Page 167 of Tell No Lies

He was still shaking his head, deep in thought. “Are you okay?” Of course he thought about that. He was always concerned with how I was doing but didn’t realize I’d be so much better with him.

“I am now. Mike was my friend first, but dating ruined everything for us. He had so many expectations of how I needed to act and what being his girlfriend meant, but I couldn’t live up to any of it. I miss him, though.”

“I bet. He was one of your first friends here. I can’t believe he would be willing to throw all of that away.”

The girls had been right the other night. I owed it to myself and to Mike to try to make things right. “Maybe he can move past it, eventually. I want to stay friends with him.”

Carter looked surprised. “You do?”

“Yeah. Good friends are hard to find, and us dating was a huge mistake, which I know now. If he sees that too, maybe we can go back to our original relationship.”

“That’s very mature of you. Most girls would be cursing his name and refusing to admit they were wrong.”

I debated whether or not it was time to say what had been on my mind. There were only two possible outcomes. He would either agree that we belonged together, or crush my heart and says no. Luckily, the possibility of being with him was worth the chance of being denied. Again.

“Carter?”

His focused returned to me, and his eyes locked on mine. “Yeah?”

“Do you … I mean … is there?” This was one thousand times harder than I could have possibly imagined.

He chuckled and looked more confused than I was. “You can talk to me about anything, Aubrey. What’s wrong?”

My leg was bouncing uncontrollably. I glared down at it, willing it to get it together. I could taste my nerves. I exhaled slowly, trying to buy more time. This was what I wanted, the chance to talk and have him truly listen to me.

Ever so slowly, my gaze rose to meet his. “Carter, do you still … have feelings?”

Really, Aubrey? “Do you still have feelings?” No, he’s now a robot. I wanted to slap myself, but I knew that wouldn’t help my case.

“Umm, I think so? Like, in general?”

Deep down, I knew he wasn’t purposely being difficult, but I really didn’t want to come out and say it. Apparently, he wasn’t going to finish this for me.

“No. Specifically … about me.” I held my breath and waited desperately for him to speak.

His face softened immediately. “Aubrey.” He looked away and sighed. He ran his hands over his face for several seconds. “Brandon is going to kill me.”

My head was feeling light from the lack of oxygen, so I knew I might have misinterpreted him. “What?” The word came out in a rushed breath.

His hands reached out for mine and tugged me closer. “Aubrey.” That was all I heard before he leaned closer and his lips found mine.

The memory of our kiss on the balcony rushed in. This was what a kiss was supposed to feel like, exciting and full of all that was left unsaid. Through this kiss, I knew how he felt. I could feel his relief.

After the earth stopped spinning, I looked up at him. “Please don’t take that back.”

His fingers brushed my cheek before he cradled my face in both hands.

I closed my eyes and leaned against his palm as naturally as breathing. “Please don’t.”

“Aubrey, look at me.” He waited until I followed his words. “Never again. I’ve learned my lesson, and I’ve lost you once before. Never again.”

☼ ☼ ☼

It turned out talking with Carter was the easiest thing I had to do that day. He stayed with me, wasting the day on movies and cuddling. We were comfortably intertwined while watching the third superhero movie of the day when the door opened.

I felt Carter tense around me, but he didn’t move. It went against everything inside me to stay where I was and not fall to the floor in an attempt to cover up what we were doing. Because clambering to the ground would be so much better than simply lying still. We weren’t actually doing anything wrong. Brandon might not agree, but we had nothing to hide.

When I peeked out of the corner of my eye, I saw my brother standing at the edge of the kitchen, staring. His face was frozen in what appeared to be shock. His eyebrows were pinched together, and his mouth was slightly ajar.