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“What are you doing?” he asked, jogging over to her. Even though he had to let her go because it was for the best, that didn’t mean he was prepared for it to end so abruptly. “I thought you weren’t leaving for another two weeks.”
“Yeah, well…” When she struggled to fit the basket inside, she shifted another bag over to make more room, letting out a soft grunt. “Thought I’d get a head start.”
“But you don’t have to be there until September first.”
She moved around him to grab a big black bag from the sidewalk and put that in her trunk too before slamming it closed. When she tried to walk away, he snagged her wrist, needing to explain. “Can we talk?”
She didn’t meet his gaze. “About what?”
“About us.”
“About us?” She tugged out of his grasp, dropping her attention to the road, where she rubbed the toe of her sneaker on what looked to be dried gum. “Why? There isn’t anything else to say. We agreed to the summer, and now the summer’s over.”
“Pea—”
She flashed her eyes to him then, hot and full of anguish. “Don’t call me that.”
He took one step back. “I’m sorry.”
Her shoulder brushed against his arm as she stepped around him toward her house. Even that small brush of her skin on his was torture. “Sam, please, wait.”
She didn’t stop, and out of the corner of his eye, Mike saw Jimmy standing in their front doorway, observing them. He ignored Jimmy’s folded arms and glare to speed ahead of Sam, holding his arms out. “You can’t run away like this.”
“Run away?” She forced out a laugh, but it was strangled, and she wasn’t smiling. “I’m not running away. I’m going to Texas, like I’m supposed to.”
“But…that’s not… You can’t…” He dragged his hands through his hair before throwing them out to his sides. “You’re angry with me.”
“I’m not,” she said placidly, and Mike had a flashback of when she had acted just as coolly and unperturbed after she thought he’d turned down her offer to this fucking stupid idea of being together for the summer.
He held up his palm to her. “You know I know you’re lying, right?”
“Are we done here? I need to finish loading up my car.”
“No, we’re not done.”
She pressed her mouth into a straight line, letting out a tiny, annoyed sound, yet he soldiered on. “I’m sorry,” he said, lowering his voice. “I’m so sorry that I’ve hurt you.”
She tried to argue, but he curled his palm around her forearm and stepped closer. She could act as aloof as she wanted, but he knew that wasn’t how she felt. She could never hide the truth from him.
“I know what it took for you to…” He swallowed, and his throat felt like sandpaper. “I know that you won’t believe me, but you mean more to me than I can say.”
“Yeah?” She met his eyes with a sarcastic lilt to her lips. “There are words for that. Three of them, actually.”
He coasted his fingers up to her shoulder, a shoulder he had kissed only days ago. “I know, and you took me by surprise when you said them.”
“Did I, though?” She cocked her head to the side, and Mike took advantage of the angle, settling his palm along her neck. She closed her eyes, and he could feel her relaxing under his touch. He stepped even closer, bringing his other hand to her face, his thumb stroking her cheek until she opened her eyes. “It couldn’t have been a surprise. All summer, I’ve been telling you not to be sweet to me. But you kept going. You talked to me as if you loved me. You treated me like—” she licked her lips, and he wanted to kiss away her self-doubt because he did love her “—you wanted me to fall in love with you.”
She wasn’t wrong, and he hated himself for it.
“I told you I don’t do casual,” he said.
“And I don’t do serious.”
Giving in to a terrible idea, he pressed his lips to her forehead.
And it truly was a terrible idea because she grabbed his waist, bunching his T-shirt in her fists.
“I’m sorry, Samantha,” he said, whispering the words against her temple. At this point, his apology didn’t matter. The damage had already been done, but he at least wanted her to understand his reasoning. “You deserve someone who can give you what you want.”
