"I hate it!" Joshua exploded, slamming his hand on my kitchen table. Everything shifted, and I had to jump forward to catch a wayward book. "I hate math so freaking much! Like, Grace, you don't even understand the torture you're putting me through."

I giggled. "I think you should calm down. I'm trying to help -"

"And it's not helping me!"

I rested my hand on his arm unintentionally and said, "Take a deep breath. You won't understand if you're upset."

His eyes found mine, and he nodded. But his nostrils flared, so I squeezed his arm. "Let's talk about something. What do you love to do?"

He lit up when he said, "I love running."

I wrinkled my nose. "Running?"

"Yeah!" He nodded enthusiastically. "I'm on the track team. Did you know that?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Really? You never go to any of my matches. Or any other sport matches, to be completely honest."

I paused. I didn't want him to know that I kind of stalked him before. "I know more than I let on."

"Surprise me. Tell me something I don't know about you."

I shook my head, a smile playing at my lips. "I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"I'm not that interesting."

"Oh, come on," Joshua said, leaning back in his chair. He placed his hands behind his head, pushing his hair forward slightly. "You are interesting. I didn't know you had a brother! There must be something else."

I looked down at the table and shrugged. "There's nothing else. I'm the girl with a single mother and money issues."

"What?" His eyes softened and his hands dropped to his lap. "Money issues?"

"Yeah. But that's not new. A lot of people have money issues."

"Yeah, but not everyone can get help," Joshua said.

"I don't understand what you mean."

"I can help you."

I shook my head, my heart hammering in my chest. "No thanks. I don't need help."

"How bad is it?"

"Not bad." I looked him in the eye, and my heart slowed down a little. I said softly, "I don't need your help, Joshua. Please."

"But -"

I shook my head. "I'm asking nicely. If you don't stop, I'll have to ask you to leave."

He looked away, his eyes cloudy. "I want to help people as much as I can."

"And that's why you're such a special guy. Most people would never put other people before themselves."

"Do you have a job?" he asked instead.

"Yeah." My eyes traveled along his jaw, but I looked away when he looked at me. "I work here, silly."

He chuckled, nodding. "That makes sense." Joshua opened his mouth but shook his head. He sat there for a second before saying, "If you need anything, I'm here. For literally anything, Grace."

I smiled and nodded. My smile grew wider when he placed his hand on my good one. "Thanks."

"Now, tell me about your brother."

I laughed. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything!"

"Well, his name is Scott -"

Joshua wrinkled his nose. "Scott?"

"I know. His name sucks. It's not like mine. Rebecca. Awesome."

"Why do you go by Grace, then?"

I glanced down at our entwined hands and shrugged. "My father used it as a . . . bad thing. Kind of. It's hard to explain because you don't know what went on with my family."

Joshua nodded and gently squeezed my hand. But I took my hand out of his and said, "Do you think you could continue with the problem?"

His eyes glanced down at the sheet of paper and shrugged. "Maybe. But I want to talk."

"Joshua, don't you want to pass this class?"

He stood up suddenly and opened the small refrigerator. "Do you have any food in here?" he asked, glancing at me.

I stood up and stood on my tippy-toes to peer over his shoulder. "Not really. Mom's supposed to be going to the grocery store tonight."

"I'm starving," he said, facing me.

I took a step back, my cheeks burning. "We could order in or something."

Yet he took a step closer to me, putting his hands on my shoulders. He looked so serious when he said, "We need to go to Juan In A Million."

I burst out laughing, unintentionally leaning into his chest. His arms wrapped around me, and his body shook with laughter.

"You were way too serious to say something like that," I said, laughing.

I pulled away from him as he said, "I'm hungry! What do you expect?"

I giggled and shook my head. "I expect you to act the age you are. You and Fin act like little children."

"I'm hungry, Grace!" His lip jutted out. "Please?"

I stared at his eyes, trying not to soften before I nodded. "I guess so."

"Yes!" He pumped his hand in the air. "Thank you!"

He ran to the couch where his jacket was and threw it at me. "What are you doing?"

"You can wear my jacket," he said. "It's cold outside."

"I have my own jacket," I said.

"Wear it."

I groaned but pulled his jacket on. I took a deep breath and citrus overpowered everything else. I loved citrus smells so much and it was even better that he smelled like that.

"Are you enjoying my jacket?" he asked, his eyebrow raised.

I opened my eyes and nodded. "So. Warm."

"That's what I thought," he said with a chuckle. "Come on! Let's get food!"

I laughed and followed him out of the apartment above the bakery. I quickly locked the door and ran after him.

"I thought you didn't like running," Joshua said as he turned around, walking backward.

"You're sort of fast," I said, my breath coming out in spurts. It showed up in the air, and I shivered unintentionally.

"I'm sorry." He slowed down until he was right next to me. "Better?"

"Much."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, and I thought I saw his arm shake. "Are you cold?" I asked.

"I'll be fine," he said, waving his hand in the air.

I felt bad taking his jacket, so I reached up to unbutton it. Warmth seeped into my hand as he grabbed ahold of it.

"Keep it on," he said.

"But you're cold."

"And so will you if you take it off."

He gripped my hand as if I would listen to him. And I wanted to because it smelled so good. Maybe just for a little bit . . .

He searched through his pocket with his other hand, and a loud noise echoed through the parking lot. He opened the passenger door for me and hurried over to the driver's side.

"Let's blast the heat," he muttered as he started the car up.

I shrugged the jacket off and slipped it over his shoulders. His muscles tensed up at my touch, and I pulled my hand away. I blinked, trying not to get too distracted.

"Thanks."

"Of course."

He pulled out of the parking lot, and we were silent as we headed to the restaurant. Music wasn't playing, either. My hands absentmindedly fidgeted with a string on my shirt as my eyes tried to look anywhere but Joshua.

