“I don’t think I am.” He tilted his head. “You realize you’re making my point for me.”
“What point?”
“I’m trying to talk about something real, and you’re arguing about geography.”
I looked away, unable to ignore the quivering in my belly.
“There,” Dean remarked.
“What?”
His voice sharpened. “You keep doing that. You decide I won’t understand and end the conversation before I’ve said anything.”
My patience frayed. “Not everything is about understanding.”
“No? Then help me out here, Luka.”
I rubbed a hand across my face.Why won’t he let go?Most people stopped asking after the first refusal.
Dean never seemed to notice he’d been refused.
I made an effort to breathe normally. “People pay attention to who I’m with.”
He frowned. “Okay.”
The response caught me off guard. “Okay?”
He sighed heavily. “People pay attention. You’re an Olympic silver medalist. You’re going to have to narrow that down for me.” He paused. “Look, we’ve had this conversation.”
“Not enough times, obviously,” I said through gritted teeth.
“I know the federation watches you.”
“Not just me. Everyone around me.”
Behind me, the mattress creaked.
“And if I came?” He stood beside me.
I didn’t answer, didn’t meet his gaze.
“Oh.”
I gripped the edge of the windowsill. “Dean?—”
“No.”
I jerked my head toward him, blinking.
His face was so grave. “You don’t get to give me half an answer and expect me to fill in the rest.”
“That isn’t fair,” I retorted.
“Neither is this conversation.” He swallowed hard. “You know what actually bothers me?”
I said nothing.
“When I said I’d come with you, you never even considered it.”
