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“I wanted an afternoon, just you and me at our tree.”
I smile gratefully at him. “Looking for brownie points, huh? What did you do?” My question is a joke but he flinches and looks away, making me second guess myself. “Tris? Is everything okay?”
“I… Yeah.” He doesn’t sound so convinced as he turns his gaze back to me, his eyes shining with something that I haven’t seen before. Is that regret? Why—I don’t— “Come on.” He smiles wide again, crouching down and picking up the bottle of champagne. “Let’s get this baby opened.”
I hesitate, wondering if I imagined the strange look in his eyes because the smile on his face is one I’m so used to. I paste a smile on my face and smooth down my yellow summer dress, sitting down next to him and taking the glass he offers me.
He holds his out in a cheers and I clink my glass against his. “What are we celebrating?”
“Us.” He doesn’t say another word for several seconds, making me squirm. “We’re celebrating us,” he says, his voice a mere whisper now.
The smile on his face doesn’t quite reach his eyes—a telltale sign that something is most definitely wrong—but I don’t question him. He’ll tell me when he’s ready; we’ve always been honest with each other.
“To us.” I raise my glass before taking a sip, the bubbles fizzing up my nose. I cough and he laughs, handing me a napkin. “Thanks.”
He leans back, putting his hands behind him, causing his biceps to ripple with the movement, and I can’t tear my gaze away from him. From the first moment I saw him, I thought he was a pompous rich boy; another entitled person that would take what he could from this world without working for a thing. But he isn’t that person at all, he’s far from it.
“Do you remember the first time we met?” he asks, almost as if he can read my thoughts.
I raise a brow at him, a smirk lifting one side of my lips. “How could I forget? I practically painted you the color of a rainbow when I tripped and my paints went everywhere. You weren’t happy.” I laugh at the memory.
His eyes widen and his face becomes animated. “But I was a sexy rainbow.” He smirks.
“That you were.” I sweep my eyes over his angular face and down his muscular arms. “What changed?”
“Hey!” He moves so fast that I don’t have the chance to get away before he’s on me, pushing me down and pinning my hands above my head on the blanket. My breath catches in my throat as he stares down at me, his gaze intense as it flits between my eyes and my lips.
My lips part as he moves closer, pressing his to mine in a sweet but gentle kiss. He pulls back slightly, staring down at me—searching for something—so I push my head closer, wanting more, but he pulls back, moving off me suddenly.
He sits next to me with his knees pulled up, his forearms hanging over them as he looks down between his legs.
I sit up, the jacket slipping from my shoulders and I stare ahead into the gray sky. “Something’s bothering you, you can’t hide it from me. I know you wanted this to be a nice afternoon but… you’re kinda harshing my vibe.” I try to joke but he doesn’t smile or glance my way.
“I…” He huffs out a breath, picking up his champagne glass and downing the fizzy drink. “I wanted us to have a fun afternoon, just you and me, being together.”
“And here we are on an afternoon together. So, what’s wrong?”
He shakes his head, jumping up and pacing in front of me. I watch him walk back and forth as he mumbles something to himself, his hands clenched at his sides. “Why?” He keeps repeating that word over and over again.
“Tristan, you’re starting to scare me now. Come sit down and eat, someone put a lot of effort into all of this.” I pop a strawberry into my mouth, the sweetness of its juices making me smile. But it doesn’t ease the bad feeling I have creeping into every part of me.
“No.” His voice is low, but the tone is thunderous and it has my head springing up to face him. His eyes mist over and he closes them.
When he opens them back up, I almost gasp at the look he gives me. The gentleness to his eyes that he’s always had is gone, and in its place is something that I don’t recognize, or like.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
“I… What do you mean?” I stand up, trying to touch his arm but he tears it away from me violently.
“Don’t touch me.” He steps away, pulling his shoulders back and narrowing his eyes at me. “I don’t want this.” He points between us. “I’ve never wanted this.”
The blow he delivers feels physical and I stumble slightly until I recover myself, realizing the fact that he won’t even look at me. “Where’s this coming from?” He shakes his head and looks at our tree. “You’re a liar.”
Drops of water land on my face as I stare at him, the dark rolling clouds coming in fast, reflecting my mood.
“I am.” He shrugs. “I’m a liar because I told you that I loved you, when I don’t.”
“You’re a shitty liar, you always have been.” I try to keep my emotions under control as I ask, “Why are you doing this me… to us?”
