AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Our walk to the shack was uncomfortable. Not because either of us was pushing the other’s buttons, but because I felt a pull I couldn’t understand. The silence between us only seemed to amplify it. Without words to concentrate on, I was acutely aware of his every step, every breath, which seemed to drown out the sounds of the nature around us.
Reaching the door I turned, and he was right there, a breath away.
He swept a lock of hair out of my face. “Thank you for helping tonight.”
“Yeah,” was the only word I could muster. An errant finger traced up his arm. “I learned a lot.” It was all I could do to keep from wrapping my hands around his arm to feel that muscle. But if I did, I’d end up grabbing more than his arm. I pulled my hand away. It was too tempting.
“Like what?” His eyes took on that warm caramel color I remembered so vividly and smoldered with what seemed like desire. Or was it my desire that I saw reflected?
The intensity of his gaze forced me to blink and take in a slow, long breath.
“Well?”
I desperately wanted to admit that the nice side of him had surprised me tonight, or that I still found him incredibly attractive in spite of our history. But I was too chicken. “That I need Stacy’s cookie recipe.”
The air between us crackled with tension as his eyes held mine. He drifted closer.
With anticipation, I wet my lips.
He moved back. “I should let you get some sleep.” The spell was broken, and the moment lost. Did he not feel it, or did it scare him as much as it did me?
Unable to handle the disappointment, I blurted, “I never did get that hot chocolate you offered.”
Would he take advantage of the invitation to continue tonight, or should I make the first move? Laurie had said to be confident and seize the moment, but I still doubted myself.
He bit his lip. “It’s late. How about tomorrow?”
“Sure,” I said with enough confidence to hide my disappointment. I should have insisted that it wasn’t that late, or something even more forward.
He backed a step. Was he as unsure as I was?
“I feel like we should talk,” I offered. My anger at the past had eaten at me too long, and it was time to put it behind us.
Even in the moonlight, the confusion on his face was obvious. “I tried to talk tonight, and you didn’t want to.”
I sighed and took the plunge. “I mean about before.”
His lips curled down. “Why wait? Why did you lie and ruin my chance at the NC State scholarship?”
Floored by his anger, I backed away. “I didn’t do a thing to you, much less lie about anything.” My voice rose with the resentment I felt.
“Tractor? Ring a bell?” he snarled.
I shook my head. “I don’t know what the fuck you think happened, but you’re the one who humiliated me in front of the whole school. Luckily Dad moved us away, and problem solved—you couldn’t hurt me anymore.” Before he could say another thing, I went through the door and slammed it in his face.
“Asshole,” I muttered before I slumped to the floor.
How had I let a moment so full of promise go down the shitter like that? I knew controlling my temper was important, but when the moment came, I couldn’t summon the self-control I needed and ended up causing a scene.
I hit my head back against the door. “Fuckety fuck, fuck.”
“Sorry, guys, I’m not mad at you,” I told the dogs who nuzzled my legs.
Later that night, in bed with the light out, images of Boone working on that water heater wouldn’t go away. Tonight I’d seen a side of Boone I hadn’t imagined. Hot chocolate would have been good. Maybe we could have talked, or maybe a little more. Then he had to ruin it and revert back to jerkus maximus and accuse me of being a liar.
Two sides of the Boone coin, and in an instant he’d flipped from the kind side to the mean side.
I pulled out my phone and selected the messaging app. Several seconds of indecision followed. If I texted Laurie and Debbie about tonight, what would I say? I shut down the phone and instead reached for Lance in the nightstand. Tonight I’d put a face on my imaginary lover.
