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I twist my arms out of his grasp and his eyes flash with pain. I'm hurting him. Ironic, huh?
I'm surprised how steady I'm able to keep my voice when I state, "I tried to kiss you last night, Tyson." This obviously hits a note with the silent trio standing off to the side, because the three of them speak at the same time.
"What?" Levi gasps, eyebrows raised.
"Yup," Quinn responds without taking her eyes off of us.
And I swear I hear Avery murmur, "Jackass."
Tyson's face twists in anguish and his chocolate eyes flash with regret. He reaches his hand out but drops it immediately when I shift away from him. "Harley, I made a mistake. I'm sorry. I wasn't rejecting you. God, I would never rejec—"
"And then," I interrupt, not wanting to rehash the embarrassment I felt last night, "I show up tonight and see you with her." I wave my hand at Avery. "She had her arm around you and the way she was looking at you…my God, I'd be an idiot not to notice—"
"Actually, that's why I came in here to talk to you,” Avery interjects softly. Frankly, I don't care. I don't want to hear what she has to say…this is between Tyson and me. I continue talking, not even acknowledging her and not caring that I’m being rude either.
"At first, I was bothered because you got called into work and had to cancel our dinner. But then when I saw that you came here with her instead, and the way you looked at her…" I take a deep breath, willing myself to talk through the tears. "You looked happy, Tyson. You were smiling and I realized that it's been a really long time since I've seen you smile like that.” My throat is burning and scratchy and I want nothing more than to run out of here and save face, but this is good for me—I need to get this out.
Tyson is watching me. His face is guarded, but his eyes are hard. I hate that I can't tell what he's thinking or feeling, but I have to finish this. "So I'm done. I can't be your friend. It's too hard," I sob, "I can't be your friend when I'm still completely in lo—"
"Enough!" he yells, stepping into my space. I stumble back, bumping into the sink. "Enough. Don't make this my fault, Harley. Don't play the fuckin' martyr, because it isn't attractive on you."
"What?" I ask, feeling like he just slapped me in the face. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Oh, come on, Harley. You want to know why I pulled away from you? You want to hear me say it?" His voice starts to shake and he twists away from me, running his hand across the back of his neck. "Because I was fucking jealous, okay? I was mad at myself that I had the chance to be with you and I blew it, and someone else stepped up and I was fucking jealous."
What? He's jealous? Okay, I know I've had a few drinks, but I have no idea what he's talking about. Who the hell is he jealous of? Despite my complete confusion, I don't miss the fact that he never told me I was wrong about Avery.
He turns back to me. "I want it to be me, Harley. I want to be with you." His voice is strong and firm, and his determined eyes bore into mine. "I want to be the one that gets to kiss you good night. I want to be the one to make you breakfast in the morning. Not him. Not Max," he says, shaking his head angrily.
Thoughts…meet brick wall.
What the what?
What the hell is he talking about?
He lowers his head in defeat at my silence and wipes a hand across his face while my heart clenches in my chest.
"Max?" I ask slowly, trying to make sure I heard him correctly.
"Yes, Max. You know…oh-he's-so-handsome, he's-doing-great, Max." His voice is laced with hurt and sarcasm, and it pisses me off because he is oh-so-fucking wrong. I glance at Quinn and she cocks an I-told-you-to-tell-him eyebrow at me. Then it hits me…this is my fault. I never told him I have a son. I never told him about Max.
I'm mad and hurt and pissed and every other negative emotion known to man. But mostly, I'm angry with myself. Maybe if I had been up front with him, none of this would have happened. But his sarcastic words ring in my ears, and as much as I know I should be gentle and truthful, I just can't.
"Oh my God, you're joking, right?" I ask mockingly. "You're jealous of Max? You don't even know who Max is," I spit.
Tyson's eyes swirl with emotion. He's watching me, waiting to see what I'll do or say next. Well, I hope he's watching closely, because I'm about to rock his fucking world and then he's going watch me walk right out that door.
"Uh-oh," I hear Levi whisper. "She's going to do it."
"She is soooo doing it," Quinn replies.
"What? What's she doing?" Avery whispers.
"She's going to tell him who Max is."
"I was right," Avery says, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth. "Max isn't her boyfriend." Levi and Quinn both shake their head. Tyson appears completely oblivious to the conversation that just took place behind him.
Well, let's go down in flames, shall we? With tears racing down my face, I open myself up, allowing him to see every emotion that I'm feeling. In fact, if he looks close enough, I'm fairly certain he could see my soul.
