cut into the gnarled skin as Manning looked at the knife in my hand. “You want me to do that?” he asked.

“I do it all the time.”

“I do it all the time.”

“Los Angeles area,” he replied to Tiffany.

“Really?” she pressed.

“Sort of. Pasadena.

“Do you have any family here?”

“No.”

I pretended to mind my own business. It hadn’t occurred to me to ask where he was from. came. I placed a slice of sourdough bread on top of the sandwich, cut it down the middle and admired my handiwork. In two halves, the sandwich almost toppled over. “You might not be able

to I can’t hear it, but my stomach is growling,” Manning said.

Tiffany chuckled.

“Almost done.” I took a jar of pickles out of the refrigerator, grabbed the lid and twisted. Nothing happened. passed. I flexed my hand and tried again, putting more muscle behind it. The top didn’t budge.

“So no girlfriend and no family. Why Orange County? When Did you move here?”

Manning took the jar from me, opened it, and handed it back to me. “When I turned eighteen. I like time.”

“I loosened it for you,” I said, concentrating on selecting the best pickle from the jar.

“I know,” he said.

“What do you like to do for fun?” Tiffany asked.

“What do you mean?” Manning cracked his neck, his eyes pointedly glued to the sandwich, as if he could grow legs and s “You’re pissing her off,

” I said to Tiffany.

“Am I bothering her?” she shot back. “What do you know about anything, Lake? I ignored her . For some reason, preparing Manning’s food had made me brave. Invincible. I had something he wanted. Once I was happy with the placement and position of everything on the plate, I slid it across the counter.

Manning grabbed the sandwich and dug in.

I watched, delighted, as he finished half in four bites.

After swallowing, he took a long sip of soda, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. He must have swallowed half of it. “This is the best sandwich I’ve ever had.”

The way I smiled, I probably looked like an idiot, but I didn’t care.

“I told you she makes a good sandwich.” Tiffany leaned over and bumped her shoulder against Manning’s. “Didn’t I tell you?”

Manning nodded and wiped his mouth on his shoulder. I handed him a paper napkin.

“Are you at University?” Tiffany asked.

I couldn’t believe she was so brazen to touch him like he belonged to her. Ask him personal questions. I had put up with my sister for sixteen years, but suddenly I found her unbearably hateful. ” Are you ? » I asked.

“Shut up, Lake. Why don’t you go play with your dolls?

My face heated up. Manning looked at us both as he chewed.

“I don’t play with dolls,” I told him.

“You have stuffed animals on your bed,” Tiffany said. “You’re like a five year old…”

“No, I’m not,” I said panicked. I didn’t need Manning thinking I was more childish than he probably already was. “Mom put them there. I don’t even like them.

“Go away already,” Tiffany said. Manning chewed his food calmly, but when he spoke, his words were sharp, delivered in a low, gravelly voice that left no room for argument. “I already told you, don’t talk to your sister like that.”

We both shut our mouths, but Tiffany glared at me. I felt it, even when I looked away.

“You must not have any siblings,” Tiffany said casually, glancing sideways at him. “We fight like this all the time. It does not mean anything.

“He has a sister,” I said, delighted to be in possession of information that Tiffany didn’t have.

“Is she in LA” Tiffany asked, holding my shoulder out to face Manning.

“No.” He wiped his mouth with the paper towel and finished his soda. His plate was empty. “I should get back to work.”

My heart sank into my stomach. Was it already over? I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. “Would you like another sandwich?”

He stood up and rubbed his stomach. “I don’t want to say no, but no. Thanks anyway.”

“Okay.” I shifted to my feet. “Need any help there?”

He raised his eyebrows at me. Again, I noticed the spots in his eyes , as if they were glowing. “What are you going to do?” he teased. “You can’t even lift most of the tools there, forget the materials.” I bathed in

the glimmer of his rare playfulness.

Tiffany followed him as he left the kitchen. I went to a window at the front of the house. Manning stood at the end of the driveway with her. I wanted him to recognize me .I was greedy. I had spent a lot of time with him today, but I wanted more. He didn’t look up, though. Instead, he said something to Tiffany.

Regardless, it made her smile.