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Her eyebrows lowered and then her eyes widened. “No.” Her eyes filled and she pushed out of my arms. “God, no.”
“Ry, wait.”
She glanced at Macy then back at me and her face crumpled. She raced around the counters and bakery case to the main part of the café and out the side door that led to the apartments.
“Dammit.”
“Let her go.”
“No, I can’t let her go. She’s upset.”
“She’s embarrassed. Same as she was the first time I caught her doing it.”
“I thought you weren’t going to say how it happened,” I growled.
“Don’t get shitty with me because you’re angry. Give her a bit to calm down.”
I let out a breath. “No, she’s been running away from me for long enough.”
Seventeen
I raced up the stairs to my apartment.
I hadn’t done that the night before. I’d been so stupid to think maybe I was settling down again. Why did it have to be in front of Gage? That careful tone of his voice. The confusion in his eyes.
I knew what was coming next. The stammering, the race for the door. Or even worse, kind words followed directly by pity.
The worst was when they tossed the nice card around. As if Hallmark could make a slogan for this.
Hey, sorry you don’t know how to sleep like a normal person. Good luck with that and see ya around.
God, I couldn’t even write a good card description in my head.
I went for the cupboard above the fridge for my hidden bottle of whiskey then shoved it in the sink when I remembered that couldn’t happen. The glass shattered in the sink because of course it wasn’t the cheap shit.
If I was going to drink, it was worth the time and effort.
I stalked around my tiny kitchen as embarrassment flowed into anger. Why now? We were just starting to…
What?
Sort of click? Not just at the waist. We’d laughed over the movies and I’d even told him about my ideas for the movie screening nights I wanted to talk to Macy about. Especially when she brought out the popcorn and Gage got a first hand look at how fun it could be.
He’d seemed excited for me.
Not writing me off.
And now this?
I didn’t have time to ease him into my dirty little secret.
“Ry?”
My eyes burned at the sound of his voice. Maybe if I stayed quiet, he’d think I went to bed. Though he knew firsthand that I didn’t fucking stay there.
He knocked. “Come on, Rylee. I know you’re in there.”
I went over to the door, but I couldn’t bring myself to turn the doorknob. I didn’t want to see the pity on his face. The poor Rylee expression in his eyes right before he walked.