I felt a little awkward in silence, so I said, "How did you find Juan In A Million?"

"Me and a few buddies were starving after track practice and it was the first place we saw," he said with a chuckle.

"Nice." I laughed. "And you loved it?"

"Yeah. They even have a live flamenco dance."

"Wow! That's cool!"

He nodded. "Yeah."

The silence was deafening. It was so awkward, and I needed some noise. I reached over and turned the radio on without even thinking. I reared back as a song blasted through the speakers. Joshua turned the volume down, saying, "Do you own my car now?"

I realized what I had done and blew out a breath. "Sorry."

"It's alright," he said, an easy smile taking over his face. "I love this song."

He started singing at the top of his lungs, and I laughed. His voice wasn't too bad, but it wasn't on key either. He tried to hit a high note, but his voice cracked, a squeaking noise erupting from his mouth.

I laughed, my eyes shut tightly. Somehow I found his hand, and my eyes opened. "What in the world was that?"

He glanced at me, his face pinched. "That hurt!"

"Maybe you shouldn't attempt to hit a high note if you haven't practiced," I said, giggling.

"I have done it before!" He nodded. "I swear! I was alone but -"

"I can totally imagine you jamming to this and singing it as loud as you can," I said, laughing.

He laughed with me and said, "I've done it before, and I won't stop."

He slowed to a stop, and I realized that we had made it to the restaurant. He shut the car off, putting the jacket around my shoulders. My skin lit up at his touch, and I quickly hopped out of the car.

It didn't take too long to get seated, and we both ordered water to start off. I opened the menu, and my eyes went wide. It was all in Spanish, and I definitely wasn't taking Spanish.

"You should get huevos rotos," Joshua mentioned.

"What does it have in it?" I asked, setting the menu down.

"Eggs with potatoes," he said, his eyes scanning the menu. "And it looks like they could add meat if you want it."

"That sounds good," I said, nodding. "Could you tell I was lost?"

"Definitely." He laughed. "Your eyebrows were screwed together."

I sighed and shook my head. "Seriously? I'm sorry."

"Don't worry," he said, waving his hand in the air. "It was pretty cute."

Heat rushed to my face, and I looked away. I focused on the mural on the wall instead of him. A person was drawn across the blue background, and flowers swirled around the head to create a crown.

My attention was drawn back to Joshua when the waitress came over. "Are you two ready to order?" she asked, her voice heavy with an accent.

"Yeah," I said, nodding. "I'll have the huevos rotos."

The lady scribbled that down and looked at Joshua. He said something in Spanish, and I just stopped listening. I didn't try to understand what they were saying, so my eyes drifted back to the mural. It intrigued me because of the words above the person. 'Follow your heart and everything will fall into place.'

"What are you thinking about, Grace?"

I turned to face him and shrugged. "Not much. I'm just trying to figure out some things."

"What?"

"Life. Stuff like that."

"Do you need help?" he asked, leaning forward.

"I don't want help."

"Why?"

I shrugged as he frowned. "It makes me feel weak," I said softly. I'd never say that to just anyone. I didn't even know why I told him.

"You're not weak," he said, his voice suddenly very quiet. "You're so strong."

I smiled. "Thanks."

But I didn't feel strong when he gazed at me with those hypnotic eyes. I wanted to spill all my secrets right there, but I held my tongue. People would run away if I told them everything about me.

My eyes drifted to the stage up at the front of the restaurant to find a woman in front of a microphone. Another woman and a man joined her on the stage. The newcomers had on matching outfits that were colored red and black. The woman in front of the microphone started singing in Spanish; her voice was gruff, but it wasn't bad.

The two with matching outfits started dancing, weaving in and out, in and out. They held each other close and pushed each other away. It was hypnotic, almost as hypnotic as Joshua's eyes. Before I knew it, they finished.

People clapped and I joined in.

"Are there any volunteers who want to learn how to dance?" the lady who sang asked, glancing around at the restaurant.

Most of the people were eating, so they didn't pay much attention to her. But Joshua's eyes went round with wonder.

"Do you want to go up there?" I asked, a smile playing on my lips.

He looked at me and nodded. "Yeah. I do."

He stood up, dropping his napkin in his seat. Ambling over to the stage, he nimbly hopped right up with the lady and man.

"Anyone else?" the man asked, his eyes focusing on me.

"No thanks," I called out. "I don't dance."

The guy said something to Joshua to make him burst out laughing. His eyes traveled across my body until he focused on my eyes. My face heated up. What in the world did that guy say to him?

The lady started clapping her castanets in time with the beat, and the guy slowly did his dance moves to show Joshua. He watched with rapt attention and started mimicking him. But his moves were sloppy, his hands flying through the air.

I held in my laughter as his wrist snapped up as if he was throwing something up in the air. I snorted when he did a shimmy. It seemed like he didn't have any rhythm, but he still tried his best.

"You were great," I said as he sat back down.

He laughed. "Are you serious?"

"Totally."

"I don't think I was that good."

"It was adorable."

He grinned. "Adorable? Did you call me adorable?"

I didn't meet his gaze, instead focusing on my food. "I did not call you adorable. The dance was."

"I don't think so," he said, touching my arm.

I grabbed his hand, fearfully meeting his eyes. "Maybe. Maybe not."

I prayed that I was doing the whole flirting thing right. Maybe I was; Joshua squeezed my hand encouragingly.

Wow, could I get lost in his eyes. They were nearly black but not quite. They held light that didn't seem to come from the outside.

"Ma'am?"

I jumped, letting go of his hand. The waitress was standing at our table, wondering if our food was good. Joshua answered for me so I dove right back into my food, hoping he wouldn't talk to me again.