The Hidden(33)
“I didn’t mean–” He rubbed his jaw. “That came out wrong. I’m not sitting here because I feel sorry for you, I’m sitting here because I…want to.” He sounded sincere.
I shrugged. “It’s okay… But really, I’m fine. You don’t have to stay.”
He laughed softly, as if to himself. “Do you want me to leave?”
“Not really,” I finally admitted.
He leaned towards me and picked up the drawstring of his hoodie, twirling it around his finger. “You’re still wearing my jacket.” The corners of his lips turned up minutely, into that almost-smile of his.
I looked down at his hand as he let go of the string, trying to fight the warmth in my cheeks from becoming obvious.
He cleared his throat. “I like it on you. It looks good.”
My cheeks burned. So much for trying to fight it. “Can I ask you something?”
He leaned back onto the bleacher behind him. “Shoot.”
I nodded towards the sea of people on the ice. “If you’re not here to hang out with your friends, then why are you here?”
“Maybe I’m trying to make friends.”
“And how are you going to do that when you’re sitting here with me?”
He glanced at me for a brief second before looking away. “Maybe you’re the one I want to be friends with.”
I rolled my eyes, but my voice came out soft. “You really want to be my friend, huh?”
He laughed, not like he’d heard something funny, but like he was laughing at something idiotic or just plain silly. “Is that really so hard to believe?”
“Yeah, actually, it is.” He was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen and he wanted to be my friend. Anyone in my position would find that hard to believe. “Why do you want to be my friend?”
His dark blond eyebrows pulled together, making a little indention in his otherwise perfect face. “We can’t be friends?”
“It’s just…” I looked away. Maybe it would be easier to say if I wasn’t looking at him. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
Because I don’t trust myself around you.
I didn’t answer his question directly. “Will you tell me why you were being such an asshole on Monday?”
“There’s nothing to tell. It was a simple case of miscommunication.”
“I don’t believe you.” I looked into his eyes, the lightest shade of blue with a thin, dark outer ring that–while beautiful–didn’t look natural or right. “There’s something you’re not telling me.”
His eyes flickered and he looked away. “So…you don’t want to be my friend.”
I blinked, trying to clear my head. “That’s not what I said. You just haven’t given me a compelling reason yet.”
His jaw clenched. “Why do I need a reason to be your friend? Did Beth need a reason? What about Josh? Did you get his reason?”
“They didn’t treat me like shit and then try to be my friend.”
He sighed. “I’m sorry I treated you so poorly–I really, really am. But even if I hadn’t behaved that way, you still wouldn’t want to be my friend, would you?”
He was probably right, it just might’ve taken me a while to figure it out. There was nothing I could say, so I looked away.
“That’s what I thought.” He stood up to leave, but paused. “Just so you know, I want to be your friend because I think you’re interesting. You’re funny, you don’t hold anything back, and you’re not afraid to speak your mind. You’re not intimidated by me, and you’re not afraid to put me in my place… You’ve surprised me. Not many people do that.”
I watched him walk into the lobby and push open the double glass doors, exiting into the nighttime.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tuesday, September 1st
EMILY
The bed groaned as I flopped onto my other side. I lifted my head, trying to see how much time I had before my alarm went off. My vision, still blurry from sleep, read the time as–
No, that couldn’t be right. I rubbed my eyes and squinted harder until the two sets of neon blue numbers from my alarm clock merged back into one, that read 9:03 AM.
Shit!
Why didn’t my alarm go off at 8:15 like it was supposed to? I fumbled for the clock and saw that, yeah, I’d set the alarm, I just forgot to turn the damn thing on. And now I was late for my nine o’clock English class.
Awesome.
I threw off my covers and ran full speed to the bathroom, where I took the shortest shower of my life. I didn’t even bother to wash my hair, I just stuck it up in a ponytail.