Page 100 of In Your Wake

His eyes hold mine for a second too long, and my skin warms. I tear my gaze away and start to braid my hair, sighing heavily.

“I understand why you were mad. You had every right to be,” I begin, my lips loosened by the champagne. “But getting back at me by revenge fucking Jessa De Luca? That was pretty low.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” he asks.

“You and I. That weekend, camping—”

He runs a hand through his hair. “Nothing happened between us that weekend.”

“Well, not nothing.”

“No, but we stopped before things went too far.”

“We did? From what I recall, you stopped. You said you were scared of Hunter. That I was like your sister. I felt about an inch tall.”

“So, you’ve been mad at me for over a decade because I didn’t have sex with you?” he asks, his eyes wide.

“No, Mitch. I wanted to have sex. I wanted you. But you made it seem like you weren’t willing to risk our friendship—”

“I wasn’t!”

“But that wasn’t the only reason, was it? Deep down, you were holding out for something better. For Jessa.”

He sinks down onto the bed next to me, dropping his head into his hands. “You’re mad because you think I slept with Jessa?”

“There’s no shame in it.”

“This isn’t about shame. This is about something that never happened.”

“Okay,” I scoff with an eye roll.

“No, seriously. I wanted you. Really fucking bad. But I knew it was a mistake.”

“Right.” A hollow ache spreads through my chest as I get up from the bed.

“And I never slept with Jessa,” he adds.

“I saw you two together!” I reply and reach the door, but Mitch steps in my way, blocking it.

“What do you mean you saw us?”

I refuse to meet his eyes and stare at his bare chest. “A few days after… I came over to talk, to apologize. The door was unlocked. And there you were, on your couch.”

“Oh, wow.” He drops his head back against the door and sighs. “We messed around, but nothing happened.”

“If you say so.” I shake my head. “Get out of my way.”

“Maxine, I swear. We made out. She started jerking me off, but—”

“Spare me the details, please,” I interrupt, cringing.

His forehead wrinkles slightly. “Nothing happened. Believe me.”

I release a shaky breath. “Fine, I believe you. Now, please move.”

“No.” He squares his shoulders.

“Mitchell…” I cock my head.