Page 26 of Crossing the Line

A knock at my door made me jump, and I knew who it was immediately. I couldn’t say how I knew, if it was something in the rhythm of his knock or just an instinct that told me when he was near, but when Damien’s voice came from the other side of the door, I wasn’t surprised.

“Kelsie? Are you in there?”

I considered staying quiet until he went away, but that wasn’t a solution. I had to face him eventually, and I was never the type to hide from my problems.

When I pulled open the door, Damien stood there in his well-worn jeans and hiking boots, with a simple grey T-shirt stretched across his broad chest. Why did he have to look so effortlessly good?

It just wasn’t fair when I was trying to stop wanting him.

“Hey,” I said, tucking my hands into the back pockets of my shorts, feeling uncomfortable. All I could think about was that we were standing in almost this exact spot last night when I spilled my guts to him.

His eyes trailed over my face for a moment. “How are you this morning?”

Embarrassed. “I’m fine.”

One corner of his mouth tilted up in a grin. “You know, you’ve been saying that a lot lately.”

I sighed. “It’s better than saying things I regret.”

Damien’s face got serious. “We need to talk.”

Before I could object, he slipped by me and into my room. I closed the door and took a deep, fortifying breath before turning to face him.

“Listen…” I started, my stomach twisting uneasily. “I was drunk last night. You shouldn’t take what I said seriously.”

“You want me to just forget about it? Is that what you’re saying?”

He sounded almost angry, and I faltered. I expected guilt or more regret from him. But anger? I couldn’t understand where that was coming from.

“Yes,” I said, my voice wavering. “Can you do that?”

“No, Kels. I can’t. And I think you know that.”

I guess there’s no avoiding this.

“So… you meant it, didn’t you?” he asked. Tension thickened the air until I could almost feel it pressing against my skin. This was the question I dreaded.

But maybe it would be best to just get everything out in the open. Maybe that was what we finally needed to move on.

“Yes, I meant it.” I couldn’t look at him, so I focused my eyes on my window. I could see the beach, where that clear blue water lapped at the sand. It was peaceful in a way that this moment wasn’t. “The truth is that I had no regrets until you said it was a mistake.”

Silence met my words, and I couldn’t resist glancing his way. The color had drained from Damien’s cheeks, and his mouth parted slightly, as if he wanted to speak but didn’t know what to say. But he’d already said enough that terrible morning.

“Don’t worry,” I hastened to add. “I get it. You just want to maintain the friendship. I’m totally fine with that.”

And if my voice went up an octave, that didn’t mean anything. Nothing at all.

The mild surprise he’d shown before deepened. Confusion flickered through his eyes, and he went rigid.

“Are you?” he asked after a moment, his voice tight. He was hard to read right now, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. I didn’t want to see relief on his face as he realized he was getting what he wanted. “Are you really fine with just being friends?”

I forced myself to smile, and it was more painful than ever.

“Of course.” The lie tasted bitter. “Let’s act like that night never happened.”

Damien took a step toward me, his hand stretched out as if he were going to touch me, and I went rigid. Before he could get too close, there was once again a sudden knock on my door. We both jolted, and my breath left me in a rush as Damien lowered his hand to his side.

Whipping the door open, I found Jess standing there with her husband, Cody. They were both dressed for the hike, and Cody was even wearing a backpack.